What are the challenges in implementing a global alliance. Once an alliance is reached, what steps are involved in strategic implementation of the venture?

Answer the above questions, using the below/attached references.  Must be at least 300 words in APA format.

References

(1) Goussak, Gregory W. (2012).  CULTURAL PLURALISM: A CRITICAL NEEDS PLAN FOR GENERAL MOTORS.  Global Conference on Business & Finance proceedings, 7(1), 249-255.  

(2) Damanpour, F., Devece, C., Chen, C. C., & Pothukuchi, V. (2012). Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 29(2), 453-478. 

(3) Jakada, B. A. (2014). Building global strategic alliances and coalitions for foreign investment opportunities. International Journal of Global Business, 7(1), 77-94. 

(4) Luvison, D., & de Man, A. (2015). Firm performance and alliance capability: The mediating role of culture. Management Decision, 53(7), 1581-1600. 

Firm performance and
alliance capability: the
mediating role of culture

Dave Luvison
Sellinger School of Business and Management,

Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and
Ard-Pieter de Man

Faculty of Economics and Business Administration,
VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract
Purpose – Extant literature has looked at the effect of alliance capability and organizational culture on
alliance portfolio performance, but the relationship between the two has not been explored. The purpose
of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that an alliance supportive culture is not only fostered by a
firm’s alliance capabilities, but that it mediates the relationship between capabilities and performance.
Design/methodology/approach – Survey responses from 190 alliance managers, collected using a
two-stage process, were analyzed to investigate the interrelationship of firm-level alliance capability,
alliance supportive culture and portfolio performance.
Findings – Alliance supportive culture was found to mediate the relationship between alliance
capability and alliance portfolio performance. This finding suggests that in order to effectively manage
a firm’s portfolio of alliances, the benefits of alliance capability must be transferred broadly into
the organization’s cultural orientation toward alliances.
Research limitations/implications – Further research may extend this analysis to explore the
effect of subcomponents of alliance capability and alliance culture to better understand fine-grained
influences on alliance performance. The findings of this study also may be extended to inform how
supportive culture orientation affects partner selection, negotiation and time to performance.
Practical implications – Managers should utilize culture-building actions as a way of extending the
value of their firms’ alliance capabilities in order to improve their effectiveness across the portfolio.
Originality/value – Extant studies have considered the discrete effects of capability and cultural
orientation on alliance portfolio success, but the mediation effect has not previously been investigated.
The findings also identify a boundary condition for the benefit of alliance capabilities on portfolio
performance.
Keywords Strategic alliances, Organizational culture, Alliance capability,
Alliance portfolio performance, Alliance supportive culture
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
With the increasing interest in strategic alliances has come increasing attention to firms’
ability to manage them. Strategic alliances have been defined as voluntary relations
between organizations designed to facilitate market entry, technological exchange or
learning (Buckley and Casson, 1988; Dacin et al., 2007; Gulati and Singh, 1998). How they
are managed has been reflected in the alliance capability literature, which describes the
firm-level ability “to capture, share, disseminate and apply alliance management
knowledge” (Heimeriks et al., 2009, p. 97) enabling the firm to create successful alliances
through its ability to learn and leverage that knowledge (Draulans et al., 2003). To this
end scholars have investigated alliance capability from the perspective of how prior
alliance experience (Anand and Khanna, 2000; Draulans et al., 2003; Hoang and

Management Decision
Vol. 53 No. 7, 2015

pp. 1581-

1600

© Emerald Group Publishing Limited

0025-1747
DOI 10.1108/MD-09-2014-0580

Received 20 September 2014
Revised 8 March 2015

12 May 2015
Accepted 17 May 2015

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0025-1747.htm

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Rothaermel, 2005; Simonin, 1997) as well as how the presence of dedicated alliance
management departments (Hoffmann, 2005; Kale et al., 2001, 2002), specialized processes,
(Heimeriks and Duysters, 2007) and the institutionalization of associated know-how
(Heimeriks et al., 2009) contribute to the firm’s overall capabilities. This organizational
capability has, in turn, been shown to have a positive effect on alliance portfolio
performance (Sarkar et al., 2009; Schilke and Goerzen, 2010).

In addition, many scholars have acknowledged the influence of organizational culture
on alliance performance through studies focussing on cultural fit and the challenges of
interpreting partners’ distinctly different cultures (Das and Kumar, 2010b; Kumar
and Patriotta, 2011; Vlaar et al., 2006). Moreover, there is evidence that some types of
organizational culture are more likely to produce successful alliances than others
(Leisen et al., 2002; Sambasivan and Yen, 2010). Although the literature has not
investigated it, there is likely a relationship between alliance capability and
organizational culture. Capability represents the firm’s ability to apply its knowledge
in a way that better enables it to achieve its alliance objectives (Heimeriks et al., 2009)
whereas organizational culture reflects the “values, beliefs and behavior patterns”
(Ortega-Parra and Sastre-Castillo, 2013, p. 1072) that influence achievement of those
objectives (Denison and Mishra, 1995). As a result, one could infer that culture would play
an integral role in determining how alliance capability is enacted across the “multiple
simultaneous strategic alliances with different partners” (Wassmer, 2010, p. 141) that
constitute its alliance portfolio in order to better enable the firm to achieve its objectives.

In this paper we investigate this likely relationship and propose that the influence
of alliance capabilities on a firm’s alliance portfolio performance is mediated by its
alliance supportive culture, i.e., a culture encapsulating behaviors such as communication
about alliances, mutuality and trustworthiness that are conducive to collaboration.
As individuals in the firm interpret the logic behind the tools and processes that
constitute alliance capability, they begin to develop values and ways of behaving that are
congruent with that logic (Hatch, 1993). Such behaviors should subsequently engender
organization-wide cultural values that are conducive to alliances.

The results of this analysis make two primary contributions to the literature.
Our finding that alliance supportive culture partially mediates the relationship between
alliance capability and portfolio performance extends the existing literature on alliance
capability. Although capability is instrumental in improving alliance performance, its
effect appears to be bounded at the portfolio level by the firm’s alliance supportive
culture. This suggests that a firm’s culture will dictate whether capability is translated
into portfolio performance. A second theoretical contribution of this study is that it
provides new insight into the interrelationship between alliance capability and
organizational culture. We find that alliance capability helps to develop the specific
cultural values and underlying assumptions (Schein, 2010) that support alliances.

The remainder of this paper is divided in three parts. First, we develop the
theoretical basis for the relationships between alliance capability, culture and portfolio
performance. After that we review both the methodology and results of this study.
Finally, we discuss the implications for research and practice.

2. Hypotheses development
Alliance capability
The main focus of the alliance capability literature has been to understand why some
firms have a better alliance performance than others (Ireland et al., 2002). Inquiries into a
firm’s alliance capability can be traced back to studies describing the role of individuals

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responsible for overseeing those relationships and the procedures required to manage
them (Spekman, 1979). Scholars subsequently found that experience with alliances was
significantly related to their success (e.g. Anand and Khanna, 2000; Simonin, 1997),
which in turn led to studies of how firms institutionalized this experience (e.g. Heimeriks
et al., 2007; Kale and Singh, 2007). Capability has been investigated at three levels of
analysis, firm (the ability to manage specific alliances), portfolio (the ability to coordinate
across all the firms’ alliances) and dyadic (the relational capability of a dyad) (Wang and
Rajagopalan, 2015). In this paper we focus on the portfolio view of alliance capability.

A firm’s alliance capability influences its ability to select, negotiate and manage these
relationships effectively (Khanna, 1998; Lambe et al., 2002). While the extant literature
has outlined a number of elements that make up alliance capability (for a review of
the literature see Niesten and Jolink, 2015; Wang and Rajagopalan, 2015), the
predominant operationalization of the construct has involved the role of a designated
alliance manager (Spekman et al., 1998), which has subsequently been expanded to
include the role of an alliance management function (Kale et al., 2001, 2002; Kale and
Singh, 2007), and the use of specialized tools and procedures that augment the alliance
management process (Draulans et al., 2003; Heimeriks and Duysters, 2007). Various
studies have found that the presence of these components of alliance capability improves
the firm’s ability to manage its alliances (e.g. Heimeriks and Duysters, 2007; Heimeriks
et al., 2007; Hoffmann, 2005; Kale et al., 2002).

In addition to such performance effects, alliance capability produces a number
of benefits for a firm. These include facilitating knowledge transfer, execution of
alliance strategy, signaling a firm’s commitment to alliance strategy, promoting the
development of new best practices and helping ensure the successful execution of the
alliance operation (de Man et al., 2010). Because such benefits are firm-level effects, high
levels of alliance capability have been found to also improve performance across the
entire alliance portfolio (Schilke and Goerzen, 2010). In keeping with previous literature
we propose a similar relationship as a foundation for studying subsequent mediational
relationships discussed as follows:

H1. A firm’s alliance capability relates positively to its alliance portfolio
performance.

Alliance supportive culture
An organization’s culture reflects its “values, beliefs and behavior patterns” (Ortega-Parra
and Sastre-Castillo, 2013, p. 1072), or what some have loosely referred to as “How we do
things” (Zaheer et al., 2003, p. 185). The study of organizational culture emerged from
an anthropological tradition, with early studies noting that firms are characterized by
common, observable elements such as vocabulary, myths and stories (Deal and Kennedy,
1982; Pettigrew, 1979) as well as unique tendencies and practices that positioned them to
best deal with their market environments (Peters and Waterman, 1982; Schein, 1985).
Cultures emerge through a number of specific influences, such as founders’ values
(Murphy et al., 2013; Schein, 1984), but more importantly through the shared accumulated
experiences of all members (Hatch, 1993; Hatch and Schultz, 2002; Jelinek et al., 1983;
Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006). While scholars have proposed that organizations have
subcultures (Jermier et al., 1991; Martin, 1992), such as professional, administrative and
customer interface subcultures (e.g. Bloor and Dawson, 1994; Hofstede, 1998), most have
tended to focus on culture as an organization-level construct (Cameron and Quinn, 2011).

Various general studies have found that organizational cultures enable firms to
achieve their objectives (Chatman et al., 2014; Givens, 2012). In addition, many of these

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studies show how organizational culture significantly affects the types of behaviors
called upon in alliances. For example, organizational culture influences individual-level
behaviors such as commitment (Ortega-Parra and Sastre-Castillo, 2013),
cooperativeness (Murphy et al., 2013), relationship skills (Beugelsdijk et al., 2006) and
leadership (Amagoh, 2009) that are instrumental in the collaborative interactions
required in alliances. Furthermore, scholars find that organizational culture has a
significant effect on areas such as learning (Danish et al., 2014; Kao et al., 2011), conflict
management (Di Pietro and Di Virgilio, 2013), innovation (Naranjo-Valencia et al., 2011)
and change (Adil, 2014), all of which can occur at the firm level in alliances.

Alliance-specific studies have found that a firm’s cultural orientation can affect its ability
to collaborate with other firms (Mohr and Spekman, 1994; Spekman et al., 2000). Alliance
managers must interpret their partners’ actions rather than simply take them at face value;
as a result, cultural sensitivity is a critical ingredient for alliance success (Das and Kumar,
2010a, b). For instance, members of a firm who are inclined to act opportunistically are
likely to be predisposed to make false assumptions about the contribution and value of
the partner (Das, 2006), despite the fact that the firm possesses structure and processes that
would facilitate coordination (Gulati et al., 2012). In such cases the alliance will be strained
by lack of trust and relational conflict (Barney and Hansen, 1994).

We propose that the proliferation of capability within the firm promotes culture
development in a number of ways. The use of formal processes and tools contributes to
firm members’ awareness that appropriate behaviors are necessary to benefit from
them. Alliance capability also fosters the emergence of values that occur as part of firm
members’ interpretative processes (Flores et al., 2012). As firm members repeatedly
encounter and utilize the tools and processes that are a part of a firm’s capability they
are more likely to understand the importance of those behaviors (Bloor and Dawson,
1994; Lægreid et al., 2011). Finally, the presence of formalized capability provides
implicit and explicit senior management endorsement of its importance, which fosters
the development of underlying assumptions across the firm. When leaders visibly
support alliance projects (Jassawalla and Sashittal, 1999) and alliance learning
mechanisms (Sluyts et al., 2011) they signal that alliances are important for the firm.
Culture is strongly influenced by organizational leaders’ modeled behaviors (Bloor and
Dawson, 1994; Santos et al., 2012), so leaders’ implicit endorsement of capabilities
conveys the need to adopt commensurate values.

Scholars have suggested that firms can be categorized in terms of a single culture
(e.g. Leisen et al., 2002; Sambasivan and Yen, 2010; Sluyts et al., 2011). Because culture is
embedded and transmitted through processes and tools (Daymon, 2000), the presence of
an alliance capability also affects the development of an alliance supportive organization
culture. An alliance supportive culture contains the visible symbols, values and
underlying assumptions (Schein, 2010) that support a company’s ability to effectively
manage its alliances with other organizations (de Man and Luvison, 2014). For instance,
members of a firm that have participated in different types of alliances may become more
appreciative and tolerant of the fact that partners’ reasons for entering the alliance will
differ. Rather than single mindedly and aggressively negotiating to meet its own
objectives, the firm is more likely to prioritize the importance of the partners’ objectives
(Luvison et al., 2011). As a result, we propose that as firms develop their alliance capability
they will also develop cultural values and assumptions that are more supportive of
collaboration across its portfolio.

Alliance departments are a case in point (Kale and Singh, 2007). If company leaders
support the creation of such a department that is a clear signal to the organization

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that alliances will be an important part of the company strategy (Atkins, 2007;
Sims et al., 2001). This should stimulate the adoption of related values and affect the
underlying assumptions of the organization. For example, people will begin to assume
that partnering is a better way to gain competitive advantage than going it alone. The
day to day use of other tools like alliance evaluation techniques or alliance databases
will, over time, shape alliance culture in a similar way by highlighting behaviors and
ideas that are productive in an alliance:

H2. Better firm alliance capabilities promote the development of an alliance
supportive firm culture.

A firm’s cultural sensitivity to a partner is a critical ingredient for alliance success
(Das and Kumar, 2010a, b). However, some types of culture are more likely to affect
alliance performance than others (Leisen et al., 2002; Sambasivan and Yen, 2010),
suggesting the need for a cultural model that better reflects an alliance supportive
orientation (Sluyts et al., 2011; Spekman et al., 2000). Scholars have found that
organizations with a culture that embodies characteristics such as open and consistent
internal communication about alliances, mutual respect and trustworthiness are more
likely to enjoy alliance success (Barney and Hansen, 1994; Casey, 1996; Clegg et al., 2002;
de Man and Luvison, 2014; Martínez-Sánchez et al., 2009; Sambasivan and Yen, 2010).
Following this we propose these to be core elements of an alliance supportive culture.

Such characteristics are essential for success in individual alliances, and they emerge
through the sense-making activities occurring inside and between alliances (Das and
Kumar, 2010b; de Man and Luvison, 2014; Vlaar et al., 2006). When qualities such as open
internal communication about alliances, mutual respect and trustworthiness are part of a
firm’s organizational culture, its members are less likely to impulsively judge a
partner’s actions and misinterpret its motives, thereby improving relational quality
(Bouncken, 2011). Given the variety of partners in a firm’s alliance portfolio, the more
broadly these qualities occur across an organization the more likely its members will be
to apply them universally to its alliances. Consequently, we hypothesize that
organizations with a high level of alliance supportive culture will have greater success
across the alliance portfolio than those with less supportive cultures:

H3. A firm’s alliance supportive culture relates positively to its alliance portfolio
performance.

Given that alliance failure rates remain high (Gulati et al., 2012) one must infer that mere
awareness or exposure to capability elements is not sufficient to ensure portfolio
performance. Alliance capability has traditionally been operationalized in terms of the
presence of an alliance management function (e.g. Kale et al., 2002) or the use of specialized
tools and processes (e.g. Heimeriks et al., 2007). In theory it should be relatively
straightforward for a firm to copy these practices to develop an effective level of alliance
capability. The high incidence of strategic alliance activity across a range of industries
suggests that most firms are exposed to these best practices; such awareness would be
further facilitated by practice sharing across the interlocking network of multiple firms’
alliances. Moreover, such knowledge exchange can be facilitated through the actions of
industry consultants and professional associations (e.g. the Association of Strategic
Alliance Professionals (ASAP), Licensing Executives Society). In light of this, one would
expect failure rates to be lower.

One potential explanation for this is that the relationship between capability and
performance, especially at the portfolio level, is more complex than has previously been

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postulated. We suggest that the beneficial effects of alliance capabilities will be diluted
at the portfolio level if an alliance supportive culture is absent. Alliance capability
may actually impede the overall organization’s ability to partner effectively because
the alliance management function carries the burden of partnering on behalf of the
organization (Sarkar et al., 2009). In doing so the rest of the firm’s members are absolved
from having to act in an alliance supportive manner.

On the other hand, the presence of a widespread alliance supportive culture in firms
should help its members better manage large numbers of alliances. To achieve this,
the know-how represented by alliance capability would need to be interpreted across
the organization into cultural values in order to result in portfolio-level performance.
Consequently, we hypothesize that alliance supportive organizational culture mediates
the relationship between alliance capability and portfolio performance:

H4. An alliance supportive culture mediates the relationship between alliance
capability and portfolio performance.

3. Methodology
3.1 Sample
Alliance managers are typically responsible for overseeing and coordinating their
firm’s strategic alliances. Because they provide an informed perspective on the
operations and performance of these relationships they have been used as a source in
previous studies that assess alliance performance (Heimeriks et al., 2007; Heimeriks and
Duysters, 2007) as well as characteristics associated with alliances (Arino, 2003;
Johnson et al., 2002). The sample for this study consists of alliance managers who are
members of ASAP. This group, which is made up of global alliance managers and
executives representing a variety of industries, was established in 1998.

We employed a two-stage survey methodology. For the first stage, we asked alliance
managers to complete a questionnaire regarding their firm’s alliance capability, culture
and demographic information. We sent e-mails to the 5,932 valid e-mail addresses in the
ASAP database and received a total of 272 responses (4.6 percent response rate).
To evaluate non-response biases we compared the industries of the respondents in our
sample with those found in the ASAP member database (Capron, 1999; Dillman et al.,
1974), finding no differences (χ2 ¼ 7.865, df ¼ 8, p ¼ 0.45). For the second stage of the
survey, we sent e-mails requesting information about the performance of their alliance
portfolios to the 272 managers who had responded in the first stage. A total of 190 of
the 272 completed the second survey (69.9 percent of the respondents to the first
survey). These 190 responses constituted the sample used for this study.

Respondents completing both stages of the survey came from a cross-section
of industries, with service industries (information technology, financial and other,
29.5 percent), high technology (25.3 percent) and pharma/biotech (23.8 percent) being
the most-represented industries. Managers representing larger firms made up the
larger part of the sample with 60.1 percent coming from organizations having
more than 1,000 employees and 41.1 percent from organizations larger than
10,000 employees. Roughly half the firms had revenues greater than $1.0 billion,
and 13.7 percent had revenues exceeding $50.0 billion. We measured portfolio size by
the number of alliances that were currently operational in these firms. Approximately
one-third of the respondent firms currently had five or fewer alliances, 27.4 percent had
six to 15 alliances, 9.5 percent had 16-25 alliances, 6.8 percent had 26-40 alliances and
22.6 percent had 40 or more alliances.

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3.2 Measures
Dependent variable. Various scholars have noted the difficulty in using objective

measures

of alliance performance such as revenue and profitability. Because they are internal
projects, objective measures are generally not directly available (Krishnan et al., 2006).
Moreover, financial measures are not always appropriate to assess the success of strategic
objectives such as co-development and research milestones (Geringer and Hebert, 1991) or
longevity (Krishnan et al., 2006). For this reason there has been a precedent in the literature
to use qualitative performance measures (Kale and Singh, 2007), and these measures
are highly correlated with objective success measures when those have been available
(Geringer and Hebert, 1991). Moreover, they capture both process and outcome
performance (Arino, 2003).

Numerous scholars have used this qualitative approach to evaluate alliance portfolio
performance (e.g. Kale and Singh, 2007; Neyens and Faems, 2013; Sarkar et al., 2009;
Schilke and Goerzen, 2010). Because both capability and organizational culture are
conceptualized at the firm level of analysis, we use alliance portfolio performance as our
dependent variable in order to determine whether heterogeneity in performance
outcomes is attributable to firm-level mechanisms (Heimeriks et al., 2007).

We sent respondents to the initial survey a second survey capturing performance
information one month after they submitted their survey collecting responses on capability
and culture. The resurvey contained a five-item scale from Kale and Singh (2007) that was
rewritten to ask respondents about overall portfolio performance (e.g. “Over the past five
years, our alliances were characterized by a strong and harmonious relationship between
us and our alliance partners”, “Over the past five years, our company’s competitive
position has been greatly enhanced due to our alliances”). We asked respondents to reply to
each question using a Likert scale (1¼ strongly disagree, 2 ¼ disagree, 3 ¼ neither agree
nor disagree, 4¼ agree, 5¼ strongly agree). The five-item performance measure, which
was both temporally separated from the initial survey and a methodologically different
measure (i.e. it was not asked in the initial survey) was aggregated and used as our
measure of portfolio success (α ¼ 0.78). The use of temporal and methodological separation
of measurement aims to control for common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003) and has
been used in previous alliance studies (Schreiner et al., 2009).

Independent variables. We assessed alliance capability using a total of five items
indicating the presence of an alliance management function and 14 items reflecting
procedures. Previous studies used these items to assess the presence of alliance capability
(Heimeriks et al., 2009; Heimeriks and Duysters, 2007). However, those studies measured
the presence of capability rather than the extent to which capability elements were
utilized within the firm. Since capability is only useful when it is applied (Cohen and
Levinthal, 1990), if a firm is not consistently utilizing alliance managers and alliance
management processes across its entire portfolio there is the potential for uneven
performance. In such cases it would not be clear whether performance shortfalls were due
to the ineffectiveness of the firm’s capability elements or the evenness by which they
were applied. Therefore, respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which their
organization utilized each element using the following scale: 1 ¼ not used, 2 ¼ rarely,
3 ¼ sometimes, 4 ¼ frequently, 5 ¼ continuously. The responses were aggregated into a
single measure (α ¼ 0.73). The capability scale items are shown in Appendix 1.

The measure for alliance supportive culture was developed using standard scale
development procedures (Churchill, 1979). Following a literature review identifying
the various dimensions that constitute alliance supportive culture mentioned above,

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we conducted interviews with nine executives whose firms pursued an active alliance
strategy. We analyzed the transcripts of the interviews to substantiate the use of elements
mentioned in the literature. We subsequently adapted questions from a number of sources
(Cannon et al., 2000; Kaufmann and Stern, 1988; Lopez et al., 2004; Sanz-Valle et al., 2011;
Sarkar et al., 2009) and where appropriate modified them to offer greater clarity and
consistency across measures. When we did not find potential dimensions in the literature
we developed questions, accepting them only when there was total agreement on meaning,
wording and relevance. Subsequently we tested the questions for face validity and clarity
using a pilot group of six alliance managers. The resulting scale corresponded to our
three-dimension definition of organizational culture related to cultural artifacts
(e.g. communication prominence and frequency), values (e.g. responsiveness) and
underlying beliefs (e.g. mutuality and trustworthiness) (Schein, 1990).

We performed confirmatory factor analysis to assess model fit and psychometric
properties of this scale. The results indicated a second-order factor model displaying
good overall fit (χ2/df ¼ 2.7, CFI ¼ 0.96, IFI ¼ 0.96, RMSEA ¼ 0.08) based on guidelines
for stability and robustness used in similar studies (e.g. Schreiner et al., 2009) as
well as accuracy and consistency to assess different models (Heide, 1994; Heide and
John, 1990). In order to serve as the dependent variable for H2 we aggregated the eight
items into a single scale (α ¼ 0.77). All items exceeded the recommended minimum item
loadings of 0.40 (Ford et al., 1986), and reliabilities met the recommended minimum of
0.70 (Nunnally, 1978), indicating item and scale reliability. Convergent validity was
indicated by significant factor loadings (po0.001) for all first- and second-order
factors. Average variance extracted exceeded the recommended threshold of
0.50 (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) for alliance language (0.58) and alliance values
(0.56); alliance assumptions fell slightly below that level with an AVE of 0.43.
The culture scale items are shown in the Appendix 2.

Control variables. We created indicator variables for three measures captured in the
survey: industry, number of employees and organizational revenue following Heimeriks
and Duysters (2007). Annual worldwide sales and total employees, both represented by a
categorical variable, were used to control for firm size.

Method of analysis. We used multiple regression to evaluate relationships between
alliance capability and alliance portfolio performance; alliance capability and alliance
supportive culture and alliance supportive culture and portfolio performance. We tested
mediation using a four-step series of regressions to measure whether the influence of
alliance capability is transmitted through alliance supportive culture to affect portfolio
performance (Alwin and Hauser, 1975; Baron and Kenny, 1986).

4. Results
Table I shows the descriptive statistics.

Table II summarizes the results of the analyses. In Model I performance is regressed on
the control variables. None of these variables were significant, indicating that they had no
effect on portfolio performance. Model II shows the regression of performance on alliance
capability. The model’s R2 value increased to 0.21 (F ¼ 1.91, df¼ 23,166, po0.05) and the
effect of alliance capability on portfolio performance was significant (β¼ 0.36, po0.001),
indicating support for H1. In Model III alliance supportive culture was regressed on
alliance capability. Alliance capability had a highly significant effect on culture (β¼ 0.41,
po0.001), with this model explaining 30 percent of the variance in alliance supportive
culture (F ¼ 3.07, df ¼ 23,166, po0.001). Consequently, H2 is supported.

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In Model IV we regressed portfolio performance on alliance supportive culture.
This showed a highly significant effect on performance (β ¼ 0.58, po0.001), and alliance
supportive culture accounted for 39 percent of the overall variance in portfolio
performance (F ¼ 4.56, df¼ 23,166, po0.001). Therefore H3 is supported. In Model V we
tested the mediation hypothesis. Alliance supportive culture continued to have a highly
significant effect on portfolio performance (β ¼ 0.52, po0.001), but alliance capability
dropped to marginal significance (β ¼ 0.15, po0.10). This shows that alliance supportive
culture partially mediates the relationship of alliance capability to portfolio performance,
accounting for 40 percent of the variance in performance (F ¼ 4.59, df ¼ 24,165,
po0.001). As a result, H4 is supported. Figure 1 shows the final model.

5. Discussion
In this paper we have explored the effects of alliance capability and organizational
culture on alliance portfolio performance. There has been a compelling amount of
evidence that presence of an alliance management function and use of appropriate
processes lead to alliance success (e.g. Draulans et al., 2003; Heimeriks and Duysters, 2007;

Mean SD 1 2 3

1 Performance 3.62 0.63 1.00
2 Alliance capability 3.21 0.74 0.22** 1.00
3 Alliance supportive culture 3.68 0.62 0.56*** 0.32*** 1.00
4 No. of alliancesa 3.58 1.52
5 No. of employeesb 5.61 2.51
6 Sales volumec 5.41 2.39
Notes: aMean and SD for no. of alliances based on following scale; 1 ¼ 0, 2 ¼ 1-5, 3 ¼ 6-15, 4 ¼ 16-25,
5 ¼ 26-40, 6 ¼ 40+; bmean and SD for no. of employees based on following scale; 1 ¼ o10,
2 ¼ 10-o50, 3 ¼ 50-o250, 4 ¼ 250-o500, 5 ¼ 500-o1,000, 6 ¼ 1,000-o5,000, 7 ¼ 5,000-o10,000,
8 ¼ 10,000+; cmean and SD for sales volume based on the following scale; 1 ¼ o$1m, 2 ¼ $1-$2m,
3 ¼ $2-$10m, 4 ¼ $10-$50m, 5 ¼ $50-$100m, 6 ¼ $100-$1b, 7 ¼ $1b-$50b, 8 ¼ $50b+; *po0.05 level
(two-tailed); **po0.01 level (two-tailed); ***po0.001 level (two-tailed)

Table I.
Descriptive statistics

Model I Model II Model IIIa Model IV Model V

Controls
No. of employees 0.00 (0.26) 0.06 (0.24) −0.01 (0.23) 0.04 (0.21) 0.06 (0.21)
Revenue −0.02 (0.29) 0.03 (0.27) 0.15 (0.25) −0.07 (0.24) −0.05 (0.24)
Industry −0.03 (0.24) −0.03 (0.22) −0.07 (0.21) 0.01 (0.20) 0.01 (0.20)
Alliance capability 0.36 (0.07)*** 0.41 (0.06)*** 0.15 (0.07)b

Alliance supportive 0.58 (0.07)*** 0.52 (0.07)***

Culture

R2 0.12 0.21 0.30 0.39 0.40
F 1.00 1.91 3.07 4.56 4.59

df ¼ 22.167 df ¼ 23,166 df ¼ 23,166 df ¼ 23,166 df ¼ 24,165
ns po0.05 po0.001 po0.001 po0.001

Notes: Values for variables are standardized. SE is shown in parentheses; aAlliance supportive culture
is DV. DV for remaining models is performance; bp-value is marginally significant at 0.06. *po0.05;
**po0.01; ***po0.001

Table II.
Results of analyses

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Hoffmann, 2005); our findings here offer further support for that. However, the link
between capability and portfolio performance also appears to be influenced by
the culture of the organization, such that an alliance supportive culture mediates that
relationship. Capabilities provide a means to stimulate the interpretative reflection that
can lead to the development of commensurate cultural values, assumptions and visible
artifacts. Our analysis suggests that the development of such values, what we have
termed an alliance supportive culture, is instrumental for alliance portfolio success.
In essence, capabilities need to be translated into an alliance supportive culture in order
for them to be effective at the portfolio level.

The finding of the mediation effect of alliance supportive culture is the first contribution
to the literature. While an alliance manager may effectively manage an individual alliance ,
one individual will have difficulty handling larger numbers of relationships. The literature
suggests that large organizations, which are most likely to have extensive alliance
portfolios, do not scale up their alliance management functions in a one-for-one ratio
(e.g. Klee, 2004). Therefore, it is incumbent on a broad base of members across the
organization to learn from the lessons of preceding alliances, as captured by the firm’s
alliance tools and processes, and to subsequently develop values that allow them to apply
those lessons appropriately to all the alliances in the portfolio. The finding that the effect of
capabilities is transferred through culture provides an insight into that process.

The partial mediation effect found here indicates that both capability and culture have
an influence on performance. We suggest that the direct effect of alliance capability on
performance shows the clear value of structural elements such as an alliance
management function and procedural elements such as best practices. By designating
individuals with specific responsibility for overseeing alliances and outlining specific
procedures for those participating in them to follow, a high level of alliance capability
ensures that formal elements are in place to guide interaction. Without these facilitating
mechanisms there is reduced likelihood that alliances will operate smoothly.

However, the presence of a mediation effect suggests that individuals in the firm
also need to have a culture that induces them to apply these mechanisms in an effective
manner, suggesting an important boundary condition for alliance capability. As the
size of the firm’s portfolio increases, the number of stakeholders involved becomes
larger and more diverse. Placing too much responsibility on alliance managers can
increase both coordination costs and the potential for conflict as their ability to oversee
all the intricate interworkings of the alliance across a broad portfolio becomes
overstretched (Sarkar et al., 2009). Moreover, without a commitment to mutuality and
trustworthiness found in an alliance supportive culture, there is a stronger likelihood
that stakeholders would ignore or change previously agreed-upon routines, and in so
doing subvert formally established practices to achieve their own ends (e.g. Arino and
de la Torre, 1998; Huxham and Vangen, 2000).

Alliance
Capability

Alliance
Supportive

Culture

Alliance
Portfolio

Performance

� = 0.41*** (0.06) � = 0.52*** (0.07)

� = 0.15 (0.07) after� = 0.36*** (0.07) before mediation

Note: *p< 0.05; **p< 0.01; ***p< 0.001

Figure 1.
Capability-
supportive culture
model

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A second contribution regards the interrelationship between alliance capability and
the type of organizational culture. While previous studies discuss the importance of
culture in alliances (e.g. Fedor and Werther, 1995), they tend to focus on the direct
relationship of organizational culture to performance (Leisen et al., 2002; Sambasivan
and Yen, 2010; Sanz-Valle et al., 2011). However, in this paper we suggest that a firm’s
alliance capability contributes to the experiential learning processes that shape
the artifacts, values and assumptions of its culture. Cultural development occurs
as individuals in the firm adapt their behaviors to meet the requirements of the
environment, ultimately solidifying normative values that are held by its members
(Schein, 2010). Because stabilizing routines help shape the culture of an organization
(Beugelsdijk et al., 2006), the consistent routines represented by alliance capability
encourage the development of values and assumptions across the firm that promote
effective alliance behaviors.

5.1 Research implications
There are a number of research implications that stem from this study. The first concerns
the effect of capability and culture on alliance dynamics (Kumar and Nti, 1998). As firms
interact in alliances their members learn about one another and subsequently develop
trust (Inkpen and Currall, 2004; Parkhe, 1998), which ultimately promotes the alignment
of the partners’ interests and development of an effective system of governance
(Ness, 2009). We would propose that the level of alliance supportive culture of the
respective firms influences this relational development process. Members of firms having
a high level of alliance supportive culture should be more adept at setting the conditions
for productive relational norms earlier in the alliance lifecycle, thereby influencing the
time to performance across the entire portfolio. By the same token, we might expect
individuals at firms with a low level of supportive culture to take longer to navigate this
process. It would therefore be worthwhile to study the potential interaction between
alliance capability and alliance supportive culture and how that influences the processes
that constitute alliance dynamics.

Additional research implications stem from a limitation of this study. Although a
firm’s interpretive processes are stimulated by the routines it employs (Flores et al., 2012),
we are unable to conclude at what stage alliance capability produces an “effective” level
of alliance supportive culture because this study was conducted as a cross-sectional
analysis. Consequently, there is an opportunity for longitudinal study of this relationship
to investigate a number of interesting phenomena. An immediate question is how much
time is necessary to produce a significant change in the supportiveness of the culture.
This may also be related to the age of alliances in the portfolio. A long running
alliance may affect the alliance culture in a deeper way than a short running alliance.
The alliance culture of companies with a fast changing alliance portfolio may therefore
have developed differently than the alliance culture of companies with a few, long
running alliances. Alliance age may affect both the depth of cultural change and the type
of culture that develops. Future studies should more directly investigate the temporal
effects of capability on culture development and portfolio performance by considering
the levels of capability and alliance supportive culture in relation to average age of
alliances in the portfolio over time.

A related question is whether the “starting” level of capability influences the
capability-supportive culture relationship. Studies of alliance experience have noted that
the ability to learn from alliances diminishes after a firm has engaged in a certain number
of alliances (Draulans et al., 2003; Rothaermel and Deeds, 2006). Scholars might ask

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whether the same effects occur between capability and culture development. Perhaps
firms with lower levels of alliance capability will be more strongly influenced initially,
so greater changes in culture will occur sooner. Conversely, the culture altering effects
produced by capability may act as a threshold function, requiring the build-up of
prolonged and pervasive use of capability processes to register significant effects on the
level of supportive culture.

There are other limitations to this study that can be addressed in future research.
We used a number of measures to eliminate the possibility of common method bias, but
nevertheless wherever possible future studies may utilize objective measures of
performance. Also, the finding that alliance capability influences the development of a
supportive culture does not rule out the possibility that under some conditions a firm’s
culture will determine the development of its alliance capability. For example, scholars
have found that the culture of some firms caused them to eschew formal alliance
management but still be successful (e.g. Bamford et al., 2003). While there is empirical
evidence to argue for the sequencing we put forth in this paper (e.g. Kale and Singh,
2007; Luvison et al., 2011), it would be appropriate to test the alternate hypothesis.
Finally, our respondents represented three primary industries (information technology,
biotech and service organizations), suggesting that the findings may not adequately
reflect cultural values of the larger population. Moreover, invitations to participate
in the study were directed to members of ASAP. Although this organization has been
used for various other studies of alliance capability (e.g. Arino, 2003; de Man, 2005;
Duysters et al., 2012; Heimeriks et al., 2012), we recognize that its use here may suggest
a restriction of range limitation since its members are more likely to have greater
awareness of and proficiency with alliance best practices and alliance-conducive
values. Future studies should therefore ensure that the mix of respondents more
accurately reflects the industry distribution of the broader firm population as well as a
cross-section of alliance proficiency.

5.2 Managerial implications
This study has three managerial implications. The first is that alliance capability, in and
of itself, is not sufficient to create sustainable alliance success. Because culture mediates
the effect of capability on performance, attention must be paid to ensuring that the values
necessary for effective alliance behaviors emerge. Even though, as was suggested above,
alliance supportive culture is influenced by alliance capability, leaders should actively
work to stimulate culture development. This will help them to accelerate the benefits
from their investment in alliance capability. Because values may be the most difficult
element of an alliance supportive culture to change, managers should start such a
cultural change process by addressing their use of communication and language related
to alliances. They can do this by framing stories and other forms of communication that
highlight both the value and importance of alliances (Casey, 1996), as well as encouraging
behaviors that conform to principles of an alliance supportive culture. Over time this
process should start to influence the organization’s values.

The second implication for practice is that, even though they can target cultural
change directly, managers should also use tools and processes to stimulate cultural
change. Because common practices, repeated over time in an organization, help build
its culture, there is a greater opportunity to affect cultural awareness through
the conscientious endorsement and reinforcement of the use of tools and processes.
If directly targeting cultural change through language, values and assumptions is not
possible, the longer route via alliance capability may be necessary. This would require

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managers to increase the visibility of alliance capability and thus indirectly shape
individuals’ attitudes toward alliances.

The final managerial implication deals with the cultivation of a supportive culture at
the organizational level. As the portfolio of alliances expands across a firm into diverse
areas, it will become increasingly likely that stakeholders who have never been
involved with alliances will be chartered with their operation. These new stakeholders
will, by definition, lack the benefit of prior experience with the collaborative concepts
that are embodied in a supportive culture. Therefore, the firm’s leaders will be advised
to train on these concepts broadly across the organization. Given the influence that an
alliance supportive culture has on alliance success, such comprehensive development
programs, while costly and time consuming, should payback in the way of better
financial returns and reduced managerial effort for the alliance portfolio.

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Appendix 1

Alliance management functions (α ¼ 0.73)
Please indicate to what extent you use these functions
Local alliance managers
Alliance department
Alliance managers
Alliance specialist
Vice president of alliances/chief alliance officer
Alliance management procedures (α ¼ 0.87)
Please indicate to what extent you use these tools
Best practices
Alliance database
Alliance metrics
Cross-alliance evaluation
Industrial evaluation
Internet
Joint business planning
Joint evaluation
Partner portal
Partner programs
Standard partner selection approach
Social media
Portfolio management
Approval processes
Notes: Scales: 1, not used; 2, rarely; 3, sometimes; 4, frequently; 5, continuously

Table AI.
Alliance capability

measures

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Firm
performance
and alliance
capability

Appendix 2

Corresponding author
Dr Dave Luvison can be contacted at: dave@luvison.com

CFA standardized
regression weights

Alliance language (CR ¼ 0.97, AVE ¼ 0.58)
In our organization alliances are frequently mentioned in internal
communications such as newsletters 0.75
Our leaders clearly support alliances in their statements 0.84
Our senior executives often speak about the importance of alliances to our
organization 0.76
Statements about alliances are prominently mentioned in our press
releases and on our web site 0.68

Alliance values (CR ¼ 0.93, AVE ¼ 0.56)
We always act in a timely manner toward our partners and their
requirements 0.67
We fully honor our commitments to our partners in a timely manner 0.82

Alliance assumptions (CR ¼ 0.76, AVE ¼ 0.43)
Our partners’ gains are our loss (R) 0.49
We structure our contracts to ensure that we obtain the majority of an
alliance’s benefits for ourselves (R)

0.79

Notes: Scales: respondents were asked to respond using a five-point Likert scale (1, strongly disagree;
2, disagree; 3, neither agree nor disagree; 4, agree; 5, strongly agree)

Table AII.
Alliance supportive
culture scales

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1600
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• Outline placeholder

A1
A2

Organizational culture and partner interaction
in the management of international joint ventures
in India

Fariborz Damanpour & Carlos Devece &
Chao C. Chen & Vijay Pothukuchi

Published online: 23 April 2010
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Abstract Different from previous research that focused on the formation phase of
partnering processes in joint ventures, this study focuses on the post-formation phase
and argues that partner interaction processes of communication, cooperation, and
conflict resolution play a key role in the implementation and management of joint
ventures. We examine how organizational culture differences (OCD) and integration
acculturation strategy (IAS) affect international joint venture (IJV) performance
through the mediation of partner interaction processes. We develop hypotheses and
test them by survey data from 202 executives of IJVs in India. The results suggest
that the interaction processes fully mediate the negative effect of OCD but partially
mediate the positive effect of IAS on partners’ satisfaction with the joint venture
performance. We discuss the implication of these findings for research and practice
on post-formation management of IJVs.

Keywords Management of joint ventures . IJV performance . India . Organizational
culture difference . Integration acculturation strategy. Partner interaction processes

Asia Pac J Manag (2012) 29:453–478
DOI 10.1007/s10490-010-9204-x

F. Damanpour (*) : C. C. Chen
Department of Management and Global Business, Rutgers University, 1 Washington Park, Newark,
NJ 07102, USA
e-mail: damanpour@business.rutgers.edu

C. C. Chen
e-mail: chaochen@business.rutgers.edu

C. Devece
Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Universitat Jaume I, Campus de Riu Sec,
12080 Castellon, Spain
e-mail: devece@emp.uji.es

V. Pothukuchi
Midas Touch Infrastructure India Pvt Ltd, 401 Sarada 1, Road # 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad,
India 500 034
e-mail: vpothukuchi@yahoo.com

Interfirm cooperative arrangements such as strategic alliances, partnerships, and
international joint ventures (IJVs) have grown exponentially since the 1980s
and are now increasingly common (Beamish & Lupton, 2009; Das & Teng,
1998; Julian & O’Cass, 2004; Park, 2010). IJVs have been especially relevant in
emerging economies, contributing up to 60% of foreign direct investment (FDI) in
the last decade. In the case of India, IJVs have been an important part of the
business landscape since economic liberalization in the early 1990s, although a
stabilization in the growth of new joint ventures can be noted (Kale & Anand,
2006). In 2009, India ranked third in inbound FDI and is likely to remain as a top
investor destination in the coming years (UNCTAD, 2009). It is a deliberate
strategy of the Indian government to encourage IJVs between international and
Indian partners with policy instruments such as a lower capitalization limit for IJV
formation (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, 2003). In the context of FDI
serving as an engine for generating growth on the one hand and the need for
attractive markets for investment in the wake of a global economic downturn on
the other hand, it is hard to overstate the significance of IJVs for India and other
emerging economies.

The reasons for the importance of IJVs are varied. Joint ventures enable partner
firms to create economies of scale, expand into new markets, manage risk and
innovation, learn new skills and technologies, and develop new products or services
faster and more reliably that either firm alone (Beamish & Lupton, 2009;
Christiansen, 2000; Luo & Park, 2004; Sirmon & Lane, 2004). Despite these
strategic benefits, IJVs can be risky and introduce unique management challenges
during both the formation and post-formation phases of partnership processes.
Research studies, however, have focused mainly on the issues associated with the
formation phase (Brouthers & Bamossy, 2006; Schuler, 2001; Spekman, Forbes,
Isabella, & MacAvory, 1998). Because continued sharing of resources, capabilities,
and knowledge in an IJV is necessary for a mutually beneficial outcome for the
partners, more research on the issues related to the implementation and management
of joint ventures after they have been formed is needed to increase our understanding
of why IJVs succeed or fail (Beamish & Lupton, 2009; Schuler, 2001; Spekman et
al., 1998).

This study contributes by examining three research questions related to the post-
formation phase of IJVs. First, do partner interaction processes of communication,
cooperation, and conflict resolution affect performance of IJVs? Second, do these
processes mediate the relationship between organizational cultural difference and
IJV performance? Third, do they mediate the relationship between acculturation
strategy and IJV performance? By focusing on these questions, this study aims at
making three important contributions: (1) adding to scant empirical research on the
management of IJVs in the post-formation phase; (2) highlighting the performance
implications of partner interaction processes in IJVs; and (3) providing insight for
overcoming the negative impact of culture differences on IJV performance through
adopting an integration acculturation strategy and enacting organizational processes
of communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution.

Cultural differences are inherent in international cooperative arrangements and
have been widely studied for understanding of their performance. Prior studies have
primarily focused on the impact of national culture difference (NCD) on

454 F. Damanpour et al.

performance (Ariño, 2003; Geringer & Hebert, 1991; Park & Ungson, 1997; Salk &
Brannen, 2000; Tihanyi, Griffith, & Russell, 2005). Organizational cultural
difference (OCD) between parent firms may equally, if not more, influence a joint
venture’s performance (Fey & Beamish, 2001; Meschi, 1997; Pothukuchi,
Damanpour, Choi, Chen, & Park, 2002; Sirmon & Lane, 2004). Hence, while
accounting for the effect of NCD, we examine the impact of OCD on IJV
performance. Moreover, contrary to previous studies that have mainly explored
the direct effect of cultural differences on performance while ignoring
interaction processes, we posit that OCD may both directly and indirectly
affect IJV performance and examine the mediating role of partner interaction
processes.

Another neglected area in IJV research is the influence of acculturation strategy
on IJV behavior and outcome. Acculturation is the process of give-and-take and
adjustment among the partners to work out their differences and reach agreement
(Malekzadeh & Nahavandi, 1990: 56). Acculturation strategy refers to an overall
approach that IJV partners choose for the management of cultural identities and
relationships. Empirical studies of the impact of acculturation on firm performance
are few, and the conceptual models are developed mainly in the context of a post-
acquisition environment (Elsass & Veiga, 1994; Malekzadeh & Nahavandi, 1990;
Weber & Schweiger, 1992). We argue that an integration acculturation strategy (IAS)
would help culturally dissimilar partners reach congruency and achieve comple-
mentarity, thus facilitating management of the IJV and driving its success (Selmer &
De Leon, 2002).

In summary, this study’s thesis is that the success of IJVs, once formed, lies in
managing the “execution,” not “formation” issues of partner cultural interaction
(Beamish & Lupton, 2009; Brouthers & Bamossy, 2006: 203; Spekman et al., 1998).
We argue that in the post-formation phase partner interaction processes mediate the
effects of OCD and IAS on IJV performance. Consistent with past research (Gong,
Shenkar, Luo, & Nyaw, 2005; Julian & O’Cass, 2004; Luo & Park, 2004), we
employ partners’ satisfaction with the joint venture as the indicator of IJV
performance. We test our hypotheses using survey data from 202 executives of
joint ventures among Indian partners and partners from 21 other countries. The
results suggest that although partner interaction processes fully mediate the influence
of organizational culture, it only partially mediates the effect of integration
acculturation strategy on IJV performance.

Theory

Joint venture partnering processes

Beamish and Lupton (2009: 72) identified four phases of joint venture partnering
processes: “(a) assessing the strategic logic for creating the venture, (b) selecting a
partner, (c) negotiating the terms, and (d) implementation and ongoing management
of the business.” As envisioned in this study, the first three phases constitute the
formation and the fourth phase the post-formation of the IJV. Managing a
cooperative venture over time is different from forming it (Luo & Park, 2004). For

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 455

example, the economic cost perspectives, which focus primarily on governance and
optimal use of resources, are more applicable to the formation (anticipation,
valuation) than to the management (operation, advancement) of joint ventures
(Schuler, 2001; Spekman et al., 1998). Of the six management issues Beamish and
Lupton (2009) identified in their review of research on joint ventures, five are salient
at the post-formation phase, suggesting the crucial role of this phase for joint venture
success.1

In the post-formation phase, IJV success depends on overcoming barriers due to
NCD and OCD among the partners and creating organizational processes through
which the partners resolve disagreement and integrate activities (Bell, den Ouden, &
Ziggers, 2006; Malekzadeh & Nahavandi, 1990). Effective management of an IJV
after its formation depends on its “coordination capabilities” that emerge from a
process of interaction among the IJV’s members and units (Brouthers & Bamossy,
2006). That is, from the perspective of organizations as open systems, the IJV is a
“collectivity,” a social system in which partners are interdependent parts, pursue
common goals, and interact to perform their functions and tasks (Scott, 1992; Van de
Ven, Dennis, & Koenig, 1975). We focus on three social processes of communi-
cation, cooperation, and conflict resolution that are essential interaction processes for
managing the effectiveness of an IJV. These processes are interrelated; each can
influence the others, and together represent the interaction dynamics of the IJV
partners.

Communication is a social process of broadest relevance in the functioning of
any group or organization (Katz & Khan, 1978). It is particularly challenging to
IJVs because partners from different cultural backgrounds tend to have different
frames of reference, which lead to different ways of expressing and interpreting
meanings (Gudykunst, 1994). There are also different preferences in verbal versus
nonverbal communication and in style of assertiveness (Hall & Hall, 1990).
Communication is the key aspect of information sharing among partners and can
influence cooperation, trust, and agreement on the critical issues of control and
conflict resolution in IJVs (Schuler, 2001). Effective communication among partners
through sharing information, updating, and clarifying misunderstandings is therefore
essential to IJV success.

Cooperation refers to partners’ willingness to work together to solve problems
and to help each other when needed. Some scholars have argued that a joint
venture’s success depends on a balance between competition and cooperation (Das
& Teng, 1998; Luo & Park, 2004). We suggest that in routine partner interactions,
cooperation should have a more positive effect than competition. Without
cooperation, “mutual forbearance becomes less appealing to the partners” over time
(Luo & Park, 2004: 143). Indeed, in examining the impact of both competition and
cooperation on the performance of North American joint ventures with Japanese
partners, Tiessen and Linton (2000) found that cooperative behaviors were positively

1 According to Beamish and Lupton (2009: 79), the six joint venture issues are performance, knowledge
management, internationalization, cultural differences, governance and control, and valuing a joint
venture; all of which, except internationalization, are salient for the implementation and management
phase of partnering process.

456 F. Damanpour et al.

associated with partners’ satisfaction with a joint venture but competitive behaviors
were not.

Conflict is increasingly viewed as natural and inevitable in human interactions.
Previous research has studied how the amount of conflict and the types of conflict
affect group performance (e.g., Jehn, 1995; Simons & Peterson, 2000). In this study
we examine the extent to which IJV partners share a similar style of conflict
resolution, as well as the amount of conflict encountered in their interactions.
Although conflict in an IJV is a given because of cultural differences and
opportunistic behavior of the partners, continuous interaction between the partners
is pivotal to resolving conflicts, coordinating complementary business activities,
keeping the venture on track, committing to future courses of action, and enabling
the venture to adapt and grow (Bell et al., 2006; Spekman et al., 1998).

Organizational culture difference (OCD)

Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv, and Sanders (1990) distinguished between national and
organizational culture by attributing NCD to differences in fundamental under-
standings, values, and beliefs and OCD to differences in organizational practices.
Organizational practices are commonly accepted organizational routines and actions
that have evolved over time, have become institutionalized in the organization, and
are considered appropriate in managing the organization and conducting its business
(Danis & Parkhe, 2002: 426; Fang, 2010; Kostova, 1999). They are necessary for the
efficient and effective functioning of organizations.

Whereas an IJV may not succeed because of economic, commercial, or strategic
factors, most problems encountered by IJVs have been attributed to cultural
differences, namely, incompatible organizational practices and behaviors (Meschi,
1997). When the partners in a joint venture differ in these practices, the differences
may result in misunderstandings and conflicting behaviors, leading to interaction
problems among them. For instance, differing approaches to management style (e.g.,
autocratic vs. participative) make the process of decision making slow and
frustrating, resulting in less cooperation and creating more conflict (Schuler,
2001). Hence, OCDs may stand in the way of partners’ searching for and developing
more effective interaction processes.

Partners with dissimilar organizational cultures differ in their communication
methods and power structures and therefore lend themselves to differing sets of
job roles and expectations (Park & Ungson, 1997; Pothukuchi et al., 2002). These
partners tend to have problems agreeing on the joint venture’s management
systems and processes (Tiessen & Linton, 2000). Self-categorization theory
suggests that people categorize themselves into psychological groups, maintain
in-group preferences in their interactions, and communicate differently with
members of their own groups than with other groups (Salk & Brannen, 2000).
Incompatible organizational practices strain the IJV’s communication climate,
leading to differences in partners’ expectations and causing a mismatch in
interaction processes needed for the venture’s success (Das & Teng, 1998;
Hofstede et al., 1990).

Organizational culture similarity positively affects interaction processes by
conveying a sense of identity to organizational members and encouraging the

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 457

partners to adopt a more cooperative approach in dealing with conflict (Lin &
Germain, 1998; Pablo, 1994). Differences in organizational culture, on the other
hand, increase the cost of cooperation as partners need to spend greater time and
effort to work with each other (White & Lui, 2005). IJV partners from culturally
similar organizations presumably share similar problem-solving approaches and
are tolerant of each other’s approach (Lin & Germain, 1998). Conversely, partners
from culturally different organizations may hesitate to openly communicate and
exchange information when they perceive a lack of common ground for social
interaction and dissimilar organizational processes for problem solving (Lin &
Germain, 1998).

In summary, IJVs with similar culture have a higher probability of success
because OCD makes management of joint ventures more complicated (Beamish
& Lupton, 2009). Whereas cultural differences increase the potential for conflict
and the cost of cooperation among IJV partners, cultural similarity in the partners’
organizational practices facilitates communication and reduces conflict and
cooperation cost (Julian & O’Cass, 2004; Tiessen & Linton, 2000; White & Lui,
2005). OCDs inhibit organizational processes that are required for combining and
leveraging resources; hence, partners with dissimilar organizational cultures are
less likely to effectively carry out the IJV’s value-creating activities (Sirmon &
Lane, 2004).

Hypothesis 1 Organizational cultural difference negatively affects interaction
processes in international joint ventures.

Integration acculturation strategy (IAS)

Acculturation occurs when a cultural group comes into continuous up-close contact
with another cultural group over an extended period of time, resulting in changes in
either or both cultural groups (Berry, Kim, Power, Young, & Bujaki, 1989; Elsass &
Veiga, 1994). Berry and colleagues (1989) introduced four acculturation strategies:
(1) assimilation refers to a strategy in which the focal party relinquishes its own
culture and adopts the cultural values and behaviors of the other party; (2)
separation involves maintaining one’s own culture and rejecting the other group’s
culture; (3) integration refers to a bicultural strategy in which one seeks both to
maintain one’s own culture and to embrace the other party’s culture; and (4)
marginalization involves nonadherence to either one’s own or the other’s
culture. Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1988) applied “anthropological accultura-
tion” to explain “organizational acculturation” and developed a theoretical model
of acculturation for implementing mergers and acquisitions (Elsass & Veiga,
1994). Subsequent research has examined the role of acculturation in the success
or failure of mergers and acquisitions (Elsass & Veiga, 1994; Larsson & Lubatkin,
2001) and on organizational acculturation as a means for controlling employees
of foreign subsidiaries (Semler & De Leon, 1996, 2002). We extend this research
by examining how IAS affects partner interaction processes in IJVs. We have
selected to study the impact of IAS on the assumption that (1) the primary purpose
of joint ventures is to form collaborative relationships to achieve synergy and (2)

458 F. Damanpour et al.

the IAS is more suitable than the other strategies during the implementation and
management phase of the IJV partnering process.2

In the merger and acquisition context, researchers argue that, in addition to task
integration, successful mergers require social integration for resolving issues of
power, identity, and culture (Birkinshaw, Bresman, & Hakanson, 2000; Pablo,
1994). Larsson and Lubatkin (2001) found that achieving acculturation depends
mainly on the acquiring firm’s use of social (nonauthoritarian) control and
coordination efforts that emphasize cooperation, communication, and teamwork.
Because IAS involves a relatively balanced adjustment of values and practices,
Malekzadeh and Nahavandi (1990) advise that both the acquiring and the acquired
firm pursue a multicultural (bicultural) rather than a unicultural approach.
Similarly, Adler (1997) views a bicultural strategy as one of synergy, which seeks
to utilize the strengths of both cultures. While the IAS may lead to the creation of a
third, hybrid culture (Earley & Mosakowsky, 2000), the interest of this study,
consistent with the acculturation strategy literature, lies not in the cultural content,
which is captured in OCD, but in the overall attitude of partners toward each
other’s cultural differences.

In the IJV context, successful integration requires both shared understanding
of capabilities transferred from parents to the joint venture and behavioral
dynamics which underlie the interaction among the IJV partners (Elsass &
Veiga, 1994: 435). Biculturalism facilitates interaction processes because it
encourages the IJV members to understand and merge their parents’ organizational
practices into a common practice for the new venture. As such, greater
biculturalism promotes more effective communication and greater cooperation
and conflict resolution substantively and symbolically. For example, being
integration oriented, the partner is more likely to interpret information from its
own and the other partner’s organizational cultural perspective, thereby reducing
communication errors and increasing both communication frequency and commu-
nication effectiveness. Biculturalism also encourages sharing of information,
increases trust and cooperation, and reduces conflict. The consideration and
respect for each other’s culture fosters a sense of common identity and a
commitment to the collaborative relationship (Barkema, Bell, & Pennings, 1996;
Weber, Shenkar, & Raveh, 1996).

In summary, cooperative ventures are a form of hybrid organization in which
success depends on managing interdependencies through the facilitation of the
interaction processes (Luo & Park, 2004; Pablo, 1994). The adoption of an IAS
requires that the partners develop managerial values and organizational practices for

2 We assume that separation and marginalization are not viable strategies in the post-formation phase
because an IJV’s effectiveness depends more on achieving synergy than on domination of one partner.
Domination is unappealing because unlike acquisitions (Nahavandi & Malekzadeh, 1988) or parent-
subsidiary relationships (Selmer & De Leon, 1996) that are characterized by asymmetrical relationships of
power differential, in IJVs, especially those with an evenly distributed ownership, neither of the partners
can unilaterally impose its organization’s culture on the venture (Meschi, 1997). Moreover, researchers
have observed that the partners of collaborative ventures face the dual pressures of maintaining their own
cultural identity and adapting to their partners’ cultural practices (Selmer & De Leon, 2002). Overall, IJV
studies suggest that either shared or split control is preferred to dominant control for the effectiveness of
joint ventures (Beamish & Lupton, 2009).

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 459

the joint venture that combine both partners’ original cultures (Meschi, 1997: 213;
Olie, 1994). Therefore:

Hypothesis 2 Integration acculturation strategy positively affects interaction
processes in international joint ventures.

Interaction processes and IJV performance

IJV performance has been measured by a host of financial (profitability, growth,
shareholder value), survival (duration, dissolution), and perceptual effectiveness
(satisfaction with IJV) indicators (Ariño, 2003; Beamish & Lupton, 2009; Merchant
& Schendel, 2000). There is no consensus regarding the best IJV performance
measure. Geringer and Hebert (1991) found that the objective and perceptual measures
are positively correlated. The objective indicators (often financial measures) are based
primarily on the assumption that the IJV has been formed to achieve a set of strategic
goals to improve the partners’ competitive position (Mohr & Spekman, 1994). Ariño
(2003: 74) compared strategic goal fulfillment with performance satisfaction and
concluded that whereas the former captures the accomplishment of the initial goals,
the latter captures the accomplishment of both initial and emergent goals. Anderson
(1990) argued that subjective indicators are often more appropriate than objective ones
because joint venture goals vary and cannot be always measured (Beamish & Lupton,
2009). Meschi (1997) distinguished between short-term and long-term IJV perfor-
mance and argued that when significant cultural differences exist, an IJV may perform
poorly in the short term, but its long-term prospects may differ because longevity
moderates the adverse effect of the intensity of cultural differences. Accordingly, we
focus on partners’ satisfaction with the IJV on the assumption that it indicates that the
IJV will be viable over time (Lin & Germain, 1998; Mohr & Spekman, 1994).

As stated earlier, we examine partners’ interaction through interrelated processes of
communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Effective communication creates a
work climate that helps sharing of perceptions of daily activities and practices, fosters
trust in the partnership, and facilitates the search for mutually accommodating solutions
to capitalize on the synergistic effect of the joint venture (Das & Teng, 1998; Hofstede et
al., 1990; Mohr & Spekman, 1994). These processes, in turn, enhance the partners’
satisfaction and commitment to the joint venture as they learn that cooperative efforts
could lead to outcomes that exceed what each could achieve individually (Beamish &
Lupton, 2009; Griffith, Hu, & Ryans, 2000; Mohr & Spekman, 1994).

Previous research on cooperation between partners provides equally compelling
arguments. According to social exchange theory, exchange and cooperation have a
social dimension that will benefit the relationship, especially when the business is under
stress (Spekman et al., 1998). Mohr and Spekman (1994) found that whereas
cooperative processes such as joint problem solving and participation in decision
making affect the development of mutually acceptable solutions and satisfaction with
partnerships, conflict resolution techniques such as domination, confrontation, and
avoidance do not. Similarly, Lin and Germain (1998) found that while compromising
and problem solving were positively associated, forcing and legalistic strategies were
negatively associated with the IJV success. Power asymmetries, on one hand, increase

460 F. Damanpour et al.

coercive behavior and reduce the incentive for the more powerful partner to engage in
a cooperative relationship (Lin & Germain, 1998). On the other hand, for the less
powerful partner, a power imbalance causes the adoption of an approach to avoid
conflict resolution and reduces willingness to actively participate in problem solving,
thus making the relationship less satisfactory (Griffith et al., 2000; Lin & Germain,
1998). Power balance emanating from the IAS ensures a higher level of satisfaction
for both partners because it motivates them to adopt a give-and-take attitude in
resolving disagreements and aims at achieving mutually desirable outcomes for the
IJV (Lin & Germain, 1998).

Effective interaction processes induce commitment to the joint venture. Committed
partners are willing to forgo self-interests for mutual benefits, maintain membership in
the joint venture, and expend greater effort on the relationship (Griffith et al., 2000;
Weber & Schweiger, 1992; White & Lui, 2005). The interaction processes induce
coordinating actions necessary to balance short-term problems and conflicts with the
long-term achievement of common goals (Mohr & Spekman, 1994; White & Lui,
2005), leading to greater satisfaction with the partnership by reducing uncertainty
and turnover (Griffith et al., 2000; Luo & Park, 2004). Conversely, lack of partner
interaction can negatively affect a cooperative venture’s success even when the level
of strategic and cultural compatibility is satisfactory (Meschi, 1997; Olie, 1994).

In summary, we propose that the success of a joint venture relies on the intensity of
partners’ interactions. We assume that when a firm voluntarily enters into a joint venture,
it wants to jointly manage the resources and capabilities with its partner (Beamish &
Lupton, 2009). Open communication, cooperative problem solving, and mutual
adaptation are features of high-performance IJVs (Brouthers & Bamossy, 2006; Danis
& Parkhe, 2002). As time dependent as they might be, effective interaction processes
positively influence satisfaction with the joint venture because they enable the
understanding of the other partner’s values and practices, help identify solutions for
overcoming differences, and facilitate a congruent development of the joint entity in
the long term (Nahavandi & Malekzadeh, 1988; Ring & Van de Ven, 1994; Spekman
et al., 1998). Thus:

Hypothesis 3 Interaction processes positively affect satisfaction with international
joint ventures.

Methods

Sample and data

The hypotheses are tested using data from a survey of joint ventures between Indian
and foreign partners from 21 other countries.3 Excluding small joint ventures of less

3 The data for this paper were part of the original data in Pothukuchi and colleagues’ (2002) survey.
However, except for OCD, none of the major variables in this paper were used by Pothukuchi and
colleagues (2002). In addition, this study addresses a set of different research questions and tests new
hypotheses by employing a different analytical procedure.

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 461

than US$0.3 million, a total of 334 joint ventures were identified from business
publications in India from which 127 firms in 25 industries agreed to participate in
this study. To control for the influence of industry specific cultures, only IJVs for
which both parent firms belonged to the same industry were included. Foreign
partners were mostly from the United States (40), Japan (20), Germany (14), the
United Kingdom (13), and France (8); the Netherlands, Singapore, and Switzerland
each had three joint ventures, and the rest of the countries had one or two. Data were
collected through structured interviews by four graduate students, during which the
respondents filled out the questionnaires. The questionnaire was pre-tested in ten
companies. A senior executive from each IJV identified three experienced IJV
executives who had ample interaction with their foreign counterparts. The sample
includes 202 executives from the Indian partners.

Measures

The scales and items of the four theoretical variables are shown in the Appendix. All
were measured perceptually on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 =
strongly agree).

Organizational culture difference Pothukuchi and colleagues (2002) adapted the
OCD scale from Hofstede and colleagues (1990) based on the relevance to joint
ventures (see Appendix, Section I). To check the dimensionality of the scale, we
conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with Hofstede and colleagues’ (1990)
six dimensions. Two pairs of dimensions showed high correlations—“parochial vs.
professional” with “open vs. closed” (.90) and “loose vs. tight” control with
“normative vs. pragmatic” (.89); however, we used the six dimensions separately to
keep the original scale. OCDs were calculated by the absolute difference in
organizational culture indices of the partners for each dimension. To validate the
results of the six dimensions scale, we analyzed our models with a modified three-
dimensions OCD scale including “process vs. results” (α = .70), “parochial vs.
professional” (α = .70), and “open vs. closed” (α = .68). The results did not change
(details below).

Integration acculturation strategy Based on the conceptual definition of IAS (Berry
et al., 1989; Nahavandi & Malekzadeh, 1988), we developed a 3-item measure
representing the extent to which IJV executives from the focal partner took a
bicultural approach to the management of cultural differences with the executives
from the other partner (Appendix, Section II). The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale
was 0.74.

Interaction processes This variable was measured by the three dimensions of
communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Each dimension was composed
of at least four items (Appendix, Section III). To check the bias due to automatic,
careless responses, we reverse-scored certain items. The convergence of positive and
negative questions for the same dimension confirmed the internal consistency of the
responses. The Cronbach’s alphas for the communication, cooperation, and conflict
resolution dimensions were 0.70, 0.72, and 0.76, respectively.

462 F. Damanpour et al.

Satisfaction with IJV Previous operationalization of partner satisfaction have included
social commitments and entanglement of partners, preservation of socially embedded
relationships, and meeting the needs of partners over the long term (Geringer &
Hebert, 1991; Lane & Beamish, 1990; Lin & Germain, 1998; Meschi, 1997).
However, we used a 3-item scale (Appendix, Section IV), which reflects the focal
partner executives’ satisfaction with the IJV’s profitability and management practices
but excludes their satisfaction with other dimensions that have been included in our
scale for partner interaction processes. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.78.

Control variables We controlled for four variables that could potentially affect
satisfaction with an IJV and its success. We controlled for the age of the joint venture
because (1) it takes time to develop personal relations and consolidate routines and
work procedures, (2) partners in an enduring joint venture often become more
patient and comfortable in daily interactions, and (3) long-term partners are more
tolerant of short-term imbalances (Lin & Germain, 1998; Swierczek & Dhakal,
2004). Age was measured by the number of months that IJV partners had been
interacting. We controlled for the size of the joint venture because size is a key factor
in determining the structure and processes of organizations (Kimberly, 1976),
influencing their management capabilities and challenges. In IJVs, size also reflects
the investment that is at stake, affecting the extent of partners’ involvement and
control (Osland, 1994). Size was measured by sales turnover. We controlled for NCD
because national cultural similarity among partners is a key factor in the endurance
of global alliances (Lane & Beamish, 1990) and has been alleged to be an added
potential difficulty in mergers, acquisitions, and cooperative ventures (Barkema et
al., 1996; Lu, 2006). National culture difference was measured by an aggregate
index developed by Kogut and Singh (1988).4 Finally, we controlled nonsatisfaction
aspects of organizational performance reflecting financial, operational, and strategic
measures (Ariño, 2003) by a five-item scale referred to here as efficiency. It reflects
the focal partner executives’ perception of IJV performance regarding reduction in
fixed cost, volume-cost ratio, sourcing and access to capital, capital investment, and
product portfolio diversification. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.72.

Analysis

We tested the hypotheses with structural equations, employing the software EQS 6.1
to estimate the model (Bentler & Wu, 1995). We used the maximum-likelihood
method combined with the method of robust standard estimators to avoid restrictions
on the normality of the data (Satorra & Bentler, 2001). The conceptual model
consisted of two exogenous variables (OCD and IAS) and two endogenous variables
(interaction processes and satisfaction with IJV). However, in data analysis we
controlled for the possible effect of OCD on IAS because cultural difference may

4 NCD is computed by the following formula (Kogut & Singh, 1988): NCDj ¼
P4

i¼1
Iij � Iid
� �2

=Vi
n o

=4;

where Iij stands for the index for the i
th cultural dimension and jth country, Vi is the variance of the index

of the ith dimension, d indicates India, and NCDj is national cultural distance of j
th country from India.

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 463

cause acculturation conflict, adding to acculturation stress and inhibiting integration
(Elsass & Veiga, 1994; Nahavandi & Malekzadeh, 1988; Tadmor, Tetlock, & Peng,
2006; Ward & Kennedy, 2001). We introduced the four control variables as single
indicators and assumed they did not contain measurement errors. We individually
analyzed the measurement scales of the two multidimensional variables (OCD and
interaction processes) by conducting confirmatory factor analyses (Bagozzi, 1981)
before undertaking the assessment of the hypothesized model. We evaluated the
overall fit of the models to the data by several fit statistics recommended by Hair,
Anderson, Tatham, and Black (1992), and Joreskog and Sorbom (1993).

Results

Table 1 shows descriptive statistics and correlations. Figure 1 shows the
hypothesized model.

Measurement models

Organizational culture difference We carried out a second-order confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) to assess the reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity
of the OCD measurement model. We used all 18 items in six dimensions (three per
dimension). The goodness-of-fit indices suggest that the models fit the data well
(Hair et al., 1992; Kline, 1998): NNFI = .96, CFI = .96, IFI = .96, RMSEA = .026,
NC = 1.13 (Appendix, Section I). Hence, the multidimensional structure of OCD as
a second-order latent factor made up of the six dimensions identified in the theory
was confirmed.

We also carried out a first-order factor model for each dimension of OCD to
validate its unidimensionality. The reliability of each item can be examined by its
factor standardized loading onto the respective latent factor. The threshold value for
the loadings is 0.50 (Hair et al., 1992) and a loading greater than 0.70 indicates high

Table 1 Means, standard deviations, and correlations.

Mean s.d. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Organizational Culture
Difference

0.75 0.44 (.87)

2. Integration Acculturation
Strategy

3.05 0.70 −.21** (.75)

3. Interaction Processes 3.55 0.57 −.48** .45** (.89)
4. Satisfaction with IJV 3.50 0.70 −.47** .45** .64** (.78)
5. Efficiency 10.64 3.92 −.12 .14 .18* .21** (.72)
6. National Culture Difference 16.72 5.41 .05 .05 .12 .12 .11

7. Size of IJV 134.50 370.35 −.09 −.03 .03 .08 .15* .02
8. Age of IJV 119.12 142.40 −.06 .02 .03 .07 −.05 .22* .05

Reliability coefficients for the scales are in parenthesis.

* p < .05; ** p < .01 (two-tailed).

464 F. Damanpour et al.

reliability (Hulland, 1999). Only three out of 18 items had low loading (OCD3 = .47,
OCD4 = .47, OCD8 = .49); however, we kept them in the scale because their loadings
were close to the threshold value and they were included in the original scale
(Appendix, Section I). The convergent validity, examined by the composite reliability
of the construct (Werts, Linn, & Joreskog, 1974), was 0.87. Finally, we assessed the
discriminant validity by testing the correlation between pairs of dimensions (Bagozzi,
Yi, & Phillips, 1991), all of which were below the threshold value of 0.90.

Integration acculturation strategy This variable includes three items. The degrees of
freedom were equal to zero, and the measurement model was saturated; hence, we
could not evaluate its fit in an isolated way. Nevertheless, the Cronbach’s alpha was
0.74 (Table 1), composite reliability was .68, and the three standardized loadings
were higher than 0.50 (Appendix, Section II). These results coupled with the fit of
the measurement model within the global model (Figure 1) allowed us to assume the
reliability and validity of the IAS scale.

Interaction processes The measurement model was initially composed of 13 items
and three dimensions (Appendix, Section III). After conducting a second-order CFA,
the analysis of the goodness-of-fit indices and the parameters’ reliability led us to the
modification of the initial model until an acceptable fit was reached. Specifically, items
IP3, IP6, IP9, and IP11 were suppressed because of their low factor loadings. The
resulting measurement model of nine items (three for each dimension) provided an
adequate fit to the data. All the loadings were greater than 0.50 and were statistically
significant (p < .01). The correlations between dimensions were lower than 0.80, confirming the discriminant validity. Overall, CFA results adequately support that the three dimensions of communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution can be grouped in a higher-order construct capturing their common variance.

Model 1

R2 =.61

Integratio

n

Acculturation

Strategy

– .50**

.46**

Organizational
Culture

Difference

.82**

.81** .83** .83**

Interaction
Processes

R2 =.69

Satisfaction
with IJV

Control Variables

Size Age NCD

.03-.001 .10*

Efficiency

-.01

-.30*

R2 =.09

68**

. .62**

.59**

.57**

.64**

.59**

Employee vs. Job

Process vs. Results

Parochial vs. Professional

Open vs. Closed System

Loose vs. Tight Control

Normative vs. Pragmatic

C
om

m
un

ic
at

io
n

C

oo
pe

ra
ti

on

C
on

fl
ic

t
R

es
ol

ut
io

n

AS 1

A

S 2

A

S 3

.76**

.78**

.52**

.71** S 1

S 2
S 3

.61**

.91**

2 = 223.1; d.f. = 148; NNFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.92; IFI = 0.92; NC = 1.51; RMSEA = 0.053χ

*p<.05; **p<.01

Figure 1 The hypothesized model

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 465

Satisfaction with IJV We assessed the scale as a unidimensional construct of three
items. The standardized loadings were above the threshold level of 0.50, and the
composite reliability for the construct was 0.71 (Appendix, Section IV). Although
the saturation of the model prevented the use of fit indices, these results and the fit of
the global model (Figure 1) let us assume the reliability and validity of the scale.
Because the correlation between satisfaction with IJV and interaction processes was
high (r = .64, Table 1), we conducted a Harman’s one-factor test to check the
common variance of the items of both variables (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, &
Podsakoff, 2003). The exploratory factor analysis extracted two components, with
each item of IP and Satisfaction assigned to their respective factor, confirming the
discriminating power of the measurement tool and suggesting that common method
variance is not a concern.

Structural model

The relationships established in the hypotheses were jointly assessed by the
structural model (Model 1, Figure 1). In this model the three items of each OCD
dimension and those of each dimension of interaction processes were aggregated
in a single indicator to reduce the complexity of the model (Gribbons &
Hocevar, 1998). Applying the maximum-likelihood method, all the indices
indicated that the hypothesized model had adequate fit to the data (NNFI = .91;
CFI = .92, IFI = .92; NC = 1.51; RMSEA = .053). Figure 1 also contains the
parameter estimates for the main predictors, significance levels, and proportions
of explained variance (R2).

Hypothesis 1 was supported by the negative path coefficient between OCD and
interaction processes (−.50, p < .01). Also, the path coefficient between IAS and interaction processes was positive (.46, p < .01), supporting Hypothesis 2. The combination of OCD and IAS explains 61% of the variance of interaction processes, confirming these predictors’ explanatory power. Hypothesis 3 was supported by the positive path coefficient between interaction processes and satisfaction with IJV (.82, p < .01). The model explained 69% of the variance in satisfaction with IJV (Figure 1).

The path coefficient between OCD and IAS is negative (−.30, p < .05), confirming the relationships suggested by the previous conceptual models (Elsass & Veiga, 1994; Malekzadeh & Nahavandi, 1990; Nahavandi & Malekzadeh, 1988). Considering the four control variables, contrary to prior findings (Lin & Germain, 1998; Swierczek & Dhakal, 2004), NCD and IJV age did not significantly affect satisfaction with IJV. Only the path coefficient for efficiency was statistically significant (.10, p < .05). Overall, nonsignificant path coefficients for three control variables and a relatively low path coefficient for efficiency help confirm the explanatory power of our independent variables for satisfaction with IJV.

Alternative model evaluation

Model 1 is a fully mediated model predicting that OCD and IAS affect partners’
satisfaction with a joint venture through the interaction processes. Following the

466 F. Damanpour et al.

recommendations for the evaluation of causal models in management research
(Piccolo & Colquitt, 2006; Rindova, Williamson, Petkova, & Server, 2005), we
conducted additional analyses to test the validity of nonmediated and partially
mediated models. Model 2 (Figure 2) is a nonmediated model and has the same
number of paths as Model 1. It tests whether OCD and IAS have no relationship
with interaction processes. Model 3 (Figure 2) is a partially mediated model and
includes more paths than Model 1. It allows the comparison of direct and indirect
effects of OCD and IAS on satisfaction with IJV. We tested the fit of the
hypothesized and alternative models by the significance of change in both chi-square
(for nested models) and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) for the models that
are not nested (Kline, 1998).

Model 2 did not fit to the data as well as Model 1 (NNFI = .82; CFI = .84, IFI = .84),
and the chi-square for the same degrees of freedom increased from 223.1 to
298.4. Because Models 1 and 2 were not nested, the change in the chi-square
gave only a relative measure of the difference between the models. Hence, we
evaluated the difference between the AIC scores of Models 1 and 2. The AIC
score for Model 1 (−72.9) was lower than that for Model 2 (2.4), confirming that
the hypothesized model represented a better fit than the alternative

Model 2

(Kline, 1998; Rindova et al., 2005).

Model 3 fit the data well (NNFI = .91; CFI = .93, IFI = .93). The chi-square
in Model 3 decreased with respect to Model 1 (215.9 vs. 223.1), but the
difference was not significant at the 0.05 level (Δχ2 [2] = 7.2, p = 0.07). Any
improvement of Model 3 over Model 1 resided in the relationship between IAS and
satisfaction with the IJV. Whereas the direct effect of IAS on satisfaction with IJV
was significant (0.22, p < .01) in Model 3, its indirect effect through interaction processes was greater (0.44, p < .01) and was similar to the path coefficient in Model 1 (.46). The direct effect of OCD on satisfaction with IJV was not significant (p > .05) in Model 3, and its indirect effect (−0.48, p < .01) was similar to Model 1 (−.50). Therefore, because the difference between chi-squares of Model 1 and Model 3 was not significant, and the addition of two new paths made Model 3 less parsimonious than Model 1, we consider the hypothesized model better than the alternative Model 3.

As stated earlier, we conducted additional analyses to test the validity of the
hypothesized and alternative models with a 3-dimensional OCD scale that had
greater reliabilities than the original 6-dimensional scale. The results were identical
with those for the original OCD scale as the value and significance of path
coefficients and the fit of the three models did not change from those reported in
Figures 1 and 2. Overall, the analysis generally supports our hypotheses on the
mediating role of partner interaction, which we discuss below.

Discussion

Different from previous research that focused on the formation phases of
partnering process in IJVs, we examined the influence of OCD, IAS, and
interaction processes on IJV performance in the post-formation phase. We
advanced that the interaction processes of communication, cooperation, and

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 467

conflict resolution mediate the relationships between both OCD and IAS and
partners’ satisfaction with IJV. The results suggest that partner interaction
processes fully mediate the negative effect of OCD, and partially mediate the
positive effect of IAS, on satisfaction with IJV. These findings extend prior
research on cultural difference and acculturation strategy for IJVs and provide
additional insights for research and practice on management of joint ventures
after their formation.

Culture difference, partner interaction, and IJV performance

Cultural differences among partners influence interpretation and responses to
strategic and managerial issues, compounding transactional difficulties in IJVs
and affecting partners’ trust and interactions (Park & Ungson, 1997;
Pothukuchi et al., 2002). The problems resulting from ineffective management

Model 2

Model 3

Satisfaction
with IJV

Integration
Acculturation

Strategy

.28**

Organizational
Culture

Difference
-.28**

Interaction
Processes

.62**

R2 = .60

.52**

R2 = .55 R
2 = .70

Satisfaction
with IJV

Interaction
Processes

Integration
Acculturation

Strategy
Organizational
Culture
Difference

.22**

-.22

.44**

-.48**

– .31*

-.31*

Control Variables
Size Age NCD

.07-.002 .09*

Efficiency

-.008

R2 = .10

R2 = .09
Control Variables

Size Age NCD

.06-.002 .08

Efficiency

-.004

χ2 = 298.4; d.f. = 148; NNFI = 0.82; CFI = 0.84; IFI = 0.84; NC = 2.02; RMSEA = 0.074
*p<.05; **p<.01

*p<.05; **p<.01

χ2 = 215.9; d.f. = 146; NNFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.93; IFI = 0.93; NC = 1.48; RMSEA = 0.051

Figure 2 Alternative models

468 F. Damanpour et al.

of post-formation, in turn, adversely influence partners’ satisfaction with an IJV
and its success (Lin & Germain, 1998; Mohr & Spekman, 1994). Past research on
IJV performance has generally assumed that increasing organizational culture
similarity reduces performance problems (Ring & Van de Ven, 1994; Spekman et
al., 1998; Very, Lubatkin, Calori, & Veiga, 1997). We provide insight by
accounting for the mediating role of partner interaction, highlighting that the
challenge of managing an IJV after its formation does not lie in the cultural
differences per se but in how partners react to culturally different others in their
daily activities of communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Our
findings suggest that the relative high failure rate of joint ventures noted in the
literature may be due in part to difficulties arising from partner interaction
processes.

Effective management of interaction processes induces the partners to commit
to shared goals, exert effort on behalf of the joint venture, maintain membership
in it, work together to rectify problems and reduce conflict, and realize synergy
through effective integration (Griffith et al., 2000; Mohr & Spekman, 1994;
Weber & Schweiger, 1992). Although cooperative management of the IJV may
involve some risks, it can help overcome barriers of culture difference, emanate
commitment to the partnership success, and entice partners into delivering long-
term performance goals (Anderson & Weitz, 1989). Open communication and
cooperative problem-solving styles develop greater levels of trust among the
partners and lead to higher satisfaction with the IJV (Brouthers & Bamossy,
2006). Like other cooperative alliances, when one partner signals positive
expectations or favorable attitudes to the other, the other partner reciprocates
those expectations (Butler, 1983), affecting the level of satisfaction of both
partners with the IJV.

Sirmon and Lane (2004: 315) argue that OCDs have more influence on a joint
venture than NCDs because “organizational culture is more proximal and salient to
the behaviors of individuals that drive business performance in international
alliances.” That is, the influence of practices embedded in organizational culture is
more specific to interaction among the partners and IJV success than societal
values rooted in national culture. When partners interact, they observe the visible
and striking behavioral differences as opposed to unobservable latent differences
(Bandura, 1977; Black & Mendenhall, 1991). Our results provide empirical
support for this view, as they show that NCD does not significantly affect
satisfaction with IJV and the influence of OCD on IJV performance is mainly
through partner interaction processes. In addition to NCD and OCD, Sirmon and
Lane (2004) argue that professional cultural differences (PCD) among IJV
members influence their interactions. They propose that PCD (differences in the
norms, values, and beliefs related to occupation) is the most disruptive to a joint
venture’s effectiveness because it is the most relevant and salient cultural
difference that IJV employees face in achieving the venture’s primary value-
creating activity (Sirmon & Lane, 2004). Important future research can examine
the relative influence of OCD and PCD on joint venture success. Furthermore,
based on our conceptual model, future research can determine whether the impact
of PCD, like OCD, is fully mediated by partner interaction processes of
communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution.

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 469

Acculturation strategy, partner interaction, and IJV performance

This study’s findings present preliminary evidence that IAS is an effective way of
managing cultural differences among IJV partners. Partners that make concerted
efforts to both maintain their own organizational values and embrace the partner’s
organizational values are more likely to be satisfied with the joint venture. Our
findings suggest that IAS has both a direct effect on satisfaction with an IJV and an
indirect effect through partner interaction processes. Therefore, a strategy of
biculturalism may be a symbolic and/or substantive gesture that, in and of itself,
enhances satisfaction in international cooperative ventures.

The current scant acculturation research has examined parent-subsidiary relation-
ships in which host-country local employees acculturate to the organizational values
of foreign-owned parent companies (Selmer & De Leon, 1996, 2002). This literature
is mainly concerned with cultural control of parent companies and has found
evidence that local employees (Hong Kong Chinese) acculturate to some cultural
values of foreign parent companies (Swedish multinational companies). However,
prior research did not propose, nor did it find, evidence in support of the
effectiveness of a unilateral assimilation acculturation strategy. In fact, Selmer and
De Leon (2002) found that acculturation is greatest for those values that are most
important to the parent company but least for those values considered important by
the local employees. Our finding suggests the feasibility of a subsidiary adopting an
integration strategy that combines elements of both host and foreign cultures.
Nevertheless, we see research potential in integrating our cultural synergy
perspective with the cultural control perspective to examine organizational
acculturation in which cultural change occurs both ways (partners influence each
other), selectively rather than pervasively (on certain instead of all cultural values),
and synergistically (forming a common identity).

In the post-merger and post-acquisition literature, it is posited that cultural
adaptation reduces acculturation conflict and facilitates the post-merger task
integration (realization of operational synergies) and human integration (realization
of attitudes for cooperation and advancement) processes (Birkinshaw et al., 2000;
Elsass & Veiga, 1994; Nahavandi & Malekzadeh, 1988). Such studies, however, are
scarce and are mainly conceptual. When the success of the merged company requires
integration of organizational processes of the original companies, acculturation
tension and conflict may increase and disrupt the integration (Elsass & Veiga, 1994).
Whereas acculturation conflict is directly affected by cultural differences between
the two companies, organizational performance following mergers and acquisitions
is inversely related to conflict among members of the two companies (Elsass &
Veiga, 1994). Our findings, namely, the negative effect of OCD on IAS and the
positive effect of IAS on partners’ satisfaction with an IJV, support the applicability
of these arguments from the merger and acquisition literature to the joint venture
context.

According to Elsass and Viega’s (1994: 440) model of acculturative dynamics in
post-acquisition, organizational performance can be both an outcome of accultura-
tion strategy and an input to organizational processes for resolving cultural
differences and facilitating integration. Larsson and Lubatkin (2001) reviewed
determinants of acculturation in cross-national mergers and concluded that

470 F. Damanpour et al.

successful acculturation depends mainly on how the acquiring firm manages post-
acquisition integration processes. Because we relied on cross-sectional data, we
could not examine the interdependencies among cultural difference, acculturation
strategy, and IJV performance. Using longitudinal data, important future research
can generate new insights by examining the dynamic relationships among these
factors. Research on the dynamics of cooperation in IJVs, as well as in mergers and
acquisitions, will in turn provide organizational leaders with relevant, applicable
knowledge for managing joint ventures (Bell et al., 2006).

Implications for management

The practical implications of our findings augment previous recommendations for
effective management of post-mergers and post-acquisitions of companies with
different organizational cultures and processes (Buono & Bowdwitch, 1989;
Haspeslagh & Jemison, 1991; Very et al., 1997). Managers have to pay as much
attention to the implementation and management of IJVs as they often do to its
formation. They should be cognizant that an IJV’s success depends on managing
equally, if not more, the human side as well as the strategic side. For instance, it is
important for managers of an IJV to be aware that the selection of an IAS and the
adoption of effective interaction processes can mitigate the adverse effects of NCD
or OCD on joint venture performance. The IJV parent firms should be willing to take
the time to allow the joint venture to operate as a stand-alone entity and develop its
own managerial style and organizational processes (Julian & O’Cass, 2004). From
this perspective, the willingness of the partners to pursue mutually compatible
interests (partner cooperation) should take precedence over the individual partners’
competitive motives (opportunism) (Das & Teng, 1998; Luo & Park, 2004). That is,
other factors being equal, cooperation, not competition, would play the crucial role
in an IJV’s operation, change, and continuity. Although managerial capabilities and
skills needed for IJV success might change through the IJV’s life cycle, we
recommend that pursuit of an IAS aligned with open communication, cooperative
problem solving, and nondominant conflict resolution will foster producing
satisfactory outcomes over time.

In summary, this study contributes to research and practice by showing that
partner interaction processes of communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution
fully mediate the negative influence of OCD, and partially mediate the positive
effect of IAS, on partners’ satisfaction with IJV. These findings both extend prior
research on IJV formation and provide insights for future research on management
of IJVs in the post-formation phase.

Limitations

This study has several limitations that should be considered in interpreting its
findings. First, we focused on post-formation management of IJVs. Management of
an IJV is a dynamic process in which formation and post-formation phases cannot be
neatly separated. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine the interrela-
tionship between different phases of partnering process. Second, data limitation did
not allow controlling for several potential predictors of IJV performance such as type

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 471

of joint venture (e.g., R&D vs. marketing), relative investment levels, and market
competitiveness. Third, the data used in our analysis were collected from the Indian
partners of IJVs only. In the IJV context, one partner respondent as the data source is
a justifiable option and has commonly been used (Chen & Boggs, 1998; Geringer &
Hebert, 1991; Tsang, 2002). Also, Beamish and Lupton (2009) observed that much
of the research on joint ventures is biased over the concern of the foreign partner and
advised that researchers take into account the local partner’s insight. Nevertheless, a
fuller understanding of management of joint ventures after formation requires data
collected from the executives of both partners. Fourth, we used executive level data
in our analyses because cases-to-parameters ratios for the structural models were
higher than the threshold value of 5.0 (Bentler & Chou, 1987) for the executive
level, but not the IJV level data. Therefore, our findings should be confirmed by
future studies with larger samples that could analyze the mediating effect of partner
interaction processes with firm level data. Fifth, we chose the IAS on the assumption
that IJV partners face dual pressure of maintaining their own cultural identity and the
joint identity of the venture. However, it is possible that due to differences in size,
technology, and market knowledge, the power balance can be tilted to one partner.
Future research could include alternative acculturation strategies to test their
different effects (if any) on partner interaction processes and IJV performance.
Finally, our sample was limited to IJV operations in a single, emerging economy.
Although no special characteristics of the Indian partners were considered to justify
the hypotheses, generalizability of our findings would be enhanced by future
research that expands to IJVs in other emerging economies or those in developed
countries, providing extra external validity (Ahlstrom, 2010).

Conclusion

According to a recent review of research on joint venture performance (Beamish &
Lupton, 2009: 79), of the 86 publications the authors identified as “high-impact
research on managing joint ventures” only seven had focused on the impact of
culture differences on joint venture performance. None of the publications included
joint venture management issues related to acculturation strategy or partner
interaction processes. This study is thus unique in examining the mediating role of
partner interaction processes on the influence of organizational culture and
acculturation strategy on joint venture performance. The findings underline the
importance of understanding and managing partner interaction processes in
international joint ventures. For instance, we found that despite the negative
influence of culture differences on acculturation strategy, pursuing an integration
acculturation strategy both directly and indirectly through partner interaction
processes could contribute to a desirable outcome for joint ventures. The results
also suggest that greater partner interaction can alleviate the negative effect of
culture differences on IJV performance, as cultural difference might become
secondary to partner interaction processes for joint venture performance. As more
companies engage in international partnerships, they face increasing challenges of
organizational culture differences, which, according to our findings, could be
mitigated by effective communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution.

472 F. Damanpour et al.

Appendix

Table 2 Measurement model properties.

Item Dimensions and Indicators Loadingsa R2

I. Organizational Culture Difference b 0.87c

Process vs. result 0.68 0.46

OC 1 Typical employee is fast at work 0.73 0.53

OC 2 Typical employees takes initiative

0.70 0.49

OC 3 Style of dealing with each other is informal 0.47 0.22

Employee vs. job 0.82 0.67

OC 4 Decisions are centralized at top 0.47 0.22

OC 5 There is little concern for personal problems of employees 0.62 0.39

OC 6 Organization is interested only in the work of employees 0.73 0.54

Parochial vs. professional 0.84 0.70

OC 7 People’s private life is treated as their own business 0.51 0.26

OC 8 Job competence is the only criterion in hiring people 0.49 0.24

OC 9 Think (plan) 3 years ahead or more 0.69 0.47

Open vs. closed system 0.86 0.74

OC 10 Only specific kind of people fit in the organization 0.56 0.31

OC 11 Organization is closed and secretive 0.50 0.25

OC 12 New employees need more than a year to feel at home 0.65 0.42

Loose vs. tight control 0.86 0.74

OC 13 Everybody is cost-conscious 0.60 0.35

OC 14 Meeting times are kept punctually 0.59 0.35

OC 15 Employees always speak seriously of organization and job 0.53 0.28

Normative vs. pragmatic 0.78 0.61

OC 16 Employees tend to be pragmatic in matters of ethics 0.54 0.29

OC 17 Major emphasis is on meeting customer needs 0.51 0.26

OC 18 Results are more important than procedures 0.61 0.37

χ2=146.3; d.f.=129; NNFI=.96; CFI=.96; IFI=.96; RMSEA=.026; NC=1.13

II. Integration Acculturation Strategy 0.68c

AS 1 Learn and adapt to the practices followed in our partner’s organization
while continuing the practices of our organization

0.72 0.51

AS 2 Familiarize our partner’s executives with the practices in our
organization so that they can share our organizational culture

0.83 0.69

AS 3 Retain our organizational practices and also adapt partner’s
organizational practices

0.54 0.30

III. Interaction Processes 0.94c

Communication 0.93 0.87

IP 1 Partners don’t care to inform each other of changes in policies well
in advanced

0.76 0.58

IP 2 Partners have inhibitions or reservations in sharing full information
with each otherd

0.63 0.40

IP 3 Partners face problems in understanding the real meaning of
what is communicatede

– –

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 473

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Fariborz Damanpour (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is professor of management at the Department
of Management and Global Business at Rutgers University. His primary area of research is management of
innovation and change. His articles have been published in leading management and technology
management journals. He served as the chairman of the Department of Management of the Rutgers
Business School and department editor of the Technology and Innovation Management Department, IEEE
Transactions on Engineering Management. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of
Engineering and Technology Management and Journal of Management Studies, and is US representative
on the board of European Academy of Management.

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India 477

Carlos Alberto Devece (PhD, Universitat Jaume I) is assistant professor of management at the Universitat
Jaume I of Castellon (Spain). Previously, he was a consultant in an engineering firm. His current research
interests include organizational and cultural aspects of innovation and knowledge transfer. In addition, he
has made significant contributions to research projects, funded by government agencies and private
companies, covering diverse topics such as design and development of knowledge management and
competency management systems.

Chao C. Chen (PhD, SUNY at Buffalo) is professor of management and global business, Rutgers
University. He was recently elected to be the vice president of the International Association of Chinese
Management Research and is the conference program chair of the organization’s Shanghai 2010
Conference. His research interests include rewards and compensation, organizational justice, leadership,
networking, and cross-cultural management. He has published in leading management journals such as
Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly,
Journal of Applied Psychology, and Organization Science. He has recently co-edited a book published by
Cambridge University Press on Leadership and Management in China: Philosophies, Theories, and
Practices.

Vijay Pothukuchi (PhD, Rutgers University) is CEO at Midas Touch Infrastructure India Pvt Ltd. His
corporate expertise is in the areas of implementing enterprise wide projects, establishing new businesses,
spin-offs, mergers and acquisitions, and negotiating strategic investments in Real Estate, IT, and
Management Consulting with experience spanning across the US, India, and Africa, and for MNCs like
Union Carbide, Mobile, Perkin Elmers, Ernst & Young & Rockwell Semiconductors/Conexant Systems
Inc., US. He is currently heading a 4 million square foot mixed development project (residential &
commercial) in Hyderabad, India.

478 F. Damanpour et al.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

• c.10490_2010_Article_9204

Organizational culture and partner interaction in the management of international joint ventures in India
Abstract
Theory
Joint venture partnering processes
Organizational culture difference (OCD)
Integration acculturation strategy (IAS)
Interaction processes and IJV performance
Methods
Sample and data
Measures
Analysis
Results
Measurement models
Structural model
Alternative model evaluation
Discussion
Culture difference, partner interaction, and IJV performance
Acculturation strategy, partner interaction, and IJV performance
Implications for management
Limitations
Conclusion
Appendix
References

International Journal of Global Business, 7 (1), 77-94, June 2014 77

Building Global Strategic Alliances and Coalitions for Foreign Investment Opportunities

Dr. Balarabe A. Jakada

Department of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship

Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.

bajakada@yahoo.com

Abstract

Global strategic alliance and coalition is a diffuse way of effective combination of strengths of

companies aiming at entering new markets, exploring new technologies, bypassing government

entry restrictions and to learn quickly from the leading firm in the partnership, all in an effort to

exploit foreign investment opportunities. Strategic alliances are however, not easy to develop and

support. They often fail because of technical errors made by management of member firms. To

make it a success, a strong and efficient alliance agreement has to be in place to enable companies

to gain in markets that would otherwise be uneconomical. Building alliances requires considerable

time and energy from all parties involved with a detailed plan, expectations, limitations and scopes,

and the likely benefits drivable from the project. Alliances take a number of forms and go by

various labels. Alliances may be contracts, limited partnerships, general partnerships, or corporate

joint ventures, or may take less formal forms, such as a referral network. The paper is aimed at

exploring and educating prospective and allied businesses or firms the need and significance of

across border coalition, and how to go about it. It is a literature based paper and therefore, reviews

related literatures from journal articles, texts, seminar papers and some online sources for better

understanding of the concept. The paper looked into issues in building global strategic alliances

and coalitions, developing a global strategy, why the formation of alliances, issues in selecting

alliances partners, stages involved, and benefits drivable from such partnership. It further

highlights the conceivable types of strategic alliance and sighted examples of real life alliances. It

was found that global alliances had helped big firms explore new international markets and new

technological competencies. Thus the paper recommends that a firm, who really wants to have a

global touch, would have to start through alliances or coalition.

mailto:bajakada@yahoo.com

International Journal of Global Business, 7 (1), 77-94, June 2014 78

Key words: Strategic alliance, Globalization, Strategy, Coalition, Foreign Direct Investment

Introduction

Change is an ever present facet of business development. Businesses transfer ownership, for

example, and end up reformulating their entire business structures. Companies hire outside

consultants to advise restructuring during financial crises. Sometimes the fact that businesses go

global is the product of the inevitable ebb and flow of commerce. An overseas buyer may transfer

operations to the home country. The majority of an industry’s business may shift overseas, making

global expansion all the more desirable. Competition may develop in regions or countries such

that it is unwise for a company not to follow.

Companies go international for a variety of reasons but the typical goal is company growth or

expansion. When a company hires international employees or searches for new markets abroad,

an international strategy can help diversify and expand the business. Economic globalization is the

process during which businesses rapidly expand their markets to include global clients. Such

expansion is possible in part because technological breakthroughs throughout the 20th century

rendered global communication easier. Air travel and email networks mean it is possible to manage

a business from a remote location. Now businesses often have the option of going global, they

assess a range of considerations before beginning such expansion.

During the last half of the twentieth century, many barriers to international trade fell and a wave

of firms began pursuing global strategies to gain a competitive advantage. However, some

industries benefited more from globalization than do others, and some nations have a comparative

advantage over other nations in certain industries when it comes to foreign investments. According

to Hornberger (2011) there are promising trends in global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows

for developing and transition economies”. Each year more and more FDI is flowing not only from

developed into developing economies but also from one developing or transition economy to

another. UNCTAD (2009: 17) notably, since the mid-1980s, most developing countries have

become much more open to FDI, with a view to benefiting from the development contributions

which FDI (particularly high-quality FDI) can generate for host countries. In the same vein,

Todeva & Knoke (2005) highlighted the possibility of both firms and host countries reducing the

business risk of international operation, is by cooperation among firms in the form of alliances and

coalition. In other words, corporations that have aligned their business with others are seen to be

more efficient and effective on the international business scene (Todeva & Knoke, 2005).

With growth and development in sight, developing countries seek to make regulatory work for

FDI more transparent, stable, predictable, secure and thereby more attractive for foreign investors

(LJNCTAD 2003). Again this style of partnership trading should be replaced with strategic

alliances and mergers if developing countries have a chance of developing through the assistance

International Journal of Global Business, 7 (1), 77-94, June 2014 79

of the developed nations in the 21st century (Kinyeki and Mwangi, 2013). This is a critical issue

of economic development for the developing nations.

As this paper integrates three different issues that are pertinent in International Business, each of

them will be closely examined to have a better linkage on their interdependence. Objectively, this

paper seeks to explore every available opportunity in building a global strategic alliance or

coalition in exploring international business opportunities, how multinationals align, why they

align, stages involved and importantly strategize while doing business globally.

The Concept of Globalization and Foreign investment

Globalization is an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies and cultures have

become integrated. The term is used to describe the fact that the world becomes a global village

and that trade, production and finance are being conducted on a globe of scale. Economic

globalization is the process during which businesses rapidly expand their markets to include global

clients. Such expansion is possible in part because technological breakthroughs throughout the

20th century rendered global communication easier. Air travel and email networks mean it is

possible to manage a business from a remote location. Now businesses often have the option of

going global, they assess a range of considerations before beginning such expansion.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is but an investment made by a company (parent company) into a

foreign company. Making an argument for why foreign direct investment plays an extra ordinary

and growing role in global business. Graham and Spaulding (2005) says “foreign direct investment

in its classic definition, is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment

into building a factory in another country”. They further maintained that “the sea change in trade

and investment policies and regulatory environment globally in the past decade, including the

policy and tariff liberalization, easing of restrictions on foreign investment and acquisition in many

nations, and the deregulation and privatization of many industries, has probably been the most

significant catalyst for FDI’S expanded role in recent time”.

Building a Global Strategy

Today, we live in a global economy in which time taken for people to move between continents

has been significantly reduced. The business response of large business organisations has to

recognise that they now operate in a global market place and to develop appropriate strategies.

Problems associated with global business management have been identified as factors that

negatively impact the performance and productivity of multinational corporations and in turn,

adversely affect regional and national economic growth. And the new global reality that

organizations and their leaders face is a rapidly changing international context. The intercultural

dynamics of increasing globalization demand strategic cultural thinking and a global mindset that

sees beyond national borders and is open to exchanging new ideas. Leaders of all organizations

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find themselves increasingly working in a fluid environment requiring flexible thinking to adapt

quickly to new and different intercultural environments (Dean, 2006).

Organizations are facing increased global competition, economic uncertainties, and changing

markets. Technology is changing the way we conduct business and manage information.

Outsourcing of significant functions within businesses and organizations complicates the

landscape of supplier relations. Suppliers and vendor partners may be located in the same city,

region or country. But they are just as likely to be located halfway around the world, adding new

challenges to business management.

Global strategy is considered to be an act of building a unique and sustainable ways by which

organization create value, a broad formula for how business is going to compete against another

business in the global market. Global strategy leads to a wide variety of business strategies, and a

high level of adaptation to the local business environment. The challenge here is to develop one

single strategy that can be applied throughout the world at the same time maintaining the flexibility

to adapt that strategy to the local business environment when necessary (Yip, 2002). A global

strategy involves a carefully crafted single strategy for the entire network of subsidiaries and

partners, encompassing many countries simultaneously and leveraging synergies across many

countries. The global strategy assumes that the centre should standardize its operations and

products in all the different countries, unless there is a compelling reason for not doing so (Zou

and Cavusgil, 2002). It is therefore important for the centre to offer a significant coordination its

subsidiaries activities ranging from product standardization, responsiveness to local business

environment and competition in the market.

Global Strategic Alliance and Coalition

Strategic alliances developed and propagated as formalized inter-organizational relationships,

particularly among companies in international business systems. These cooperative arrangements

seek to achieve organizational objectives better through collaboration than through competition,

but alliances also generate problems at several levels of analysis (Margarita, 2009). A strategic

alliance is a term used to describe a variety of cooperative agreements between different firms,

such as shared research, formal joint ventures, or minority equity participation (Campbell & Reuer

2001). Strategic alliance can be described as a process wherein participants willingly modify their

basic business practices with a purpose to reduce duplication and waste while facilitating improved

performance (Frankle, Whipple and Frayer, 1996). In simple words, a strategic alliance is

sometimes just referred to as “partnership” that offers businesses a chance to join forces for a

mutually beneficial opportunity and sustained competitive advantage (Yi Wei, 2007).

According to Dean (2006) in an increasingly globalized environment, organizations in different

nations can expand their reach and effectiveness by building global partnerships, transnational

partnerships and international strategic alliances with other organizations. The term global alliance

encompasses all of these. Dean (2006) explained that such arrangements are especially useful

International Journal of Global Business, 7 (1), 77-94, June 2014 81

where organizations are operating in highly fluid environments of increasing informational

complexity and cultural diversity”. Relationships built on mutual respect and trust hold significant

potential benefits, including increased confidence and security, reduced transactional costs and

better information exchange and creative synergies generated by cultural diversity. In the same

vein, the modern form of strategic alliance is becoming increasingly popular and has three

distinguishing characteristics as described by Jagersma (2005); they are usually between firms in

high – industrialized nations; the focus is often on creating new products and technologies rather

than distributing existing ones; they are often only created for short term durations. Technology

exchange is a major objective for many strategic alliances. The reason for this is that technological

innovations are based on interdisciplinary advances and it is difficult for a single firm to possess

the necessary resources or capabilities to conduct its own effective R&D efforts. This is also

supported by shorter product life cycles and the need for many companies to stay competitive

through innovation (Jagersma, 2005). Similarly Kotelnikov (2010) defined it as strategic alliance

where two or more businesses join together for a set period of time. The businesses, usually, are

not in direct competition, but have similar products or services that are directed toward the same

target audience. He also mentioned that, strategic alliances enable business to gain competitive

advantage through access to a partner’s resources, including markets, technologies, capital and

people.

Literally, coalition or alliance can simply mean conjunction or fusion between two or more

different phenomenon to form a unit, in most case for strategic reasons. Hence, partners may

provide the strategic alliance with resources such as product, distribution channels, manufacturing

capability, project funding, capital equipment, knowledge, expertise or intellectual property. In

other words alliance is a cooperation or collaboration which aims for a synergy where each partner

hopes that the benefit from alliance will be greater than those from individual efforts.

While many analysts regard strategic alliances as recent phenomena, inter-organizational linkages

have existed since the origins of the firm as a production unit. Some examples include firm and

entrepreneur ties to credit institutions such as banks; to trade associations such as the early Dutch

Guilds; and to suppliers of raw materials, such as family farms, individual producers, and

craftsmen (Todeva & Knoke, 2005). Meanwhile, the concept of coalitions has undergone differing

applications and meanings within organizational theory. The earliest uses focus on conflicts within

organizations and the presence of multiple goals within the same organization (Simon and March,

1958). They further emphasize that coalitions is between firms but not within organizations.

Another significant period of coalition research centered on James Thompson (1996), where he

coined the term “Dominant coalition”. Thompson (1996) concluded there were certain constraints

on coalition building, mainly the organization’s technology and environment. Thompson theorized

that the more uncertainty in organizations due to technology and environment, the more power

bases that exist. The coalition grows as the uncertainty increases. Thompson (1996) also used the

term, “inner circle” to describe the selected few within an organization whose connections provide

them with influence. Their role in coalition building is often one of leadership, but they seldom act

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alone in achieving goals. Thompson went further to say that. “Their power is enhanced as the

coalition strives to achieve a group goal: thus, the individual and coalition feed off each other”.

Carrying Thompson’s point one step further, interdependency in an organization creates a greater

likelihood for the formation of a coalition or coalitions.

Generally, building alliance or coalition would go a long way in assisting firms (particularly those

in strong alliance) gain more business advantage in their respective dealings over other (especially,

individual organization without ally). Potential coalition members must be persuaded that forming

a coalition would be to their benefit. To do this one needs to demonstrate that your goals are similar

and compatible, that working together will enhance both group’s abilities to reach their goals, and

that the benefits of coalescing will be greater than the costs (Spranger, 2003). The third point can

be demonstrated in either of two ways: incentives can be offered to make the benefits of joining

the coalition high or sanctions can be threatened, making the costs of not joining even higher. For

example, the United States offered a variety of financial aid and political benefits to countries that

joined its coalition against Iraq in 2003; it also threatened negative repercussions for those who

failed to join, and much worse for those who sided with Saddam Hussein. Another method that

can make joining the coalition appealing is to eliminate alternatives to the coalition. Once most of

one’s allies or associates have joined a coalition, it is awkward, perhaps dangerous not to join

oneself. Although people and organizations often prefer non-action to making a risky decision. if

they find themselves choosing between getting on board a growing coalition or being left behind,

getting on board is often more attractive.

Why form Global Alliance or Coalition

Many fast-growth technology companies use strategic alliances to benefit from more-established

channels of distribution, marketing, or brand reputation of bigger, better-known players. However,

more traditional businesses tend to enter alliances for reasons such as geographic expansion, cost

reduction, manufacturing, and other supply-chain synergies (Kinyeki and Mwangi, 2013). To

further support earlier view, Jacob and Weiss (2008) also maintained that companies forms across

border alliances in order to get instant endorsement that would add to the firm’s credibility thereby

gaining more customers at a lower marketing costs. To combine partner resources to develop new

businesses or reduce investment is a vital reason why businesses form alliances. Typical examples

include new business start-ups with parents contributing specific complementary capabilities that

constitute the basis for a new business. For instance, Airbus was a joint venture between French,

German, British and Spanish manufacturers that eventually became a single company. Each

national partner has specialized in one bit of aircraft manufacturing. The French became experts

in aircraft electronics and cockpit design, the British became world leaders in wing manufacturing,

the Germans concentrated on making fuselages and the Spanish focused on aircraft tails (Burdon,

Chelliah & Bhalla, 2009). Strategic alliance designed to respond to competition and to reduce

uncertainty can also create competitive advantages. However, these advantages tend to be more

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temporary those developed through complementary (both vertical and horizontal) strategic

alliances (Belal & Akhter, 2011).

A high degree of integration of specific parent resources is required to achieve goals and it is

desirable to create loyalty to a new business distinct from the parents because their interests might

otherwise prevent the success of collaboration (Kale and Singh, 2009). Toshiba and Motorola, for

example, created a semiconductor manufacturing alliance, even though the two parents competed

in downstream product areas. Direct parent-to-parent collaboration (often including licensing or

long-term contractual agreements) is appropriate when assets or resources are best kept in separate

parent organizations. Parent interests are competitive close parent control is required, and success

cannot be measured in terms of performance measures that apply to stand-alone businesses (for

instance, the main purpose is to learn). Learning may entail improving skills through working with

a partner or gaining access to countries. Turner Broadcasting, which is part of Time Warner, had

a deal with Philips, a Dutch electronics company, where Philips got the right to name a new sports

arena that TBS built in Atlanta. But TBS’s main motive was to find out more about European

consumers and about the digital communications hardware that is Philips’s stock-in-trade (Burdon,

Chelliah & Bhalla, 2009). In the same vein Margarita (2009) emphasizes that expertise and

knowledge can range from learning to deal with government regulations, production knowledge,

or learning how to acquire resources.

To eliminate business risks is another reason why alliances are formed. During the past few years,

Renault, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler have bought stakes in Nissan, Fuji Heavy Industries

(which makes Subaru brand cars), and Mitsubishi Motors, respectively (OECD, 2002). The idea

is that a stake in a Japanese carmaker, with a network of factories and dealerships in Asia, is a less

risky way to expand into the world’s fastest-growing automotive market than a full merger.

Also changing the name of the competitive game is of course one reason why firms form global

alliance. To manage industry rivalry, Star Alliance, which includes Lufthansa and United Airlines,

had a series of loose arrangements to share codes and direct passengers to partners’ flights; then it

began to look more like a quasi-merger, with shared executive lounges and pooled maintenance

facilities (Slywotzky and Hoban, 2007).

Types of Strategic Alliances

The strategic alliances can be mostly summarized into three dimensions: joint venture, equity

strategic alliance, and non-equity strategic alliance. This section reviews the literature on how the

three dimensions of strategic alliance may contribute to partner competitiveness and success in the

global business arena.

Joint Venture

A joint venture is an agreement by two or more parties to form a single entity to undertake a certain

project. When two or more firms form a legally independent firm to share their collaborative

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capabilities and resources to achieve competitive advantages in the market is termed as joint

venture in the form of strategic alliance. Joint ventures are effecting in establishing long-term

relationship and in transferring tacit knowledge. Because it cannot be codified, tacit knowledge is

learned through experiences (Berman et al, 2002) such as those taking place when people from

partner firms work together in joint venture. Expertise and experience in particular field foster the

sustainable competitive advantage. Tacit knowledge is an important source of competitive

advantage for many firms (Tiessen and Linton, 2000).In a joint venture project generally

participating firms share resources and participate in the operations management equally. “Sprint

and Virgin group’s joint venture, called Virgin Mobile USA, targets 15-to-30 years-old as

customers for pay-as-you-go wireless phone service. In another example, Sony Pictures

Entertainment, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Inc. each have a 20 percent share in joint venture to use the internet to deliver feature films on

demand to customers. According to Belal & Akhter, (2011) Joint ventures are optimal form of

alliances and different from any firm that independently does in the competitive market with own

resources by creating competitive advantages through sharing and combining resources and

capabilities of firms, and overall evidences support this statement. The coordination of

manufacturing and marketing allows ready access to new markets, intelligent data, and reciprocal

flows of technical information (Hoskinson and Busenitz, 2002).

Equity Strategic Alliance

Ownership percentage in equity strategic alliance is often not equal. Two or more firms own the

shares of newly formed company differently according to their contribution in resources and

capability sharing with ultimate goal of developing competitive advantages (Belal & Akhter,

2011). Internationalization of strategic alliances focuses on the linkages between two or more

different firms’ management capabilities and operations activities. The different corporate cultures

are matched into one goal in the strategic alliances when it crosses the boundaries of the country.

Many foreign direct investments such as those made by Japanese and U.S. companies in China are

completed through equity strategic alliances (Harzing, 2002).

Non-equity Strategic Alliance

A non-equity strategic alliance is less formal than a joint venture. To ensure competitive

advantages of two or more companies forming an alliance on a contract basis rather a separate

company and therefore don’t take equity shares (Belal & Akhter, 2011). They share their unique

capabilities and resources to create competitive advantages. Because of this, there is an informal

relationship built among the partners. Consequently, requires less formal relationship and partner

commitments than other forms of strategic alliances. So, the implementation process of non-equity

alliance is simple than other forms of alliances (Das et al, 1998). Since it is less formal relationship

in non-equity alliances, it does not need much of experience like others. In a complex venture

where success necessitates transfer of implied knowledge and expertise, non-equity strategic

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alliances are unsuitable because of their relative informality and lower commitment (Bierly and

Kessler, 2002).

However, firms today increasingly use this type of alliance in many different forms such as

licensing agreement, distribution agreements and supply contracts (Folta and Miller, 2002). The

external factors like uncertainty regarding technology and complex economic environment

motivate commitment in relationships. Competition from the rivals encourages the greater

commitments with partners. Strategic alliances in the form of cooperative strategies are increasing

practicing by the firms because of complexity in operations and high completive pressure. To be

successful in business and survive in the long run some sort of partnership is required in this age

of globalization. To manage the uncertainty and external complexity formation of strategic alliance

is an effective strategy (Inkpen, 2001). Partnership commitments assist to take the decision for

outsourcing. Outsourcing means acquiring value-creating primary or support activity from other

firms. And outsourcing decision helps to form non-equity alliances. To achieve competitive

advantages and less formality this form of alliances are becoming popular (Delio, 1999). Magna

International Inc., a leading global supplier of technologically advanced automotive systems,

components, and modules, has formed many non-equity strategic alliances with automotive

manufacturers who have outsourced by the awards honoring the quality of its work that Magna

has received from many of its customers, including General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Honda,

DaimlerChrysler, and Toyota (Magna, 2002).

Stages of Strategic Alliance Formation

Alliances evolve during their lifetime. The process and evolution of alliances underscore the

importance of the developmental stages. Although researchers agree that alliances evolve in stages,

there is no consensus on the specific stages that alliances go through. But before any other thing,

the intended firm has to develop its global strategy and this development would involve studying

the alliance’s feasibility, objectives and rationale, focusing on the major issues and challenges and

development of resource strategies for production, technology, and people. It requires aligning

alliance objectives with the overall corporate strategy Margarita, (2009). Following Das and Teng

(1999), this paper considers four stages to include: partner selection, structuring/negotiation,

implementation and performance evaluation. Specifically, each alliance is a repetitive sequence of

the four stages, and some stages may repeatedly occur as the alliance evolves (Ring and Van de

Ven, 1994; Doz, 1998; Arino and de la Torre, 1998). For example, after an alliance is formed, the

criteria for partner selection will be reconsidered when a new partner enters into the current

alliance. The initial alliance conditions (e.g., joint scope or division of labour) may have to be

renegotiated in the event of unforeseen changes in the environment and in the relationship status.

In some alliances, performance evaluation will recur regularly over time.

Partner selection

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Forming an alliance includes a series of choices and decisions. Selecting a good partner is a critical

first step. Partnering in international strategic alliance involves a thorough analysis of one’s own

organization in terms of current and potential future resources and capabilities required for its

success. This internal analysis – combined with a clearly defined set of strategic motives – can

help determine what additional resources and capabilities (both task-related and partner-related)

are necessary to ensure a high probability of a successful alliance or coalition (Nielsen, 2008).

Other scholars advocate factors concerning cultural (both corporate and national), strategic,

organizational, and financial traits of the partners (Yan and Luo, 2001).

Partner Selection emphasizes the desirability of a match between the partners’ resource profiles,

goals, incentives and strategies (Das and Teng, 2003). Some studies propose that firms should

consider potential partners’ reputation, experience, trustworthiness, capabilities and potential

contributions to the alliance as critical selection criteria (Jiang, Li, & Gao 2008; Brouthers,

Brouthers, Wilkinson, 1995; Gulati, 1995; Dyer, 1996). According to Nielsen, (2008) international

alliance experience is accumulated from prior engagements in international strategic alliances and

therefore when selecting a partner for an international strategic alliance, prior experience with

international collaboration on the part of the focal firm may influence the relative importance of

the selection criteria. Other studies highlight the importance of resource complementarities and

learning in the partner selection process (e.g., Lane and Lubatkin, 1998; Mowery, Oxley,

Silverman, 1998).

Generally, firms have either similar or diverse resource endowments. Researchers suggest that

firms should choose a partner with similar but complementary resources and capabilities (Murray

and Kotabe, 2005). On one hand, if firms are to effectively take advantage of the resources

involved in an alliance to achieve desired objectives (say, learning a new technology), the

resources must be complementary. If all partners have the same types of resources, there will be

little knowledge to share and also few benefits to receive. On the other hand, if firms are to

effectively understand, assimilate and absorb knowledge and skills involved in an alliance, they

must have already shared some basic knowledge relevant to the resources and capabilities. If such

overlap is lacking, firms may have incomplete information in identifying which ones can make

real contributions to the alliance and how to value and acquire knowledge from the partners.

The degree of resource complementarily will be a critical factor in determining an alliance’s future

course and

outcome.

Kim and Inkpen (2005) argue that a tension exists between the need for

diverse resources and a need for similar resources. More specifically, excessive resource similarity

indicates that the partners have little to learn from each other, a situation that restricts the

development pace of the alliance. But excessive resource diversity makes it difficult for partners

to learn from each other. It requires utilizing coordination mechanisms across activities, and as a

result the alliance will become difficult to manage (Jiang, Li, & Gao 2008). Therefore, a careful

balance between resource similarity and diversity is at least in theory optimal for a positive alliance

outcome.

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Partner reputation matters allot, firms should also make clear whether this partner has a reputation

for dealing fairly and performing well (Das and Teng, 2001). In the same vein, Jiang, Li, & Gao

(2008) posit that a reputation for trustworthiness and competence is an important strategic asset

and tends to be cumulative overtime. A good reputation signals the quality of a firm and

encourages other firms to ally with it. Another important consideration in partner selection is prior

experience, despite conflicting views, Jiang, Li, & Gao (2008) posit that prior ties are positive

predictors of future strategic alliance relationship success by providing a wide range of advantages

and benefits for the partners (see Kim and Inkpen, 2005; Richards and Yang, 2007).

Structuring/Negotiation

In this stage, partner firms should decide on appropriate governance forms, moderated scope of

collaborative activities, effective division of labour, and so forth. Firms can choose from two

primary alliance governance forms: equity and non-equity alliances. Osborn and Baughn (1990)

point out that the governance mode within an alliance may indicate the motives of the partners and

have a large impact on alliance evolution. For the same reason, Hennart (2006) argues that

choosing an ex ante contractor an equity JV is an important decision for alliance managers, and

the chosen type can impact subsequent behaviours of the partners and predict the future alliance

development and performance.

Equity joint ventures are found to be prevalently more suitable for complex relations that are

exposed to greater risk of opportunism and behavioural uncertainty. For example, the “non-

recoverable investments” and the mutual commitments in Joint ventures create a mutual hostage

situation that helps align the strategic goals of partners. This situation reduces relational risks,

deters opportunistic behaviours and builds up high exit costs (Pisano, 1989; Parkhe, 1993). Joint

ventures are also found to be associated with more trust and confidence, higher levels of structural

embeddedness and higher possibility of dispute resolution (Das and Teng, 2001). In this sense,

joint ventures are an internally stable governance form. By contrast, non-equity alliances that

involve looser inter-connection and fewer commitments are more likely to go through instability

and be more prone to failure.

Firms must also decide on the area of the task or functional interface between them (Gulati, 1995).

Generally, an alliance agreement may involve three separate functional areas or joint activities:

R&D, manufacturing and marketing (Kogut, 1989; Oxley and Sampson, 2004). Alliance scope

refers to the number of joint activities involved in an alliance. The scope of the joint activities can

vary considerably in different alliances. For instance, some cooperative arrangements are limited

to only a single activity (e.g., either R&D or manufacturing or marketing) while others involve

more functional areas. The scope of the multiple-activity or mixed-activity alliance is broader than

that of the single-activity alliance.

The chosen scope has critical significance for the subsequent dynamics of the alliance. For

instance, Kogut (1989) finds JVs to be more unstable in highly concentrated industries, particularly

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when the functional scope extends to marketing and after-sales service. Reuer, Zollo, & Singh,

(2002) argue that it will be more difficult for firms to manage an alliance with broader scope,

because it is accompanied by more uncertainty and more complexity about the implementation of

the activities at hand. The increasing scope of an alliance is expected to require greater extent of

coordination, incur proportionally higher costs, and increase the potential hazards of the

cooperation (Gulati and Singh, 1998). The need for higher levels of cooperation, coordination and

integration is also likely to increase the problems relating to incompatible goals, systems,

procedures and strategies. Predictably, an increase in the scope of an alliance will reduce the

likelihood of the alliance’s future success.

Reuer, Zollo, & Singh, (2002) emphasize the importance of division of labour as a major task

undertaken by partner firms. They argue that a clear division of labour and allocation of

responsibilities among partners can help decrease the governance changes of alliances. On one

hand, an express provision of division of labour is expected to lower the need of complex

coordination activities, decrease inter-partner disputes, and reduce the likelihood of relational

risks. On the other hand, a clear division of labour also encourages the partners to contribute more

resources to fulfil their responsibilities because the benefits the partners deserve may reasonably

be in accord with their contributions. It is reasonable to predict that alliances with a clear division

of labour may be more stable and successful than those with a blurry specification of responsibility

allocation.

Implementation

After the collaborative agreement is negotiated, partner firms will carry out the agreement and put

the cooperation into operation. Doz and Hamel (1998) argue that “managing the alliance

relationship over time is usually more important than crafting the initial formal design”. Among

the four stages, Jiang, Li, & Gao (2008) believe the implementation stage is possibly the most

pivotal one for alliance evolution and success. Accordingly, partners must take a variety of actions

to manage destabilizing factors and cope with disadvantageous conditions in due time.

As collaboration unfolds, various kinds of internal risks may emerge and become key factors

destabilizing the alliance. Das and Teng (1999 and 2001) categorize these risks into two primary

types: relational and performance. Relational risk is the probability and consequence of not having

satisfactory cooperation between partner firms. Performance risk refers to the factors that may

jeopardize the success of an alliance, even when the partners cooperate fully. Relational risks and

performance risks are ever-present in an alliance relationship. Relationships are also

acknowledged to be important and valuable, but they have also been considered complex and

difficult to manage (Dyer, 1996; Wong, Tjosvold, & Zhang, 2005). In an alliance context, inter-

partner relationships are a multi-faceted phenomenon which comprises the establishment,

development, maintenance and optimization of harmonious and reciprocal relationships shared by

all partners. Jiang, Li, & Gao (2008) posit that effective management of inter-partner relationships

International Journal of Global Business, 7 (1), 77-94, June 2014 89

constitutes the micro-foundation for strategic alliance success, and that it cannot be replaced by

such things as external factors.

Performance evaluation

After the alliance operates for some time, its performance can and should be evaluated with some

certain measures. Performance evaluation is the act of examining the extent to which the partners’

set objectives are met. When evaluated performance is better than one partner had expected, that

partner may try to maintain the collaborative relationship and invest more resources and

capabilities in order to benefit still more from the relationship in the future. But when the evaluated

performance is worse than expected, the partner may reduce its commitment and withdraw some

investments to limit future risks. Therefore, superior on-going performance of an alliance may

serve as a stabilizing force, while undesirable performance outcomes are likely to lead to instability

and partner exit (Gill and Butler, 2003).

In a complete sense, a firm’s performance evaluation should consider two aspects, that is, the costs

it undertakes and the benefits it deserves. In practice, disagreement may arise about appropriate

performance measures among partners (Yan, 1998). Firms usually tend to overestimate their own

expenditures but underestimate their partners’ contributions; they may also underestimate their

own benefits but overestimate those of the partners. Perceived inequity could therefore occur either

when a firm perceives itself to have contributed more into the alliance than it has received or if the

firm perceives its benefit–cost ratio is largely lower than that of its partners (e.g., Ariño and de la

Torre, 1998; Kumar and Nti, 1998). A firm’s perception of inequity is related to the degree of its

satisfaction with the relationship. When a firm perceives the existence of inequity, it may feel

“unfair”, and it is “less willing to undertake an alliance or continue a particular alliance in the same

form” (White, 2005). If the perceived inequity cannot be eliminated over a long period of time,

the alliance will be either restructured or terminated (Das and Teng, 2002). Accordingly,

researchers suggest that a firm can minimize the perceived inequity either by increasing its

benefits/reducing the partner’s benefits, or by reducing its costs/increasing the partner’s costs.

Conclusion

From all the forgoing explanations and as the pace of global business accelerates, and customers

continually become more demanding and sophisticated, companies are finding the competitive

landscape dramatically changing. Markets are moving so quickly that is very difficult for one

company to stay current on all technologies, resources, competencies, and information needed to

attack, and be successful in those markets. Strategic alliances offer a means for companies to

access new markets, expand geographic reach, obtain cutting-edge technology, and complement

skills and core competencies relatively fast. Strategic alliances have become a key source of

competitive advantage for firms and have allowed them to cope with increasing organizational and

technological Complexities that have emerged in the global market. Nowadays, global strategic

International Journal of Global Business, 7 (1), 77-94, June 2014 90

alliances are a business concept that is changing the structure and dynamics of competition

throughout the world. Using a broad interpretation, strategic alliance is understood to be a

relationship between firms to create more value than they can on their own. The firms unite to

reach objectives of a common interest, while remaining independent.

It can therefore be concluded that companies really involve in foreign investment would have to

build or have an ally within the business scene; and they would have to as well build a strategy

applicable to every market they serve: reason being that, the atmosphere of international operation

is very broad and demanding and to survive the ‘heat’ optimum consideration must be given to

business coalition and strategy.

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T he In st i tute for Bu siness and Finance Res earch
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 1
2012
ISSN 193 1-0285 CD
ISSN 194 1-9589 ONLINE
Honolu lu , Hawaii , US
Januar y 3 -6 , 2012
The IBFR .ORG
GLOBAL C ONFERENCE ON
BU SI N E S S A N D F I NA NC E
P RO C E E DI NG S

Welcome to Hawai i
L e t t e r f r o m t h e E d i t o r
On behalf of the Staff and the IBFR, I welcome you to Honolulu, Hawaii and the 2012
Global Conference on Business and Finance. We hope you have a productive conference
and enjoy your time in Hawaii. If we can be of any assistance to you during your time
in Hawaii please do not hesitate to contact us.
We all know that college professors must balance their teaching, research, and service
obligations. Finding the right forum to share and obtain feedback on our research, new
teaching techniques, and innovative administrative processes can be challenging at
times. The Institute for Business and Finance Research was created to facilitate your
work by providing an environment conducive to knowledge and experience sharing. We
encourage the academic community to come and share their work at our conferences and
Journals. We welcome articles which are of interest to scholars and practitioners in all
fields of business, economics and related fields.
The 2012 Hawaii GCBF represents a long term commitment to bring individuals from
around the world together to share their ideas and promote research on business and
finance. The response to the conference has been outstanding. We wish to thank you
for selecting the GCBF as your research outlet. We also wish to thank the many people
that have contributed to making the conference a success. We are delighted to report that
the conference is truly a global conference. We have participants from all corners of the
globe at this event. These individuals come from a variety of high quality institutions
and will present work on a broad mix of academic issues.
We are proud to announce two upcoming conferences. Our 13th conference will be held
in San Jose, Costa Rica, May 22-25, 2012 at the Ramada Plaza Herradura Hotel and
Conference Center. Our 14th conference will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA at the
Flamingo, Las Vegas Hotel from January 2-5, 2013. We hope that you are able to join
us at these events.
We hope you take the time to enjoy the hotel facilities as well as to take in Honolulu
and the surrounding countryside. Hawaii is a wonderful destination with much to offer.
We recognize that in addition to presenting research and participating in the conference
activities, it is also important to relax and rejuvenate yourself. Have some fun! You
deserve it! We hope that you will go home refreshed and with a sense of accomplishment.
Warmest Regards,
Mercedes Jalbert
Conference Chair
Welcome
Bienvenidos

Bi enveni d os a Hawai i
C a r t a d e l E d i t o r
El Instituto y su personal les da la bienvenidos a Honolulu, Hawaii y al 2012
Global Conference on Business and Finance. Esperamos que su participación sea
productiva y que disfruten Hawaii.
Todo profesor de educación superior debe encontrar un balance entre su rol
como educador, investigador y como servidor a su comunidad y su universidad.
Encontrar un foro donde podamos compartir y obtener retroalimentación sobre
nuestra investigación, nuevas técnicas de educación, procesos administrativos
innovadores es retador. El Institute for Business and Finance Research (IBFR) fue
creado para facilitar el trabajo del profesional en educación superior, profesional
del sector públicos y profesional del sector privado al crear una plataforma global
conducente al enriquecimiento de nuestro conocimiento a través de:
1. La exposición de trabajos investigativos en todas las áreas académicas de las
ciencias administrativas, ciencias económicas, financieras, etc.;
2. La exploración de nuevos avances tecnológicos, teóricos, pedagógicos;
3. El intercambio de conocimiento en una plataforma verdaderamente global.
Los Congresos GCBF representa un compromiso a larga plazo para unir a nuestros
colegas de todos los continentes en nuestros congresos y compartir nuestras
ideas, investigación y cultura en una plataforma bilingüe. Deseamos agradecer
su participar, la cual hace realidad nuestro objetivos; el realizar un Congreso
realmente Global con participación de educadores y profesionales de todos partes
del mundo.
Con gran alegría anunciamos nuestros próximos Congresos . Nuestro congreso de
inverno se realizara en San Jose, Costa Rica del 22 al 25 de mayo y en Las Vegas
Nevada del 2 al 5 de enero de 2013. Será un placer el contar con su participación
nuevamente.
Deseamos que disfruten su estancia en el Hotel y que tengan la oportunidad de
explorar Las Islas de Hawaii. Sabemos que además de exponer sus trabajos, es
también importante tomar tiempo para relajarse, rejuvenecerse y conocer sobre
otras culturas, tradiciones, etc. Esperamos que al regresar a sus hogares e
instituciones se sientan rejuvenecidos y satisfechos con sus alcances y aprendizaje
durante el Congreso.
Estamos para asistirles durante el congreso y el futuro.
Saludos Cordiales,
Mercedes Jalbert
Conference Chair
Welcome
Bienvenidos

i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ENGLISH PROCEEDINGS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
RISK ANALYSIS VIA REGRESSION QUANTILES – EVIDENCE FROM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY MARKETS ……………….. 2
HONGTAO GUO, SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY
MIRANDA S LAM, SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY
GUOJUN WU, UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
ZHIJIE XIAO, BOSTON COLLEGE
CONVENIENCE YIELDS IN BULK COMMODITIES: THE CASE OF THERMAL COAL ……………………………………………. 12
JASON WEST, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY
AN ANALYSIS OF FIRM CREDIT ACROSS THE WORLD ……………………………………………………………………………….. 24
RUDOLF SIVAK, UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS IN BRATISLAVA
ANETTA CAPLANOVA, UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS IN BRATISLAVA
JOHN HUDSON, UNIVERSITY OF BATH
CHRIS HUDSON, JRH ECONOMICS CONSULTING
COULD PEER-TO-PEER LOANS SUBSTITUTE FOR PAYDAY LOANS? ……………………………………………………………… 39
LYNDA S. LIVINGSTON, UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND
CONNECTING CAPITAL BUDGETING PRACTICE WITH THE MILES-SNOW STRATEGIC TYPE: A NOVEL MANEGERIAL
ACCOUNTING APPROACH …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 45
NUBUMASA SHIMIZU, WASEDA UNIVERSITY
AKIKO TAMURA, HOSEI UNIVERSITY
AN EXAMPLE OF EXCELLENCE: WHY BUSINESS SCHOOLS ARE BRINGING MILITARY HISTORY BACK TO THE
CURRICULUM ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 57
MARY H. KELLY, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-CENTRAL TEXAS
MARGARET BRITT; UNIVERSITY; MOUNT VERNON
THOMAS G. HARDENBERGH; THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
WILLIAM E. HARDENBERGH; UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BALANCED SCORECARD PRACTICES AND DETERMINANTS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF LISTED COMPANIES IN
THAILAND ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 58
WASATORN SHUTIBHINYO, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY
VALUE OF RISK OF OPTION PORTFOLIOS USING MONTE CARLO SIMULATION UNDER A RISK-NEUTRAL
STOCHASTIC IMPLIED VOLATILITY MODEL …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 72
PENG HE
DOES TECHNOLOGICAL OVERSHOOTING EXIST IN THE JAPANESE MINIVAN MARKET? …………………………………. 80
GO SHIONOYA, KOBE UNIVERSITY
THE IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE IN THE LIBYAN CONTEXT:
EVIDENCE FROM MANAGERS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 84
NAGIB SALEM BAYOUD, THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
MARIE KAVANAGH, THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
THE PRICE OF STOCKS IN LATIN AMERICAN FINANCIAL MARKETS: AN EMPIRICAL APPLICATION OF THE OHLSON
MODEL…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 96

ii
PEDRO MARTÍNEZ, INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO Y ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DE MONTERREY
DIEGO PRIOR, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BARCELONA
JOSEP RIALP, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BARCELONA
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DERIVATIVES ARE? ………………………………………………………………………………… 101
ANN GALLIGAN KELLEY, PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
CALIBRATION AND COMPARISON OF SPECTRAL RISK MEASURES FOR A PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION ……….. 109
STEPHAN THOMAS, PHAST SOLUTIONS & UNIVERSITY OF PARIS SORBONNE
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING MALFEASANCE AND RESTATEMENTS FOR 100
COMPANIES WITH FINANCIAL AND MARKET IMPACT AND ANALYSIS OF MONITORING CHARACTERISTICS …… 110
LIZ WASHINGTON ARNOLD, THE CITADEL
PETER HARRIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
THE VALUATION OF THE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS IN A DIVORCE: A CASE STUDY ……………………………………….. 111
HANNA SAVOLAINEN, UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND
THE DEFENSES OF LIFO AS AN ACCEPTABLE ACCOUNTING METHOD ………………………………………………………… 121
PETER HARRIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
LIZ WASHINGTON ARNOLD, THE CITADEL
A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ONLINE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ………………………………………………………. 122
PENG HE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY
JIANWEI LAI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY
HSIEN-MING CHOU, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY
LINA ZHOU, UNIVERSITY F MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY
CASE STUDY ON SUCCESSIVE PLANNING ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 134
PETER HARRIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
KATHERINE KINKELA, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
STEVEN SHAPIRO, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE …………………………………………………………………. 135
DIEGO FERNANDO SANTISTEBAN ROJAS, UNIDADES TECNOLÓGICAS DE SANTANDER (UTS)
JORGE DEL RIO CORTINA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE BOLÍVAR (UTB)
OPTIMALIZATION OF LIQUIDITY STRATEGY: POLISH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS CASE ……………………………. 136
GRZEGORZ MICHALSKI, WROCLAW UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS
THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF LIFO ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 142
PETER HARRIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
KATHERINE KINKELA, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN AFRICA: SECURING CHINESE’S INVESTMENT FOR A LASTING DEVELOPMENT IN
AFRICA …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 143
PAULIN HOUANYE, UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
SIBAO SHEN, UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
INTEREST RATE RISK: SEVERAL STATISTICAL ANALYSES ………………………………………………………………………….. 157
PETER HARRIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
K. KALLIANOTIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
K. KASIBHATLA, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

iii
SCOTT LIU, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
J. MALINDRETOS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
STEVEN SHAPIRO, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
CASE STUDY ON INVENTORY MANAGEMENT……………………………………………………………………………………….. 158
LESLIE. BOBB, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
JAMES DUNNE, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
PETER HARRIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
COMPARING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD …………………………………………………………………. 159
DENIS WENDT, UNIVERSITY OF GOETTINGEN, GERMANY
IS THE IRS A SORE LOSER? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 160
LAURA LEE MANNINO, ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY
THE IMPACT OF IFRS FOR SMES ON THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION, EVIDENCE FROM FIJI …………………………. 166
FAZEENA FAZNEEN HUSSAIN, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
PRIYASHNI VANDANA CHAND, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
PRENA RANI, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
PREFERENCES FOR PERFORMANCE BASED EMPLOYEE REWARDS: EVIDENCE FROM SMALL BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 168
SUSAN J. KOWALEWSKI, D’YOUVILLE COLLEGE
SUZANNE L. PHILLIPS, D’YOUVILLE COLLEGE
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPTS: THEORETICALLY DIFFERENT ROADS LEADING TO PRACTICALLY
SAME DESTINATION! ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 173
SOLOMON A. KEELSON, TAKORADI POLYTECHNIC
MANAGERIAL INCENTIVES FOR EARNINGS MANAGEMENT AMONG LISTED FIRMS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES,
EVIDENCE FROM FIJI ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 184
PRENA RANI, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
FAZEENA FAZNEEN HUSSAIN, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
PRIYASHNI VANDANA CHAND, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
WEB-BASED CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORTING IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: EVIDENCE FROM FIJI
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 188
PRIYASHNI VANDANA CHAND, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
FAZEENA FAZNEEN HUSSAIN, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
OPTIMAL DIVERSIFICATION – DOES IT EXIST? ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 190
CHIEN-CHIH LIN, TAMKANG UNIVERSITY
YUNG-SHUN TSAI, ASIA UNIVERSITY
HSIAO-YIN CHEN, KAINAN UNIVERSITY
BALANCED SCORECARD FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGIC MARKETING IN COLOMBIA ……………………………. 199
SANTIAGO GARCÍA CARVAJAL, UNIVERSIDAD MILITAR NUEVA GRANADA
DECODING THE REGULATORY SYSTEM FOR ADVERTISING IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA ………………………………. 200
LUDING TONG, MARIETTA COLLEGE
TEACHING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS BY USING FICTION: HOW AND WHY I WROTE AN INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS NOVEL …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 213

iv
MARK BAGSHAW, MARIETTA COLLEGE
SCENARIOS AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES…………………………………………………………………………………… 224
KATHLEEN WILBURN, ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY
RALPH WILBURN, ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY
RECOGNIZING COMMON SENSE LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE 21ST CENTURY ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT ………… 239
JON K.WEBBER, UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
GREGORY W. GOUSSAK, ASHFORD UNIVERSITY
ELLIOT M. SER, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
CULTURAL PLURALISM: A CRITICAL NEEDS PLAN FOR GENERAL MOTORS ………………………………………………… 249
GREGORY W. GOUSSAK, ASHFORD UNIVERSITY
JON K.WEBBER, UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
ELLIOT M. SER, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
THE EFFECT OF INVESTOR BIAS AND GENDER ON PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE AND RISK ……………………………. 257
KEVIN LEE, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY – FRESNO
SCOTT MILLER, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
NICOLE VELASQUEZ, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
CHRISTI WANN, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE CHATTANOOGA
RE-EXAMINING THE CONCEPT OF BOUNDARY OBJECTS WITHIN COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE …………………….. 258
W. DAVID HOLFORD, UNIVERSITY OF QUEBEC AT MONTREAL
MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF FINANCES IN WATER RESOURCES: LESSONS LEARNT FROM
PRACTICE ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 271
BOJAN SRDJEVIC, UNIVERSITY OF NOVI SAD
ZORICA SRDJEVIC, UNIVERSITY OF NOVI SAD
RATKO BAJCETIC, PUBLIC WATER MANAGEMENT CO
JOVANA DRAGINCIC, UNIVERSITY OF NOVI SAD
BOSKO BLAGOJEVIC, UNIVERSITY OF NOVI SAD
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES AND EXPORT SALES IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED
ENTERPRISES OF METALWORKING INDUSTRY IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE STATE OF COAHUILA, MEXICO 272
ELVIRA VELARDE LÓPEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE COAHUILA
ZÓCHITL ARAIZA GARZA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE COAHUILA
EUNICE CORONADO ROJAS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE COAHUILA
GLOBALIZATION PROCESS AND THE IMPACT OF IT GROWTH IN ALBANIA ………………………………………………… 277
KOZETA SEVRANI, UNIVERSITY OF TIRANA
KLODIANA GORICA, UNIVERSITY OF TIRANA
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON BRAND PERSONALITY IN MEXICO …………………………………………………………….. 286
MARÍA DE LA PAZ TOLDOS ROMERO, TECNOLÓGICO DE MONTERREY CAMPUS GUADALAJARA
THE CRISIS OF TEACHER TURNOVER. A THREAT TO PUBLIC SERVICE STABILITY ………………………………………….. 293
PM MAMPANE, TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
THE IMPACT OF MECHANICAL GUIDANCE AND JUSTIFICATION REQUIREMENT ON JUDGMENT OF AUDITORS OF
DIFFERENT RANKS IN MATERIALITY DETERMINATION …………………………………………………………………………… 302
JUTHATHIP AUDSABUMRUNGRAT, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY
SOMPONG PORNUPATHAM, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY

v
TIMED CORE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: THE ROAD TO THE COMPANY’S OPTIMALPERFORMANCE ………….. 315
BERNARD MORARD, UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA (UNIGE)
ALEXANDRU STANCU, UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA (UNIGE)
JEANNETTE CHRISTOPHE, UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA (UNIGE)
EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF THE LABOR DISPLACEMENT ON THE HOUSING MARKETS ……………………………….. 333
MEIHUA LIAO, ASIA UNIVERSITY
A CO-OPETITIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ACCOUNTING HARMONIZATION: THE CASE OF THE FASB AND IASB
CONVERGENCE AGREEMENT …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 334
ANNE-SOPHIE FERNANDEZ, UNIVERSITY OF MONTPELLIER FRANCE
FRANCOISE PIERROT, UNIVERSITY OF MONTPELLIER FRANCE
ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN KUWAIT ……………………………………………………… 343
MOHAMED A. HADI, TECH. DEPT., COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, KUWAIT.
REFAAT H. ABDEL-RAZEK, ARABIAN GULF UNIVERSITY, BAHRAIN.
WALID M. CHAKROUN, KUWAIT UNIVERSITY, KUWAIT.
IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE FOR STRATEGIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ……………………………….. 354
KOICHIRO KATO, KANAZAWA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MEGUMI SAKO, KANAZAWA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
HOUSING FINANCE BY THE COMMERCIAL BANKS IN INDIA : GROWTH, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS …………. 360
JAGPAL SINGH BENIPAL, MATA GANGA KHALSA COLLEGE FOR GIRLS,KOTTAN (LUDHIANA)
ASSESSING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: A NEW COMPETING
MODEL…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 365
DIAH HARI SURYANINGRUM, UNIVERSITY OF BRAWIJAYA
A CLOSER LOOK AT CURBING FRAUD AMONG TAX RETURN PREPARERS ………………………………………………….. 380
RICHARD LAI, ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY, JAMAICA, NEW YORK
MARIA PIRRONE, ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY, JAMAICA, NEW YORK
BEAUTY IN THE AGE OF MARKETING ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 383
BINGQING YIN, WASHBURN UNIVERSITY
SUSIE PRYOR, WASHBURN UNIVERSITY
“INTRAPORTFOLIO CORRELATION”: AN APPLICATION FOR INVESTMENTS STUDENTS ……………………………….. 389
LYNDA S. LIVINGSTON, UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND
CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN MALAYSIA ……………………… 395
MOHAMMADREZA AGHAEI, MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
AMIN MOAZAMI, MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
MEHRDAD SALEHI, MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
AMIR HOSSEIN VAZIRIFAR, MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
MARZIEH DJADIDI, MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
MOJTABA SAEIDINIA, MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
BIVARIATE EXTREME DEPENDENCY BETWEEN STOCK MARKET AND OIL RETURNS …………………………………….. 404
GÖZDE ÜNAL, BOGAZICI UNIVERSITY
DERYA KORMAN, BOGAZICI UNIVERSITY

vi
WHAT IS PROPELLING THE AMERICAN WORKER TO GO THE WAY OF THE HORSE? THE CHANGING ANATOMY OF
U.S. EXPORT INDUSTRY …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 414
TONY MUTSUNE, IOWA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
RISK FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SURVIVAL OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM
ENTERPRISES IN KENYA: EVIDENCE FROM KISUMU DISTRICT …………………………………………………………………. 419
CHARLES M. RAMBO, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI, KENYA
FORGIVENESS AS A LEADERSHIP TOOL ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 432
ILKKA VIROLAINEN KYMENLAAKSO, UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, KOUVOLA, FINLAND
CROSS-BORDER EDUCATION: FACTORS INFLUENCING CANADIAN STUDENTS’ CHOICE OF INSTITUTIONS OF
HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES ………………………………………………………………………………………… 446
ERIN E. MCCARTHY, D’YOUVILLE COLLEGE, BUFFALO, NEW YORK
ARUP K. SEN, D’YOUVILLE COLLEGE, BUFFALO, NEW YORK
BONNIE FOX GARRITY, D’YOUVILLE COLLEGE, BUFFALO, NEW YORK
COMPETITIVITY OF RURAL TOURISTIC DESTINATIONS: PROPOSAL OF AN EVALUATION MODEL ………………….. 458
ADALBERTO AVELAR GARCÍA-ROJAS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ARIEL MOCTEZUMA HERNÁNDEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
THE IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL ON PERFORMANCE IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ACCOMODATION
ENTERPRISES: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ……………………………………. 467
GUACIMARA JIMÉNEZ-GARCÍA, UNIVERSITY OF LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA
ROSA M. BATISTA-CANINO, UNIVERSITY OF LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF ADVENTURE TOURISTS IN PRETORIA …………………………………………………………… 476
MELISSA J. LÖTTER, TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (TUT)
SUE GELDENHUYS, TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (TUT)
MARIUS POTGIETER, TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (TUT)
DOES SEXUALITY IN ADS WORK FOR EVERYONE/ANYONE? AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH OF MUSLIM
CONSUMERS’ REACTIONS TO SEXUALITY IN ADS ………………………………………………………………………………….. 490
AHMET BAYRAKTAR, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PROGRAM (ESOP) PHENOMENA ON PUBLIC COMPANIES IN INDONESIA …….. 499
I PUTU SUGIARTHA SANJAYA, ATMA JAYA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA
THE PERFORMANCES OF THE ORGANISATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISES ………………………… 512
IONICA ONCIOIU, TOMIS UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTA
FLORIN RAZVAN ONCIOIU, UNIVERSITY OF AGRONOMIC SCIENCES AND VETERINARY
DAN BALAMACI, FREE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MOLDOVA
PROMOTION A MORE RAPID GRADUATION PROCESS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ……………………………………. 516
HARRI VIROLAINEN, TURKU UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, PORI UNIT
CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES REFFERING TO THE CONCEPT OF FAIR VALUE ……………………………………. 526
IONICA ONCIOIU, TOMIS UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTA
FLORIN RAZVAN ONCIOIU, UNIVERSITY OF AGRONOMIC SCIENCES AND VETERINARY
DANIELA SIMONA NENCIU, DIMITRIE CANTEMIR UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTA
ARE THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS RELATED TO THEIR PREFERENCES FOR ONE
UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DELIVERY MODE OVER ANOTHER? ………………………………………………………………. 530

vii
ROBERT J. KOENIG, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
THE FACTORS OF INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATION: SOME EVIDENCE IN THAILAND ……………………………………….. 531
WANNAPA WICHITCHANYA, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY
SUPOL DURONGWATANA, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY
PAKPACHONG VADHANASINDHU, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY
THE GLOBALIZATION AND EUROPEAN UNIQUE MARKET – A NEW CHALENGES FOR THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 537
IONICA ONCIOIU, TOMIS UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTA
FLORIN SORESCU, TOMIS UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTA
THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF GOODWILL IMPAIRMENTS ARISING FROM THE ACQUISITION METHOD
TREATMENT FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 541
NINA DORATA, ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY
MANAGING THE FUZZY FRONT END OF INNOVATION ……………………………………………………………………………. 543
LINDA L. NAIMI, PURDUE UNIVERSITY
BRIAN S. GLASSMAN, PURDUE UNIVERSITY
TURNOVER AND JOB EMBEDEDDNESS IN TIJUANA, MEXICO …………………………………………………………………. 544
BLANCA ROSA GARCÍA RIVERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
IGNACIO ALEJANDRO MENDOZA MARTINEZ, UNIVERSIDAD LA SALLE
SONIA ELIZABETH MALDONADO-RADILLO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MA. CONCEPCION RAMIREZ BARON, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
GREAT WAR LEADERS’ SUCCESSFUL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS: HOW FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
AND JOHN CURTIN WON JOURNALISTS’ SUPPORT ……………………………………………………………………………….. 555
CARYN COATNEY, CURTIN UNIVERSITY
THE FASB ACCOUNTING STANDARDS CODIFICATION AND ACCOUNTING QUALITY…………………………………….. 567
CHIA-LING CHAO, NATIONAL CHUNG CHENG UNIVERSITY
DISCLOSURE LEVEL, STOCK MARKET LIQUIDITY, AND EARNINGS QUALITY: ………………………………………………. 568
EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 568
HORNG-CHING KUO, NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY, TAIWAN
HSIU-CHIN LIN, DELOITTE, TAIWAN
CAPITALIZING WOMEN’S HUMAN RESOURCES THROUGH MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREAS:
ROLE OF MICROFINANCE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 569
POORNIMA GAYANGANI WASANA JAYAWARDANA, RITSUMEIKAN ASIA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
ANTECEDENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL DOWNSIZING IN THAILAND’S TOURISM AND HOSPITALTIY INDUSTRY: THE
ROLE OF BUSINESS IDEOLOGY ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 574
POR-NGARM SAENGRATWATCHARA, SRINAKHARINWIROT UNIVERSITY
THEERAPONG SUBSUPANWONG, SRINAKHARINWIROT UNIVERSITY
AN EXPLORATION OF THE CURE FOR DISSATISFACTION AMONG CUSTOMERS OF MEDICAL SERVICES ………….. 579
JUNGKI LEE, KOREA UNIVERSITY AT SEJONG, JOCHIWON, SOUTH KOREA
THE CROSS-BORDER REGIONAL GOVERNANCE OF THE GLOBAL AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION NETWORKS IN ASIA
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 580

viii
KATSUHIRO SASUGA, TOKAI UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
GLOBAL LINKAGE OF FINANCIAL SECTOR STOCK PRICES DURING US FINANCIAL CRISIS: EVIDENCE FROM
INDONESIA …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 581
ALDRIN HERWANY, UNIVERSITAS PADJADJARAN, INDONESIA
ERIE FEBRIAN, UNIVERSITAS PADJADJARAN, INDONESIA
EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA: A PANEL REGRESSION APPROACH
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 582
IKECHUKWU KELILUME, LAGOS BUSINESS SCHOOL
DOYIN SALAMI, LAGOS BUSINESS SCHOOL
EXAMINATION OF ETHNIC AND POLICY ISSUES IN GROOMING PREFERENCES AND ETHNIC HAIRSTYLES OF
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN CORPORATE AMERICA ……………………………………………………………………….. 593
ANGELA RENEE PAYNE, ARGOSY UNIVERSITY – CHICAGO, IL
BHARAT S. THAKKAR,, ARGOSY UNIVERSITY – CHICAGO, IL
COST AND VALUE ADDED COMPETITIVENESS: CHINA VS. MEXICO ………………………………………………………….. 594
JUAN ESPAÑA, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS CREATED BY A CHINESE MANUFACTURER IN AN E-COMMERCE MARKETING
ENVIRONMENT ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 595
RONALD E. MILLIMAN, WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
A PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE FOR DYNAMIC ELEARNING ENVIRONMENTS BASED ON STUDENT ACTIVITY AND
LEARNING STYLES ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 596
JOHN A. KALISKI, MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
QUEEN E. BOOKER, MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
PAUL SCHUMANN, MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR OPTICAL CENTERS BASED ON THE CONSUMER …………………… 601
LUCILA ZÁRRAGA CANO, UNIVERSIDAD DEL CARIBE
ENRIQUE CORONA SANDOVAL, UNIVERSIDAD DEL CARIBE
MIGUEL ÁNGEL OLIVARES URBINA, UNIVERSIDAD DEL CARIBE
PRODUCTIVE CHAINS CONFORMATION OF OSTREICULTURE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF ENSENADA BAJA
CALIFORNIA ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 607
RAMÓN GALVÁN, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ENSELMINA MARÍN VARGAS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, MARKETING STRATEGIC CHANGE AND PERFORMANCE OF WHOLLY-OWNED AND
INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES IN THAILAND ………………………………………………………………………………….. 618
OLIMPIA C. RACELA, MAHASARAKHAM UNIVERSITY, THAILAND
AMONRAT THOUMRUNGROJE, ASSUMPTION UNIVERSITY, THAILAND
CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF E-SERVICE QUALITY IN ONLINE APPAREL SHOPPING ……………………………………. 629
ZUI CHIH (RICK) LEE, SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY
PAUL, DION, SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY
PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY IN RESTAURANT SERVICES ……………………………………………………………………….. 630
PRABHA RAMSEOOK-MUNHURRUN, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, MAURITIUS

ix
AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF COMPANY SURVIVAL/RECOVERY AFTER CORPORATE ACCOUNTING MALFEASANCE
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 644
LIZ WASHINGTON ARNOLD, THE CITADEL
PETER HARRIS, NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
AN INVESTIGATION OF USERS’ CONTINUOUS USE INTENTION OF E-LEARNING SYSTEMS ……………………………. 645
HUICHIH WANG, NATIONAL CHIAO TUNG UNIVERSITY
HERSEN DOONG, NATIONAL CHAIYI UNIVERSITY
RESIDUAL INCOME VS. DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW VALUATION MODELS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ………………….. 646
ALI ATILLA PEREK, MARMARA UNIVERSITY, TURKEY
SEDA PEREK, ISTANBUL BILGI UNIVERSITY, TURKEY
UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUMERS TO USE ONLINE SHOPPING……… 654
JOB DUBIHLELA, VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY-SOUTH AFRICA
NOBUKHOSI DLODLO, VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SOUTH AFRICA
A STUDY ON THE INFLUENCES OF KOREAN EARLY ADOPTERS’ PROPENSITY AND LIFESTYLE FOR IT PRODUCTS’
PURCHASE DECISION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 655
YEO HWAN LEEP, KYUNGPOOK NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
HAN JANG HYUP, KYUNGPOOK NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
KIM PANSOO, KYUNGPOOK NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
CREATING JOINT VENTURE PROJECTS BETWEEN SME’S AND UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA IN
TIJUANA, MEXICO ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 662
EDUARDO AHUMADA-TELLO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
JUAN MANUEL ALBERTO PERUSQUÍA VELASCO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
OLGA LIDIA GUTIÉRREZ GUTIÉRREZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF COOPERATION ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 663
ZÓCHITL ARAIZA GARZA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE COAHUILA
ELVIRA VELARDE LÓPEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE COAHUILA
DARIELA SÁNCHEZ CAMPOS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE COAHUILA
TRANSPARENCY REPORT AS RED FLAG FOR QUALITY CONTROL OF THE AUDIT FIRMS – THE REPUBLIC OF
MACEDONIA EXPERIENCES ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 668
ZORICA BOZINOVSKA LAZAREVSKA, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY SS CYRIL AND METHODIUS
MAJA STOLEVSKA, AUDIT AUTHORITY FOR AUDITING THE INSTRUMENT FOR PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE (IPA)
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS ON CORPORATE GROWTH AND
PROFITABILITY ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 684
SYLVESTER FEYI AKINBULI, UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS AKOKA-LAGOS, NIGERIA
EVALUATION OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: A NECESSARY CONCEPT FOR GOOD
GOVERNANCE …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 698
SYLVESTER FEYI AKINBULI,UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, AKOKA LAGOS-NIGERIA
MODELING FOR LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS: MOLECULAR INTERACTION FRAMEWORK APPROACH …………… 711
MATEJ JANEŽIČ, UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA-SLOVENIA
VLADO DIMOVSKI, UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA-SLOVENIA
MILAN HODOSCEK, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY, LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
MARKET RESPONSE TO THE COMPOSITION CHANGE OF ISLAMIC INDEX: THE CASE OF INDONESIA …………….. 712

x
ERIE FEBRIAN, UNIVERSITAS PADJADJARAN, INDONESIA
ALDRIN HERWANY, UNIVERSITAS PADJADJARAN, INDONESIA
ADI PRIMADHI, UNIVERSITAS PADJADJARAN, INDONESIA
ZAKAH PERSPECTIVES AS A SYMBOL OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL PIETY: DEVELOPING A REVIEW FROM THE
MEADIAN SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 713
FIDIANA, UNIVERSITY OF BRAWIJAYA – INDONESIA
IWAN TRIYUWONO, BRAWIJAYA UNIVERSITY
AKHMAD RIDUWAN, SCHOOL OF ECONOMIC INDONESIA SURABAYA (STIESIA)
CHINESE CONSUMERS ACCEPTANCE OF LABELED SEAFOOD …………………………………………………………………… 714
PEI XU, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
YC ZENG, RENMIN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA
Q FONG, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
Y LIU, RENMIN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA
THE IMPACT OF BRAND PLACEMENT AND BRAND RECALL (IN MOVIES) ON BRAND PREFERENCE, LOYALTY AND
INTENTIONS TO PURCHASE AMONG YOUNGER CONSUMERS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIA ………… 716
BAMINI KPD BALAKRISHNAN, UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
P. YUKTHAMARANI PERMARUPAN, INTI INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
AZLINDA SHAZNEEM MD. SHUAIB, UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
OSCAR DOUSIN, UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
TYPOLOGY OF EMPLOYEE IMPROVEMENT-ORIENTED VOICE: EXPLORING WHAT EMPLOYEES SUGGEST TO
UNDERSTAND HOW MANAGERS PASS ON EMPLOYEE VOICE …………………………………………………………………. 717
NANCY L. LAM, SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA
AN INVESTIGATION OF ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF CONSUMERS ATTITUDES TOWARD AN APPAREL
WEBSITE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 718
ZUI CHIH (RICK) LEE, SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY
NANCY HODGES, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, GREENSBORO
FINANCE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN AFRICA: A META-ANALYSIS…………………………………………………………. 735
SENIA NHAMO, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
RUSSIAN STATE FINANCIAL CONTROL: DISTINCTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………. 736
TATYANA ANTIPOVA, THE INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED SPECIALISTS
BALANCED SCORECARD ATTRIBUTES: KEY DETERMINANT AND THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS ………………………….. 748
WASATORN SHUTIBHINYO, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY
CONTINOUS AUDIT CONTINOUS MONITORING – ANALYTICS ON MANUAL JOURNAL VOUCHER ………………….. 755
RAKESH NAREDI, HEWLETT PACKARD
SARIKA MUKUNDA KURUP, HEWLETT PACKARD
SATYANARAYANA T, HEWLETT PACKARD
THE RELEVANCE OR IRRELEVANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) TO ENHANCE GOVERNMENT-
BUSINESS RELATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA: A THEORETICAL EXPOSITION. …………………………………………………… 759
ABEL J. DIALE, TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION AT A CROSSROAD ………………………………………………………………………………. 765
MASKOOKI, KOOROS, WESTERN NEW MEXICO UNIVERSITY
KEVIN MASKOOKI, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA – TWIN CITIES

xi
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING YOUR RESEARCH QUALITY ………………………………………………………………………. 766
TERRANCE JALBERT, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII-HILO
SPANISH PROCEEDINGS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 775
CARACTERIZACIÓN Y MODELADO DE REDES: ÍNDICES FINANCIEROS MUNDIALES ……………………………………… 776
LINDA MARGARITA MEDINA HERRERA, TECNOLÓGICO DE MONTERREY CCM.
ERNESTO PACHECO VELÁZQUEZ, TECNOLÓGICO DE MONTERREY CCM.
DESARROLLO DE UN MODELO PARA LA MEJORA TANTO DE LA OFERTA DE PRODUCTOS COMO DEL SERVICIO AL
CLIENTE A TRAVES DE UN CALL CENTER BANCARIO PROPIO COMO UN CANAL NO TRADICIONAL DE SERVICIO Y
VENTA DE PRODUCTOS FINANCIEROS ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 782
RUTH CAVAZOS ARROYO, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
CUAUHTÉMOC PUENTE MUÑOZ, UNIVERSIDAD PANAMERICANA
IMPACTO PUBLICITARIO DEL MARKETING MÓVIL EN UN ENTORNO TRADICIONAL: CASO CIBERNAUTAS DE
LA REGIÓN COSTA SUR DE JALISCO, MÉXICO …………………………………………………………………………………….. 787
ROBERTO GONZÁLEZ MONROY, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
CÉSAR AMADOR DÍAZ PELAYO, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
LA EMPRESA MEXICANA EN EL EXTERIOR. UN PRIMER ACERCAMIENTO…………………………………………………… 796
JORGE LUIS ALCARAZ VARGAS, UNIVERSIDAD MICHOACANA DE SAN NICOLÁS DE HIDALGO
RUBÉN MOLINA MARTÍNEZ, UNIVERSIDAD MICHOACANA DE SAN NICOLÁS DE HIDALGO
OSCAR HUGO PEDRAZA RENDÓN, UNIVERSIDAD MICHOACANA DE SAN NICOLÁS DE HIDALGO
PROPUESTA DE REFORMA FISCAL INTEGRAL EN MÉXICO ……………………………………………………………………….. 802
FIDEL ANTONIO MENDOZA SHAW, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA
ROSA ISELA LOPEZ CUEVAS, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA
JOSE EZEQUIEL ROBLES ENCINAS, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA
ANALISIS DEL IMPACTO DE CRECIMIENTO EN LAS PYMES QUE SE DESARROLLARON BAJO UN ESQUEMA DE
INCUBACION. CASO ENCUBADORA EMPRESER – SONORA ……………………………………………………………………… 805
EMMA VANESSA CASAS MEDINA, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA
ERIKA OLIVAS VALDEZ, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA
LUIS ENRIQUE IBARRA MORALES, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA
ANÁLISIS DEL IMPACTO DE LA APLICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA GUÍAS ESCOLARES EN LA UNIVERSIDAD: CASO
CESUES HERMOSILLO. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 812
EMMA VANESSA CASAS MEDINA, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
NORMA LORENA ARENAS MOZQUEDA, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
SUSANA AYDE SENDER ÁVILES, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
LUIS ENRIQUE IBARRA MORALES, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
PLANES NACIONALES DE DESARROLLO Y LOS SECTORES PRODUCTIVOS DE MÉXICO ………………………………….. 818
OMAR ERNESTO TERÁN VARELA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
ENRIQUE ESPINOSA AYALA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
RANULFO PÉREZ GARCÉS, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
MARÍA DE LOURDES HERNÁNDEZ ARAGÓN, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
ENTORNOS VIRTUALES APLICADOS A LA EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR BASADOS EN LA METACOGNICIÓN ……………. 825
OMAR ERNESTO TERÁN VARELA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
MONSERRAT ALONSO GALICIA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
MARTHA ELBA RUÍZ RIVA PALACIO , CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA

xii
RANULFO PÉREZ GARCÉS, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
PROYECCIÓN DEL PERFIL DE VALORES DEL LIC. EN NEGOCIOS INTERNACIONALES ……………………………………… 830
OLGA LIDIA GUTIÉRREZ GUTIÉRREZ, UABC
MARÍA BELÉN MURILLO PEDRAZA, UABC
ANA CECILIA BUSTAMANTE VALENZUELA, UABC
SANDRA JULIETA SALDÍVAR GONZÁLEZ, UABC
IGNACIO ALEJANDRO MENDOZA MARTÍNEZ, LA SALLE
LOS VALORES EN LOS ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS, UN COMPROMISO DE LAS INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN
SUPERIOR EN MÉXICO .CASO: ALUMNOS DE LA CARRERA DE LICENCIADO EN INFORMÁTICA, FACULTAD DE
CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 831
SANDRA JULIETA SALDÍVAR GONZÁLEZ,UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARÍA BELÉN MURILLO PEDRAZA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ANA CECILIA BUSTAMANTE VALENZUELA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
OLGA LIDIA GUTIÉRREZ GUTIÉRREZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
IGNACIO ALEJANDRO MENDOZA MARTÍNEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
PATRICIA GUADALUPE GARCÍA CABRALES, UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SEGUIMIENTO A LOS EGRESADOS, FUNCIÓN SUSTANTIVA DE LAS DEMANDAS DE UN MERCADO LABORAL ….. 836
HILARIO DE LA TORRE PÉREZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
RAQUEL OLIVIA ROA RIVERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SANDRA JULIETA SALDIVAR GONZÁLEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
GLORIA MUÑOZ DEL REAL, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
REYNA ISABEL ROA RIVERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
PATRICIA GUADALUPE GARCÍA CABRALES, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EVALUACIÓN DEL MEJORAMIENTO DE LOS INDICADORES FINANCIEROS EN LAS EMPRESAS DEL SECTOR CARBÓN
Y SUS DERIVADOS EN COLOMBIA ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 842
TOMÁS FONTALVO HERRERA, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
JOSÉ MORELOS GÓMEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
JUAN CARLOS VERGARA SCHMALBACH, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
PROYECTO DE MERCADOTECNIA TURÍSTICA PARA LA CREACIÓN DE UN AERÓDROMO DEPORTIVO EN LA REGIÓN
VITIVINÍCOLA EN BAJA CALIFORNIA, MÉXICO ………………………………………………………………………………………. 847
FRANCISCO ADRIÁN GARFIAS GARCÍA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
JOSÉ GABRIEL RUIZ ANDRADE, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
OMAIRA CECILIA MARTÍNEZ MORENO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
PLAN DE MERCADOTECNIA PARA DIVERSIFICACIÓN DE MERCADOS EN SERVICIOS LEGALES AMBIENTALES ….. 850
PATRICIA BLANCO VARGAS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
JOSÉ GABRIEL RUIZ ANDRADE, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
RICARDO VERJÁN QUIÑONES, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ESTUDIO DE FACTIBILIDAD PARA LA COMERCIALIZACIÓN DE ZARZAMORA EN MERCADOS INTERNACIONALES 854
LUIS ENRIQUE IBARRA MORALES, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
NATALIA GUADALUPE ROMERO VIVAR, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
ROSALINA JAIME MEULY, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
BEATRIZ ALEJANDRA HURTADO BRINGAS, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
CONFIANZA, COMPROMISO E INTENCION PARA COMPARTIR: ¿VARIABLES INFLUYENTES PARA TRANSFERIR
CONOCIMIENTO DENTRO DE LAS ORGANIZACIONES? …………………………………………………………………………… 867
AURORA I. MÁYNEZ GUADERRAMA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ

xiii
JUDITH CAVAZOS ARROYO, UNIVERSIDAD POPULAR AUTÓNOMA DEL ESTADO DE PUEBLA
SANTIAGO IBARRECHE SUÁREZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE TEXAS EN EL PASO
JOSÉ PABLO NUÑO DE LA PARRA, UNIVERSIDAD POPULAR AUTÓNOMA DEL ESTADO DE PUEBLA
PLATAFORMA MOODLE: INNOVACION EDUCATIVA EN ESTUDIOS DE POSGRADO………………………………… 873
EDELMIRA SÁNCHEZ DELGADO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ
SALVADOR ANIBAL OCHOA RAMÍREZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ
ESTRATEGIAS Y RENDIMIENTO DE LAS MICRO, PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES
(AGUASCALIENTES MÉXICO) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 877
LUIS AGUILERA ENRÍQUEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE AGUASCALIENTES
MARTHA GONZÁLEZ ADAME,UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE AGUASCALIENTES
MEDICIÓN DEL POTENCIAL DE ASOCIATIVIDAD ENTRE EMPRESAS EMPLEANDO EL MÉTODO MACTOR ………… 884
JUAN CARLOS VERGARA SCHMALBACH, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
JOSÉ MORELOS GÓMEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
TOMÁS JOSÉ FONTALVO HERRERA, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
EL GRADO DE COMPETENCIAS DEL EGRESADO DE LA LICENCIATURA EN TURISMO VERSUS LAS CAPACIDADES
GENÉRICAS EXIGIDAS POR EL MERCADO LABORAL ……………………………………………………………………………….. 894
CLAUDIA LETICIA PRECIADO ORTIZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO DE LA COSTA SUR
CRISTINA ZEPEDA IBARRA, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO DE LA COSTA SUR
ALFREDO CASTAÑEDA PALOMERA, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO DE LA COSTA SUR
ALFREDO TOMÁS ORTEGA OJEDA, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO DE LA COSTA SUR
VICIOS Y VIRTUDES DEL MODELO DE ACREDITACIÓN EN EL SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR CHILENO …….. 906
JUAN CAMEL TALA JAPAZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE CHILE
PAULINA HIDALGO PÉREZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE CHILE
ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIO EXTERIOR PARA LA INTRODUCCIÓN DE UNA PYME DE EXPORTACIÓN DE TAMALES,
EN CIUDAD JUÁREZ CHIHUAHUA ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 920
JULIO CESAR BRIONES BENAVENTE, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ
PERLA IVETTE GÓMEZ ZEPEDA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ
NIDIA GISELA NAFARRATE ROBLES, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ
FELIPE CHONTAL RAMOS, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ
RENE MELÉNDEZ SEPÚLVEDA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE CIUDAD JUÁREZ
PANORAMA DE LA PARTICIPACIÓN DE LAS MICRO, PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS BAJACALIFORNIANAS EN
PROCESOS DE GESTIÓN DE LA CALIDA ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 931
PATRICIA VALDÉS FLORES, CETYS UNIVERSIDAD
VIOLENCIA Y DESERCIÓN DE ESTUDIANTES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR …………………………………………………….. 932
MARÍA GUADALUPE DURAZO BRINGAS, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
BERTHA GUADALUPE OJEDA GARCÍA, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
¿POR QUÉ HIZO CRISIS EL SISTEMA EDUCATIVO CHILENO?: EVIDENCIA Y ESPECULACIÓN …………………………… 938
PAULINA HIDALGO PÉREZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE CHILE
INSEGURIDAD Y CONSUMO: CASO AUTLÁN DE NAVARRO, JALISCO. MÉXICO …………………………………………… 952
CESAR AMADOR DÍAZ PELAYO, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
CLAUDIA LETICIA PRECIADO ORTÍZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
ELSY CLAUDIA CHAN GAMBOA, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
CARLOS MANUEL OROZCO SANTILLÁN, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA

xiv
WEB EDUCATIVA PARA EL REFORZAMIENTO DE LAS CIENCIAS MATEMÁTICAS, EN LA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS
ADMINISTRATIVAS, UABC MEXICALI …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 963
OSCAR MANUEL MADRIGAL LIZÁRRAGA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EFICIENCIA EN LAS INSTITUCIONES EDUCATIVAS PÚBLICAS DE LA CIUDAD DE SANTA MARTA CON “DATA
ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 964
DELIMIRO VISBAL CADAVID, UNIVERSIDAD DEL MAGDALENA
ROLANDO ESCORCIA CABALLERO, UNIVERSIDAD DEL MAGDALENA
JOSÉ MARIO AGUDELO TOLOZA, UNIVERSIDAD DEL MAGDALENA
IMPLEMENTACIÓN DEL SIMULADOR FISCAL DESDE LA PERSPECTIVA DEL ALUMNADO EN EL PROCESO DE
ENSEÑANZA APRENDIZAJE EN LA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA
DE BAJA CALIFORNIA ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 965
GLORIA ALICIA NIEVES BERNAL, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARÍA BELÉN MURILLO PEDRAZA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
CLAUDIA VIVIANA ÁLVAREZ VEGA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ERNESTO ALONSO PÉREZ MALDONADO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
DETECCIÓN DE LOS FACTORES DE RESILIENCIA COMO SITUACIONES MOTIVACIONALES PARA EL ÉXITO EN LOS
ALUMNOS DEL INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE MEXICALI ………………………………………………………………………… 970
GLORIA ALICIA NIEVES BERNAL, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
RAFAEL CRUZ CASANOVA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MANUEL MUÑOZ AGUILERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LEONEL ROSILES LÓPEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EL IMPUESTO AL VALOR AGREGADO EN MÉXICO, SUS EXENCIONES Y LAS DIFERENTES TASAS: FACTORES QUE
AFECTAN LA RECAUDACIÓN ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 980
MARTHA SHEILA GÓMEZ GONZÁLEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
MÓNICA ARACELI REYES RODRÍGUEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
FUENTES DE FINANCIAMIENTO EN LAS PYMES EXPORTADORAS DEL ESTADO DE COLIMA MÉXICO ………………. 992
JESÚS OTONIEL SOSA RODRÍGUEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA.
AURELIO DENIZ GUIZAR, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA.
ÓSCAR BERNARDO REYES REAL, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA.
RECICLAJE DE RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS MUNICIPALES EN TIJUANA; UNA APROXIMACIÓN A LOS ASPECTOS
AMBIENTALES, SOCIOECONÓMICOS, INSTITUCIONALES Y JURÍDICOS ………………………………………………………. 999
CELSA GUADALUPE SÁNCHEZ VÉLEZ, CETYS UNIVERSIDAD, CAMPUS TIJUANA
EL PROCESO DE SUCESIÓN EN LAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES: GARANTÍA DE CONTINUIDAD, LEGADO Y
COMPETITIVIDAD ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1000
MA. DE LOS ANGELES MONTERDE VALENZUELA, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA
EVOLUCIÓN DEL CENTRO DESARROLLO EMPRESARIAL-UABC EN EL VALLE DE MEXICALI …………………………… 1010
MARCELA REYES PAZOS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA, CAMPUS MEXICALI
EL COMPORTAMIENTO EMPRENDEDOR DE FRANQUICIADOS A TRAVÉS DE LA INFLUENCIA DE RASGOS
PSICOLÓGICOS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1018
HÉCTOR PRIEGO HUERTAS, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA, MÉXICO
ROBERTO ESPÍRITU OLMOS, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA, MÉXICO
HUGO MARTÍN MORENO ZACARÍAS, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA, MÉXICO

xv
INSTRUMENTOS DE GESTIÓN PARTICIPATIVA EN LA ADMINISTRACIÓN PÚBLICA: PROPUESTA DE UN SISTEMA DE
INDICADORES PARA LA PLANEACIÓN ESTATAL EN BAJA CALIFORNIA …………………………………………………….. 1030
SHEILA DELHUMEAU RIVERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ANDREA SPEARS KIRKAND, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MÓNICA LACAVEX BERUMEN, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
INDICADORES DE DESEMPEÑO Y PERCEPCIÓN CIUDADANA. REFLEXIONES SOBRE EL CASO DE SEGURIDAD
PÚBLICA EN ENSENADA, BAJA CALIFORNIA ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1036
ISABEL ADRIANA ESCOBEDO FUENTES, PRONATURA
SHEILA DELHUMEAU RIVERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ANDREA SPEARS KIRKAND, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
RELACIONES INTERGUBERNAMENTALES TRANSFRONTERIZAS. UN INSTRUMENTO DE ANÁLISIS PARA LAS
INTERACCIONES ENTRE CALIFORNIA Y BAJA CALIFORNIA …………………………………………………………………….. 1042
SHEILA DELHUMEAU RIVERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EL INVENTARIO DE BAR-ON EN EL DEPARTAMENTO DE ASIENTOS DE DESARROLLO TÉCNICO DE VOLKSWAGEN DE
MÉXICO ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1048
RAFAELA MARTÍNEZ MÉNDEZ, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
JOSUÉ ALDO MACHORRO VÁZQUEZ, BENEMÉRITA. UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
MARIANA NOCEDAL DE LA GARZA, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
SANDRA OLIVERA POMPOSO, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
MÉTODOS MIXTOS PARA EL ESTUDIO DE LAS DECISIONES ESTRATÉGICAS EN LAS PYMES …………………………. 1060
FABIOLA BALTAR, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE MAR DEL PLATA
NATACHA GENTILE, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE MAR DEL PLATA
LA RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL CORPORATIVA …………………………………………………………………………………….. 1072
JUAN MANUEL ALBERTO PERUSQUÍA VELASCO ,UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
OLGA LIDIA GUTIÉRREZ GUTIÉRREZ , UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ANÁLISIS DE LA PRESCRIPCIÓN FISCAL EN MÉXICO ……………………………………………………………………………… 1076
LEONEL ROSILES LÓPEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
NELSON ISAAC PADILLA CASTRO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
CRUZ ELDA MACÍAS TERÁN, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SANTIAGO PÉREZ ALCALÁ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ESTUDIO DEL COMPROMISO ORGANIZACIONAL EN UN COLEGIO PARTICULAR, EN ENSENADA, B.C. …………… 1081
ROCIO GUTIERREZ ALANIS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARÍA CONCEPCION RAMIREZ BARON, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
BLANCA ROSA GARCÍA RIVERA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIALIZACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DEL QUESO COTIJA REGIÓN DE ORIGEN ……………….. 1092
OSCAR HUGO PEDRAZA RENDÓN, UNIVERSIDAD MICHOACANA DE SAN NICOLÁS DE HIDALGO
RUBÉN MOLINA MARTÍNEZ, UNIVERSIDAD MICHOACANA DE SAN NICOLÁS DE HIDALGO
MARÍA SOLEDAD RAMÍREZ FLORES, UNIVERSIDAD MICHOACANA DE SAN NICOLÁS DE HIDALGO
FACTORES QUE INTERVIENEN EN EL DESARROLLO Y CONTINUIDAD DE LAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES DE TEHUACÁN
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1097
HILARIO DÍAZ GUZMÁN, UNIVERSIDAD POPULAR AUTÓNOMA DEL ESTADO DE PUEBLA
GABRIELA SÁNCHEZ BAZÁN, UNIVERSIDAD POPULAR AUTÓNOMA DEL ESTADO DE PUEBLA

xvi
HABILIDADES SOCIALES, FACTOR DETERMINANTE EN LA TOMA DE DECISIONES EN EL SECTOR SERVICIOS:
RESTAURANTES TURÍSTICOS, EN ENSENADA, B. C. ………………………………………………………………………………. 1098
KARLA RAMÍREZ-BARÓN, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
OMAIRA CECILIA MARTÍNEZ MORENO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARÍA CONCEPCIÓN RAMÍREZ BARÓN, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LA IMPORTANCIA DE UN SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN VIRTUAL EN EL CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO DE LA COSTA SUR DE
LA UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA (CUCSUR) …………………………………………………………………………………… 1109
OSCAR GUZMÁN VARGAS, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
MARTHA SHEILA GÓMEZ GONZÁLEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
MOVILIDAD HACIA LOS MEDIOS MASIVOS DE INFORMACIÓN ………………………………………………………………. 1117
HELBERT ELI GAZCA SANTOS, INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE MÉRIDA
ANDRÉS MIGUEL PEREYRA CHAN, INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE MÉRIDA
KARINA CONCEPCIÓN GONZÁLEZ HERRERA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA METROPOLITANA
IMPACTO DEL BURNOUT Y LA SATISFACCIÓN LABORAL EN LOS GERENTES DE LAS MAQUILADORAS EN TECATE,
B.C. MÉXICO …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1129
SILVIA HERNÁNDEZ SOLIS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
OMAIRA CECILIA MARTÍNEZ MORENO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LOURDES EVELYN APODACA DEL ANGEL, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
DE LA MOVILIDAD A LA MIGRACIÓN: FACTORES ASOCIADOS ……………………………………………………………….. 1130
KARINA CONCEPCIÓN GONZÁLEZ HERRERA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA METROPOLITANA
ADRIAN GONZÁLEZ ROMO, EL COLEGIO DE TLAXCALA A.C
ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIALIZACION DE LA MICRO Y PEQUEÑA EMPRESA AGROINDUSTRIAL EN LA CIUDAD DE
ENSENADA BAJA CALIFORNIA ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1134
SANTIAGO GONZÁLEZ VELÁSQUEZ, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE TIJUANA
MARÍA DE LOS ÁNGELES REYES NEVARES, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE TIJUANA
IMELDA YÁÑEZ RUIZ,UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE TIJUANA
LA INTELIGENCIA COMPETITIVA EN LAS EMPRESAS DE LA CIUDAD DE TIJUANA B.C. ………………………………… 1142
NORMA LETICIA VIZCARRA VIZCARRA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE TIJUANA
VIRGINIA GUADALUPE LÓPEZ TORRES, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
DORA ROCÍO GUERRERO MUÑOZ, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA DE TIJUANA
ESTRATEGIAS DE MERCADOTECNIA EN EMPRESAS MANUFACTURERAS DE LA ZONA METROPOLITANA DE LA
CIUDAD DE PUEBLA 2010 ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1150
MARIA DEL CARMEN DOMÍNGUEZ RÍOS, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
MARICELA RESENDIZ ORTEGA, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
MICHELE ALEXANDRA CORONA DOMÍNGUEZ, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
CONDICIONES DE LOS FACTORES QUE INFLUYEN EN LA COMPETITIVIDAD DE UN MUNICIPIO FRONTERIZO … 1159
OSCAR OMAR OVALLE OSUNA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SILVIA HERNÁNDEZ SOLÍS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SERGIO VALE SÁNCHEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LAS PYMES FAMILIARES VS. LAS NO FAMILIARES EN EL CONTEXTO DE UNA ECONOMÍA EN CRECIMIENTO: UN
ESTUDIO DE CASOS SOBRE LA CONTRIBUCIÓN DE LA INNOVACIÓN AL DESEMPEÑO ………………………………… 1160
LUIS ANTONIO MORENO SEGURA, TECNOLÓGICO DE MONTERREY CAMPUS LAGUNA

xvii
LA PROFESIONALIZACIÓN COMO FACTOR DE COMPETITIVIDAD: UN ANALISIS DE LAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES DEL
SECTOR INDUSTRIAL, EN TIJUANA, B.C., MEXICO ………………………………………………………………………………… 1167
ALFONSO VEGA LÓPEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARÍA VIRGINIA FLORES ORTIZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARÍA MARCELA SOLÍS QUINTEROS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EDGAR ARMANDO CHÁVEZ MORENO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
OPCIÓN LEGAL PARA EVITAR LA EVASIÓN DEL PAGO DE IMPUESTO SOBRE LA RENTA EN LA INDUSTRIA DE LA
CONSTRUCCIÓN EN MÉXICO ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1177
CRUZ ELDA MACÍAS TERÁN, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LEONEL ROSILES LÓPEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SANTIAGO PÉREZ ALCALÁ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
CAROLINA ADAME MÁRQUEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
GLORIA ALICIA NIEVES BERNAL, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EL EFECTO ECONÓMICO DE LA MIGRACIÓN INTERNACIONAL EN EL CRECIMIENTO ECONÓMICO DE MÉXICO . 1183
MARTINA RODRÍGUEZ DOMÍNGUEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EMILIO HERNÁNDEZ GÓMEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
COOPERATIVA SANZEKAN TINEMI: PROMOTORA DE ALTERNATIVAS DE TRABAJO EN BASE AL DESARROLLO
ORGANIZACIONAL GUERRERENSE, MEXICO ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1189
ADRIANA PATRICIA SOTO AGUILAR, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
ELÍAS SOSA SÁNCHEZ, BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA
ANÁLISIS ECONÓMICO DEL COMERCIO AL POR MENOR EN LA CIUDAD DE MÉRIDA …………………………………. 1193
ROQUE HUMBERTO MARTÍN GAMBOA LEÓN, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA METROPOLITANA
LUCIA TRINIDAD PÉREZ CERVERA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA METROPOLITANA
KARINA CONCEPCIÓN GONZÁLEZ HERRERA, UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA METROPOLITANA
LA COMPETITIVIDAD COMO FACTOR DE DESARROLLO SUSTENTABLE INDICADORES PARA LA EVALUACION DE LA
INDUSTRIA MAQUILADORA …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1199
MARÍA ESTHER IBARRA ESTRADA, INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE TIJUANA, MÉXICO
MARIO JIMÉNEZ SUÁREZ, UNIVERSIDAD POPULAR AUTÓNOMA DEL ESTADO DE PUEBLA, MÉXICO
SOFÍA ELBA VÁZQUEZ HERRERA, UNIVERSIDAD POPULAR AUTÓNOMA DEL ESTADO DE PUEBLA, MÉXICO
EL IMPACTO QUE TIENE LA BIBLIOTECA DEL CICESE, EN RELACIÓN CON LA PRODUCTIVIDAD DE LOS
INVESTIGADORES DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE ACUICULTURA (DA) ……………………………………………………………. 1210
ELIZABETH AVILÉS BECERRIL, UABC/CICESE
MARÍA CONCEPCIÓN RAMÍREZ BARÓN, AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SONIA ROCHA MALDONADO, AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LIDERAZGO POLÍTICO: CARACTERÍSTICAS Y PARTICULARIDADES. UN ESTUDIO DE CASO …………………………… 1217
JORGE ACOSTA TILLERÍAS, UNIVERSIDAD DE SANTIAGO DE CHILE
INTENCIÓN DE EMPRENDIMIENTO EN ESTUDIANTES: EL CASO DE UNA UNIVERSIDAD PÚBLICA EN CIUDAD
JUÁREZ, MÉXICO ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1231
OSCAR JAVIER MONTIEL MÉNDEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CD. JUÁREZ (UACJ)
BLANCA LIDIA MÁRQUEZ MIRAMONTES, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CD. JUÁREZ (UACJ)
ZOILA ARÁMBULA MONREAL, CENTRO DE BACHILLERATO TECNOLÓGICO INDUSTRIAL Y DE SERVICIOS 114 (C.B.T.I.S. NO. 114)
LARISA ORDOÑEZ MOLINAR, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CD. JUÁREZ (UACJ)
INNOVACIONES TECNOLÓGICAS APLICADAS EN LA ENSEÑANZA DE LAS CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS ………… 1244

xviii
CLAUDIA VIVIANA ÁLVAREZ VEGA, UABC
MARÍA BELÉN MURILLO PEDRAZA, UABC
GLORIA ALICIA NIEVES BERNAL, UABC
FACTORES DETERMINANTES DE LA CALIDAD DEL SERVICIO DE UNA CAFETERÍA EN EL CAMPUS DE UNA
UNIVERSIDAD PÚBLICA …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1250
SONIA ELIZABETH MALDONADO-RADILLO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ANA MA. GUILLÉN JIMÉNEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
RAFAEL ERNESTO CARRANZA PRIETO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
EVALUACIÓN DEL NIVEL TECNOLÓGICO DE LAS PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS (PYMES) DEL SECTOR
SERVICIO EN MEXICALI, BAJA CALIFORNIA …………………………………………………………………………………………. 1256
ADELAIDA FIGUEROA VILLANUEVA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SÓSIMA CARRILLO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MANUEL ALEJANDRO IBARRA CISNEROS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
RICARDO CHING WESMAN, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LA EDUCACIÓN CONTINÚA COMO MEDIO PARA APOYAR LA COMPETITIVIDAD DE LAS PYMES Y LA VINCULACIÓN
EMPRESARIAL CON LAS INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR ……………………………………………………….. 1257
JULIO CÉSAR LEÓN PRIENTO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SÓSIMA CARRILLO, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ANA CECILIA BUSTAMANTE VALENZUELA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ADELAIDA FIGUEROA VILLANUEVA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
REALIDADES Y OPORTUNIDADES DE EMPLEO EN MÉXICO ……………………………………………………………………. 1262
RAÚL GONZÁLEZ NÚÑEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ALMA DELIA INDA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ELSA LOURDES SALAZAR RUÍZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
ADELAIDA FIGUEROA VILLANUEVA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
CENTRO ECO-TURÍSTICO EXCAMÉ …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1266
ANA KAREN FRAIRE, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
MARÍA DE LA LUZ MORA SALAS, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
KAREN YURIDIA ESTUPIÑAN PÉREZ, INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO SUPERIOR NORTE
COACHING PARA EL DESARROLLO DEL ALTO DESEMPEÑO PARA EMPRESAS PUBLICITARIAS: CASO ISA
CORPORATIVO S.A. DE C.V. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1267
OMAR ERNESTO TERÁN VARELA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
GILBERTO CERVANTES MORENO, EGRESADO DE LA ESCA UNIDAD TEPEPAN IPN
ENRIQUE ESPINOSA AYALA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
NAYELI JUÁREZ MONTOYA, CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO UAEM AMECAMECA
LA CRISIS FINANCIERA, EL RACIONAMIENTO DE CRÉDITO Y LA RELACIÓN BANCARIA DE LAS PYME EN ESPAÑA
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1268
ALAITZ MENDIZABAL ZUBELDIA, UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAÍS VASCO
AITZIBER LERTXUNDI, INSTITUTO DE ECONOMÍA APLICADA A LA EMPRESA
JESÚS GARMENDIA IBÁÑEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAÍS VASCO
PERCEPCIÓN DE LA CALIDAD DEL SERVICIO DE LA EDUCACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA DE ALUMNOS Y PROFESORES 1274
OSCAR REYES SÁNCHEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARCELA REYES PAZOS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA

xix
LA PERSPECTIVA CUALITATIVA DE LA MATERIALIDAD EN AUDITORÍA: EVIDENCIA EMPÍRICA EN MÉXICO Y
COLOMBIA ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1275
SERGIO IVÁN RAMÍREZ CACHO, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA, MÉXICO
MARIO DE JESÚS NARANJO GONZÁLEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE COLIMA, MÉXICO
EL EMPLEO Y SALARIO QUE SE PAGA EN BAJA CALIFORNIA, ¿CONTRIBUYEN AL BIENESTAR SOCIAL DEL SER
HUMANO? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1285
ALMA DELIA INDA, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
GLORIA MUÑOZ DEL REAL, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
RAÚL GONZÁLEZ NÚÑEZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
COMPRADORES MIGRANTES Y NO MIGRANTES DEL SUPERMERCADO A LA TIENDA DE BARRIO EN CARTAGENA
DE INDIAS – COLOMBIA ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1298
EMPERATRIZ LONDOÑO ALDANA, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
MARÍA EUGENIA NAVAS RÍOS, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
JAIRO OROZCO TRIANA, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
CLAUDIA ESTHER TORRES HERRERA , UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
SISTEMA DE GESTIÓN INTEGRAL DE PROVEDORES DE LA CORPORACIÓN DE CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGÍA PARA EL
DESARROLLO DE LA INDUSTRIA NAVAL, MARÍTIMA Y FUVIAL EN COLOMBIA ………………………………………….. 1309
JOSÉ MORELOS GÓMEZ, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
TOMÁS JOSÉ FONTALVO HERRERA, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
JUAN CARLOS VERGARA SCHMALBACH, UNIVERSIDAD DE CARTAGENA
ASPECTOS ÉTICOS EN LA FORMA DE EJERCER LOS INGRESOS PÚBLICOS EN MÉXICO ………………………………… 1315
ERIKA OLIVAS VALDEZ, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
ROSSANA PALOMINO CANO, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
FRANCISCO JAVIER PESTAÑO URUCHURTU, CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS SUPERIORES DEL ESTADO DE SONORA.
LOS RETOS DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL SECTOR METALMECÁNICO EN EL DESARROLLO ECONÓMICO DE BAJA
CALIFORNIA ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1321
LOURDES EVELYN APODACA DEL ANGEL, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
MARÍA DEL CARMEN ALCALÁ ÁLVAREZ, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
SILVIA HERNÁNDEZ SOLÍS, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
LAS PRÁCTICAS DE ALTO RENDIMIENTO INFLUENCIA DE LA AUTORIDAD NO FORMAL EN LA ADMINISTRACION
DEL TALENTO HUMANO Y SU IMPACTO EN LOS RESULTADOS EMPRESARIALES ………………………………………. 1322
JUAN NICOLÁS MONTOYA MONSALVE , UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA
SANTIAGO GUTIÉRREZ BRONCANO, UNIVERSIDAD REY JUAN CARLOS
ALVARO MONCADA NIÑO , CONSULTOR ORGANIZACIONAL
INDEX OF AUTHORS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1335
UNIVERSITIES AND INSTITUTIONS REPRESENTED ………………………………………………………………………… 1339
COUNTRIES REPRESENTED ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1342

ENGLISH PROCEEDINGS

Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012

GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 2

RISK ANALYSIS VIA REGRESSION QUANTILES –
EVIDENCE FROM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY
MARKETS
Hongtao Guo, Salem State University
Miranda S Lam, Salem State University
Guojun Wu, University of Houston
Zhijie Xiao, Boston College

ABSTRACT

In this paper we study risk management based on a robust method via quantile regression. Unlike the
traditional VaR estimation methods, the quantile regression approach allows for a general treatment on
the error distribution and is robust to distributions with heavy tails. The empirical application to five
international equity indexes confirms this.

JEL: G110; G150; C18

KEYWORDS: Value at risk, international equities, risk analysis

INTRODUCTION

The Value-at-Risk (VaR) is the loss in market value over a given time horizon that is exceeded with
probability p, where p is often set at 0.01 or 0.05. In recent years, VaR has become a popular tool in the
measurement and management of financial risk. This popularity is spurred both by the need of various
institutions for managing risk and by government regulations [see Dowd (1998), Saunders (1999)].

Although VaR is a relatively simple concept, its measurement is in fact a challenging task. In particular,
there is little research on how good these VaR estimates are. Currently there are two broad classes of
methods in estimating VaR [see Beder (1995) and Duffie and Pan (1997) for surveys on this topic]. The
first approach is based on the assumption of a conditionally normal stock return distribution. The
estimation of VaR is equivalent to estimating conditional volatility of returns. Since there is a large and
growing literature on volatility modeling itself, this class is indeed a large and expanding world. There
has been accumulated evidence that portfolio returns are usually not normally distributed. In particular, it
is frequently found that market returns display negative skewness and excess kurtosis in the distribution
of the time series. These findings suggest that VaR estimation by a more robust method is needed. The
second class of VaR estimators is based on computing the empirical quantile nonparametrically; for
example, using rolling historical quantiles. Other approaches in estimating VaR include the hybrid
method by Boudoukh, Richardson and Vhitelaw (1998), and the method based on the extreme value
theory [see, for example, Boos (1984), McNeil (1998), and Neftci (2000)].

We believe that the quantile regression method is well suited for estimating VaRs. Quantile regression
was introduced by Koenker and Bassett (1978) and has now become a popular robust approach for
statistical analysis. Just as classical linear regression methods based on minimizing sums of squared
residuals enable one to estimate models for conditional mean functions, quantile regression methods offer
a mechanism for estimating models for the conditional median function and the full range of other

Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012

GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 3

conditional quantile functions. In recent years, quantile regression has been extended to time series
models. In particular, Koul and Saleh (1992) studied quantile regression methods for autoregressive
processes and Koul and Mukherjee (1994) studied quantile regression in long-memory models. Koenker
and Zhao (1996) extended quantile regression to ARCH models. Engle and Manganelli (1999) propose a
CaVaR model based on the regression quantiles.

In this paper, we estimate VaR via quantile regression ARCH models. This model has the advantage that
its statistical property and computation methods are well developed and are very efficient. The estimation
procedure can be easily implemented on a regular personal computer. The estimation programs are
available in standard statistical packages such as S-Plus, and can also be easily written in other
programming languages. In addition, since GARCH models can be asymptotically represented by ARCH
processes, an ARCH model with an appropriate chosen number of lags can practically provide a good
approximation.

The SEC requires that for each category for which VaR disclosures are required, an institution must
provide not only information about the level of estimated VaRs, but also the distribution of the value at
risk amounts [see Blankley, Lamb and Schroeder (2000) for more detailed description of the SEC
disclosure requirements]. Current VaR estimation methods generally do not provide a systematic way to
measure how good the VaR estimates are. Mostly they assume that the estimated parameters have
asymptotically normal distribution and symmetric confidence bands are constructed around the VaR point
estimate. Pioneering work in this area includes Kupiec (1995), Hendricks (1996), Lopez (1998) and
Dowd (2000). In a limited sample, however, this method may not be appropriate. Beder (1995), for
example, applied different VaR estimation methods to three hypothetical portfolios and found huge
variations in estimated VaR for the same portfolios. Accurate estimation of the conditional probability
distribution of portfolio returns is very important in risk management. Obviously, a robust method for
estimating VaR and the associated confidence bands are necessary if these estimates are to be useful for
risk management purposes.

The remainder of the article is organized as follows. Section 2 motivates and describes the quantile
regression approach to VaR, estimation. Section 3 provides data descriptions and conducts the estimation.
Empirical results regarding estimated VaR and model performance are reported and discussed. Finally,
Section 4 contains the concluding remarks.

ESTIMATING VAR BY REGRESSION QUANTILES

In this paper, we consider a return process {rt} generated by the following regression model with
conditional heteroscedasticity

𝑟𝑡 = ⍺𝛼′𝑥𝑡 + 𝑢𝑡 (1)

where the error term satisfies

𝑢𝑡 = ( 𝛾0 + 𝛾1 |𝑢𝑡−1| + . . . +𝛾𝑞 �𝑢𝑡−𝑞�) ℇ𝑡, (2)
.
with 𝛾0 > 0, (𝛾1, . . . , 𝛾𝑞) ′ ∊ ℜ+
𝑞 then this is a time series with ARCH effect. Here we assume that the
innovations {ℇ𝑡 } have a general distribution F. In model (1), 𝑥𝑡 is the vector of regressors which may
include lag values of the dependent variable 𝑟𝑡

Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012

GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 4

. By definition, the conditional value at risk (VaR) at p-percent level is

-Va𝑅𝑡(𝑝) = 𝛼⍺′𝑥𝑡 + ( 𝛾0 + 𝛾1 |𝑢𝑡−1| + . . . +𝛾𝑞 �𝑢𝑡−𝑞�)𝐹−1(𝑝) = ⍺α′𝑥𝑡 + 𝛾(𝑝)′ 𝑍𝑡, (3)

Where
𝑍𝑡= (1, |𝑢𝑡−1| , . . . , �𝑢𝑡−𝑞� )′
and
𝛾(𝑝)′ =( 𝛾0,𝛾1, . . . ,𝛾𝑞)𝐹−1( 𝑝).

Quantile regression provides a direct approach of estimating the γ(p) and other parameters, thus delivering
an estimator of VaRt(p). In particular, the ARCH parameters, γ(p) can be estimated by
the following problem
𝛾� (𝑝)= arg 𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝛾 ∊ ℜ𝑘
[
∑
𝑡 ∊ {𝑡:𝑢𝑡 ≥ 𝑧𝑡′𝛾}
𝑝|𝑢𝑡− 𝑧𝑡 ′ 𝛾| +
∑
𝑡 ∊ {𝑡:𝑢𝑡 < 𝑧𝑡′𝛾} (1 – p)|𝑢𝑡 − 𝑧𝑡′ 𝛾|] (4) In practice, we can replace 𝑢𝑡 and 𝑍𝑡 by their (say, OLS) estimators and, under mild regularity conditions, the resulting 𝛾�(p) is still a root-n consistent estimator of 𝛾 (p). Given the models (1) and (2), if the lags are correctly selected we should have Pr { 𝑟𝑡 0.89 over 2003-2011) and the 24-month tenor contracts were relatively illiquid
prior to 2005.

If the convenience yield is high enough, the observed forward price will be less than the spot price. This
occurs quite frequently in oil and gas markets where the premium for immediacy is very real. If however,
this relationship does not hold and the forward price is much higher than spot when taking into account
high working capital costs (funding and storage), the convenience yield converges to zero.

In addition to the cost-of-carry theory, Brennan (1958) established an equilibrium model for commodity
inventories which assumes that the marginal convenience value of a good is a decreasing function of its
aggregate inventory in the economy. Brennan therefore suggests a negative relationship between
convenience yield and stock levels, which has been verified empirically for some commodities (Fama and
French, 1988; Gibson and Schwartz, 1990; Modjtahedi and Movassagh, 2005) and will be tested for the
bulk commodity markets in the following analysis.

THE MODEL

Let 𝐹(𝑡,𝑇) be the forward price at time t for delivery of the commodity at time T and let 𝑆(𝑡) be the spot
price. According to the theory of storage under an arbitrage-free framework the return from purchasing
the commodity at t and selling it for delivery at T, 𝐹(𝑡,𝑇) − 𝑆(𝑡), will equal the net cost of holding the
commodity computed as the interest forgone during storage 𝑆(𝑡)𝑅(𝑡,𝑇) plus the marginal storage cost
𝑊(𝑡,𝑇) minus the marginal convenience yield 𝐶(𝑡,𝑇):

𝐹(𝑡,𝑇) − 𝑆(𝑡) = 𝑆(𝑡)𝑅(𝑡,𝑇) +𝑊(𝑡,𝑇) − 𝐶(𝑡,𝑇). (1)

This notation follows Fama and French (1987). In a normal market forward prices should exceed spot
prices by an amount that is equivalent to interest costs and storage costs and any deviation from this is
explained via the so-called convenience yield. This quantity is a marginal spread component which can be
modeled as an option on a positive spread between spot and forward prices.

The forward price at date t is determined by current storage levels and the expected demand and
production levels at T. When the market experiences higher demand or reduced supply, storage falls to
zero. If production at T is known with certainty then we expect a direct but negative relationship between
the forward price and storage levels which sets an upper bound for the forward price. When supply and
demand is in perfect equilibrium we expect the convenience yield to equal zero however when equation
(1) holds we obtain 𝐶(𝑡,𝑇) > 0. A temporary shock in demand or supply conditions during the business
cycle will cause a change in storage levels which in turn affects the spot price. This will give rise to a risk
premium for possession of the commodity resulting in a positive convenience yield.

Fama and French (1988) consider the behavior of the convenience yield on an interest-adjusted basis
which avoids the need to directly estimate the convenience yield. But this approach fails to provide a
complete picture of the true convenience yield. For thermal coal, the storage cost implied in (1) is not
difficult to estimate and so observing the true convenience yield is feasible. Using the alternative
approach of Milonas and Thomadakis (1997) who treat the convenience yield as an option, we set the spot
price as the underlying variable and the price of a 3-month forward contract as the exercise price. Under a

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GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 17

cost-of-carry framework with zero storage cost, the convenience yield is the difference between the net
cost of carrying a nearby and a distant futures contract observed at time 0,

𝐶𝑌(0,𝑇) = Max(𝐹(0, 𝑡) − 𝐹(𝑡,𝑇), 0). (2)

The convenience yield from t to T observed at 0 at the commencement of the business cycle ignores the
cost of storage. Therefore including the storage cost 𝑊(𝑡,𝑇) permits equation (2) to be defined as

𝐶𝑌(0,𝑇) = Max(𝐹⋆(0, 𝑡) − 𝐹(𝑡,𝑇), 0). (3)

where 𝐹⋆(0, 𝑡) = 𝐹(0, 𝑡) + 𝑊(0,𝑇) assuming 𝑡 = 0.

Since both the spot price and the forward price (exercise price) are stochastic we assume they both follow
standard diffusion processes which can be expressed as

𝑑𝐹(0, 𝑡) = 𝜇1𝑚𝐹(0, 𝑡)𝑑𝑡 + 𝜎1𝑚𝐹(0, 𝑡)𝑑𝑧1𝑚,
𝑑𝐹(𝑡,𝑇) = 𝜇3𝑚𝐹(𝑡,𝑇)𝑑𝑡 + 𝜎3𝑚𝐹(𝑡,𝑇)𝑑𝑧3𝑚,

where the subscripts 1m and 3m represent the 1- and 3-month tenor for each forward contract
respectively. We make the important assumption that the diffusion terms 𝑑𝑧𝑡 are uncorrelated. The
associated boundary condition is defined as

𝐹(0, 𝑡)Max(𝐹𝑇 − 1,0), (4)

where 𝐹𝑇 = 𝐹⋆(0, 𝑡) 𝐹(𝑡,𝑇)⁄ . Applying Ito’s lemma yields the following closed form solution

𝐶𝑌(0,𝑇) = 𝐹⋆(0, 𝑡)𝑁(𝑑1) − 𝐹(𝑡,𝑇)𝑁(𝑑2), (5)

where

𝑑1 =
ln(𝐹𝑇)+σc2τ 2⁄
𝜎𝑐√𝜏
,
𝑑2 = 𝑑1 − 𝜎𝑐√𝜏 =
ln(𝐹𝑇)−σc2τ 2⁄
𝜎𝑐√𝜏
,

and

𝜎𝑐2 = 𝜎𝐹⋆(0,𝑡)
2 + 2𝜎𝐹⋆(0,𝑡)𝜎𝐹(𝑡,𝑇)𝜌𝐹⋆(0,𝑡)𝐹(𝑡,𝑇) + 𝜎𝐹(𝑡,𝑇)
2 , (6)

where 𝜎𝑖 is the volatility of each forward contract i, 𝜌𝑖𝑗 is the correlation coefficient of both forward
contracts and 𝜏 is the period between the 1-month and the 3-month contracts. This derivation relies on the
price of a traded asset as the strike price which resolves the unknown variable problem of the option
approach (Lin and Duan, 2007).

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RESULTS

We use the 1-month API4 price to represent the spot price of thermal coal since it is the nearest contract
for delivery. The 3-month forward API4 price is used to represent the forward price as it is the forward
contract with the highest liquidity. For the risk-free rate we use 3-month US Treasury bill yields. We
obtained actual storage costs at Richard’s Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) for the storage cost component of
the model. We also make a quality adjustment to the coal at a depletion rate of 120kcal/kg per 3-month
period, which acts as a linear price discount for a parcel of coal. No other quality adjustments were made.
A non-zero storage cost does not greatly alter the observed behavior in the implied convenience yield
curve over time, since storage fees are a small portion of the total cost of thermal coal (US$2-3/t
annually).

Convenience yields are calculated on a daily basis throughout the observation month and then averaged
over each month. We calculate the monthly convenience yields from January to December and use July,
when spot prices peak, as the shock month to estimate convenience yields. We apply a simple regression
analysis to examine the relationship between convenience yields and inventory levels, covariance and
interest rates and the convenience yield computed using the option formulation of equation (5) and the
convenience yield computed using the traditional cost of carry formulation of equation (1). The regression
equations are

𝐶𝑌𝑡,𝑇
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝛽0 + 𝛽1𝐼𝑡−1 + 𝜀𝑡, (7)
𝐶𝑌𝑡,𝑇𝐶𝑜𝐶 = 𝛽0 + 𝛽1𝐼𝑡−1 + 𝛽2𝜎𝑐,𝑡2 + 𝛽3𝑟𝑓𝑡 + 𝜀𝑡, (8)

where 𝐼𝑡−1 is the one-month lagged inventory level, 𝜎𝑐2 is the covariance of the spot and forward contract
prices as per equation (6) and 𝑟𝑓𝑡 is the risk-free rate at time t. The theory of storage suggests that holding
inventory becomes more costly during periods of high interest rates and therefore, convenience yields
should be positively related to the risk-free rate as well as the covariance of the spot and forward prices.

Table 1 presents the convenience yields calculated based on the call option 𝐶𝑌𝑡,𝑇
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 and cost-of-carry
𝐶𝑌𝑡,𝑇𝐶𝑜𝐶 models. The results show that the values of the convenience yields estimated from the options
model are higher than those from the cost-of-carry model, implying the strategic and management
flexibility valued using the options approach.

These results give support to the hypothesis of Brennan (1958) and suggest that the convenience yield is
highest when inventories are low. That is to say, the benefit of holding inventories is greatest during
periods of relative scarcity or heightened demand. In efficient pure contango markets the convenience
yield should be close to zero. If inventory levels are small relative to the amount consumed of the
commodity, the risk of a supply shock raises the convenience yield. If such risks are high enough, it is
expected that the forward market will revert to a backwardated market, often suddenly. Under such
conditions, it is also possible that arbitrage conditions may weaken or may even break down. It is
incorrect to assume, out of context, that rising inventories means an overhang of supply that translates
into lower prices until the market clears. Note that forward markets are priced on the principle of
equivalence. In a perfectly balanced market, a consumer is indifferent between buying a physical
commodity now and storing it for later consumption, and buying it for future delivery and letting the
producer pay for the storage costs.

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Table 1: Linear regression of convenience yields for thermal coal (API4) computed using the options
estimate and the cost of carry estimate on inventory, volatility and the risk-free rate by month 2004-10. t-
statistics in parentheses, * denotes significance at the 1 percent level.

Month Model 𝜷𝟎 𝜷𝟏 𝜷𝟐 𝜷𝟑 Adj 𝑹𝟐 F
Jan 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.054 -0.017 0.300 46.780
(0.554) (-0.017)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.148* -0.009* 2.245* -0.006* 0.315 17.409
(10.866) (-2.116) (6.088) (-3.453)
Feb 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.042* -0.010* 0.099 12.818
(5.633) (-3.580)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.123* -0.009* 1.150* -0.003* 0.304 16.579
(17.281) (-3.274) (4.283) (-2.679)
Mar 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.012* -0.013* 0.079 10.233
(3.930) (-3.199)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.125* -0.003* 2.326* 0.004* 0.653 67.985
(18.829) (-10.194) (9.220) (6.782)
Apr 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.017* -0.015* 0.252 34.060
(6.919) (-5.836)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.099* -0.009* 2.211* 0.011* 0.773 91.932
(12.972) (-10.730) (3.333) (15.299)
May 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.001 0.000 0.004 1.158
(0.888) (-1.319)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.167* -0.026* 7.107* 0.014* 0.589 51.681
(7.934) (-6.043) (7.861) (11.406) Jun 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.027* -0.046* 0.112 9.406
(2.773) (-3.127)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.114* -0.006* 4.331* 0.004* 0.947 63.253
(34.902) (-3.820) (29.445) (6.094)
Jul 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.074* -0.021* 0.170 23.360
(5.264) (-4.833)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.056* 0.010 1.089* 0.006* 0.148 7.330
(2.021) (1.062) (4.593) (2.872)
Aug 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.026* -0.046* 0.127 17.038
(4.867) (-4.128)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.073* -0.015* 4.852* 0.029* 0.431 28.718
(8.328) (-8.172) (7.004) (8.964)
Sep 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.011* -0.061* 0.091 7.062
(2.264) (-3.248)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 -0.111* 0.017* -1.623* 0.007* 0.853 75.776
(-5.924) (9.480) (-10.525) (4.250)
Oct 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.022* -0.035* 0.106 11.585
(3.797) (-3.404)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 -0.105* 0.018* 6.881* -0.015* 0.488 29.225
(-4.883) (6.965) (7.342) (-8.345)
Nov 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.059* -0.059* 0.186 25.149
(5.806) (-5.015)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 0.269* -0.009* -1.481* 0.004 0.356 20.540
(3.958) (-2.548) (-6.897) (0.845) Dec 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 0.015* -0.014* 0.156 20.611
(5.227) (-4.540)
𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚
𝐶𝑜𝐶 -0.048* 0.015* 1.553* 0.017* 0.737 99.975

(-4.466) (6.778) (6.442) (11.853)

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This situation, also known as full carry, seldom applies in practice. The world’s thermal coal consumers,
mainly power producers, cannot afford to run out of inventory and they therefore pay for the
‘convenience’ of having excess supplies available. This yield can be viewed as the commodity buyer’s
insurance payment for supplies. It also represents the producer’s cost of hedging by selling forward
contracts for the commodity. For bulk commodities such as coal where the cheapest place of storage is
generally with the producer, the convenience yield measure could be quite high.

Table 2 illustrates the convenience yields from the shock month of July to the final month of the cycle in
November. The negative correlation between the convenience yield and the inventory level suggests that
it is closely linked to business cycle, as the convenience yield is unrelated to the thermal coal stocks in
Europe.

Table 2: Estimated convenience yields of holding period from the shock month of July to October (final
month of the cycle) for 2004-10. t-statistics in parentheses, ** and * denotes significance at the 1 percent
and 5 percent levels respectively.

Jul-Oct 𝑪𝒀𝟏𝒎,𝟑𝒎
𝑶𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒀𝟏𝒎,𝟑𝒎𝑪𝒐𝑪
2004 0.07785 0.07101
2005 0.08735 0.08554
2006 0.11981 0.10407
2007 0.07554 0.07829
2008 0.02080 0.02515
2009 0.00729 0.02891
2010 0.06914 0.05949
Total 0.0654* 0.0646*
(4.4478) (5.8763)
Correlation 𝜌 -0.422** -0.123*
p-value <0.001 0.043 The theory of storage also predicts that, at a low inventory level, forward prices vary less than spot prices while at a high inventory level, spot prices and forward prices exhibit similar variability. Fama and French (1988) supported Samuelson’s hypothesis by examining the interest-adjusted basis of base metals. The convenience yield declines at higher inventory levels and rises at low inventory levels. To test the Samuelson (1965) hypothesis, we adopt the same approach as Fama and French (1988) and perform a regression of forward prices against spot prices. Next we conducted a regression of forward prices against spot prices using 𝑙𝑛�𝐹𝑡,𝑇 𝐹𝑡−1,𝑇−1⁄ � = 𝛼0 + 𝛼1𝑙𝑛(𝑆𝑡 𝑆𝑡−1⁄ ) + 𝜀𝑡, (9) categorized by high and low convenience yields for both the full sample and also for the shock month (July) data. The data was split by periods of high convenience yield and low convenience yield and the regression analysis then applied to estimate the 𝛼1 coefficients. Table 3 shows the results. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 21 Table 3: Regression of forward prices against spot prices using ln�Ft,T Ft−1,T−1⁄ � = α0 + α1ln(St St−1⁄ ) + εt split by high and low convenience yields for 2004-10 for the full sample and for the July data. t-statistics in parentheses, * denotes significance at the 1 percent level. Sample 𝐶𝑌1𝑚,3𝑚 𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 level 𝐶𝑌����1𝑚,3𝑚 𝑂𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝛼1 Full High 0.0572* 0.818* (5.4199) (2.7031) Low 0.0086* 0.9149* (3.4971) (42.557) July as shock High 0.0600* 0.765* (4.3043) (34.677) Low 0.0063* 0.9855* (5.5945) (89.026) We find that high convenience yields have smaller average values for the coefficients while low convenience yields have average coefficient values close to one. This implies that at a low inventory level the spot price of thermal coal varies more than the forward price with a high convenience yield derived using the option model approach, while at high inventory levels the spot and forward price of thermal coal have similar variability with smaller convenience yields. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of Samuelson (1965) and the results of Fama and French (1988). When contracts are far away from maturity they are thinly traded and exhibit low volatility. As the maturity nears, both trading volume and volatility increase. Specifically, spot contracts of thermal coal are usually used for balancing week-to-week needs and consequently exhibit high volatility. This result therefore suggests that the term structure of thermal coal forward volatility is monotonically decreasing. CONCLUSION We have shown that the convenience yield for thermal coal using an extended version of the Milonas and Thomadakis (1997) call option model (Lin and Duan, 2007) exhibits seasonality in the presence of the business cycle. The results show that the negative correlation between the convenience yields for API4 thermal coal and the inventory level at Richard’s Bay becomes more significantly negative when examined during periods of high spot prices during the business cycle. This demonstrates that the timing of the business cycle is critical to the calculation of the thermal coal convenience yield. These results also indicate that while interest rates are affected by economic activity they in turn affect convenience yields of thermal coal. We find evidence that supports the Samuelson (1965) hypothesis that spot and forward price variations of thermal coal are similar when a supply shock occurs during higher inventory levels and that spot prices will be more variable than the forward prices at lower inventory levels. Deferred forward contracts are less volatile than near maturity contracts because as a contract draws nearer to maturity, producers and consumers are forced to react more quickly to information shocks and thus the term structure of thermal coal forward volatility is monotonically decreasing. Estimated convenience yields using the options approach are shown to be higher at low inventory levels than at higher inventory levels. Thermal coal producers clearly prefer to stockpile the commodity rather than adjust production in response to changes in demand which implies that the costs of storage are less than the operating costs associated with changes to production capacity. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 22 REFERENCES Brennan, M.J. (1958) “The supply of storage,” American Economic Review, 48, 50-72. Carlson, M., Khokher, Z. and Titman, S. (2007) “Equilibrium exhaustible resource price dynamics,” Journal of Finance 62: 1663-1703. Fama, E. and French, K. (1987) “Commodity futures prices: some evidence on forecast power, premiums and the theory of storage,” Journal of Business 60: 55-74. Fama, E. and French, K. (1988) “Business cycles and the behavior of metals prices,” Journal of Finance 43: 1075-1793. Gibson, R. and Schwartz, E.S. (1990) “Stochastic convenience yield and the pricing of oil contingent claims,” Journal of Finance 45: 959-976. Heinkel, R., Howe, M. And Hughes, J.S. (1990) “Commodity convenience yields as an option profit,” Journal of Futures Markets 10: 519-533. Kaldor, N. (1939) “Speculation and economic stability,” Review of Economic Studies 7: 1-27. Lin, W.T. and Duan, C.W. (2007) “Oil convenience yields estimated under demand/supply shock,” Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 28: 203-225. Milonas, N.T. and Thomadakis, S.B. (1997) “Convenience yields as call options: an empirical analysis,” Journal of Futures Markets 17: 1-15. Milonas, N.T. and Henker, T., (2001) “Price spread and convenience yield behavior in the international oil market,” Applied Financial Economics, 11, 23-36. Miltersen, K. (2003) “Commodity price modeling that matches current observables: A new approach,” Quantitative Finance 3(1), 51-58. Modjtahedi, M. and Movassagh, N. (2005) “Natural gas futures: bias, predictive performance and the theory of storage,” Energy Economics 27: 617-637. Moison, D.L. and Sperry, D.R. (1992) “Influence of production costs and inventories on mineral prices,” Natural Resources Forum 16: 271-276. Routledge, B.R., Seppi, D.J. and Spatt, C.S. (2000) “Equilibrium forward curves for commodities,” Journal of Finance 55(3): 1297-1338. Samuelson, P.A. (1965) “Proof that properly anticipated prices fluctuate randomly,” Industrial Management Review 6: 41-50. Schwartz, E.S. (1997) “The stochastic behavior of commodity prices: implications for valuation and hedging,” Journal of Finance 52(3): 923-973. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 23 Working, H. (1949) “The theory of the price of storage,” American Economic Review 39: 1254-1262. BIOGRAPHY Jason West is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics at Griffith University. He also serves as a consultant to the global resources and energy sector. His research appears in journals such as Annals of Actuarial Science, Asia Pacific Financial Markets and the Electricity Journal. He can be reached at Griffith Business School, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD 4111 Australia, j.west@griffith.edu.au. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 24 AN ANALYSIS OF FIRM CREDIT ACROSS THE WORLD Rudolf Sivak, University of Economics in Bratislava Anetta Caplanova, University of Economics in Bratislava John Hudson, University of Bath Chris Hudson, JRH Economics Consulting ABSTRACT We use the World Values data set to analyze firm´s access to both trade and bank credit. There are substantial differences between and within countries, which remain significant even when we allow for firm and industry characteristics such as size, ownership, industrial sector, location, the firm’s domestic orientation and managerial experience. Hence it would appear that some countries and some regions within countries have less developed credit systems. Regional variations are linked to variations in the courts and the transport and Internet infrastructure. We also present evidence that the market substitutes trade credit for bank credit. JEL: G21, M2 KEYWORDS: trade credit, bank credit regional infrastructure, courts. INTRODUCTION The paper focuses on credit. We analyse both bank and trade credit, but particularly the former. It is based on more than 51,000 firms from 115 different ‘countries’ (The list is given in appendix. In reality there are less than 115 countries as some countries have been surveyed twice). Most of these will be developing countries, but the data also includes transition countries in Central and East Europe as well as some of the richer developing countries. This, as far as we are aware, is the first time such a large and diverse data base, covering so many countries has been used to analyse credit. Credit access is a critical factor for the development of the market economy. Constrained access to credit, which may be particularly important for small firms, can present a serious problem for their development (Carpenter and Petersen, 2002, Hutchinson and Xavier, 2006). There are several kinds of credit, both formal from financial institutions, and less formal trade credit from supplier firms and customers. In this paper we will be examining the determinants of trade credit and also overdrafts and lines of credit from the banks. A line of credit is defined as an available amount of credit that the establishment can draw upon from an account up to a pre-approved limit. Lines of credit usually carry monthly interest rates, and tend to be repaid quickly. They may or may not have a defined date of expiration, but tend to be short- term. A line of credit may take several forms such as cash credit, demand loan, export packing credit, term loan, discounting or purchase of commercial bills etc. To a large extent an overdraft is simply a specific form of a line of credit, but one which tends to carry a high rate of interest. The paper will proceed as follows. In the next section we will review the literature and then specify a functional form which will form the basis of the estimation. This empirical analysis will be based on a recent sample of firms from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys. In section 4 we describe this data and then in section 5 present the empirical results. Finally we conclude the paper. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 25 LITERATURE REVIEW The literature has concentrated on identifying differences between firms in their access to credit and also on differences between geographical regions and countries. Not all firms need or want credit. Rodriguez- Rodriguez (2006) concludes that firms in the hospitality sector make less use of trade credit and those in industry and construction use it most and these results are probably linked to ‘need’. Nadiri (1969), Ferris (1981) and Emery (1987) argue that transaction costs for the debtor are reduced considerably with immediate payment on delivery. But this is not possible for all firms in all industries, i.e. some firms need credit. A key factor in obtaining it is the ability to reduce the degree of informational asymmetry between potential creditor and debtor. Because of this the creditor needs to evaluate in some way, the credit worthiness of the potential debtor who in turn needs to signal credit worthiness. Thus, access to credit may be denied because of high fixed costs in evaluating creditworthiness, particularly for small firms (Zecchini and Ventura, 2009). Two factors serve to facilitate credit in the presence of asymmetric information, one is equity or collateral (Hubbard and Kashyap, 1992), the second is reputation (Diamond, 1989). Collateral can lessen credit rationing and borrowing costs. Berger and Udell (1995) focus on collateral in the context of commitment loans, i.e. overdrafts. Cressy and Toivanen (2001) emphasise that collateral can be particularly important with respect to unlisted firms. But if the small firm, particularly a small new firm, has no collateral or the legal system is inadequate to protect creditors’ rights, problems may remain. Small firms often do not have audited accounts and thus formal debt covenants linked to financial ratios are costly to write and enforce (Ortiz-Molina and Penas, 2008). Similarly, Hutchinson and Xavier (2006) found that new firms and firms with long term debt and SMEs were most constrained and faced large difficulties in accessing external sources of financing. To an extent the relationship between creditor and debtor is based on a degree of trust and the greater is this, the lower are potential evaluation costs. Trust can be built up over time and in part may be based on the information the creditor gains about the debtor (Lapavitsas, 2007). Ortiz-Molina and Penas (2008) also conclude that the evidence is that stronger relationships increase credit availability and reduce collateral requirements. To the extent that these relationships are linked to distance, we would expect these to be weakest in rural areas. Carling and Lundberg (2005) refer to this as the ‘church tower principle’, reflective of the bank as the church tower, which can observe firms in its proximity. In the context of bank lending, information relevant for screening and monitoring firms may be more difficult to come by for the more distant firms. As a consequence banks should reflect this in more strenuous standards in assessing the creditworthiness of distant firms. However, their empirical results gave no support for the existence of geographical credit rationing on behalf of the bank. There is support in the literature for the substitutability of trade credit and institutional credit. Atanasova (2007), e.g., confirmed the hypothesis that trade credit is taken up by firms as a substitute for institutional finance at the margin when they are credit constrained. Love, Preve and Sarria-Allende (2007), Valverde and del Paso (2009) and Mateut, Bougheas and Mizen (2006) all report results which support this possibility. Rodriguez-Rodriguez (2006) also argued that difficulties in accessing institutional finance may be compensated for by the greater use of trade credit, although it tends to be more expensive than other forms of institutional credit due to the high risk of non-payment. Smith (1987), Petersen and Rajan(1997) and Burkart and Ellingsen (2004), amongst others, argue that there is a link between trade credit and informational asymmetry. That is, a firm’s suppliers may have an informational advantage over banks when assessing credit risk and also in clearing merchandise in the event of non-payment of debt. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 26 In her empirical analysis of trade credit, Rodriguez-Rodriguez (2006) used profit (the more profitable the firm, the less likely it is to resort to trade credit), size, bank credit and industry sectors as explanatory factors in determining access to trade credit. The relevance of sectors is based in part on the advantage of firms over financial institutions in claiming back supplied intermediate goods in case of customer default. This possibility will vary across sectors depending upon the type of goods being supplied and their transformation by the customer (Petersen and Rajan, 1997). The age of the firm was also included in the analysis with the expectation that younger firms would experience the most difficulty in accessing bank funding. Most analyses find age to be significant in part because informational asymmetry tends to decline with age. Niskanen and Niskanen (2006) in their study of Finish firms found creditworthiness and access to capital markets to be important determinants of trade credit extended by sellers to small firms in a bank-dominated environment. Larger and older firms, and firms with strong internal financing are less likely to use trade credit, whereas firms with a high ratio of current assets to total assets, and firms subject to loan restructurings are more prone to using trade credit. There has been some analysis of regional differences in access to bank credit, but much less on trade credit. Roberts and Fishkind (1979) put forward several reasons for regional segmentation of bank credit markets. Firstly, the transaction costs of acquiring information about credit markets outside a region which would impact on isolated regions in particular. Secondly, non-homogeneity of regional assets making evaluation difficult. Finally, regional differences in liquidity preferences and risk aversion. Moore and Hill (1982) also pointed to differences in regional resources as a determinant of supply side credit availability. Rodriguez-Fuentes (1998) in an analysis of Spain concluded that banks may influence regional development by providing a regional pattern of credit availability that is likely to be spatially unbalanced. SPECIFYING A FUNCTIONAL FORM A firm will access a particular type of credit if the benefits outweigh the costs: Bij(Cij*) > Rij(Cij*) + TCij(Cij*) (1)

Where Cij* represents the optimal amount of credit for the i’th firm to obtain from the j’th creditor. The
benefits (B) relate to the increase in profits the credit can generate. These will vary from industry to
industry and in particular relate to the production lead time, i.e. the time between starting production and
receiving payment. For example, in the case of restaurants, the production lead time is relatively small
and the gap between buying food and receiving payment from the customer is generally less than a week.
Firms in other industries face more substantial problems. The lag, e.g. for the construction industry can be
substantial, particular with respect to house building. The costs in equation (1) fall into two kinds. Firstly
the repayment costs (R), which is basically the interest rate together with the amount of credit (C*), and
secondly the transaction costs (TC) of acquiring a loan. The ‘interest rate’ may be implicit as in trade
credit, or more explicit as with a bank loan. The transaction costs are in part incurred during the process
of providing the information to the potential creditor that they are credit worthy. These costs need to be
incurred whether or not credit is given and the possibility that credit may not be granted may make firms
reluctant to apply for credit in the first place.

The transaction costs relating to a specific credit type will be a function of the firm’s characteristics, i.e.
age, size and assets, the sector it operates in and the amount the creditor could recover in the event of loan

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default. The latter will depend upon the sector, the country’s legal system and the rule of law and also the
firm’s assets and possibly legal form. The transaction costs might also, on the church tower principal,
depend upon location, i.e. whether the firm is located in a large town or city or a rural area. Asset values
may also vary spatially. Repayment costs are likely to vary with firm and sector characteristics and the
benefits of credit will relate to the firm’s need. The latter will be proxied by sector and also by ownership,
with firms who are part of a group, either domestic or multinational, possibly less likely to need credit.
We assume that the probability of accessing multiple credit sources, and hence any single form of credit,
will increase with firm size and the amount of credit being sought. This is because the fixed, transaction
costs of applying for credit will become relatively less important compared to the marginal cost as the
amount being applied for increases. Given this, it might seem unlikely that a firm would seek multiple
sources of credit. The fixed transaction costs will have to be incurred for each potential creditor and if the
firm just has one source of credit they will need to apply only once (This ignores the fact that trade credit
is likely to be from multiple sources.) Yet we know that firms do have multiple credit sources and in
particular that this is the case for the firms in our sample. There are two possible explanations. Firstly, the
repayment costs may increase with the amount borrowed as this represents increased risk to the creditor
and increased likelihood of default. Secondly, the firm may wish to diversify the risk of losing a credit
source by accessing multiple credit sources.

One way of approaching the analysis is to assume that all firms can obtain credit from any source,
provided they can meet the costs, but for some firms who have difficulty signalling creditworthiness, this
may not be the case. Our functional form will be similar to that used by others in the literature. However,
the literature has emphasized that different sources of credit may be substitutable. In particular a firm
which cannot get credit from a bank may resort to trade credit. This too is clearly implicit in our analysis,
albeit within the context of high transaction costs for acquiring bank credit driving firms to trade credit,
where the transaction costs may be lower as suggested in the literature, but the interest payments
substantially higher. This raises estimation problems as decisions to access different credit modes are
jointly endogenous. Thus we will approach the issue of credit type substitutability in a different way, i.e.
from a regional perspective. For example, if bank credit is relatively prevalent in a locality then this
should lower the transaction costs of acquiring bank credit in that locality, in part because bankers will
have experience in evaluating credit worthiness of local firms and perhaps also in recovering assets in the
case of default. This should impact upon the probability of any one firm acquiring bank credit and, if the
substitutability argument is valid, reduce the probability of accessing trade credit. Thus in addition to
firm characteristics, as outlined above, and sector and country fixed effects, we will also include regional
credit characteristics in the analysis. We only include regional access to bank credit and not trade credit.
In part it is likely to be the former which drives the latter, i.e. trade credit will respond to a lack of bank
credit. But in part too, the data on trade credit is not as full in its coverage as that for bank credit.

More generally we also anticipate regional differences in the credit structure due to differences in
accessing information which may vary with regional characteristics such as population density and
regional history. Specifically we will include information on regional infrastructure, both physical linked
to transport and electronic linked to communication. Finally, it is important to stress that the foundation
for credit is trust, albeit trust conditioned with caution, and it is possible for trust to differ also between
regions and not simply between countries. To an extent trust is fostered by a sound legal system where
agents will have confidence that contracts will be enforced. Hence we will also include information on
regional qualities of courts.

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THE DATA

In the empirical analysis, we use the data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys (More information is
available and the data accessible at http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/). These are off 55,284 firms across
the world, although not all the firms have data suitable for analysis. The surveys were carried out between
2006 and 2010 and some countries will have been surveyed twice in this period. The surveys are targeted
at establishments with five or more full time employees. Geographical distribution is defined to reflect the
distribution of the non-agricultural economic activity of the country and for most countries this implies
including the major urban centers.

The survey provides information about a country’s business environment, how it is perceived by
individual firms, and about the various constraints to firm performance and growth. Firms were asked
about their access to sources of external financing, including overdraft facilities, whether they had a line
of credit or a loan from a financial institution and the availability of trade credit in the previous fiscal
year. The trade credit variable related to the proportion of the establishment’s working capital that was
financed from suppliers’ credit and advances from customers. However, this data is not available for all
the respondents as was largely the case with bank credit. In addition to the responses of the firms we were
able to calculate from the data regional variables which, for the i’th firm, for instance, relate to the
proportion of firms, other than the i’th firm, in the region who have access to different types of credit.
This is based on 474 regions in the 166 countries. As mentioned earlier, we will also include other
regional variables. These will relate to transport and electronic infrastructure and the perceived qualities
of the court system. If these do factors do not vary within countries, but only between them, then the
regional variables will not be significant, as the country dummy variables will capture this impact. All the
data are defined in an appendix.

Table 1: Regional Credit Variations

Line of credit Overdraft Supplier credit
Full sample 41.1 44.4 14.8
Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) 20.8 29.4 15.9
Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) 56.3 67.5 19.2
East European Central Asia (ECA) 48.2 42.1 6.74
South Asia (SA) 28.2 41.2 3.61
East Asia and Pacific (ESP) 37.6 19.4 5.12
Middle East& N. Africa (MEA) 12.2 17.0 10.2
Notes: The numbers in the first two columns relate to the percentage having access to the specified type of credit. The final column shows the
average (with most responding 0) amount of supplier credit as a proportion of the firm’s working capital. For supplier credit, there were
relatively few observations available for ECA. An alternative, more widely asked (for ECA), question asked whether they were given trade
credit, of which 63.4% replied yes.

Table 1 shows credit access for all firms in each region. There are substantial differences between these
regions. The region where credit is most abundant is LAC, followed by ECA and the rest of Asia.
However, supplier credit tends to be in short supply in all regions of Asia. This may reflect cultural
attitudes and differing levels of trust. Asia apart, there tends to be slightly less variation in supplier credit
than bank credit.

EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

The regression results are shown in Table 2. The first two and penultimate two columns were estimated by
binomial probit as the dependent variable takes a value of either zero or one. The third and final columns

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have been estimated by Tobit as this variable has a lower bound of zero and an upper one of 100, with both
being effective. We have used the robust or sandwich estimator of the standard errors. This estimator is
robust to some types of misspecification so long as the observations are independent. Because they are
continuous variables covering a fairly wide range, all the regional variables have been included in a
quadratic manner, with both the variable and its square. This allows the relationship to be nonlinear and this
was also the case for domestic share. For the firm’s age, a similar result was achieved by including the log
of age.

It is clear that firms’ access to credit is at least partially determined systematically by their characteristics
and those of their industry. The first column relates to lines of credit. Foreign firms are less likely to access
a line of credit as are small and then medium sized firms. Age, however is not significant. Of critical
importance is whether the firm is an exporter or not. Access to lines of credit increase with the domestic
share of the firm, although at a declining rate. Company legal form also has an impact on access to credit,
with private limited companies being more able to access credit and sole traders less likely than other firms.
Finally access to credit increases with managerial experience. Geography too is important. Lines of credit
are more likely in rural areas than large cities. There is some evidence that industrial sector has an impact
on firms’ access to credit with hotels, e.g., less likely to have access to lines of credit. We defer discussion
of the impact of the regional variables until later.

The second column shows the results for overdrafts. To a considerable extent the results are similar to those
for lines of credit, but there are differences. Firstly, age is now very significant and the probability of
accessing an overdraft increases nonlinearly with the firm’s age. Firms in rural areas are not more likely to
access overdrafts, but those in towns are less likely. Foreign firms are not significantly different to other
firms, but group firms are more likely to access an overdraft. Finally we turn to the results for supplier
credit. Once more we focus on the differences with respect to column 1.

Managerial experience is no longer significant and size is considerably less significant. In particularly
medium sized firms are no less likely to have trade credit than large firms. Age is, however, again
significant, with supplier credit increasing with the firm’s age. Hence there is some evidence that some
firms who are disadvantaged in terms of accessing formal credit, are not so disadvantaged in accessing
supplier credit. We turn now to the regional variables. As the problems caused to firms by the courts
increase regionally, so access to credit declines but at a declining rate. However, this is compensated for by
opposite patterns with respect to overdrafts and supplier credit.

Figure 1 illustrates these impacts, together with the kernel density for regional courts. The probability of
accessing a lines of credit declines initially as the ‘regional courts’ variable increases, but then increases.
The latter may simply be because we are using a quadratic form and, as the kernel density shows, there are
not many firms to the right of the turning point. This decline in the probability of accessing lines of credit is
compensated for by increases in the probability of accessing overdraft facilities and supplier credit.

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Table 2: Regression Analysis of Access to Credit

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6
Credit Overdraft Supplier Credit Overdraft Supplier
Regional Variables Line credit Line credit
Courts -0.5996* 0.6127* 97.68** -0.7147** 0.2943 104.4**
(2.35) (2.38) (7.96) (2.79) (1.12) (8.46)
Transport -0.1796* -0.0952 6.787 -0.1177 -0.017 4.66
(2.27) (1.15) (1.91) (1.50) (0.21) (1.28)
Electronic 0.4257* 1.673** -74.17** -0.2425 0.5101* -47.66**
communication (2.18) (8.61) (9.36) (1.17) (2.43) (5.37)
Courts2 0.7995* -0.394 -186.4** 0.9354* -0.0154 -194.3**
(2.09) (1.01) (9.47) (2.43) (0.04) (9.84)
Transport2 0.0405 0.0094 -3.223** 0.0254 -0.0103 -2.559*
(1.57) (0.34) (3.06) (1.00) (0.39) (2.35)
Electronic -0.3952* -1.607** 78.19** 0.1692 -0.6332** 52.80**
communication2 (2.05) (8.15) (9.21) (0.83) (3.00) (5.65)
Bank credit 1.814** 2.689** -73.78**
(6.43) (9.32) (6.88)
Bank credit2 -0.7635** -0.8975** 57.3**
(3.04) (3.45) (5.22)
Firm Specific Variables
Managerial 0.0014* 0.0016* 0.0171 0.0014* 0.0015* 0.0207
experience (2.25) (2.40) (0.58) (2.16) (2.19) (0.70)
Domestic 0.0154** 0.0108** 0.3961** 0.0152** 0.0105** 0.402**
share (11.62) (7.85) (6.26) (11.51) (7.62) (6.35)
Domestic -0.00014** -0.00011** -0.0031** -0.00014** -0.00011** -0.0032**
share2 (12.50) (9.01) (5.80) (12.38) (8.76) (5.89)
Log firm age 0.0176 0.0753** 1.527** 0.0159 0.0734** 1.522**
(1.80) (7.43) (3.32) (1.63) (7.22) (3.30)
Small firm -0.7656** -0.6899** -4.976** -0.7641** -0.6894** -4.947**
(38.08) (33.02) (5.13) (37.97) (32.91) (5.10)
Medium -0.3284** -0.2567** -0.522 -0.330** -0.2597** -0.4756
sized firm (17.70) (13.21) (0.60) (17.78) (13.32) (0.54)
Rural firm 0.0827** -0.0395 2.526 0.0729* -0.0576 2.983
(2.65) (1.22) (0.93) (2.33) (1.77) (1.10)
Town based 0.0248 -0.0586** 1.628 0.0267 -0.0544* 1.193
firm (1.18) (2.60) (1.26) (1.27) (2.42) (0.92)
No -0.1684** -0.1436** -4.554** -0.1354** -0.0841* -4.533**
Location (5.37) (4.36) (3.17) (4.25) (2.51) (3.14)
Foreign -0.2734** 0.0131 2.144* -0.2723** 0.0145 2.167*
firm (12.16) (0.58) (2.23) (12.11) (0.65) (2.25)
Group firm -0.0337 0.0639** -0.9851 -0.0349 0.0639** -0.8763
(1.77) (3.29) (1.20) (1.83) (3.29) (1.07)
Company Form -0.0232 0.025 -5.054** -0.0252 0.0242 -5.237**
Partnership (0.64) (0.69) (3.31) (0.70) (0.67) (3.42)
0.0814** 0.108** -2.939** 0.0764** 0.0994** -2.946**
Private Ltd. (3.49) (4.34) (2.61) (3.27) (3.99) (2.61)
-0.0593 -0.0283 -7.227** -0.0632 -0.0393 -7.156**
Publicly (1.70) (0.77) (3.68) (1.81) (1.07) (3.65)
listed -0.0636* -0.1585** -10.15** -0.0646* -0.1596** -10.20**
Sole (2.48) (5.86) (8.23) (2.52) (5.90) (8.26)
proprietor 0.1562** 0.1369** -2.406 0.1528** 0.1282** -2.407
(4.28) (3.57) (1.43) (4.18) (3.33) (1.43)
Industry/sector variables
Textiles -0.3094 -0.0352 -3.96 -0.2953 -0.0283 -4.584
(1.01) (0.11) (0.70) (0.96) (0.08) (0.81)
Food 0.2374** 0.190** -7.817** 0.2411** 0.1949** -7.760**
(8.49) (6.57) (6.80) (8.61) (6.72) (6.74)
Metals 0.1683** 0.204** -0.9936 0.1668** 0.2005** -0.9512
(5.23) (6.13) (0.72) (5.18) (6.01) (0.69)
Electronics 0.0487 0.1723** -4.323 0.0479 0.1729** -4.278
(0.76) (2.59) (1.37) (0.75) (2.58) (1.35)
Chemicals 0.2581** 0.3104** -2.474 0.2573** 0.3088** -2.374

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(7.50) (8.65) (1.68) (7.48) (8.57) (1.61)
Wood 0.132* 0.2222** 4.403 0.1325* 0.2188** 4.335
(2.26) (3.68) (1.87) (2.26) (3.61) (1.84)
Plastic 0.1679** 0.1982** -2.603 0.1686** 0.1974** -2.587
(4.58) (5.15) (1.52) (4.60) (5.10) (1.51)
Auto 0.2355* 0.1988 -13.85* 0.2269* 0.1799 -13.89*
(2.14) (1.52) (2.47) (2.06) (1.38) (2.48)
Other 0.175** 0.2011** 0.3923 0.1775** 0.2061** 0.4797
manufacturing (6.12) (6.81) (0.34) (6.20) (6.96) (0.41)
Retail 0.1945** 0.3181** -3.590** 0.1952** 0.3208** -3.503**
(7.38) (11.76) (3.23) (7.40) (11.82) (3.15)
Hotels -0.1302** 0.0279 -19.26** -0.1272** 0.03 -18.90**
(2.85) (0.63) (10.91) (2.78) (0.67) (10.70)
Other 0.1277** 0.2424** -12.92** 0.1284** 0.2441** -12.85**
services (4.31) (8.01) (9.87) (4.32) (8.04) (9.81)
Construction 0.1576** 0.2539** -3.388* 0.1577** 0.2552** -3.289*
(4.58) (7.30) (2.13) (4.58) (7.32) (2.07)
Observations 51180 51029 41417 51180 51029 41417
Log Likelihood -27672 -25940 -96610 -27610 -25760 -96587
Χ2 11225 13972 11251 14218
Note: The regression coefficients for 2.3 and 2.6 where estimated by Tobit with upper and lower bounds of 100 and 0 respectively. The remaining
regressions were estimated using the method of binomial probit, (.) denotes t statistics and */** significance at the 5% and 1% levels respectively.
Χ2 denotes the likelihood ratio statistic. Standard errors have been corrected for heteroscedasticty.

This is reasonable as overdrafts are the most expensive form of bank credit (Streb et al, 2002) and of
course, supplier credit, particularly from firms, tends to be more expensive still. Hence as the quality of
courts decline, and the ability to enforce contracts also declines, so there is a switch from cheaper to more
expensive forms of credits. However is this conclusion justified? The possibility exists that courts could
pose problems for firms because they are effective in enforcing contracts, planning restrictions, and
individual rights, that is ‘good courts’ theoretically pose problems for firms, just as much as ‘bad courts’.
To examine this further we regressed, using binomial probit, individual attitudes to courts on perceptions as
to whether the courts were (i) fair, impartial and uncorrupted (good courts), (ii) quick, (iii) affordable and
(iv) able to enforce decisions (enforce). All four characteristics were significant, with enforce being most
important, followed by quick, good and finally affordable. The signs were such that in all cases a lack of
speed, inability to enforce decisions, etc, increased problems for firms. Hence, it would appear that the
trends in Figure 1, correspond to courts which are poorly performing on a number of criteria.

Note The curve for suppliers credit has been scaled so that it can be included in this figure with the other curves.
-.2
-.1
0
.1
.2
0
1
2
3
4
K
er
ne
l d
en
si
ty
0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1
Regional Courts (Increases with Court problems)
Kernel density. Suppliers
Overdraft Credit Line
Figure 1: Kernel density function and the impact of Courts on Credit

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The impact of regional infrastructure is less ambiguous in its impact on bank credit. Both forms of credit
decline as regional transport problems increase, with the two variables comprising the quadratic form,
jointly significant at the 5% level in both equations. The impact on supplier credit is to an extent the
reverse. Figure 2 shows these impacts. As regional transport problems become more common, so there is a
decline in both types of bank credit, and again the turning point with respect to lines of credit may be a
reflection of the use of a quadratic form. This decline is, however, compensated for by increased use of
supplier and consumer credit. This is the first time we have evidence of a degree of substitutability between
bank and other forms of credit.

Note The curve for suppliers credit has been scaled so that it can be included in this figure with the other curves.

Finally, for these regressions, we turn to the impact of regional electronic communication for business on
the different forms of credit. These impacts are very significant. As Figure 3 shows, as regional business
Internet usage becomes more common, so there is an increase in the probabilities of accessing both types
of bank credit. This increase is, however, accompanied by a decline in the use of supplier and consumer
credit. This again provides evidence of a degree of substitutability between bank and other forms of
credit. However, we note that beyond a certain point supplier credit too begins to increase, and the kernel
density suggests that this may not simply be because of the use of a quadratic form.

Note The curve for suppliers credit has been scaled so that it can be included in this figure with the other curves.

-.3
-.2
-.1
0
.1
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
1
Ke
rn
el
de
ns
ity
0 1 2 3 4
Regional Transport (Increases with transport problems)
Kernel density. Suppliers
Overdraft Credit Line
Figure 2: Kernel density function and the impact of Regional Transport
-.2
0
.2
.4
0
.5
1
1.
5
2
Ke
rn
el
d
en
sit
y
0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1
Regional Internet (Increases with business Internet usage)
Kernel density. Suppliers
Overdraft Credit Line
Figure 3: Kernel density function and the impact of Regional Internet

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The final three set of regressions add regional bank credit to the regressions. This reflects for the i’th firm,
the proportion of firms other than the i’th firm who had access to either an overdraft or line of credit. We
can see from these regressions that the probability of a firm having access to either form of bank credit
increases as bank credit becomes more common in the region. However, we also see that the probability
of the firm accessing trade credit declines as regional bank credit becomes more common. This therefore
provides further support for the substitutability of trade credit for bank credit.

CONCLUSION

Our analysis has shown that there are systematic differences within regions in terms of access to credit.
These differences are related to the quality of courts, which we assume is because of their ability or
otherwise to enforce contracts, and also to infrastructure. Faced with increasing difficulties of enforcing
contracts banks are either switching to more expensive forms of loans or reducing the number and value
of loans they give, with suppliers and consumers in part compensating with what is in effect trade credit.
Good transport and Internet infrastructure facilitate a bank’s ability to keep a watch over client firms, as
well as the firm’s ability to communicate with the bank. In the literature a form of this is known as the
‘church tower principle’, reflective of the bank as the church tower, which can observe firms in its
proximity (Carling and Lundberg, 2005). We found no evidence for this within the context or the
rural/urban distinction. But we have found evidence with respect to the quality of infrastructure. This
emphasises that better quality transport and Internet can bring benefits to firms on several dimensions.
Our results have also confirmed the findings of others with respect to the importance of firm size, age,
legal form and sector for access to credit financing. In line with Rutkowski (2006) we found the evidence
that foreign firms are less likely to access formal domestic credit markets, at least with respect to lines of
credit. Thus, there is little evidence that they crowd out domestic firms from bank credit; indeed to an
extent the reverse is the case.

In almost all countries, some regions lag behind others in terms of credit access. These regions too will be
disadvantaged and this may lead to uneven geographical development. This is both consistent with and
extends the work of Samolyk (1994) and Rodríguez-Fuentes (1998) who suggest that banks may
influence regional development by producing a regional pattern of credit availability that is likely to be
spatially unbalanced. But we have also shown that the problem is not just with bank credit, but also trade
credit. There are also substantial differences between countries, and between different regions of the
world. This may be due to economic factors reflecting the stage of the development of firms or of the
financial system. There are several reasons as to why credit access may differ within and between
countries. Firstly, some countries may be more prosperous than others. This may affect both firms’
prospects and local supply side credit conditions. Differences in trust and the difficulties in evaluating
firms’ creditworthiness may also be an explanatory factor. Trust can be generated over time and is also
self perpetuating in that trust generates credit, credit facilitates economic success and this in turn increases
trust. But whatever the cause of low credit availability, for the country as a whole and regions within the
country, a key question is whether governments and aid agencies kick can start the process.

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APPENDICE

Appendix 1: Definition of variables:

Endogenous variables
Access to Credit: Coded 1 if the firm has access to credit otherwise zero. There are two different types of credit: line of credit and bank
overdraft.
Supplier credit: The proportion of the establishment’s working capital that was financed from advances from customers and credit from
suppliers.
Exogenous variables
Regional variables These are averages of the views of firms with respect to:
Electronic communication (internet) Binary variable, coded 1 if the firm used the Internet to communicate with clients or suppliers.
Transport The extent to which transport presented an obstacle to the firm, responses ranged from no obstacle (coded 1) to very severe obstacle
(coded 5).
Courts: Whether the courts posed a major or severe problem to the firm’s operations (coded 1)
Bank credit: Whether the firm had a bank line of either kind.
Firm specific variables
Age The age of the firm.
Small firm Coded 1 if the number of full time employees is less than 20, otherwise Coded zero.
Medium sized firm Coded 1 if the number of full time employees is between 20 and 100, otherwise Coded zero.
Partnership Coded 1 if the firm has the legal status of a partnership, otherwise Coded zero.
Private limited Coded 1 if the firm is a private limited company, otherwise takes
company a value of zero.
Publicly listed Coded 1 if the firm is a publicly listed company, otherwise takes
company a value of zero.
Sole proprietor Coded 1 if the firm has the legal status of a sole proprietor, otherwise Coded zero.
Group firm Coded 1 if the firm is part of a larger firm, otherwise Coded zero.
Foreign firm Coded 1 if the share of the company held by foreign individuals or companies > 49%, otherwise Coded zero.
Rural Coded 1 if the firm’s location has less than 50,000 people
Town Coded 1 if the firm’s location has between 50,000 and 1 million people (and is not a capital city)
No location The location question was not asked of all firms. This variable takes a value of 1 for those not asked. Its use ensures that the
coefficients relating to rural and town are in relation to larger towns and cities.
Domestic share The % of the firm’s sales which were national sales.
Manager’s experience: The number of years experience working in the sector of the top
In addition there are industry/sector and country indicator variables as discussed in the text.

Appendix 2: Summary of country data

Country/year of survey Overdraft Credit
Line
Supplier
credit
Afghanistan2008 0.363 0.034 3.72
Albania2007 0.78 0.474 2.09
Angola2006 0.017 0.045 10.7
Angola2010 0.117 0.094 2.22
Argentina2006 0.706 0.420 19.5
Argentina2010 0.800 0.578 26.8
Armenia2009 0.425 0.449 .
Azerbaijan2009 0.161 0.189 .
Bangladesh2007 . . 3.67
Belarus2008 0.374 0.538 .
Benin2009 0.613 0.393 7.5
Bhutan2009 0.544 0.528 6.63
Bolivia2006 0.434 0.550 12.7
Bolivia2010 0.564 0.558 16
Bosnia and Herzegovina2009 0.510 0.684 .
Botswana2006 0.364 0.307 25.2
Botswana2010 0.537 0.515 14
Brazil2009 0.826 0.653 20.3
Bulgaria2007 0.344 0.435 3.29
Bulgaria2009 0.295 0.448 .
BurkinaFaso2006 0.374 0.295 14.3

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BurkinaFaso2009 0.563 0.284 7.45
Burundi2006 0.256 0.348 10.4
Cameroon2006 0.412 0.419 16.1
Cameroon2009 0.559 0.344 15.6
CapeVerde2006 0.153 0.469 5.48
CapeVerde2009 0.301 0.385 9.31
Chad2009 0.740 0.187 7.64
Chile2006 0.869 0.737 15.8
Chile2010 0.855 0.766 22.6
Colombia2006 0.858 0.682 21.3
Colombia2010 0.854 0.732 35.3
Congo2009 0.497 0.106 8.47
Croatia2007 0.523 0.706 14.7
Czech Republic2009 0.536 0.492 .
DRC2006 0.050 0.059 15
DRC2010 0.145 0.131 5.13
Ecuador2006 0.853 0.581 24.3
Ecuador2010 0.913 0.609 26.7
ElSalvador2006 0.597 0.618 12.7
Eritrea2009 0.358 0.162 0
Estonia2009 0.495 0.560 .
Fiji2009 0.573 0.409 6.98
Fyr Macedonia2009 0.270 0.596 .
Gabon2009 0.156 0.089 1.92
Gambia2006 0.310 0.167 34.8
Georgia2008 0.295 0.413 .
Ghana2007 0.154 0.186 18.3
Guatemala2006 0.523 0.435 16.7
Guinea2006 0.086 0.058 21.1
GuineaBissau2006 0.013 0.031 8.52
Honduras2006 0.599 0.539 9.55
Hungary2009 0.488 0.454 .
Indonesia2009 0.120 0.260 2.9
Ivory Coast2009 0.243 0.116 3.15
Kazakhstan2009 0.285 0.406 .
Kenya2007 0.416 0.414 24.5
Kosovo2009 0.367 0.233 .
Kyrgyz Republic2009 0.264 0.234 .
LaoPDR2009 0.089 0.175 0.529
Latvia2009 0.258 0.601 .
Lesotho2009 0.444 0.285 15.1
Liberia2009 0.093 0.207 4.51
Lithuania2009 0.207 0.601 .
Madagascar2009 0.362 0.218 14
Malawi2009 0.553 0.400 10
Mali2007 0.088 0.082 13.5
Mali2010 0.456 0.158 5.05
Mauritania2006 0.160 0.148 21.8
Mauritius2009 0.626 0.520 6.29
Mexico2006 0.182 0.118 14
Micronesia2009 0.118 0.426 4.24
Moldova2009 0.306 0.468 .
Mongolia2009 0.320 0.566 .
Montenegro2009 0.336 0.586 .
Mozambique2007 0.140 0.132 16.4
Namibia2006 0.517 0.267 29.8
Nepal2009 0.375 0.476 1.11
Nicaragua2006 0.310 0.407 11.1
Niger2005 0.504 0.480 5.59
Niger2009 0.713 0.393 16.1
Nigeria2007 0.080 0.043 25
Panama2006 0.629 0.553 9.21
Paraguay2006 0.625 0.467 13.7
Peru2006 0.728 0.701 19.3
Peru2010 0.687 0.801 23.8

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Philippines2009 0.225 0.345 9.68
Poland2009 0.519 0.481 .
Romania2009 0.499 0.534 .
Russia2009 0.421 0.438 .
Rwanda2006 0.340 0.349 15.1
Samoa2009 0.606 0.495 6.99
Senegal2007 0.154 0.134 14.2
Serbia2009 0.593 0.686 .
Sierra Leone2009 0.447 0.193 3.27
Slovak Republic2009 0.538 0.476 .
Slovenia2009 0.652 0.775 .
SouthAfrica2007 0.576 0.315 23
Swaziland2006 0.278 0.231 22.5
Tajikistan2008 0.178 0.308 .
Tanzania2006 0.170 0.198 16.8
Timor Leste2009 0.153 0.067 0
Togo2009 0.645 0.239 4.68
Tonga2009 0.447 0.547 3.97
Turkey2008 0.686 0.609 .
Uganda2006 0.139 0.169 18
Ukraine2008 0.479 0.335 .
Uruguay2006 0.554 0.527 15.3
Uruguay2010 0.638 0.526 20.7
Uzbekistan2008 0.038 0.164 .
Vanuatu2009 0.531 0.445 5.78
Venezuela2006 . 0.254 .
Vietnam2009 0.123 0.634 4.68
Yemen2010 0.170 0.122 10.2
Zambia2007 0.390 0.157 23.5
Notes: Overdraft and credit line show the proportion of firms with access to this type of credit. The final column shows the average (with most
responding 0) amount of supplier credit as a proportion of the firm’s working capital.

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geographical credit rationing, Journal of Economics and Business, 57, 39–59.

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Lapavitsas, C. (2007) Information and trust as social aspects of credit, Economy and Society, 36, 416-36.

Love, I., Preve, L.A. and Sarria-Allende, V. (2007) Trade credit and bank credit: Evidence from recent
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Mateut, S., Bougheas, S. and Mizen, P. (2006) Trade credit, bank lending and monetary policy
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This paper/publication is the result of the project of Operational Programme Science & Research:
Creation of excellent workplace of economic research for solving the challenges of civilization in the
21st century (ITMS 26240120032). We support research activities in Slovakia / Project is co-funded by
EU funds”.

BIOGRAPHY

Rudolf Sivak is Professor of Finance at the Department of Finance, University of Economics in
Bratislava, the Slovak Republic. H e publishes extensively in Central and Eastern European region, but
also internationally. He is active in national and regional professional organisations, member of several
boards of scientific bodies and member of several editorial boards. His research appears in refereed
journals such as Ekonomicky Casopis, Politicka Ekonomie and Post-Communist Economies. He can be
reached at University of Economics in Bratislava, Dolnozemska cesta 1, 85235 Bratislava,
rudolf.sivak@euba.sk.

Anetta Caplanova is Associate Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, University of
Economics in Bratislava, the Slovak Republic. She published extensively in refereed journals in Central
and Eastern European region such as Politicka ekonomie, Ekonomicky Casopis, but also in international
journals e.g. Post-Communist Economies, Economics of Governance, Journal of Common Market
Studies, Journal of Policy Modeling. Author can be reached at University of Economics in Bratislava,
Slovak Republic, Dolnozemska cesta 1, anetta.caplanova@euba.sk.

John Hudson is a Professor in Economic at the Department of Economics, University of Bath, United
Kingdom. His research appears in journals such as Journal of Economic Perspectives, The Economic
Journal, The European Journal of Political Economy, The Journal of Public Economics, Economics
Letters, Kyklos, The International Review of Law and Economics, The British Journal of Political
Sciences, Political Studies, The Journal of Banking and Finance and Journal of Economic and
Behavioral Organization. He can be reached at the University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY,
United Kingdom, J.R.Hudson@bath.ac.uk.

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COULD PEER-TO-PEER LOANS SUBSTITUTE FOR
PAYDAY LOANS?
Lynda S. Livingston, University of Puget Sound

ABSTRACT
Many consumer advocates consider payday loans—short-term, uncollateralized loans with high interest
rates—to be predatory. The need for short-term funding has spurred the quest for an alternative, an
effort encouraged and supported by regulators like the FDIC. In this paper, we evaluate the potential for
online peer-to-peer markets to provide this type of credit. We conclude that while certain features of the
P2P markets would be well suited (such as their loans’ longer terms, larger amounts, and multiple
payments), the longer time to fund and the required minimum credit scores for borrowers present
meaningful hurdles.

JEL: G21, G28

KEYWORDS: Fringe Lending, Payday Loan, Peer-to-Peer Loan

INTRODUCTION

Payday loans have been called “one of the most expensive forms of credit in the world” (Skiba and
Tobacman, 2008). A typical two-week payday loan costs $15 per $100 borrowed—a 391.07% APR, or
3,724% effective annual rate. Opponents accuse payday lenders of drawing borrowers into a “debt trap”
of extremely high-interest loans. The industry counters that its rapid growth proves that it is providing a
necessary, welfare-enhancing service to its customers.

Demand for short-term loans does not imply, however, that payday loans are the best form of supply. In
this paper, we evaluate a potential alternative, peer-to-peer (P2P) loans. In a P2P marketplace, potential
borrowers post requests for loans, and potential lenders bid on the requests that interest them. A lender
can bid as little as $25 per loan, so it may take many lenders to fully fund a successful loan request. This
more “democratic” process may be able to meet borrowers’ needs for short-term, unsecured credit more
effectively than can the payday industry.

We focus primarily on the Prosper platform, the oldest P2P network in the United States. Since opening
in 2006, Prosper’s evolution has made it a more viable payday alternative, as its minimum loan size, bid
per loan, and term have all fallen. The biggest hurdles left are access, funding speed, and required credit
score. However, we argue that these factors may not preclude at least some payday customers from being
better served by the P2P market.

P2P LOANS VERSUS PAYDAY LOANS

In a peer-to-peer market, potential borrowers use an online forum to post “listings” requesting loans.
Listings contain certain objective information verified by the P2P platform (such as the debt-to-income
ratio), as well as any additional information volunteered by the borrower (perhaps pictures or a
description of the loan’s purpose). Lenders browse listings and bid on those they like. Bids can be as low
as $25. Most loans are funded by multiple lenders, and most lenders build diversified portfolios of loans.
Only about 10% of listings are funded (see, for example, Herzenstein, et al., 2008; Freedman and Jin,

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2008b). In this section, we consider both the loan-specific features of this market (term, size, installment
payments) and structural features (the ability of lenders to screen listings, accessibility of the platform,
required credit score for borrowers) to evaluate the potential for P2P loans to substitute for payday loans.
P2P loans are larger than payday loans. The minimum Lending Club loan is $1,000 ($2,000 for Prosper),
while the maximum for payday loans is around $700. (80% of payday loans are less than $300, according
to Stegman, 2007.) Being able to borrow more in the P2P market may actually alleviate a borrower’s
underlying financial stress. There is extensive evidence that payday borrowers frequently roll over their
loans multiple times per year. Smaller initial loans do not meet the needs of these customers—they just
end up turning into much bigger loans. Larger P2P loans, with much lower interest rates (and with dollar
costs that vary with the term of the loan) may be a more reasonable solution to the borrowers’ cashflow
problems.

In fact, Dobbie and Skiba (2011) show that relaxing the credit constraints on payday borrowers actually
reduces the risk of default. Both fringe firms in their sample limit payday loans to half of a borrower’s
net pay. This creates “discontinuities” in the schedule of loan size: these loans come in $50 increments,
so the maximum loan amount rises with every $100 increase in pay. These jumps in maximum loan size
are constraints for borrowers with paychecks just below the cutoffs. The authors show that relaxing these
constraints—allowing borrowers to increase their loan size—actually decreases the default rate. The
potential moral hazard (being more likely to default on larger loans) is mitigated. Thus, the greater
flexibility and possibility for larger loan sizes in the P2P market could improve default rates for some
constrained borrowers. Since lower-income borrowers may be more credit constrained (Dobbie and
Skiba, 2011), P2P loans may be of the most use for just the people who might otherwise turn to payday
lenders.

P2P loans also offer borrowers more time to address their cashflow problems. Adams, et al. (2009) find
that subprime borrowers’ demand for loans is much more sensitive to the loans’ terms than to their rates.
The longer terms of P2P loans therefore are attractive to this group. The rollover evidence underscores
this; customers roll over their payday loans because they really want longer-term loans.

Another important distinction of P2P loans is that they are repaid in installments. This makes P2P loans
a better vehicle for the “savings discipline” that Lawrence and Elliehausen (2008) ascribe to payday
loans. In addition, because payment is automatic and systematic, loan performance will improve (FDIC,
2005).

Having discussed the loan-specific features of the P2P market, we now turn to the structural features that
may affect the loans’ suitability for payday borrowers. Supply in the P2P market depends upon the
willing participation of many, probably amateur, individual lenders. Freedman and Jin (2008b) identify
two possible information problems for these lenders. First, since they cannot see borrowers’ exact credit
scores, they face the potential for adverse selection. Second, because they need not be professional
lenders, they may not be able to screen loans effectively. Of course, the two possible problems are
related: if lenders are somehow able to screen, they can mitigate any adverse selection. This appears to be
the case in the P2P market, suggesting that it may be able to meet the needs of payday borrowers.

The professional lenders in the payday market use an extremely streamlined screening process, to cut
costs. Eligible borrowers whose credit score is above a threshold are approved; those below are not
(Skiba and Tobacman, 2009). This thumbs up/thumbs down “discontinuity” does not exist in the P2P
market. In fact, P2P lenders do not even see the borrowers’ credit scores. Instead, the P2P platforms

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separate applicants into risk groups based on their credit characteristics; lenders know only this risk
assignment. Since higher- and lower-quality borrowers in a given risk class look the same, there is a
“lemons” problem. This problem is not just hypothetical; adverse selection in these markets is real.
Freedman and Jin (2008b) find that listings within a credit grade in fact have migrated toward the lower
end of the credit-score range. The platforms address this problem both with loan caps, which they have
always had, and by disclosing more borrower information, which they have done consistently as they
have aged. However, the platforms cannot unilaterally mitigate the second potential information problem
identified by Freedman and Jin. If lenders are poor screeners, all the information disclosure in the world
will not lead to a viable market. However, lenders are not poor screeners.

Several factors facilitate their effective screening. First, P2P lenders are using their own money. They
therefore have a strong incentive to make careful decisions. Second, lenders learn. Freedman and Jin
(2008a) conclude that loan performance on Prosper indicates that lenders exhibit dynamic learning—
making better loan selections over time—and that new lenders benefit from that accumulated knowledge.
Finally, P2P lenders turn out to be quite adept at interpreting the “soft data” in borrowers’ listings,
perhaps even more skilled than traditional bankers (who instead rely heavily on collateral; Iyer, et al.,
2009).

There are still some structural features inhibiting screening. The small minimum bid per loan may lead
lenders to substitute diversification for screening. Lenders also now have an “out”: both Prosper and
Lending Club (another P2P platform) have introduced platforms for secondary-market trading. However,
the most significant change affecting screening has been Prosper’s elimination of the borrower’s
maximum rate. Borrowers used to post the highest rate they were willing to pay for a loan. Iyer, et al.
(2009) found that this rate was the most informative soft indicator available to lenders, since it was a
credible and costly signal of borrower quality. However, borrowers can no longer send this signal, since
Prosper now simply assigns rates based on loan characteristics. (Lending Club has always done this.)
This change has probably diminished the quality of screening in the P2P market.

Nonetheless, screening is still possible, so the market is a viable payday alternative from the loan-supply
side. On the demand side, there are more significant hurdles. First, we must consider borrowers’ ability
to access the market. Payday borrowers highly value the long hours, convenient locations, and personal
service they receive at payday shops (Buckland and Martin, 2005). The internet-based P2P platforms
may be poor substitutes. However, as Buckland, Hamilton, and Reimer (2006) note, internet access is
becoming increasingly available to low-income borrowers (through community organizations and
libraries, for example). In rural areas, internet access actually may be much more convenient for small-
dollar borrowers, since fringe lenders are less common outside of cities (FDIC, 2005). In addition, the
increasing push by payday lenders into online lending suggests that an internet platform need not
automatically preclude payday borrowers from P2P markets.

Of course, internet access does not guarantee a timely—or any—loan. Payday borrowers leave the store
with their money. P2P borrowers must create a listing, go through screening by the platform (for
example, credit verification), then wait for bids. If there are not enough bids, there is no loan. Even if the
loan receives enough lender interest to be funded, there is still a delay before the borrower gets her cash.
Payday borrowers may not be the types who generally plan this far ahead. These sorts of borrowers may
require significant education before being able to use P2P loans effectively—but they undoubtedly would
require that education for any payday alternative.

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Another potential barrier between payday borrowers and the P2P market is credit score. Both Prosper and
Lending Club require minimum FICO scores for borrowers. Prosper, in particular, is becoming more
stringent (as Lending Club always was); so much so, in fact, that Freedman and Jin (2008a) assert that
Prosper is moving from being a “comprehensive” market toward being one that simply serves traditional
borrowers. If payday borrowers’ credit scores were too low, they would be shut out of the P2P market.

FICO credit scores range from 350-800; the national median is between 700 and 750 (Adams et al.,
2009). Only 27% of Americans have FICO scores below 650 (Curry, 2006). In February of 2007, after a
year in business, Prosper raised its FICO cutoffs for its lowest two credit grades, E and HR, by 20 points
each, while prohibiting borrowers with no credit or with credit scores below 520 from borrowing. In July
of 2009, “to improve and optimize returns,” they raised the minimum credit score for borrowers to 640
(Larsen, 2009). Lending Club’s 660 minimum is even more stringent.

The difficulty in assessing a payday borrower’s ability to meet the FICO requirements is that fringe
lenders use a different credit score—the Teletrack score—when making loans. Teletrack scores
incorporate information from subprime loans, and are eight times as effective in predicting payday loan
default as FICO scores. However, the two scores are not highly correlated (only 0.26 in a matched
sample; Agarwal, et al., 2009). Therefore, it is not obvious whether the typical payday borrower can meet
the P2P market’s FICO thresholds.

We do have some information on the FICO scores of fringe borrowers. Adams, et al.(2009) study
subprime auto lending. Half of the FICO scores of borrowers in their sample were less than 500. These
fringe borrowers were low-income; they rented or lived with their parents; one-third had neither checking
nor savings accounts; more than half had a delinquency within six months before their auto loan. Their
credit scores suggested “sparse or checkered” credit histories, and they had “problematic” access to credit.
Over half of those loans ended in default; only 39% were paid in full. These, then, were not like the
typical payday borrowers. We would therefore expect payday borrowers to have FICO scores greater
than those in Adams, et al.’s sample. Additional evidence comes from Agarwal, et al.’s (2009) study of a
sample of borrowers who have both credit cards and payday loans. The average FICO score for this
group is 673, high enough for both Prosper and Lending Club (although the standard deviation is 68
points). 2,740 borrowers in their sample of 3,090 (89%) have FICO scores greater than 600 (1,906 above
650). The average Teletrack score for this group is 425 (σ = 283). In a more recent study of payday
borrowers, Dobbie and Skiba (2011) find an even higher mean Teletrack score of 550. These values
suggest that at least some payday borrowers would be able to use the P2P markets.

CONCLUSION

Herzenstein, et al. (2008) assert that payday loans are “extremely detrimental” to consumers. They also
suggest that P2P lending can improve payday borrowers’ welfare. So do Iyer, et al. (2009), who say,
“The uncollateralized nature of lending and the ability to lenders to partly screen suggests that peer-to-
peer markets can indeed complement and add value to the existing lending models and improve access to
credit, particularly for small individual borrowers who may otherwise be limited to costly sources of
finance like payday lenders.” In this paper, we evaluate the potential for P2P loans to be a meaningful
alternative. In some ways, they appear well suited. They are longer-term, which is a critical difference
according to consumer advocates and regulators. They are accessible anywhere, around the clock, by
internet. Their rates are magnitudes lower. Nonetheless, there are hurdles. One potential—though not
insurmountable—hurdle is the required minimum FICO credit score of at least 640. The biggest problem,

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however, is probably the time to fund: P2P loans take as long to fund as a payday loan does to mature!
Consumer advocates who wish to use the promising peer-to-peer platforms to offer alternatives to payday
loans therefore should focus their efforts on speeding up the funding process. Harnessing the social
network potential of P2P “groups” may be one way to shorten the actual bidding process (for example, if
groups bid on members’ loans, facilitating funding). The verification and actual funding are the purview
of the platforms; creating efficiencies there would require coordination between consumer advocates and
the platforms.

REFERENCES

Adams, William, Liran Einav, and Jonathan Levin (2009) “Liquidity Constraints and Imperfect
Information in Subprime Lending,” American Economic Review, Vol. 99(1), p.49-84

Agarwal, Sumit, Paige Marta Skiba, and Jeremy Tobacman (2009) “Payday Loans and Credit Cards: New
Liquidity and Credit Scoring Puzzles?” NBER Working Paper No. 14659

Buckland, Jerry and Thibault Martin (2005) “Two-Tier Banking: The Rise of Fringe Banks in Winnipeg’s
Inner City,” Canadian Journal of Urban Research, Vol. 14(1), Summer, p. 158-181

Buckland, Jerry, Blair Hamilton, and Brendan Reimer (2006) “Fringe Financial Services, Inner-city
Banking and Community-based Solutions,” Canadian Journal of Urban Research, Vol. 15(1), Summer,
p. 109-128

Curry, Pat (2006). How Credit Scores Work, How a Score is Calculated. Retrieved October 6, 2011,
from the Bankrate.com Web site: www.bankrate.com/brm/news/credit-scoring/20031104a1.asp

Dobbie, Will and Paige Marta Skiba (2011) “Information Asymmetries in Consumer Lending: Evidence
from Two Payday Lending Firms,” Vanderbilt University Law School, Law and Economics Working
Paper No. 11-05

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (2005) Guidelines for Payday Lending. Retrieved June
21, 2010 from FDIC Financial Institution Letters Web site:
www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2005/fil1405a.html

Freedman, Seth and Ginger Zhe Jin (2008a), “Dynamic Learning and Selection: The Early Years of
Prosper.com.” working paper

Freedman, Seth and Ginger Zhe Jin (2008b), “Do Social Networks Solve Information Problems for Peer-
to-Peer Lending? Evidence from Prosper.com,” working paper

Herzenstein, Michal, Rick L. Andrews, Utpal M. Dholakia, and Evgeny Lyandres (2008) “The
Democritization of Personal Consumer Loans? Determinants of Success in Online Peer-to-Peer Lending
Communities,” working paper

Iyer, Rajkamal, Asim Ijaz Khwaja, Urzo F.P. Luttmer, and Kelly Shue (2009) “Screening in New Credit
Markets: Can Individual Lenders Infer Borrower Creditworthiness in Peer-to-Peer Lending?” NBER
Working Paper No. 15242

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Larsen, Chris (2009) Prosper is Back! (We Mean It This Time). Retrieved October 3, 2011 from
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Lawrence, Edward C. and Gregory Elliehausen (2008) “A Comparative Analysis of Payday Loan
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Skiba, Paige Marta and Jeremy Tobacman (2009) “Do Payday Loans Cause Bankruptcy?” working paper

Skiba, Paige Marta and Jeremy Tobacman (2008) “Payday Loans, Uncertainty, and Discounting:
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169-190

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CONNECTING CAPITAL BUDGETING PRACTICE
WITH THE MILES-SNOW STRATEGIC TYPE: A NOVEL
MANEGERIAL ACCOUNTING APPROACH
Nubumasa Shimizu, Waseda University
Akiko Tamura, Hosei University

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the management process for each strategic type of firm (namely, Defenders,
Prospectors, Analyzers, and Reactors) as a new way of analyzing capital budgeting from a managerial
accounting perspective. Using a 2009 survey of Japanese manufacturing firms, we reveal the following.
To start with, Defenders seldom search for new investment projects because they establish a stable status
in a limited operation domain. Therefore, the principal purpose of capital investment in this strategic type
is to improve cost competitiveness. As a result, Defenders develop the investment project in their own
way, and then evaluate profitability thoroughly following implementation. In contrast, Prospectors
continuously search for market opportunities, and evaluate and select projects in order to pioneer new
product markets and profit opportunities. Thus, the main purpose of capital investment in this strategic
type is to produce new products. Consequently, Prospectors emphasize profitability and timing in the
development phase, and then carefully compare the alternative projects available. Finally, Analyzers
carefully deliberate and decide upon the optimum timing of investment in order to seize upon market
opportunities using their existing technology. As a result, this strategic type does not aggressively pursue
capital investment.
JEL: G31 M41
KEY WORDS: Capital budgeting, management process, Miles and Snow strategic type, mail survey

INTRODUCTION

Capital budgeting is a critical problem for firms in terms of restraining organizational activity and
retaining a large amount of capital over the long term. The theoretical research on the capital budgeting
decision began after World War II and has had a great influence on managerial accounting (Hiromoto
[1993]). As a result, managerial accounting research on capital budgeting has been strongly influenced by
finance theory, and so most discussion has concerned the use of common economic evaluation
techniques, including the payback method, simple rates of return, net present value, the internal rate of
return, and real options (Sugiyama [2002]). This tendency is especially clear in managerial accounting
research on capital budgeting (also known as capital investment budgeting or the capital budgeting
decision) in Japan (Shimizu [2004]).

Unfortunately, where economic evaluation techniques have been the focus of capital budgeting decisions,
there has been a corresponding neglect of managerial accounting (Northcott[1992]). The mail survey
employed in this current research uncovered the following key features of capital budgeting management
in Japanese firms (Shimizu et al. [2007]). First, economic evaluation techniques feature in most phases of
capital budgeting, including development, proposal, deliberation, authorization, and postinvestment
evaluation. Second, there is a ranking of the various capital budgeting projects available to the firm.

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Finally, economic evaluation techniques help to set capital budgeting targets in the firm and the limits to
capital spending. Although these are only some of the many interesting details revealed in the survey,
they do suggest that capital budgeting management in managerial accounting (that is to say, capital
budgeting) includes many more factors than described in either the previous research or texts.

Therefore, in order fully to explain capital budgeting as managerial accounting, we need to know not only
about the investment decision but also about the series of management processes involved; that is, how
capital budgeting projects in actual firms are developed, authorized, and implemented (Haka[2007],
Maccarrone [1996], Toribe [1997], Yamamoto [1998], and Shimizu [2006]). Accordingly, the principal
aim of this paper is to consider the management process fitted to each strategic type as a new way of
clarifying capital budgeting as managerial accounting, and to describe the reality of capital budgeting in
Japanese firms. Our chief motivations for the analysis are: first, that the firm’s strategy must affect capital
budgeting management, and second, that capital budgeting should fit with each firm’s chosen strategy in
order to improve business results.

The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we introduce the theory of Miles and
Snow [1978] and describe the method used to group firms into strategic types. In Sections 3, 4 and 5, we
analyze the stance and purpose of capital investment, capital budgeting management, and capital
budgeting in the planning system for each strategic type using the results of our mail survey. We then
extract the distinctive characteristics of capital budgeting as fitted to each strategic type. Finally, in
Section 6, we present the implications of our work and suggest some possible future research directions.

MILES AND SNOW THEORY AND THE TYPOLORY OF FIRMS

Miles and Snow Theory

In brief, and following Tsuchiya [1983], the theoretical framework of strategic types that Miles and Snow
[1978] proposed is as follows. First, the organization develops a strategy in order to adapt to its
environment and to choose and create an adaptive environment. Second, in order to implement the
strategy effectively, an organizational structure adapted to this strategy is required. Third, the organization
needs management processes adapted to the strategy to employ efficient behavior. Fourth, the structure
and processes that the organization already has are conditions for the strategy developed next. Fifth,
therefore, the subject of the dominant coalition of the organization is to adapt strategy, structure and
process interactively for the organization to be effective and to behave efficiently. Finally, there are four
forms of possible adaptive behavior for the organization: the Defender, the Prospector, the Analyzer, and
the Reactor.

Put another way, firms survive in a competitive environment by controlling the following series of
processes: first, deciding upon the organizational domain in which they behave (the entrepreneurial
problem), second, deciding upon what system they will use to operate the activity (the engineering
problem), and third, formulating and implementing the management processes needed to operate these
systems successfully (the administrative problem). There are four possible patterns of adaptation.
Drawing on Miles and Snow [1978], these four environmental adaptations of organizations (strategic
types) have the following characteristics.
• Defender: This strategic type limits its operational area to a relatively narrow product market
where it improves efficiency and cost competitiveness, and establishes firm status.

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• Prospector: This strategic type always searches for market opportunities to obtain profits. It
aggressively creates change and uncertainty and develops new products and markets.
• Analyzer: This strategic type establishes firm status in existing product markets but also searches
for market opportunities that it can cope with using its existing technology and rapidly seizes these
if they appear promising.
• Reactor: The strategy in this strategic type is not functioning properly. It cannot adapt; rather, it
merely reacts to environmental change and lacks consistent organizational activity.

The main objective of our 2009 mail survey is to distinguish clearly the characteristics of those strategic
types whose strategy is functioning (Defenders, Prospectors, and Analyzers) (Many researches which are
applied Miles and Snow strategic theory to managerial accounting only discuss two types, namely
Defenders and Prospectors, instead of four types. See Simons [1987]. Fukuda [2008] discuss Defenders
and Prospectors in Japanese firms).

Outline of the mail survey

We sent our mail survey to a sample of Japanese manufacturing firms in March 1, 2009 and received
responses by April 30, 2009. We mainly addressed the questionnaires to the management planning
sections of 853 Japanese manufacturing firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section,
requesting them to respond concerning capital investment for their main product. Unfortunately, the
response rate to the survey was only 11.72% (100 of the 853 companies). This response rate was
significantly lower than our previous survey in 2005 (Shimizu et al. [2007]), one reason being that our
request for a response coincided with an exceptionally busy period in accounting settlements associated
with the so-called Lehman Shock. Table 1 provides the number of respondent firms by industry. Using a
Chi-squared test, we confirm that the respondent firms’ distribution by industry is comparable to all
manufacturing firms listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. We also compare firm scale
(total assets and capital stock) across respondent and nonrespondent firms, and find no significant
difference.

Table 1: Respondent Firms by Industry

Foods Textiles &
apparel
Pulp and
paper
Chemical
s
Pharmaceutica
ls
Oil and coal
products
Rubber
commodities
Glass &
ceramics
6 (6%) 2 (2%) 1 (1%) 11 (11%) 1 (1%) 2 (2%) 0 (0%) 3 (3%)
Iron&
steel
Nonferrous
metals
Metal
products
Machinery Electric
appliances
Transportatio
n equipment
Precision
instruments
Other
Products
7 (7%) 4 (4%) 7 (7%) 13 (13%) 23 (23%) 13 (13%) 2 (2%) 5 (5%)
Note: Number of firms and percentage of total responses in parentheses

The Method Used to Measure Strategic Typology and the Results

In order to classify the respondent firms into four strategic types, we adopted the measurement of
strategic types described by Conant et al. [1990]. This method has been successful in many studies as a
useful way of grouping firms into Miles–Snow strategic types (DeSalbo et al. [2005]). The classification
procedure proposed by Conant et al. [2005] is as follows. To start with, we prepared 11 questions that
explicated the three basic problems in Miles and Snow’s [1978] adaptive-cycle model. These comprised
four questions regarding the entrepreneurial problem that develop the strategy, three questions concerning
the engineering problem that creates the systems to operate the strategy, and four questions about the

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administrative questions in managing the system. We then constructed four distinct response options
characterizing the four possible strategic types (Defender, Prospector, Analyzer, and Reactor) for each of
the 11 questions.

Next, an as a basic rule, the sample firms were classified into one of the four strategic types depending on
the response option selected most often. For instance, we classified the firm as a Defender if it most often
chose Defender response options. However, if the number of response options tied between Defender,
Prospector, and/or Analyzer response options, the firm was classified as an Analyzer, while if they tied
involving Reactor response options, the firm was classified as a Reactor.

The results of the classification of the respondent firms by the procedure described as following.The
largest number of firms are Analyzers (44 firms), followed by Defenders (21 firms), and then Prospectors
(16 firms). We were unable to classify one firm because it did not respond to all of the questions in the
survey. This reduced our sample size to 99 firms. We also do not examine Reactors (18 firms) in detail
because they do not operate consistently, though we do list their responses for reference.

Stance on Capital Investment and Its Purpose

We first examine the firm’s stance on capital investment. The scale used for the questions on capital
investment stance is a 5-point Likert scale (1 = withhold investment, 3 = neutral stance, 5 = invest
aggressively). We questioned firms on their investment stance both at the time of the survey (2009) and
three years ago (2006). Table 2 reports the results for this response. As shown, three years ago, more than
half of firms responded either 4 or 5 on the scale; that is, the majority of firms were investing positively
as business conditions were recovering. In contrast, in 2009, more than half of firms chose 1 or 2; that is,
the majority of firms had a negative stance on investment going into the recession.

Table 2: The Stance on Capital Investment

Response option Stance at present (2009) Stance three years ago (2006)
1 Withhold investment 45 (45.5) 6 (6.1)
2 21 (21.2) 8 (8.1)
3 Neutral stance 10 (10.1) 16 (16.2)
4 17 (17.2) 33 (33.3)
5 Invest aggressively 6 (6.1) 36 (36.4)
Total 99 (100) 99 (100)
Note: Percentage number of responses in parentheses
We next observe the results by strategic type. Table 3 reports the means and standard deviations of the
response to the questions on investment stance on the 5-point Likert scale for each strategic type and all
firms. As the differences in responses among the various strategic types are important, we emphasize the
difference by halftoning the maximum mean and underlining the minimum mean if the difference
between maximum and minimum mean is more than 0.3 (we undertake a similar procedure in the
remaining tables).

As shown, Prospectors invested most positively, both three years ago (2006) and at present (2009). This
may indicate the Prospector’s attitude of taking risks to seek profit. Three years ago, Analyzers took the
most negative stance towards investment, while at present, Defenders take the most negative stance. One
contemporary argument is that the Japanese economy cannot recover from recession because capital
investment is not increasing. Policy makers must then develop policy to stimulate investment for each

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strategic type depending on their characteristics, rather than applying the same policy for all firms by
assuming that every firm displays identical behavior toward investment.

Table 3: Stance on Investment by Strategic Type

Defender
(21 firms)
Prospector
(16 firms)
Analyzer
(44 firms)
Reactor
(18 firms)
Total
(99 firms)
Stance at present
(2009)
1.81
(1.078)
2.50
(1.673)
2.11
(1.298)
2.44
(1.338)
2.17
(1.333)
Stance three years ago
(2006)
3.81
(1.250)
4.13
(1.360)
3.75
(1.144)
3.94
(1.056)
3.86
(1.178)
Notes: Upper value = mean, lower value = (standard deviation), the highest mean among 3 types is in halftone and the lowest mean among 3
types is underlined.
We also questioned firms on the frequency of capital investment by purpose using 5-point Likert scale (1
= never carry out, 5 = always carry out). Table 4 reports the means and standard deviations of the
responses. The most frequent investment purpose was “(3) to improve production lines” (3.76).

Table 4: Purpose of Capital Investment by Strategic Type

Question item Defender
(21 firms)
Prospector
(16 firms)
Analyzer
(44 firms)
Reactor
(18 firms)
Total
(99 firms)
(1) Replace 3.38
(1.117)
3.75
(1.183)
3.32
0.934
3.61
(1.145)
3.45
(1.052)
(2) Increase
Production
3.33
(0.966)
3.88
(0.957)
3.43
(0.873)
3.78
(0.732)
3.55
(0.895)
(3) Improve
production lines
3.81
(0.981)
4.13
(0.885)
3.66
(0.745)
3.61
(0.979)
3.76
(0.870)
(4) Produce new
Products
3.52
(1.078)
4.06
(0.854)
3.48
(0.952)
3.50
(1.150)
3.59
(1.010)
Notes: Upper value = mean, lower value in row = (standard deviation), the highest mean among 3 types is in halftone and the lowest mean
among 3 types is underlined.
We now examine the purpose and frequency of capital investment by strategic type. As shown in Table 4,
Prospectors invest most frequently for every purpose, while Defenders invest least frequently “(2) to
increase production” and Analyzers invest least frequently for other purposes. Similarly, Defenders and
Analyzers invest less frequently than Prospectors do, and this coincides with their more negative stance
on capital investment in Table 4. What do the data suggest? In sum, Prospectors invest more frequently
“(3) to improve production lines” and “(4) to produce new products”. Of these, investing relatively more
“(4) to produce new products” may indicate the continuous seeking of market opportunities characteristic
of Prospectors. Moreover, Prospectors invest more frequently “(1) to replace” and “(2) to increase
production” than the other strategic types, and this reflects their attitude to increasing sales after entering
the market. In contrast, Defenders and Analyzers invest more frequently “(3) to improve production lines”
than for any other purpose. This appears to fit the theory in that Analyzers seek market opportunities that
they can handle using existing technology, so they often develop products that they can produce using
existing equipment. Likewise, Defenders produce the same kind of product, so they may not require
frequent capital investment.
CAPITAL BUDGETING MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC TYPE

In order to understand the firm’s actual capital budgeting process, we propose the following model. This
is based on the strategic capital budgeting planning process presented by Maccarrone [1996, p. 44] of

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Development/evaluation → Selection → Authorization → Implementation and control → Postauditing
Here “Development of the project” refers to the desirable capital investment being analyzed as a capital
budgeting project. “Project proposal” is the project being proposed to headquarters. “Deliberation and
authorization” indicates the capital budgeting project proposed from the subordinate section of the
organization being discussed and finally approved at the highest level. Finally, “Implementation and
postinvestment evaluation” refers to the capital expenditure phase and the ex post monitoring of the
project.
We posed questions concerning each of the four phases of the management process described above,
numbering 18 question items in total. The scale used for each question item is again on a 5-point Likert
scale (1 = do not agree at all, 5 = strongly agree).

Development of the project phase

We included four questions concerning the “Development of the project” phase. We use Table 5 to
analyze management in the “Development” phase. As shown, Defenders “(1) organize team” relatively
less than Prospectors and Analyzers, while a smaller number of firms organize teams at the
“Development” phase overall. This is because Defenders operate continuously in an existing
organizational domain; thus, they can cope with project development using existing technology. This is
generally a standing system, such as a department of production management. In contrast, Prospectors
continually enter new organizational domains. As a result, Prospectors form new project teams consisting
of members with detailed knowledge of the new technology to handle the new domain. In addition,
Analyzers enter a new domain by combining existing technologies. To handle this, Analyzers form
project teams consisting of members with different technology. Whether or not “(2) the developer of the
investment project compares two or more ideas”, Prospectors are most likely to carry it out, followed by
Analyzers, while Defenders are least likely to carry it out. As Prospectors invest to enter new product
market domains, they more carefully develop their investment plans. Similarly, more Prospectors
indicates that “(3) the developer of the investment project is recognizing the level of profitability that
should be achieved”. Interestingly, more Analyzers, as well as Prospectors, respond that “(4) the
developer of the investment project is recognizing the appropriate timing of investment”. This may be
because investing with appropriate timing in response to demand is very important for both Analyzers and
Prospectors.

Table 5: Management Processes in the “Development” Phase by Strategic Type

Question item Defender
(21 firms)
Prospector
(16 firms)
Analyzer
(44 firms)
Reactor
(18 firms)
(1) Team organization 2.62
(1.024)
3.00
(0.966)
3.05
(0.939)
2.94
(0.998)
(2) Comparison of multiple projects 3.86
(0.727)
4.19
(0.911)
4.02
(0.832)
4.11
(0.832)
(3) Profitability check 4.14
(0.854)
4.50
(0.816)
4.30
(0.701)
4.61
(0.850)
(4) Appropriate timing 3.76
(0.889)
4.31
(0.873)
4.36
(0.685)
4.44
(0.705)
Notes: Upper value = mean, lower value in row = (standard deviation), the highest mean among 3 types is in halftone and the lowest mean
among 3 types is underlined.

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Proposal phase

Next, we employ Table 6 to observe the management in the “Proposal” phase by strategic type. As
detailed, Analyzers respond more often that “(5) when the investment project is proposed, the item that
should be deliberated upon is decided”. Because Analyzers may face some difficulty in adjusting
deliberated items, they decide capital investment at the final deliberation. Conversely, Prospectors and
Analyzers respond more than Defenders that they “(8) propose in exact timing with investment”. This is
because Prospectors and Analyzers run a greater risk of losing from the incorrect timing of investment,
while Defenders perform in a more stable domain.

Table 6: Management Processes in the “Proposal” Phase by Strategic Type

Question item Defender
(21 firms)
Prospector
(16 firms)
Analyzer
(44 firms)
Reactor
(18 firms)
(5) Formalization of deliberation item 3.86
(0.910)
4.13
(1.088)
4.32
(0.639)
4.06
(8.02)
(6) Ranking of priority 3.90
(0.768)
4.00
(0.816)
4.14
(0.639)
4.06
(0.802)
(7) Profitability check 4.00
(0.949)
3.88
(1.147)
4.09
(0.772)
4.00
(1.138)
(8) Exact timing

4.00
(0.775)
4.44
(0.814)
4.32
(0.708)
4.06
(0.938)
Note: Upper value = mean, lower value = (Standard deviation), the highest mean among 3 types is in halftone and the lowest mean among 3
types is underlined, (if the difference between the highest and the lowest mean is more than 0.3).

Deliberation and authorization phase
We examine the management of “Deliberation and authorization” by strategic type using Table 7. As
shown, more Prospectors and Analyzers on average follow “(9) observance of deliberation procedure”;
that is, Prospectors and Analyzers seldom allow exceptions. In addition, Prospectors and Analyzers tend
to undertake the “(11) comparison of implemented plans” in the “Deliberation and authorization” phase.
This may be because the right or wrong investment directly leads to business success or failure in
Prospectors and Analyzers. As also shown, Analyzers most value timing, while Defenders act in a more
stable domain.
This table also reveals the Analyzers’ strategy of seizing on promising market opportunities. In contrast,
Prospectors have shorter deliberation periods, as they may essentially make almost all investment
decisions before the “Deliberation and authorization” phase.
Implementation and postinvestment evaluation phase

Finally, we analyze management in the “Implementation and postinvestment evaluation” phase by
strategic type. As shown, Analyzers most often undertake “(15) evaluation continuously”, unlike
Prospectors. In addition, Defenders most often undertake “(16) a profitability check” after investment,
unlike Prospectors. One characteristic of the Prospector’s planning sequence is that they evaluate
investment projects in the development, proposal and deliberation phases, then move to develop a detailed
operating plan; that is, Evaluate → Act → Plan (Males and Snow [1987], p. 62). Therefore, a
characteristic of Prospectors is that they do not evaluate carefully after investment. As an alternative,
Defenders continuously repeat the planning sequence of Plan → Act → Evaluate, then carefully evaluate
following investment. This leads to continuity and thoroughness in evaluation and the postinvestment
profitability check.

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Table 7: Management Processes in the “Deliberation and authorization” Phase by Strategic Type

Question item Defender
(21 firms)
Prospector
(16 firms)
Analyzer
(44 firms)
Reactor
(18 firms)
(9) Observance of deliberation procedure 4.57
(0.746)
5.00
(0.000)
4.89
(0.321)
4.61
(0.850)
(10) Deliberation on each project 4.38
(0.669)
4.63
(0.500)
4.59
(0.757)
4.17
(0.857)
(11) Comparison of implementation plans 3.29
(1.007)
3.81
(0.834)
3.61
(0.784)
3.78
(1.060)
(12) Profitability check 4.19
(0.750)
4.19
(0.629)
4.27
(0.899)
4.33
(0.970)
(13) Timing check 4.05
(0.805)
4.06
(0.929)
4.52
(0.590)
4.44
(0.856)
Note: Upper value = mean, lower value = (Standard deviation), the highest mean among 3 types is in halftone and the lowest mean among 3
types is underlined, (if the difference between the highest and the lowest mean is more than 0.3).
Table 8: Management Process in the “Implementation and Postinvestment Evaluation” Phase by Strategic
Type
Question item Defender
(21 firms)
Prospector
(16 firms)
Analyzer
(44 firms)
Reactor
(18 firms)
(14) Monitoring of implementation 3.43
(1.028)
3.69
(1.014)
3.66
(0.939)
4.06
(0.998)
(15) Continuity of evaluation 3.57
(1.207)
3.38
(1.147)
3.73
(1.020)
3.61
(0.916)
(16) Profitability check 3.81
(1.078)
3.38
(1.147)
3.73
(1.042)
3.61
(0.979)
(17) Analysis of failed projects 3.24
(0.889)
3.44
(1.094)
3.59
(0.923)
3.67
(0.767)
(18) Relation with performance evaluation 2.86
(1.195)
3.50
(0.966)
3.00
(0.940)
3.28
(1.127)
Note: Upper value = mean, lower value = (Standard deviation), the highest mean among 3 types is in halftone and the lowest mean among 3
types is underlined, (if the difference between the highest and the lowest mean is more than 0.3).

CAPITAL BUDGETING IN PLANNING SYSTEM AND STRATEGIC TYPE

It is impossible for firms to implement all available investment projects, even if they recognize the
necessity of investment. Firms are then subject to a budget constraint and have a limited ability to manage
investment projects. Therefore, they need to coordinate investment projects by collecting and selecting
information on each. In this mail survey, we asked how each investment project is coordinated across four
stages. These are medium-/long-term budget plans, annual budget (plan), between medium-/long-term
and annual budget, and deliberation just before implementing investment. The scale used for each
question item is a 5-point Likert scale (1 = do not agree at all, 5 = strongly agree).
First, we examine the overall tendency of respondent firms using Table 9. Comparing registration, timing,
and the priority of investment project across the medium-/long-term plan ((1), (2), (3)) and the annual
budget ((4),(5),(6)), the mean values for each question are higher for the annual budget than for the
medium-/long-term plan. For example, the mean value of registration of the project is 3.87 in the
medium/long term and 4.55 in the annual budget, so it is clear that most firms register investment projects
in the annual budget. Therefore, the investment project is recognized by the organization in the annual
budget rather than in the medium-/long-term plan. In addition, firms consider investment timing and rank
investment priority in the annual budget rather than in the medium-/long-term plan. In other words, there
is every possibility that the coordination for investment projects is secured in the annual budget.

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From (7) and (8), the selection and addition of investment projects are incurred to some degree in the
medium-/long-term plan and the annual budget. As the mean values of the responses for (9), (10), (11)
and (12) are greater than four, it is clear that most Japanese firms perform deliberation on each project
apart from the annual budget, and set budget limits and implement investment within the budget limits.

Table 9: Capital Budgeting in the Planning System (All Firms)

# Content of question item Mean
(Standard
deviation)
(1) Register investment project in medium-/long-term plan. 3.87
(1.027)
(2) Timing of investment is written clearly in medium-/long-term plan. 3.79
(1.013)
(3) Priority for investment project is ranked in medium-/long-term plan. 3.43
(1.012)
(4) Register investment project in annual budget. 4.55
(0.659)
(5) Timing of investment is written clearly in annual budget. 4.39
(0.780)
(6) Priority for investment project is ranked in annual budget. 3.86
(0.958)
(7) Investment project that is registered in annual budget is selected from the projects that are registered in
medium-/long-term plan.
3.71
(0.860)
(8) New capital investment project that is not in medium-/long-term plan can be added in annual budget. 3.75
(0.800)
(9) Detailed deliberation and authorization of investment plan takes place before implementation aside
from annual budget.
4.09
(1.135)
(10) The deliberation of each project takes place separately. 4.18
(1.014)
(11) Budget limit for investment is set in annual budget. 4.49
(0.813)
(12) Capital investment is implemented within the annual budget limit. 4.20
(0.700)

Next, we examine capital budgeting by strategic type. In the medium-/long-term plan, Prospectors most
respond “(1) register investment project” and “(2) write investment timing” and “(3) rank investment
priority”, while Analyzers closely follow the practice of Prospectors, unlike Defenders. In the annual
budget, although Prospectors similarly obtain higher mean values for these question items, Analyzers
have as low a mean value as Defenders. Between the medium-/long-term plan and the annual budget,
Prospectors most often “(7) select investment project” and “(8) add new investment project”, while
Defenders do so least often, and Analyzers are similar to Defenders. On this basis, it is clear that
Defenders tend not to seek new investment projects, while Prospectors collect information and select
projects well.

Analyzers most often “(9) authorize the project just before implementation aside from annual budget”,
unlike Defenders and Prospectors. Analyzers need to evaluate and select the project just before
implementation to seize market opportunities. However, Defenders and Prospectors complete project
evaluation before deliberation, so authorization tends to be just a formality. Analyzers and Prospectors
similarly place emphasis on “(10) deliberation on each project separately”, unlike Defenders. This means
that Analyzers and Prospectors deliberate carefully on each project in order to enter new product market
domains, while Defenders seldom do so because they operate in an existing product market domain.
Finally, Prospectors most often “(11) set budget limit”, followed by Analyzers, and less like Defenders.
Put differently, Prospectors and Defenders keep to a budget limit, unlike Analyzers. This is because

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Analyzers have to use their budget flexibly because they evaluate and select projects in the short term,
while Prospectors actively manage investment projects.

Table 10: Capital Budgeting in the Planning System by Strategic Type
Question item Defender
(21 firms)
Prospector
(16 firms)
Analyzer
(44 firms)
Reactor
(18 firms)
(1) Registration in medium-/long-term plan 3.57
（1.121）
4.13
(0.885)
3.89
(1.039)
3.94
(0.998)
(2) Timing written in medium-/long-term plan 3.48
(1.078)
4.00
(0.894)
3.84
(1.077)
3.83
(0.857)
(3) Priority rank in medium-/long-term plan 3.33
(1.111)
3.56
(0.892)
3.39
(1.061)
3.56
(0.922)
(4) Registration in annual budget 4.43
(0.676)
4.94
(0.250)
4.43
(0.728)
4.61
(0.608)
(5) Timing written in annual budget 4.19
(0.928)
4.88
(0.342)
4.34
(0.745)
4.33
(0.840)
(6) Priority rank in annual budget 3.76
(0.944)
4.31
(0.946)
3.75
(0.866)
3.83
(1.150)
(7) Selection of the projects

3.52
(0.928)
4.31
(0.602)
3.64
(0.780)
3.56
(0.984)
(8) Addition of the projects

3.43
(0.870)
4.00
(0.966)
3.73
(0.624)
3.94
(0.873)
(9) Authorization just before implementation 3.71
(1.309)
3.75
(1.390)
4.32
(0.857)
4.28
(1.179)
(10) Deliberation on each project 3.67
(1.317)
4.25
(1.238)
4.34
(0.776)
4.33
(0.767)
(11) Setting budget limit

4.29
(1.007)
4.81
(0.403)
4.45
(0.848)
4.56
(0.705)
(12) Keeping budget limit

4.43
(0.598)
4.44
(0.629)
4.05
(0.680)
4.11
(0.832)
Note: Upper value = mean, lower value = (Standard deviation), the highest mean among 3 types is in halftone and the lowest mean among 3
types is underlined, (if the difference between the highest and the lowest mean is more than 0.3).

CONCLUSION

Our principal motivations in this paper are that capital budgeting management must be affected by firm
strategy and that capital budgeting should therefore be adapted to each firm’s strategy to improve
business results. In the analysis, we describe the capital budgeting appropriate for each strategic type by
illustrating the differences in stance and purpose, management process and budgeting for the three
strategic types in Miles and Snow [1978]. The major capital budgeting characteristics of these three
strategic types are as follows. First, Defenders seldom search for new investment projects because they
establish a stable status in a limited operational domain. Therefore, their main purpose of capital
investment is to improve cost competitiveness. They then develop investment projects in their own way,
and then thoroughly evaluate profitability following implementation.

Second, Prospectors continuously search for market opportunities, and evaluate and select projects in
order to pioneer and to profit from new product markets. Thus, the main purpose of capital investment for
these firms is to produce new products. In doing so, they address profitability and timing in the
“Development” phase and carefully compare the alternative projects available. Finally, Analyzers
deliberate carefully and optimally time investment to seize market opportunities using their existing
technology. They are not aggressive in capital investment. We thus provide clear evidence that firm
strategy affects capital budgeting management. Therefore, one potential future research topic is whether
capital budgeting as fitted to strategic type leads to improvements in business performance. Although we
leave this for future research, we briefly outline and discuss the return on assets for each strategic type.

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Table 11: Average Return on Assets by Strategic Type

Return on capital Defender Prospector Analyzer Reactor Total
4-year average
（2005–08）
4.96％
(3.97)
21
7.43％
(5.03)
16
7.12%
(4.51)
44
7.87%
(4.93)
18
6.85%
(4.61)
99
5-year average
(2005–09）
4.16%
(3.50)
21
7.20%
(4.09)
15
6.22
(4.17)
43
6.81%
(4.52)
18
6.03
(4.17)
97
Note: Upper value in row = mean, middle value in row = (standard deviation), lower value in row = number of sample firms.
Source: NEEDS Financial QUEST

As shown in Table 11, by comparing the 4- and 5-year average returns on assets, we can see that the
Japanese economy moved into recession from 2008 to 2009 because return on assets was worsening, both
across all firms and for every strategic type. However, for both sample periods, return was highest for
Prospectors, followed by Analyzers, and then Defenders. We therefore must take some care because a
difference in return does not necessarily imply some relative superiority or inferiority in strategic type.
Instead, we assume that return would improve only if each firm were to undertake capital budget
management in line with its strategic type. Furthermore, although we only emphasize the capital
budgeting management matched with strategic type, there will be necessary capital budgeting
management for every strategic type. For instance, Shimizu et al. [2008] have extracted the appropriate
capital budgeting management that has led to improvement in firm performance. These considerations
remain an important subject for us to explore.

REFERENCES

Conant JS, Mokwa MP, Varadarajan PR.(1990), Strategic Types, Distinctive Marketing Competencies
and Organizational Performance: A Multiple Measures- Based Study, Strategic Management Journal,
Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 365-383.

ce for the translation” (Japanese translation for Miles R. Snow C.[1978], Organizational Strategy,
StrucDeSarbo, W. S., C. A. Benedetto, M. Song and I. Sinha (2005), “Revisiting the Miles and Snow
Strategic Framework: Uncovering Interrelationships between Strategic Types, Capabilities,
Environmental Uncertainty, and Firm Performance”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp.
47-74.

Fukuda, Junji (2008) “Kanrikaikei-tantousha no yakuwari oyobi yakuwarisuikou ni hituyouna chisiki to
sukiru” [The Role of Management Accountants and their Knowledge and Skills]” in Japanese, KEIEI
SHIRIN (The Hosei Journal of Business).

Haka, S. F. (2007), “A Review of the Literature on Capital Budgeting and Investment Appraisal: Past,
Present, and Future Musings, in Chapman C. S., A. G. Hopwood and M. D. Shields ed. “, Handbook of
Managerial accounting Research Volume 2, London, Elsevier, pp. 697-728.

Hiromoto, Toshiro (1993) Beikoku kannrikaikeiron hattatsushi [History of the United States managerial
accounting theory development] , in Japanese, Moriyama Shoten

Maccarrone, P. (1996), “Organizing the Capital Budgeting Process in Large Firms”, Management
Decision, Vol. 34, No. 6.

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Miles R. and Snow C.(1978), Organizational Strategy, Structure and Process, McGrow-Hill. (Miles and
Snow(2003), Organizational Strategy, Structure and Process （Stanford business Classi, Stanford
University Press.)

Northcott, D. (1992), Capital Investment Decision-Making, Cengage Learning Company.

Shimizu, Nobumasa (2004) “Nihon ni okeru setsubitoushiyosan kennkyuu no gennjyou to kadai [Current
state and problem of capital budgeting research in Japan] ” , in Japanese, Momoyama-gakuin daigakuin
sogo kennkyuujo kiyo [Momoyama-gakuin University graduate school general institute bulletin] vol. 29,
No.3 pp. 5-21.

Shimizu, Nobumasa (2006) “Kannrikaikei to shiteno shihonnyosann kenkyu no kadai [Problem of capital
budgeting research as managerial accounting] “, in Japanese, Sangyokeiri[Industrial accounting] , Vol.
65, No. 4, pp. 42-53.

Shimizu, Nobumasa, Yutaka Kato, Junya Sakaguchi, Takaharu Kawai (2005) “Setsubi toushi
manejimento purosesu to sono eikyou youin [Capital budgeting management process and its influential
factor]” in Japanese, Genkakeisan kenkyu [Cost accounting research], vol. 29, No.2, pp. 56-65.

Shimizu, Nobumasa, Yutaka Kato, Junya Sakaguchi, Takaharu Kawai (2007) “Setsubi toushi
manegimento no jittai chousa: setsubi toushi manejiment no zentaizou [Research of the capital budgeting
management: entire image of capital budgeting management]” in Japanese, Kigyoukaikei [Corporate
accounting], vol. 59, No. 9, pp. 66-73.

Simons, R. (1987) “Accounting control systems and Business Strategy: An Empirical Analysis,”
Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.12, No.4.

Sugiyama Yoshihiro (2002) Toushi kouritsu wo takameru shihon yosan [Capital budgeting that improves
investment efficiency], in Japanese, Chuo Keizai Inc.

Toribe, Shinji (1997) Kigyou no toushi koudou riron [Theory of firm’s investment activity], in Japanese,
Chuo Keizai Inc.

Tsuchiya, Morio (1983) “Prefature and Process, in Japanese, Diamond. ）

Yamamoto, Masahiro (1998) Senryaku teki toushi kettei no keizaigaku [Economics of strategic investment
decision], in Japanese , Bunshindo

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AN EXAMPLE OF EXCELLENCE: WHY BUSINESS
SCHOOLS ARE BRINGING MILITARY HISTORY BACK
TO THE CURRICULUM
Mary H. Kelly, Texas A&M University-Central Texas
Margaret Britt; University; Mount Vernon
Thomas G. Hardenbergh; the University of Michigan
William E. Hardenbergh; University of Michigan

ABSTRACT

Today’s business reaches many new frontiers (Afful, 2006), making it poignant to ask: How can the
business curriculum provide excellence? A sampling of new components to the business curriculum
includes: new technology; new financial instruments trading among new groups of investors on new
exchanges with new ownership; new global markets developing at a furious pace; new regulations
affecting a panoply of industries; new metrics to analyze corporate profitability; new standards for public
policy; and, new methods of educating students termed non-traditional learners, in addition to
traditional-aged learners. The intent of this paper is to answer the question: How can the business
curriculum provide excellence? This paper suggests that the re-emergence of military history in the
business curriculum is an example of continued excellence by business programs. Research is limited
regarding curricula and enrollment by business students in military history courses; thus, the research
focuses on a review of the literature for pedagogical purposes. This paper discusses the reasons for
incorporating military history, i.e., the influence of military might on the development of past empires, as
a source of essential knowledge and keen insights for future business decisions, and finds a clear example
of excellence in today’s business curriculum.

BIOGRAPHY

Mary H. Kelly, Assistant Professor of Finance; Coordinator-Accounting, Finance and
Economics; Texas A&M University-Central Texas; 1901 South Clear Creek Road; Killeen, TX 76549;
mhkelly@ct.tamus.edu.

Dr. Margaret Britt; Professor of Human Resource Management; Jetter School of Business;
Mount Vernon Nazarene University; Mount Vernon, OH 43050; mbritt@mvnu.edu

Mr. Thomas G. Hardenbergh; Student attending the University of Michigan;
Major-Actuarial Mathematics; Minors-Finance and History; t.hardenbergh@gmail.com

Mr. William E. Hardenbergh; Student attending the University of Michigan;
Major-Biology; Minors-Finance and Education; w.hardenbergh@gmail.com

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BALANCED SCORECARD PRACTICES AND
DETERMINANTS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF LISTED
COMPANIES IN THAILAND
Wasatorn Shutibhinyo, Chulalongkorn University

ABSTRACT

This paper develops a framework for Balanced Scorecard (BSC) stage classification (non-adoption,
adoption and implementation) by considering BSC attributes embedded in firm’s performance
measurement system and examines how various determinants (external, structural, attitudinal and
executional factors) affect each BSC stage. Based on a survey, 26% and 64% are BSC-adoption and
BSC-implementation firms respectively. The findings also reveal the evidence of the different
interpretations of BSC resulting in misclassification. Regarding determinant test, the results show that
the importance levels of determinants somehow vary by stages and clearly differ from the findings if
employing firms’ self-assessed responses. This research contributes to BSC literature by highlighting
how to identify the BSC stages without taking firm’s self-assessed response about the BSC application as
given and by providing the evidence of stage-dependent determinants. This study also sheds some light
on Technology Acceptance Model as attitudinal factor is another key determinant for implementing BSC.

JEL: M490 and M190

KEYWORDS: Balanced Scorecard, Implementation, Adoption, Determinants, Technology Acceptance
Model

INTRODUCTION

Over two decades of the Balanced scorecard (BSC) devised by Kaplan and Norton in 1992, it has
attracted considerable interest worldwide, including Thailand (Decharin, 2003; Thinwilai, 2005;
Yongvanich and Guthrie, 2009). As it relates to the advancement of the performance measurement
system, one of the responsibilities of accountants, BSC becomes one of the most important developments
in management accounting, particularly in strategic planning and control (Atkinson et al., 1997). Many
studies explore the BSC diffusion, examine factors influencing the adoption and the implementation of
BSC, and investigate the effects of BSC implementation. However, prior studies provide mixed results
since they have not provided a clear definition of BSC application. More importantly, they are likely to
take firms’ responses about BSC application as given.

Several studies use “Adoption” and “Implementation” interchangeably despite different meanings.
Adapted from Roger (2003), BSC-adoption firm is one that is at the stage of choosing to follow BSC idea
by making use of financial and nonfinancial measures along multiple dimensions. BSC-implementation
firm is the firm that at the stage of carrying out a practical means for accomplishing BSC usage. Thus,
BSC stages should consist of Non-adoption, Adoption, and Implementation. Additionally, most studies
have trusted in firms’ self-assessed responses about BSC application. This can bias the research results as
firms may differently understand the BSC concept, leading to dissimilar criteria used to judge to which
stages of BSC application they belong (Kaplan, 2010). Hence, this raises the importance of the accurate
determination of BSC application at the beginning of research projects (Burkert et al., 2010). To avoid
misunderstanding about BSC, the elements of BSC should be taken into account in order to properly

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identify the stages of BSC application. This method allows researcher to accurately investigate the extent
of BSC usage and the determinant and the consequence of BSC application.

To date, little research has been published on performance measurement systems, particularly BSC, in the
context of Thailand. As Thai firms are not required to apply Balanced Scorecard, it is expected that
certain companies apply BSC either intentionally or unintentionally. In this study, the characteristics of
firms’ performance measurement systems are explored to reflect the BSC attributes, which are then used
for classifying the stage of BSC application. Once the stages of BSC application are identified,
understanding the determinants of BSC application is important as it presents the factors that help
facilitate or impede moving forward from one stage to another.

Therefore, the objectives of this study are to develop a framework of BSC application and to use such
framework to identify the BSC attributes and BSC stages of survey-responding firms. This study also
represents an extension of prior studies by drawing the determinants from the organizational innovation,
technology acceptance model (TAM) and contingency theory to examine whether external, structural,
attitudinal and executional factors affect adoption and implementation stage of BSC.This paper
contributes to BSC by developing conceptionalization and operationalization of BSC framework which
can be further used by both academics and practitioners. This paper also explores the BSC application in
Thailand to complement the prior studies mostly conducted in US and Europe. This study extends prior
determinant literature of BSC and TAM by going further into details of the determinant-innovation
relation to reveal how factors ease or inhibit the BSC implementation process. This paper is divided into
five sections. The first section is the introduction discussed earlier. The second section presents a brief
literature review, followed by the research methodology. The fourth section shows the developed BSC
framework and the empirical results. The last section concludes the paper.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Balanced Scorecard (BSC)

Balanced scorecard is initially devised by Kaplan and Norton as the multi-dimensional performance
measurement system with a collection of financial and nonfinancial measures and is now transformed into
a strategic performance measurement system (Kaplan and Norton, 1992; 1996; 2001; 2008). BSC
incorporates various important attributes as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: The attributes of Balance Scorecard

BSC Attributes Explanation
Translating strategy into
operation terms
(Strategy)
This feature is a foundation of BSC. Without this characteristic, firms cannot claim that it has implemented BSC.
This key attribute includes three sub-attributes – (1.1) Multiple perspectives, (1.2) Measures derived from
strategy, and (1.3) Cause-and-effect relationships among the strategic objectives or measures.
Aligning the
organizational units to
the strategy (Alignment)
Since organization consists of various business units and support departments, it is important to align business
units’ and functional units’ strategies to the corporate-level strategy in order to generate the corporate synergy,
which causes a collection of business units to create value than if each unit operates autonomously.
Communicating strategy
to employees
(Communication)
The CEOs and executives cannot run the business by themselves. Communicating and educating ensure that
employees understand firm’s strategy and scorecard. This intrinsically and extrinsically motivates employees to
perform their works in the ways that contribute to the success of the strategy.
Providing feedback and
learning (Feedback)
Strategy should be linked to the budgeting process by setting targets for the strategic measures and by screening
the strategic initiatives for achieving such targets. The feedback and learning process is also needed to enable
strategic refinements or make strategy a continual process.

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Most prior studies have not simultaneously concerned all the above-mentioned BSC attributes. Some
prior studies have focused only on sub-attribute or one BSC attribute (e.g., Gosselin, 2005; Abernethy et
al., 2005), while some have done on the various combinations of the BSC features (e.g., Malina and Selto,
2001; Malina et al., 2007). Only one study (De Geuser et al., 2009) refers and tests all four BSC features
separately; however, they focus only on BSC users and test whether these four features of BSC and top
management support are the sources of BSC contributions. They find that attribute 1 (Strategy) and 4
(Feedback) seem to be the key sources of overall improvement; while attribute 2 (Alignment) and 3
(Communication) show marginal impact. Top management support does not influence any perceived
organizational performance.

The Stages of BSC Application

Most prior studies (e.g., Ittner et al., 2003; Thinwilai, 2005; Yu et al., 2008) have assigned firm as non-
BSC or BSC based on firm’s self-assessed response about the stage that firm has selected in the
questionnaire. Few studies (i.e., Speckbacher et al., 2003; Yongvanich and Guthrie, 2009) additionally
consider BSC attributes for firms that respond that they are at the stage of BSC usage. For example,
Speckbacher et al. (2003) developed the classification framework as follows:

Table 2: Speckbacher et al.’s (2003) Classification Framework

BSC Stages BSC Type Criteria
(1) No contact with BSC thus far
(2) Know BSC
(3) Studied BSC, but no concrete steps taken
(4) First steps already taken
(5) BSC project has existed
Non-BSC firm

(6) BSC implemented in individual business units
(7) BSC implemented for entire company

BSC
firm
Type 1 (1) Identify strategic measures or objectives
(2) Group strategic measures or objectives into perspectives
Type 2 Type 1 with the following criterion:
(1) Employ cause-and-effect chains
Type 3

Type 2 with some or all of the following criteria:
(1) Contain action plans/target
(2) Link Measures to incentives

Firms at stage (1) to (5) are classified as non-BSC firms, while those at stage (6) to (7) are done as BSC
firms. The BSC firms are then reclassified into three groups of BSC users, depending on their BSC
attributes. Based on foundation of BSC, Type1 firms should not be BSC users as they are only at
adoption stage. Additionally, Speckbacher et al. (2003) have not studied all four attributes of BSC;
Yongvanich and Guthrie (2009) have done so but have not investigated four BSC attributes separately.

At this point, it is crucial to call attention to the critical concern – different interpretations of BSC. Some
academics and practitioners may think of the BSC based on the original 1992 BSC article, which is just
one part of current BSC concept (Kaplan, 2010). Dissimilar interpretations of BSC can affect the firms’
self-assessed responses and bias the results in the sense that firms without BSC attributes (but with initial
BSC project) may think that they are BSC users; thus, they may select the stage of BSC usage. On the
contrary, firms with some BSC attributes may think that they are not qualified enough to claim that they
are BSC users; hence, they may be erroneously classified themselves as non-BSC users. This
interpretation problem can be mitigated by identifying the features of performance measurement systems
to reflect the BSC attributes and to indicate the BSC stage for each responding firm.

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To the best of my knowledge, only one study (Soderberg, 2006) has asked the structure and the use of
performance measurement system in order to categorize firms as BSC or non-BSC without asking
whether or not they are BSC user. BSC firms are then re-categorized into several levels of BSC
application. The criteria used for the classification are shown in Table 3. BSC level 1, 2a, 2b, and 3 are
consistent with attribute 1 (Strategy). BSC level 4 combines attribute 3 (Communication) and 4
(Feedback); however, attribute 2 (Alignment) is not considered. Based on key features of BSC, firms that
are classified as firms at level 3 and 4 are BSC users; conversely, those at level 1, 2a, and 2b should be
non-BSC users as all key sub-attributes of attribute 1 (Strategy) have not been met.

Table 3: Soderberg’s (2006) Classification Framework

BSC level Attribute Criteria
Non-BSC firms No any criterion is met.
BSC
firms
1 Derived from strategy (1) Business unit strategy is well defined.
(2) Performance measures are derived from such strategy.
2a Strategy+ Balance BSC level 1 with all following criteria
(1) PMS contained financial and nonfinancial measures.
(2) PMS contained driver (leading) and outcome (lagging) measures.
2b Strategy+ Causal links BSC level 1 with all following criteria
(1) PMS has measures that are linked through driver-outcome relationships
(2) Business unit understand the potential driver-outcome relationship among individual measures
3 Strategy+ Balance+
Causal links
Level 2a with Causal links, or
Level 2b with Balance
4 Level 3 with some or all following criteria
Double Loop Learning (1) Deviation from expected or planned results causes the business unit’s management to question
the unit’s business strategy
Tied to Compensation (2) Business unit use the PMS to compensate/reward some or all of unit’s employees

Table 4: Determinants, Related Literature Review and the Developed Hypotheses

Determinants Summary of literature review Hypotheses proposed in alternative form
Ex
te
rn
al
Environment
uncertainty
(+) Firms in uncertainty environment tend to use both
financial and nonfinancial measure (e.g., Gosselin, 2005;
Jusoh, 2008) and BSC usage (Hendricks et al., 2004).
H1a: Environment uncertainty is positively associated
with reaching BSC adoption stage.
H1b: Environment uncertainty is positively associated
with reaching BSC implementation stage.
St
ru
ct
ur
al
Participation

(+) The higher degree of participation is a significant
predictor of innovation application (Damanpour, 1991;
Chenhall, 2003; Abernethy and Bouwens, 2005), including
BSC (Gosselin, 2005).
(=) Braam and Nijssen (2008) have found insignificant
relation between decentralization and BSC application.
H2a: Participation is positively associated with
reaching BSC adoption stage.
H2b: Participation is positively associated with
reaching BSC implementation stage.
Formalization (+) Wiersma (2009) finds that when more action control is
used, the managers use BSC more often for making
decisions and rationalizing these decisions for themselves
and towards others.
(=) Braam and Nijssen (2008) find no effect between
formalization and the use of performance measures.
(-) Henry (2006) finds negative relation.
H3a: Formalization is positively associated with
reaching BSC adoption stage.
H3b: Formalization is positively associated with
reaching BSC implementation stage.

Interconnect-
edness
(+) Braam and Nijssen (2008) finds the positive impact of
departmental interconnectedness on BSC adoption
H4a: Interconnentedness is positively associated with
reaching BSC adoption stage.
H4b: Interconnentedness is positively associated with
reaching BSC implementation stage.

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Table 4 (Cont’): Determinants, Related Literature Review and The Developed Hypotheses

Determinants Summary of literature review Hypotheses proposed in alternative form
St
ru
ct
u ra
l Information
System
(+) Information system capability can assist BSC
application (e.g., Assiri et al., 2006; Kaplan, 2010)
H5a: Information system is positively associated with
reaching BSC adoption stage.
H5b: Information system is positively associated with
reaching BSC implementation stage.
A
tti
tu
di
na
l
Attitude toward
BSC
(+) some studies preliminarily reveal that the perceived
ease of use and the perceived usefulness of BSC are likely
to affect the individual’s intent to use (Hongrattanawong,
2002; Islam and Kellermanns, 2006) and the use of BSC
(Speckbacher et al., 2003; Yongvanich and Guthrie, 2009).
(=) Chen et al.’s (2006) study finds no impact of the
perception of BSC ease of use and BSC usefulness on BSC
adoption and implementation stages.
H6a: Attitude toward BSC is positively associated
with reaching BSC adoption stage.
H6b: Attitude toward BSC is positively associated
with reaching BSC implementation stage.

Ex
ec
ut
io
na
l
Top
management
support
(+)This is one of the most important variables in
implementing any innovations (Damanpour, 1991; Roger,
2003; Chenhall, 2003), including BSC, (Kaplan and
Norton, 2001; Braam and Nijssen, 2008).
(-) Chen et al. (2006) find negative impact of top
management support on BSC application.
H7: Top management support is positively associated
with reaching BSC implementation stage.

CFO’s
involvement
(+) Chief financial officer is expected to be an innovation
champion who can promote the BSC implementation
(Chen et al., 2006; Braam and Nijssen, 2008)
H8: CFO involvement is positively associated with
reaching BSC implementation stage.

Project Team (+) Prior studies point out the importance of this factor
(e.g., Kaplan and Norton, 2001; Abernethy et al., 2005;
Assiri et al., 2006; Soderberg, 2006)
H9: Team is positively associated with reaching BSC
implementation stage.
Training (+) Training or education support is needed for employees
(e.g, Assiri et al., 2006) to enhance their understanding
about long term strategy and scorecard.
H10: Training is positively associated with reaching
BSC implementation stage.

(+), (-) and (=) represent the results of prior studies providing positive relation, negative relation, and insignificant relation between the
determinant and BSC application, respectively.

This current study has extended prior research by taking into account all attributes of BSC with the
assumption that firm’s responses about its characteristics of performance measurement system can reflect
its actual practice. The applied attributes of BSC allows this study to specify stage of BSC application. It
should be noted that this research examine BSC usage at firm-level, not individual business-unit level.

The Determinants of BSC Application

Drawing upon organizational innovation, technology acceptance model and contingency theory,
determinants expecting to affect the adoption and implementation of BSC are shown in Table 4. External
factor is critical for any contingency-based research (Chenhall, 2003). Structural factors reflect firm’s
characteristics (Anderson and Young, 1999) that can affect innovation application (Damanpour, 1991).
Both external and structural factors are expected to be associated with reaching both adoption and
implementation stages. Executional factors reflect mechanisms supporting the implementation process
(Anderson and Young, 1999); they should be associated with reaching the implementation stage only.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Data Collection and Survey Instrument

Samples in this cross-sectional survey research are 508 firms listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand
(SET) and Market Alternative Investments (MAI). 81 questionnaires are returned; the response rate is
15.94 percent. This low response rate is not unusual for the mail-survey in Thailand (Pholnaruksa, 2007).

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A survey package was mailed out to CFO in May and June, 2011. The questionnaire was firstly
developed based on the developed framework derived from the conceptual foundation of BSC as well as
proposed in Table 5. The questionnaire is then revised based on the pre-tested results and comments from
academics and the CFOs. Questionnaire contains four parts: the first part asks about the characteristics of
the performance measurement system (YES/NO questions) to reflect the BSC attributes, which are later
used as the criteria for classifying the stage of BSC application. The second part requires the respondents
to specify the percentage ranging 0-100 about BSC attributes. The third part asks about the self-assessed
application of BSC (YES/NO question). The last part contains questions regarding determinants by
requiring respondents to specify the percentage responses (0-100%).

Model and Variable Measurements for Determinant Study

Determinant study has two parts: adoption and implementation. The binary logistic regression model is
employed to test whether each determinant is associated with reaching adoption/ implementation stage:

[ ] iii ControlsXYPYPLn εββ +++==−= 10)1(1/()1( (1)

The primary dependent variable is the stage of BSC application consisting of Non-adoption, Adoption,
and Implementation stages. As per adoption part, Y =1 for adoption or implementation firm, 0 otherwise.
According to implementation part, Y =1 for implementation firm, 0 otherwise.

To strengthen construct validity, each determinant variable has multiple questions adapted from prior
studies as follows: Environment uncertainty (Gosselin, 2005), Formalization (Robbins and Judge, 2009;
Braam and Nijssen 2008), Interconnetedness (Rogers, 2003; Braam and Nijssen, 2008), Information
system (Krumweide, 1998; Assiri et al., 2006), Attitude toward BSC (Davis, 1989; Hongrattanawong,
2002). Top management supports (Assiri et al., 2005; Chen et al., 2006), CFO’s involvement (Chen et al.,
2006; Braam and Nijssen 2008), Project Team (Assiri et al., 2005; Chen et al., 2006), Training
(Krumweide, 1998; Hongrattanawong, 2002; Assiri et al., 2005). The average percentage score of each
determinant for each firm is calculated, except for Participation which follows the level of participation
(Pasewark and Welker, 1990; Pholnaruksa, 2007).

Three variables are controlled in both the adoption and implementation models. SIZE is 1 for SET; 0 for
MAI. Industries are controlled by employing two variables: IND1 (1 for Finance or insurance firm; 0
otherwise) and IND2 (1 for Manufacturing firm; 0 otherwise).

RESEARCH FINDINGS

The developed framework

Based on BSC literature, the framework for classifying BSC attributes along with the BSC stages are
proposed as follows:

An organization with a collection of financial and nonfinancial measures that are grouped into
perspectives is considered to be a BSC-adoption firm since two conditions (FNFM and PER) are met.
Such firm is, at least, at the stage of choosing to follow BSC idea. A firm not meeting all of these two
conditions is classified as non-adoption one. BSC-adoption firms that meet the strategy attribute
requirement: the strategy is well-defined as well as the measures are derived from strategy and can be
shown as a causal chain to illustrate the value-creation process are qualified to be BSC firms or at the

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implementation stage. Consequently, the other BSC attributes for BSC-implemented firms are examined.
Fully-implemented BSC firms have met all of the conditions for alignment, communication and feedback;
otherwise, they are partially-implemented BSC.

Table 5: The framework for classifying the BSC attributes and the BSC stages

BSC Stage Conditions
Non-Adoption No any criterion is met.
Adoption

Adoption firm = Firm with all of the following criteria:
(1) Financial and non-financial measures
(2) Grouped into perspectives
Imple-
mentation
Implementation firm = Adoption firm with the following sub-attributes to satisfy
Attribute 1: Translating strategy into operational terms
(1) Well-defined strategy
(2) Strategic objectives or measures
(3) Cause-and-effect relationships
Firms at this stage are classified as BSC firms, which can be re-classified as partially- or fully-implemented BSC firms:
Partial BSC firms that have applied some of the following attributes:
Attribute 2: Aligning the organizational units to the strategy
(1) Aligning business units’ or support functions’ strategies to firm’s strategy
(2) Disseminating objectives or measures throughout the company
Attribute 3: Communicating strategy to employees
(1) Communicating vision, mission, and strategy throughout the company
(2) Understanding firm’s strategy
(3) Linking measures to reward system
Attribute 4: Providing feedback and learning
(1) Linking strategy to operating plan and budgeting systems
(2) Information system for strategy review
(3) Process for formulating, learning, and reviewing strategy
(4) Process for questioning and refining strategy
Full BSC firms that have applied all of above.

Based on a total of 81 observations, 80 are usable. 8 observations have some missing YES/NO responses
for identifying BSC attributes. Thus, BSC attributes of 72 firms are identified by considering YES/NO
responses, while those of eight firms will be done by relying on percentage scores. This requires the
additional tests to determine whether the classification of BSC attributes by relying on YES/NO
responses is valid and whether 60-percent is appropriate to be used as a cutoff-point to identify the use of
BSC attributes. Table 6 provides the statistics for each BSC attribute and Table 7 summarizes additional
test and the results.

Table 6: BSC attributes (N=81)

BSC Attributes YES response NO response Missing Missing Missing Total
Avg% N Avg% N (Yes/No) (%) (Both)
Financial and Nonfinancial
Measures

FNFM 77.90 77 45.00 2 0 2 0 81
Multiple perspectives PER 78.07 71 34.38 8 1 1 0 81
Well-Defined strategy STRAT 78.59 76 40.00 5 0 0 0 81
Strategy-linked measures SL 77.46 66 46.00 10 3 2 0 81
Causal links CL 72.85 51 50.59 26 3 0 1 81
Alignment A 74.24 70 42.97 8 3 0 0 81
Communication C 76.07 55 54.90 24 2 0 0 81
Feedback F 78.09 63 55.36 18 0 0 0 81
The minimum value of cronbach’s alpha is 0.885, which is above the lower limits of normal acceptable value (Nunnally and Bernstein, 1994),
confirming the reliability of all constructed variables.

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Table 7: Additional tests

Tests and methodology Results and conclusion
The mean comparison between YES-firm and NO-firm.
The classification based on YES/NO responses is
rational when the mean percentage score of YES-
response firms is significantly greater than that of NO-
response firms. The t-Tests for equality of means and
Mann-Whitney tests are employed.
The mean percentage response of YES-response firms is greater than that of NO-
response firms at 0.01 significance level, except for one sub-attribute (FNFM) at
0.05 level.
Thus, YES/NO responses can be employed to identify the BSC attributes and,
subsequently, to classify the stage of BSC application, as such.
Test for 60-percent cutoff point
For each attribute, we have tested whether the mean
percentage score of YES-firm is greater than 60 percent.
This cutoff-point is the lower limit of percentage in the
“some” column, which is qualitatively similar to the
cutoff point used in Soderberg (2006).
Regarding each attribute, the mean percentage score for YES-firm is significantly
greater than 60 percent at 0.01 level.
Hence, the 60-percent can be applied as a cutoff point for all BSC attributes.
Firms with greater-than-60% average response of particular BSC attributes will be
considered as they have such attributes.

Agreement test
A test for agreement between the attribute classification
using YES/NO responses and that using 60-percent
cutoff point has been performed.
Kappa test results show that the agreement between these two methods of attribute
classification (YES/NO method VS 60-percent-cutoff-point method) is statistically
significant at 0.01 level, except for two sub-attributes (FNFM and STRAT) at 0.05
level. The rates of agreement are over 70 percent.
76-81 observations are analyzed in these additional tests.

The results from three tests support identifying the BSC attribute, for each responding firm, by
considering YES/NO responses. In addition, when the YES/NO responses are missing, the 60% cutoff
point can be employed to identify the use of each BSC attribute. That is, BSC attributes are identified by
YES/NO responses for 72 firms and by percentage responses for 8 firms.

The BSC Practices Among Thai Listed Firms

Using the proposed framework, BSC practices among Thai listed firms are as follows:
Table 8: The survey results

BSC Stage Classified by BSC attributes Classified bySelf-assessed responses
Proportion Number of firms BSC firms Non- BSC firms
Non-Adoption 10% 8 1 7
Adoption 26% 21 6 15
Partial Implementation 15% 12 10 2
Full Implementation 49% 39 19 20
Subtotal 100% 80 36 44
Firms with missing data 1 1 0
Total 81 37 44

Of the useable observations, 72 meet the requirement for adopting BSC. Hence, at least, these firms
could be classified as BSC-adoption firms. However, the performance measurement systems of some
firms contain attributes of BSC. This means that some firms could be classified as BSC-implementation
firms; some could not. The remainders (8 firms) are classified as Non-adoption firms.Fifty one firms
meet all three sub-attributes of the strategy attribute; thus, they are classified as firms at implementation
stage. The remaining 21 firms are still at the BSC-adoption stage since some conditions are not met. 39
out of 51 firms are considered as fully-implemented BSC firms since all of conditions for alignment,
communication and feedback are met. The rest (12 firms) are classified as partially-implemented BSC
firms as they have only certain attributes of BSC.

Aforementioned, firms may dissimilarly interpret the BSC concept and, subsequently, differently classify
themselves. The stages of BSC application classified by BSC attributes proposed in this paper in
comparison with those classified by self-assessed responses are also shown in Table 8. One out of eight
firms claims to be BSC user despite the fact that it is only at the non-adoption stage. It is found that this

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firm has just started the BSC project. 6 out of 21 firms claim to be BSC users despite the fact that they
are only at the adoption stage. One firm does not have even a well-defined strategy, while the other five
firms do not have causal-links among the strategic objectives or measures. Only 2 out of 12 partially-
implemented firms and 20 out of 39 fully-implemented firms misclassified themselves. Overall, the
disagreement (or misclassification) rate is 36% (29 out of 80 firms). Although 64% of responding firms
can correctly classify themselves, this evidence still raises the importance of proper classification of BSC
application by using similar criteria at the first step of any determinant and consequence study.

The Determinants of BSC Application

Regarding determinant study, 73 out of 80 are useable. Table 9 summarizes the dependent variables,
independent variables (i.e., the external, structural, attitudinal, and executional factors) and control
variables used in the determinant study and their descriptive statistics. Table 10 provides the results of
determinant study for both adoption part and implementation part.

Table 9: Variables for determinant test (N=73)

variables average min max cronbach’s alpha
dependent variables
adoption adopt 0.89 0.00 1.00 n.a.
implementation imple 0.63 0.00 1.00 n.a.
independent variables
external:
environment uncertainty env 64.23 6.67 100.00 0.851
structural :
participation part 7.32 0.00 10.00 n.a.
formalization form 75.51 10.00 100.00 0.897
interconnectedness int 74.52 10.00 100.00 0.910
information system is 74.67 35.00 100.00 0.933

Table 9: (Cont’): Variables for determinant test (N=73)

Variables Average Min Max Cronbach’s alpha
Independent variables
Attitudinal :
Attitude toward BSC ATT 69.45 3.33 100.00 0.976
Executional :
Top management support TOP 76.68 14.00 100.00 0.963
CFO’s involvement CFO 78.11 30.00 100.00 0.891
Project Team TEAM 72.38 0.00 100.00 0.947
Training TRAIN 71.57 0.00 100.00 0.951
Control variables
Firm’s size SIZE 0.90 0.00 1.00 N.A.
Industry – Finance & Insurance IND1 0.12 0.00 1.00 N.A.
Industry – Manufacturing IND2 0.41 0.00 1.00 N.A.

Panel A, Table 10 reports the results of the binary logistic model for adoption part. Environment
uncertainty is insignificantly associated with reaching to adoption stage; however, the positive sign
partially supports that uncertainty may lead managers to adopt BSC to equip firms with the relevant
information for decision making. As per the structural factors, participation, formalization, and
interconnectedness are positively significant at 0.05 level. The higher degree of participation,
formalization and interconnectedness are positively affect the decision to adopt BSC. Participation
allows subordinates to share their ideas and relevant information to supervisors. Anecdotal evidence from
the interview with CFO supports this notion; firm has decided to adopt BSC due to the recommendation

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from managers or employees. Furthermore, the use of written rules, procedures, and documents can
facilitate management intervention by developing and enforcing norms to improve a firm’s performance
measurement system. In addition, networks in the organization facilitate the flow of new ideas more
easily. However, information system is insignificantly associated with reaching adoption stage. Evidence
from the interview revealed that spreadsheet is mostly employed during the adoption of BSC; full option
of information system is not required at this stage. Attitude toward BSC are positive and significant at
0.05 level. Thus, attitude appears to be one of the determinants in the decision to adopt BSC by
introducing the idea of multidimensional perspectives containing both financial and nonfinancial
measures. This evidence also supports TAM studies as the attitude positively related to intention to use
(or adoption stage in this study.)

Table 10: The results of determinant study (N = 73)

Panel A: Adoption vs. Non-adoption
Independent
variable ENV PART FORM INT IS ATT
+ 0.014 0.315 ** 0.037 ** 0.057 ** 0.021 0.030 **
Constant 0.989 -0.026 -0.716 -1.987 0.239 -0.443
SIZE 0.198 -0.152 -0.071 -0.112 0.277 0.538
IND1 -0.047 -0.335 0.173 0.353 0.229 -0.047
IND2 0.144 0.728 0.477 0.447 0.141 0.314
AIC 59.776 54.849 57.069 54.957 59.547 57.757
Percent correct 89.0 87.7 89.0 87.7 89.0 87.7

H1a is not
supported
H2a is
supported
H3a is
supported
H4a is
supported
H5a is not
supported
H6a is
supported

Panel B: Implementation vs. Non-implementation
Independent
variable ENV PART FORM INT IS ATT
+ 0.019 * 0.319 *** 0.043 *** 0.039 ** 0.031 ** 0.023 *
Constant -1.934 ** -2.762 *** -3.878 *** -3.777 ** -3.179 ** -2.608 **
SIZE 1.401 * 1.017 1.164 1.458 * 1.557 ** 1.694 **
IND1 0.524 0.331 0.838 0.917 0.927 0.601
IND2 -0.137 0.140 0.127 0.090 -0.148 -0.008
AIC 99.685 91.253 94.345 97.229 98.392 99.169
Percent correct 64.4 69.9 64.4 63.0 64.4 65.8

H1b is
supported
H2b is
supported
H3b is
supported
H4b is
supported
H5b is
supported
H6b is
supported
Independent
variable TOP CFO TEAM TRAIN
+ 0.048 *** 0.045 *** 0.048 *** 0.049 ***
Constant -4.822 *** -4.371 *** -4.486 *** -4.435 ***
SIZE 1.690 ** 1.458 * 1.573 ** 1.391 *
IND1 0.761 0.869 1.013 0.765
IND2 0.219 -0.036 0.107 0.320
AIC 93.467 94.996 91.007 91.957
Percent correct 69.9 68.5 69.9 64.4

H7 is
supported
H8 is
supported
H9 is
supported
H10 is
supported
***, **, * indicates significance at 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10 level, respectively.
Hosmer-Lemeshow test results for each model suggest that the model is fit since the null cannot be rejected at 0.05 level.

Panel B, Table 10 reports the results of the binary logistic model for implementation part. Environment
uncertainty is positively and significantly associated with reaching to implementation stage at 0.10 level.
After adopting the BSC concept, firms have experienced some BSC-related administrative tasks;
therefore, implementing BSC seems to slightly departure from the existing practices (Damanpour, 1996).
Firms tend to derive key measures from strategy and illustrating them as a cause-and-effect relationship.
The impacts of environment uncertainty on reaching the adoption and the implementation stage are

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different. The extent that the direction for this external factor varies by stages highlights the importance
of separating adoption from implementation. Participation, formalization, interconnectedness and
information system are positively significant at 0.01, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.05 level, respectively. The higher
degree of participation, formalization, interconnectedness, and information system positively put BSC
into use by encouraging management to further improve a performance measurement system. Attitude
toward BSC is positively but marginal significant at 0.10 level. CFO’s attitude makes the implementation
of BSC easier since CFO or accounting manager is customarily the head of the accounting and finance
department. The positive relation between attitude and the usage (or implementation stage in this study)
is also consistent with TAM studies. Furthermore, top management support, CFO’s involvement, project
team, and training are positively associated with reaching the stage of BSC implementation at 0.01 level.
This confirms the role of top management in supporting the implementation of BSC. This evidence also
promotes the role of CFO in developing the advanced performance measurement system, especially BSC,
and complements the prior studies that rarely investigate this factor. Project team and training are also
crucial factors for reaching BSC implementation stage.

Interestingly, this study has re-examined the implementation part by employing a firm’s self-assessed
responses about the BSC application. The untabulated results suggest that participation, top management
supports, attitude toward BSC and training are positively significant at 0.05, 0.10, 0.05 and 0.05
significance level; however, environment uncertainty, formalization, interconnectedness, information
system, CFO’s involvement, and project team are insignificant. This illustrates different evidence of key
determinants assisting firm to reach the implementation stage of BSC and, once again, cast doubts the
prior results relying on the firms’ self assessed responses.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper has developed a systematic BSC framework for identifying BSC attributes along with BSC
stages and provides the evidence of BSC practices in Thailand. The results also show that many firms
differently interpret the BSC concept. Hence, it is important to accurately categorize the BSC stage
before conducting any analysis (Burkert et al., 2010). Regarding determinant study, the determinants in
some ways change with the stages of BSC application. This research concurrently contributes to BSC
and TAM. The developed systematic BSC framework can be applied to future research; the findings of
stage-dependent determinants suggest that researchers consider the stages of BSC application before
selecting the variables to explain BSC application behavior. This study can be replicated to examine the
BSC application in different contexts with larger sample size. Prior determinant and consequence studies
can be re-performed by using BSC framework developed in this paper as a starting point for identifying
BSC stage. Regarding limitation, self-response bias is common limitation of survey research. Some
returned questionnaires select the interval range of percentage scores, instead of specifying the
percentage; thus, this research follows Pholnaruksa (2007) by assigning the midpoint of interval range for
the corresponding selected interval. As this study examines the application of BSC at the corporate level,
not business unit level, the results should be carefully interpreted.

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budgetary decision making. Journal of Management Accounting Research , 113-125.
Pholnaruksa, I. (2007). Implementation levles of activity-based management and the effects on
profitability of Thai manufactuing firms. Thailand: doctural Dissertation. Department of Accountancy,
Chulalongkorn University.

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organization theory: The structure and design of organizations.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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Roger, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5 ed.). New York: The free press.
Soderberg, M. J. (2006). The balanced scorecard: Structure anduse in Canadian companies. Master’s
Thesis. Master degree in Science . Canada: University of Saskatchewan.

Speckbacher, G., Bischof, J., & Pfeiffer, T. (2003). A descriptive analysis on the implementation of
balanced scorecards in German-speaking contries. Management Accounting Research , 361-387.

Thinwilai, N. (2005). The relationship between the application of balanced scorecard and the change in
organization performance. Thailand: Master’s thesis. Department of Accountancy, Chulalongkorn
University.

Wiersma, E. (2009). For which purposes fo managers use Balanced scorecards? An empirical study.
Management Accounting Research , 239-251.

Yongvanich, K., & Guthrie, J. (2009). The balanced scorecard of Thailand listed companies and
performance implications. Pacific Accounting Review , 132-149.

Yu, L., Perera, S., & Crowne, S. (2008). Effectiveness of the balanced scorecard: The impact of strategy
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This study is part of my dissertation in progress at Chulalongkorn Business School, Chulalongkorn
University. I would like to thank my advisor, Asso.Prof.Vorasak Toommanon, for his helpful comments
and suggestions. Any errors or omissions remain my responsibility.

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VALUE OF RISK OF OPTION PORTFOLIOS USING
MONTE CARLO SIMULATION UNDER A RISK-
NEUTRAL STOCHASTIC IMPLIED VOLATILITY
MODEL
Peng He

ABSTRACT

Value at Risk (VaR) of option portfolios are calculated using Monte Carlo simulation under a risk neutral
stochastic implied volatility model. Comparing with the benchmark, namely delta-normal method, the
model produces much more accurate result by taking account of nonlinearity, passage of time, non
normality, changing of implied volatility. Two parameters in the model, namely the correlation between
underlying and the at the money implied volatility and the volatility of percentage change of the at the
money implied volatility, can explain market skew phenomena quite well and VaR changes with the two
parameters as the terminal underlying price distribution does.

RISK NEUTRAL STOCHASTIC IMPLIED VOLATILITY MODEL

There are some compelling evidences that exchange-traded options prices do contain additional volatility
information that can not backed out from the price information of the underlying security alone.(He and
Yau(2007), Christensen and Prabhala(1998), Cao and Chen (2000) etc). Therefore instead of deriving
prices for them, a pricing model should use their prices as input. Schonbucher (1998) and Ledoit and
Santa Clara (1999) made this breakthrough and for the first time, in the financial literature, the implied
volatility is modeled as an input rather than as an output. Hafner (2004) presented a factor-based model of
the stochastic evolution of the implied volatility surface. On the other hand, directly modeling the
dynamics of implied volatilities is required by the nature of some exotic derivatives based on ATM (At
the Money) implied volatility of an option written on a reference asset.

In previous paper (He and Yau (2006)), we develop a risk-neutral diffusion model for the stochastic
market implied volatility. Unlike Hafner (2004) and Ledoit and Santa Clara (1998), we think modeling
whole implied volatility surface is dangerous because it is very difficult to guarantee no arbitrage between
the options with different strikes during the diffusion process of the corresponding implied volatilities of
those options. Instead, we only model one implied volatility. Our model setup is also different from
Schonbucher (1998). We think the percentage movement of implied volatility is more appropriate to be
modeled than the implied volatility itself. The reason is the same as why people model the percentage
movement of underlying asset price as opposed to underlying asset price itself. Furthermore this
modification can ensure implied volatility to be positive during the diffusion process. After the proper
setup, the risk-neutral drift term of stochastic implied volatility is derived, which is necessary to be no-
arbitrage. We proved that the implied volatility of At-the-Money options mature immediately should
converge to underlying volatility at rate of time to maturity, which specifies the stochastic process of
underlying volatility. Finally the model is developed as follows:

ttttt dWSdtrSdS θ+= (1)

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dtdtSdtS
dWSdtrSdZ
dtrdtrXd
tTtKtttttK
ttttKttKt
t
t
t
t
δρδβθθδ
θδδβδ
βρ
δ
θ
δ
τδ
∂+∂+∂+
∂+∂++
−+−==
222
23
2
1
)
2
()
24
()1,(

(2)

)1,0( === Xtt τδθ
(3)
Where tθ is instantaneous underlying volatility. ),( Xt τδ is the relative implied volatility indexed by
time to maturity τ and moneyness tSKX /= , the ratio between strike and underlying price. So
)1,0( == Xt τδ is the implied volatility of ATM option maturing immediately. ρ is the correlation
coefficient between one Brownian motion Z and another Brownian motion W . β is the volatility of
percentage change of implied volatility.

To simplify the model to be useful in practice, we assume tKδ∂ , tKδ
2∂ and tTδ∂ be zeros. The assumption
is reasonable because empirical observation find out that ATM implied volatilities typically keep the
same or change little for small strike (or underlying price) change and small maturity time change. This is
in accordance with traders’ “sticky delta rule”.

It is impossible to find any analytical solution to the above equations. For the complicated probabilistic
system, Monte-Carlo simulation is the method to use.

Given a proper initial ATM implied volatility )1,0(0 =Xδ or underlying volatility tθ , underlying price
0S , interest rate r and two model parameters ρβ , , this dynamic system can be simulated from time 0 to
time T as following:
1. Suppose at any time t, Tt ≤<0 , we have got ))1,((, =XtorS ttt δθ and now we want to simulate ttS ∆+ and tt ∆+θ at time tt ∆+ , which Ttt ≤∆+ .The short time interval ./)0( NTt −=∆ 2. At time t, generate the random next increment tt ZW ∆∆ , of Brownian motion for use over the current time interval [ ]ttt ∆+, . Since tt ZW ∆∆ , are correlated, we set tW∆ = tt ∆,1ε ttZ ttt ∆−+∆=∆ 2 ,2,1 1 ρερε Where tt ,2,1 ,εε are two independent random numbers from standard normal distribution. 3. Approximate the solution of SDE equation for the underlying price by Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 74 tt t ttt WtrSS ∆+∆−+=∆+ θ θ ) 2 (lnln 2 The simulation equation for the underlying volatility is based on Euler approximation. It is given by dZtrtr t t t t ttt βθβρ θ θ θ θθ +∆−+∆−+=∆+ )2 (() 24 ( 23 With ttS ∆+ , tt ∆+θ , now start to compute parameters at time tt ∆+ , return to Step 1, reset t to tt ∆+ and iterate until time T generate trajectories of tS and tθ . COMPUTATION OF VALUE AT RISK OF OPTION PORTFOLIOS The measurement of financial market risk is of primary importance for senior management and regulators. Value at risk (VaR) summarizes the worst loss of a portfolio over a given period of time with a given level of confidence. VaR has become widely used by financial institutions, corporations and asset managers. The Basle Committee on Banking Supervision (BIS) and other central bank regulators also use VaR as a benchmark risk measure to determine the minimum amount of capital a bank is required to maintain as reserves against market risk. There are two approaches to compute VaR. The first approach use local valuation. Local valuation methods measure risk by valuing the portfolio once, at the initial time 0, and using local derivatives to deduce the possible movements. The second approach uses full valuation. Full valuation methods measure risk by fully repricing the portfolio over a number of scenarios. In the local valuation approach, the delta-normal method is most commonly used by practitioners to calculate the VaR of option portfolios. It uses the linear, or delta derivatives and assume normal distributions. The well-known formula is applied. TRN DScTVaR υαφα φ ||)(),,( 0)1,0(= Where )()1,0( αNc is the α -quantile of the standard normal distribution. 0S is the initial underlying price. || φD is the absolute delta of the option portfolio. TRυ is the volatility of return of the underlying during holding period ].,0[ T The full valuation approach uses Monte Carlo simulation or historical simulation to generate the probability distribution for TV∆ . Let j TV∆ denote the change in portfolio value over ],0[ T in scenarios Jj ,...1= . Then the distribution function )(xF TV∆ of TV∆ can be approximated by ∑ ≤∆ = ∆ = xV Jj V j T T J xF ,...1 1)(ˆ We will then do a case study to show the difference the delta-normal method and the paper Monte Carlo simulation approach. Let us consider two option portfolios. Let us suppose the underlying price is 100 and risk free interest rate is 0. The two portfolios consist of the following instruments. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 75 • Portfolio 1 (PF1): A long position in 100 call option with strike 100=K and maturity date is 42 days away • Portfolio 2 (PF2): A long position in 100 ATM straddles (long position both in call and put option with same strike and same maturity) with strike 100=K and maturity date is 42 days away. At time zero, the portfolio values ,2,1,0 =iV i PF are: 90.541)365/42,4.0 ,0,100,100(*100 000 1 == ==== σ rKSCV PF 80.1081))365/42,4.0 ,0,100,1000( )365/42,4.0,0 ,100,100((*100 0 000 2 == ===+ == === σ σ rKSP r KSCV PF The objective of the following analysis is to compute the VaR for both portfolios over 1 business and 10 business day. The confidence level is set to 95%. Let us first consider the delta normal method. The Black Scholes deltas for the above call and put option are 0.5270, -0.4730. So the portfolio deltas are: 70.525270.0*100 1 1 0 == ∂ ∂ = S V D PF PF 41.5)4730.05270.0(*100 2 2 0 =−= ∂ ∂ = S V D PF PF Using 645.1=%)5()1,0(NC , and volatility 0.4, the VaR for each portfolio and each holding period is then computed according to the formulas. The result is listed in Table1 column “Delta-normal”. Let us consider Monte Carlo simulation. The parameters we choose here are 1,5.0,4.00 =−== βρθ . Following the procedure described as above, we generate 10,000 scenarios of σ,S over the time horizon ],0[ T , where T equals 1 business day or 10 business days, respectively. For each scenario, we compute the portfolio value and the change in portfolio value. This provides us with a simulated distribution function )(ˆΔ xF TV . Given )(ˆΔ xF TV , VaR is easily computed as the negative −α quantile of TVΔ . The result is listed in Table 1 column “Paper Monte Carlo”. As shown in the Table 1, the VaR computed under delta normal method is quite different from the one computed under paper Monte Carlo simulation. For portfolio 2 under the delta-normal method, the VaR is lower than the VaR under paper Monte Carlo simulation, whereas for portfolio 1 it is opposite. This can be explained as follows: Since the straddle position is almost delta neutral, so the VaR is very small under delta-normal method. This, however, indicate one disadvantage of delta-normal method. Delta-normal method is linear approximation, which can not capture the nonlinearity of options. In this case, the straddle position is exposed to relative big Gamma risk and the Gamma is the quadratic part. On the other Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 76 hand, considering portfolio 1, the delta-normal method produces higher VaR than it should be. The obvious example is that 10-day holding period VaR for portfolio 1 under Delta normal method is 694 Dollar. The maximum amount of money one can lose when holding that call option, Portfolio 1 over 10 days (or any day) is the initial option premium, i.e. 541.90 Dollar .The reason why delta normal method produces too high VaR for portfolio 1 is that the delta normal method does not account for the time decay of option prices. Table 1: Delta-normal VaR and Paper Monte Carlo simulation VaR (in U.S. Dollars) for a confidence level of 95% Delta-normal Paper Monte Carlo Holding Period 1 Day VaR 10 Day VaR 1 Day VaR 10 Day VaR Portfolio 1 219 694 207 497 Portfolio 2 23 71 109 373 Note: the components in Portfolio 1 and Portfolio 2 are mentioned in the paper. Figure1 Implied volatility Curve and The moments of Log Terminal Underlying Price Distribution 1,5.0 =−= βρ Distribution: Skewness = -0.053 Kurtosis = 4.027 2,5.0 =−= βρ Distribution: Skewness = -0.41 Kurtosis = 10.6 1,0 == βρ Distribution: Skewness = -0.012 Kurtosis = 3.54 2,0 == βρ Distribution: Skewness = -0.066 Kurtosis = 7.055 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 77 1,5.0 == βρ Distribution: Skewness = -0.057 Kurtosis = 3.836 2,5.0 == βρ Distribution: Skewness = -0.385 Kurtosis = 10.7 Note: Simulated Implied Volatility Curves for options with maturity of 42 days. The initial underlying volatility 0θ is 0.4 and interest rate r is 0. The moments (Skewness and Kurtosis) are the moments of log terminal underlying price distribution under simulation, In particular, )/ln( 0SST . TS is the terminal underlying price and 0S is the initial underlying price. In fact, besides nonlinearity and passage of time, there are two other effects which are not captured in the delta normal method, non-normality and implied volatility variations. The delta normal method assumes that the underlying return TR is normally distributed. However convincing empirical studies have shown that underlying return tend to exhibit fat-tailed distributions. In other words, extremely low and high returns have greater probability than assigned by the normal distribution. The kurtosis of the log Terminal Price distribution for the above parameter set is 4.06, which explains fat-tailed distribution.In addition, the delta normal method assumes a constant underlying volatility, and thus constant implied volatilities. In fact, implied volatilities change over time. In contrast, the paper Monte Carlo simulation capture all the effects mentioned above. It is a much better method to compute VaR. The only disadvantage of the paper Monte Carlo simulation is computation time. However using today’s more and more powerful computer, the computation runs faster and faster. Next we will study how VaR changes with parameters in the paper model, namely β and ρ . Those two parameters can explain market skew phenomena quite well. For zero correlation between the underlying and volatility )0( =ρ , the implied volatility curve is symmetric and skewness is around zero. Smile- shape volatility curves are commonly observed for options on a foreign currency. Our analysis is consistent with the empirical study (Bates 1996), which show that the correlation between implied volatilities and the exchange rate is close to zero. For negative correlation )0( <ρ , the implied volatility curve is skewed to left and skewness is negative. Skew-shape volatility curves are commonly observed for options on equities and equity indices. Our analysis is consistent with the empirical study (Christie 1982), which show the volatility of an equity price tend to be negatively correlated with the equity price. For positive correlation )0( >ρ , the implied volatility curve is skewed to right and skewness is positive.
The bigger the absolute value of ρ , the more skewed of the curve and the bigger the absolute value of
skewness. On the other hand, the volatility of percentage change of implied volatility β has a effect on
the curvature of implied volatility curves. With other parameter held fixed, the larger the β , the larger the
curvature of the implied volatility curve, the larger the kurtosis.

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VaR of the two option portfolios for different β and ρ are calculated and the results are listed in the
Table 2. The higher the skewness and kurtosis of the log terminal underlying distribution )(ln TS , the
higher VaR value of both option portfolios.

Table 2 Paper Monte Carlo simulation VaR of two option portfolios for different β and ρ (in U.S.
Dollars) for a confidence level of 95%

Portfolio 1
β ρ Skewness Kurtosis 1
Day VaR
10 Day
VaR
1 -0.5 -0.053 4.027 207 497
1 0 -0.012 3.54 206 492
1 0.5 -0.057 3.836 206 497
2 -0.5 -0.409 10.578 224 514
2 0 -0.066 7.055 225 512
2 0.5 -0.385 10.728 226 513

Portfolio 2
β ρ Skewness Kurtosis 1
Day VaR
10 Day
VaR
1 -0.5 -0.053 4.027 109 373
1 0 -0.012 3.54 113 393
1 0.5 -0.057 3.836 109 369
2 -0.5 -0.409 10.578 203 537
2 0 -0.066 7.055 213 573
2 0.5 -0.385 10.728 202 546
Note: the components in Portfolio 1 and Portfolio 2 are mentioned in the paper.

REFERENCES

Bates, D.S. (1996) Jumps and Stochastic Volatility: Exchange Rate Process Implicit in Deutsche Mark
Options, Review of Financial Studies, 9,1, pp69-107

Cao, Bakshi G and Chen Z. (2000) Do call prices and the underlying stock always move in the same
direction? Review Financial Studies, 13, pp549-84

Christie,A.A. (1982) The stochastic behavior of common stock variances: Value, leverage, and interest
rate effects, Journal of Financial Economics, 10, 4

Christensen, B.J. and Prabhala, N.R. (1998) The relationship between implied and realized volatility,
Journal of Financial Economics 50 , 125-150

Hafner Reinhold (2004) Stochastic Implied Volatility, A Factor-Based Model, Springer-Verlag Berlin
Heidelberg

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He, Peng and Yau, Stephen (2007) Forecasting Stock Market Volatility Using Implied Volatility.
Proceedings of the 2007 American Control Conference, pp 1823-1828

He, Peng and Yau, Stephen (2006) The Risk Neutral Dynamics of Market Implied Volatility Submitted to
Journal of Computational Finance

LeDoit O. and Santa Clara P., “Relative pricing of options with stochastic volatility” Working Paper,
Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, 1998

Merton, R. C. (1973), Theory of rational option pricing, Bell Journal of Economics and Management
Science, 4, 141-83

Schonbucher, P.J. (1999), A market model of stochastic implied volatility, Philosophical Transactions for
the Royal Society, Series A, 357, pp 2071-2092

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Peng He is the Head of Quantitative Research at ITG Derivatives LLC ( a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Investment Technology Group, Inc. ), 601 S. LaSalle St. Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60605 USA
(corresponding author),; phone: 312-363-8121; email: penghe990522@yahoo.com

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DOES TECHNOLOGICAL OVERSHOOTING EXIST IN
THE JAPANESE MINIVAN MARKET?
Go Shionoya, Kobe University

ABSTRACT

This study empirically examines whether technological overshooting for product attributes existed in the
Japanese minivan market between 2001 and 2008 using a hedonic approach and the compound average
growth rate (CAGR) for product attributes. The result of the hedonic regression shows that interior space
did not affect consumer utility during 2001 and 2008. Also, major growth in interior space was not seen,
according to the CAGR during this period. Therefore, we conclude that technological overshooting has
not been confirmed in the Japanese minivan market.

JEL: L62; M10

KEYWORDS: technological overshooting, marginal utility, hedonic approach, CAGR

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine, using a statistical method, whether or not
technological overshooting for product characteristics existed in the Japanese minivan market between
2001 and 2008. Technological overshooting is the term used to describe the phenomenon of excessive
competition for product characteristics that do not have an effect on consumer satisfaction. Technological
overshooting has received attention within the scope of corporate strategy and technology management.
In particular, many case studies of technological overshooting have been examined in recent years (e.g.,
Christensen, 1997), but there has been little empirical research on this subject. For these reasons, we
suggest an empirical framework for identifying technological overshooting and apply it to the Japanese
minivan market. The result of this study shows that technological overshooting was not confirmed in
Japanese minivan market.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Porter (1985) explains that unnecessary differentiation is the result of failure to diagnose a performance
level that consumers need or “consumer marginal utility.” Similarly, according to Christensen (1997),
once the performance level demanded of particular product attributes has been achieved as a result of the
repetition of sustained innovation, customers indicate their satiation by being less willing to pay a
premium price for continued improvement in those attributes. In this study, we define technological
overshooting in terms of their arguments in two stages.

THE DEFINITION OF TECHNOLOGICAL OVERSHOOTING

The first stage of technological overshooting is defined as a condition that saturates the needs of a
customer for product characteristics. In other words, this is a condition where the consumer marginal
utility for product attributes is zero. By contrast, if the value of consumer marginal utility is a positive or
negative number, we conclude that the first stage of overshooting has not occurred because of increasing
or downsizing of the number of product characteristics to increase consumer utility.The second stage is
defined as a situation where excessive differentiation by companies occurs in the space for product
attributes that do not influence consumer utility. At this stage, we consider that technological

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overshooting has occurred. This is determined based on the growth rate of the functional value in
companies.

METHODOLOGY

Identifying Technological Overshooting: Hedonic Approach And CAGR

First, our research adopts a hedonic approach for specifying the first stage of technological overshooting.
It is known that regression coefficients in the hedonic function coincide with the marginal utility of
product characteristics (Rosen, 1974). In this research, if the regression coefficients are statistically
significant, and if an increasing or lowering of functional values positively affects consumer utility, we do
not consider that overshooting has occurred at this point. Conversely, if the coefficients were statistically
zero, we would suspect that technological overshooting has occurred. Second, we need to show the
growth rate of a functional value that has a marginal utility equal to zero. Therefore, this research uses the
compound average growth rate (CAGR). This means the year-over-year growth rate of a functional value
over a specified time, and can be expressed as:

CAGR = ( Ending functional value
Beginning functional value
)
1
n of years -1 (1)

CAGR is calculated by using the average of the functional value on a company-by-company basis. The
interpretation of the CAGR depends on the direction of the product differentiation. Table 1 shows the
conditions for the second stage of technological overshooting. If the CAGR of product attributes which
do not have effect consumer utility is large in the direction of its differentiation, we regard this as an
occurrence of technological overshooting.

Table 1: The conditions for the second stage of technological overshooting

Direction of Product Differentiation CAGR
positive (e.g., acceleration of car) large positive number
negative (e.g., response speed of PC) large negative number
positive or negative (e.g., product size) absolute value of CAGR is a large positive number
This table shows the conditions for the second stage of technological overshooting.

Data and Estimation

In this study, we selected the Japanese minivan market for research. The reason is that the market size is
declining. At the same time as remarkable innovation, for instance the introduction of hybrid minivans,
there is no denying that market size and share are falling.The data used for this study are from SAISHIN
MINIVAN ZEN MODEL KONYU GUIDE, which is a special interest magazine on Japanese minivans
published by the Japan Automobile Federation. A total of 199 samples of panel data covering 37 models
were collected between 2001 and 2008.The dependent variable is price. Independent variables on product
attributes include acceleration, interior space, and fuel efficiency. These are important characteristics used
for empirical research in the automotive industry (e.g., Berry et al, 1995; Petrin, 2002). We collected
these data from the most inexpensive grades. We also conducted a two-way fixed effect model to estimate
the hedonic price function. As well, we used year dummy variables to control unobservable economic
fluctuations.

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RESULTS

Table 2 shows the result of hedonic regressions for specifying whether consumer marginal utility of a
product attribute is zero. First, acceleration and fuel efficiency have a significant effect on price. Thus, we
conclude that the raising or lowering of these attributes increases consumer utility and that overshooting
did not occur in these characteristics at this point. By contrast, we can interpret this result as meaning that
the marginal utility of interior space is zero. Therefore, we should assess the overshooting of interior
space by CAGR.

Table 2: Result of Hedonic Regression (2001-2008)

Dependent Variable ln Price Coefficient
ln acceleration (ps/weight) 0.144** (0.057)
ln fuel efficiency (km/l) -0.274*** (0.074)
ln interior space (m3) -0.207 (0.135)
Year dummies (2002–2008) yes
Constant 6.648*** (0.285)
2R 0.372
p-val. F test 0.000
p-val. F test for fixed effects 0.000
P-val. F test for time fixed effects 0.000
N 199
The *, **, and ***, denote 10%, 5%, and 1% significance levels, respectively. Standard errors are in parentheses.

Here we discuss whether companies have increased functional value for interior space that satiates
consumers. Table 3 provides information on the CAGR of interior space. First, looking at the CAGR
between 2001 and 2008, Toyota, Honda, and Mazda have a small negative value. Therefore, we can say
that the interior space in minivans from these companies was shrinking slightly. On the other hand,
though the CAGRs from Nissan and Mitsubishi are positive numbers, the values are not large. For these
reasons, we conclude that there is no intense competition for interior space and that technological
overshooting is not confirmed by our investigation.

Table 3: CAGR of Interior Space (2001–2008)

Toyota Nissan Honda Mazda Mitsubishi Average
-0.12 0.19 -0.92 -0.45 1.41 0.11
source: saishin minivan zen model konyu guide note: cagr is calculated by using the functional value of the most inexpensive grades.

CONCLUSION

The empirical results in this paper indicate that there was no overshooting in the Japanese minivan
market. As such, this investigation contributes to a statistical understanding of the existence of
technological overshooting. Hedonic regression to find product attributes where consumer satiation
occurs can be used as a guideline for appropriate product design and for modifying investment plans for
product characteristics.However, some aspects of this study require further research. We estimated the
marginal utility of a representative agent in this study. On the other hand, if we assume that the marginal
utility varies among buyers, we should correct for individual purchase data and apply a discrete choice
model.

REFERENCES

Berry, S., Levinsohn, J., & Pakes, A. (1995). Automobile Prices in Market Equilibrium.

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Econometrica, 63, 351-381.

Christensen, C. M. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause
Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Petrin, A. (2002). Quantifying the Benefits of New Products: The Case of the Minivan.
Journal of Political Economy, 110, 705-729.

Porter, M.E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press,
New York.

Rosen, S. (1974). Hedonic Prices and Implicit Markets: Product Differentiation in Pure
Competition. Journal of Political Economy, 82, 34-5

BIOGRAPHY

Go Shionoya is a Ph.D. student in the Graduate School of Business Administration at Kobe University.
His main research is in the field of Technology Management, specifically in Product Development. He
can be contacted via Email: crimsonrider40785@yahoo.co.jp

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THE IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF CORPORATE
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE IN THE
LIBYAN CONTEXT: EVIDENCE FROM MANAGERS
Nagib Salem Bayoud, The University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Marie Kavanagh, The University of Southern Queensland, Australia

ABSTRACT

This explains the importance and benefits for Libyan companies of engaging in corporate social
responsibility disclosure (CSRD). The researchers have chosen the Libyan context as one of the world’s
developing countries and it has undergone many changes over a short period of time in terms of
economic, environmental and social changes. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to
collect data relating to CSRD in Libyan companies. Perceptions of financial managers interviewed as
part of the study reveal that CSRD is important for company performance, not only in the developed
countries but also in developing countries. This paper reveals that CSRD in the annual reports is very
important in terms of attaining company objectives to: satisfy the interests of stakeholders; protect
employee’s interests; clarify the extent of contribution of the company in both CSR activities and CSRD;
assist appropriate investment decisions. The perceived primary benefits of CSRD were enhanced
company reputation, and increased financial performance. It also improves ability to attract foreign
investors, and results in a higher level of consumer satisfaction leading to commercial benefits.
Secondary benefits include demonstration of compliance with regulation and improved employee
commitment.

KEYWORDS: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure
(CSRD); Financial Performance; Corporate Reputation.

INTRODUCTION

The institutional context of the emerging economy of Libya has experienced dynamic change over the
last ten years (Mateos 2005). The main influential factor that leads to and regulates the attitude and
behaviour of Arab societies, including Libya, is the Islamic religion. According to Ali (1996) the Islamic
religion organises the social life in family and other social organisations and maintain their endurance and
influence. Changes in regulatory environment may have an impact on companies in terms of their
disclosures, therefore the level of CSR disclosure has increased since 2000 in Libya compared to previous
years (Pratten & Mashat 2009) due to pressures from stakeholders, which in turn may clarify the
importance and the benefits of CSRD in the Libyan companies.

This also may refer to develop the concept of CSRD.The development of the concept of CSRD has been
passed in the different stages; the first stage is the period 1970-1980. Empirical studies were focus on
developing methods to measure the incidence of information disclosure by firms which was voluntary.
Most frequently were disclosed about employees and product activities. At that time, managers,
accountants, and the majority of their observers were not interested in environmental concerns, because it
was invisible. Some empirical studies were used three environmental categories out of twenty seven
(Ernst and Ernst, 1978 as cited in Mathews 1997). The second stage is the period 1980-1990. Many
changes have appeared due to the focus of the social and environmental accounting literature, with
increasing signs of specialization since 1980. For instance, value-added statements attracted a separate

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group of adherents and employee reports (Burchell et al., 1985). Environmental disclosure has become of
more concern than social disclosure, environmental disclosure and regulation consider an alternative
means of reducing environmental damage. Legally enforceable accounting standards, Means of
conceptual frameworks, and legislations are features of this period which contribute in the increase
regulation of accounting disclosures. Empirical studies in this period were more analytical and less
descriptive. The final stage is the period 1991-now. This stage has focussed on environmental issues
within accounting on a broad front, including interest from managers as well as accountants. (Gray et al.
1995) argue that this stage has been characterized by the almost complete domination of environmental
accounting with research on broader social reporting (including employee and ethical disclosures).

This research presents evidence from interviews with 24 financial managers and 7 information managers
on the importance and the benefits of CSRD in Libya. The motivations for this research are that some
companies consider CSR activities and its disclosure may bring a competitive advantage and External
pressures consider catalyses other companies to engage in CSR activities and its disclosure (Branco &
Rodrigues 2008). This research contributes to our knowledge about what the extent of the importance of
disclosure of CSR activities information for stakeholders and what the potential benefits to the Libyan
organisations that can be obtained from disseminating CSRD. There are few numbers of studies that focus
on these questions in quantitative studies; however this research is the first study that depends on both
quantitative and qualitative study to explain the importance and the benefits of CSRD in Libya. The
research could obtain a deeper understanding on this subject than do prior articles based on interviews.
Generally, this research expands the evidence that exists about both the importance and the benefits of
CSRD. The majority of interviewees are that CSRD are considered as one of the most important reasons
which help the Libyan companies to achieve their objectives, such as enhancing image and reputation;
supporting financial performance; improving employee commitment, etc. These benefits gained CSRD
the observed importance by different stakeholders. But few numbers of interviewees believe that CSRD is
a minor element to improve the business performance in the Libyan context.

LITERATURE REVIEW

CSRD has found an increasing amount of attention in both the academic and business organizations. Such
disclosure includes the provision of information on human resource aspects, products and services,
involvement in community activities and environmental reporting. Gray et al. (1995) state that “… It is
not restricted necessarily by reference to selected information recipients, and the information deemed to
be CSR may, ultimately, embrace any subject …”. Many quarters have recognized this view of CSR as a
broad concept. Cleaner environment and better society for instance is regarded CSR as a concept whereby
companies decide voluntarily by The European Commission (2001). The World Business Council for
Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1998) defines CSR as “the continuing commitment by business to
behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the
workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large” (Holme and Watts,
2000). Currently, making profits and element of CSR and accountability consider the main objective of
business organizations in order to maintain corporate reputation and appropriate performance whereas in
the previous years, the main objective of business organizations is making profits (Ghazali 2007).

A growth of nonfinancial reporting (disclosure) has relied on the evolution of the concept of CSR. This
means, the company is responsible for its action. Indeed, stakeholders are asking companies to disclose
their both social and environmental activities and their ability to improve the corporate process through
nonfinancial reporting. In this regard, identifying, monitoring, and reporting all social, environmental, and

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economic effects of its operation on society at large are concrete evidence that companies are committed
to continual, long-term improvement, if they want to gain their stakeholders’ trust and build a good
reputation in the market (Brammer & Pavelin 2004).

Responsibilities of company differ toward their stakeholders regards economic, legal, and social in order
to improve its organisational performance in terms of financial performance, employee commitment, and
corporate reputation. In addition, the strategy of Corporate social responsibility is important (policy,
programme or process) when it yields substantial business- related benefits to the firm, in particular by
supporting core business activities and thus contributing to the firm’s effectiveness in accomplishing its
mission (Burke & Logsdon 1996). The blending of these responsibilities into complete corporate policy
without losing sight of any of its commitment is the main challenge for the company. Additionally, in the
long-term, the commitment of the company toward its stakeholders often lead to improved organisational
performance, in other words, the economic responsibility of company might conflict with its social
responsibility in the short-term, at the same time, they can work together to improve the company’s
image. Thus, this does not mean that socially responsible of the company cannot be as profitable as
others.Currently, the common concept of CSR involves to voluntarily disclose companies about social
and environmental concerns in their operations and interaction with stakeholders. It includes some
complex issues such as environmental protection, human resources management, health and safety at
work, relations with local communities, and relations with suppliers and consumers. In addition,
Friedman (2002) presented the most famous definition of CSR as the economic concept of market value
maximization that has support from shareholders. He asserts that the profit demands of the owners or
shareholders and the basic regulations of society are consistent with the responsibility of a company.

As evidence of adherence of companies to CSR and sustainable development concepts, currently, there is
a growth in numbers of multinational corporations as well as small- and medium-sized companies claim
their social and environmental reporting practices. In a similar vein, the right way towards an overall
comprehension of what practitioners consider efficient and appropriate socially responsible behaviour is
represented by reporting-based analyses (David 2005). A company should disclose both the positive and
negative impacts of CSR due to its business operation on labour standard, the environment, economic
development, and human rights by CSR reporting. Furthermore, as a result of a general growth of the
overall number of companies producing CSR reporting, currently there is a growth and expansion of CSR
reporting to include a broad focus on social, economic, and governance issues although reporting was
focused almost entirely on occupational health and safety and environmental issues (O‘Rourke 2004).

CSRD has several roles which are included: Assessing the impacts of CSR activities; Measuring the
effectiveness of CSR programs; Reporting on CSR; and External and internal information systems
allowing the comprehensive assessment of all corporate resources and sustainability impacts (Jenkins &
Yakovleva 2006). Many scholars have been asserted (Gray 2001; Gray et al. 1997; Mathews 1997) that
the CSR has identified a number of stages in CSR’s development. The first stage is the period 1970-1980.
Empirical studies focused on developing methods to measure the incidence of information disclosure by
firms which was voluntary. Most frequently were disclosed about employees and product activities. At
that time, managers, accountants, and the majority of their observers were not interested in environmental
concerns, because it was invisible. Some empirical studies were used three environmental categories out
of twenty seven (Ernst and Ernst, 1978 as cited in Mathews 1997).

The second stage is the period 1980-1990. Many changes have appeared due to the focus of the social
and environmental accounting literature, with increasing signs of specialization since 1980. For instance,

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value-added statements attracted a separate group of adherents and employee reports (Burchell et al.,
1985). Environmental disclosure has become of more concerned than social disclosure, environmental
disclosure and regulation consider an alternative means of reducing environmental damage. Legally
enforceable accounting standards, Means of conceptual frameworks, and legislations are features of this
period which contribute to the increased regulation of accounting disclosures. Empirical studies in this
period were more analytical and less descriptive. The final stage is the period 1991-now. This stage has
focused on environmental issues within accounting on a broad front, including interest from managers as
well as accountants. (Gray et al. 1995) argue that this stage has been characterized by the almost complete
domination of environmental accounting with research on broader social reporting (including employee
and ethical disclosures).

Two different types of motivations can lead companies in order to engage in CSR activities and
disclosure. The first motivation is that some companies consider CSR activities and disclosure may bring
a competitive advantage. For example, they think that having good relations with their stakeholders will
obtain them a good financial performance, employee commitment, and corporate reputation by assisting
in developing valuable intangible assets. External pressures (government, shareholders, consumers, etc.)
consider the second motivation which catalyses other companies to engage in CSR activities and
disclosure (Branco & Rodrigues 2008). These companies think that not doing CSR activities and
disclosure will lead them to lose some their profitability, reputation and must be addressed to mitigate
their effects. Social responsibility activities and disclosure constitute mainly a legitimacy instrument used
by a company to demonstrate its adherence toward stakeholders in order to increase or maintain their
financial performance, their image and their relationship with their stakeholders.

THE METHOD

This research method was used both quantitative and qualitative approach. The quantitative approach was
employed the annual reports of the period of 2007 and 2009. The qualitative approach was to gather
information from face to face of semi-structured interview (see Table 1). In general, the purpose of study
is to investigate the perspective of financial managers and information managers of the firms in Libya
about both the importance and benefits of CSRD. Data gathered from interviews was recorded by a note
and tape recorders with financial managers and information managers of the firms enabled the researchers
to gain the deeper insights on this issue in this research. The interviews took place between October 2010
and February 2011. Interviews lasted between twenty minutes to one hour and half. The meetings were
held in the manager’s office. As a result of the interview can explain issues in depth (Denzin & Lincoln
2000), it considers an appropriate technique for this research. Thus, it plays an important role in
explanatory research. Interviews with one of the most important social and environmental stakeholder
groups were conducted to help the researchers to gather data relevant to this issue. In addition, knowledge
gathered from consulting with other researchers in CSRD and literature reviews enabled the researchers to
design an interview guide with common questions in order to ask the interviewees.

Table 1: Profiles of interviewees

Sector Name Financial Managers Information Managers Total
Manufacturing 8 4 12
Services 11 1 12
Banks and Insurance 4 2 6
Mining 1 0 1
Total 24 7 31
Participants rate 77% 23% 100%

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THE FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 The Importance of CSRD In order to obtain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, the
following question was initially asked to interviewees about what the extent of the importance of
disclosure CSR activities in their annual reports for stakeholders. Interviewees were also asked their
personal opinions about CSRD. All interviewees confirmed that CSR activities and information play an
important role toward their companies and society and the responsibility of their companies in society to
achieve both social and economic benefits. The majority of interviewees emphasised that their companies
attempt to achieve economic objectives through increasing profit, revenues and sales as well as social
objectives. Two PhD theses provide the same findings for the responsibilities of the businesses toward
society, and the roles of their business in society to be both social and economic are Momin (2006) and
Aribi (2009). Aribi (2009) also mentioned that corporate policies for disclosing CSR information are
determined very much by the profit objective, but not the only objective of these companies. In this
regard, Abdulhamid et al.(2005) demonstrate that disclosure about social and environmental activities in
the Libyan annual reports leads to some social and economic benefits which are reflected at the macro
level. The interviews of this research believe that their companies should achieve both objectives, when
their companies invest their money in any project. One of the information managers states that:

One of the most important goals in the Development Bank is to reject investment in projects that
does not take into consideration the adverse impact of the project on the environment and hence
this bank obligates the customer to get the agreement of the environmental management in order
to obtain the requested loan.

One of the financial managers states that:

Management of the Company when investing in any project, it looks at the goals of economic and
it does not disregard the benefits which will be obtained by this project to the community such
as participation in addressing the problem of unemployment, employee training, etc., as the
company is part of the community and should contribute in social activities for the development
of society as a whole

All interviewees confirmed that the importance of CSR information in the annual reports is not less
important than CSR activities; both of them can play a significant role to gain the company objectives.
Abdulhamid et al. (2005) illustrate that information about CSR activities should reflect the interaction
between the society and the management and should recognise the right of different stakeholders. The
management also should inform all stakeholders about CSR information. They revealed that CSR
information in the Libyan context is directed and limited to some interest from some stakeholders such as
the General Assembly, the management (the company’s Administration Board) and, the central
Authorities (such as the security of Economy, the security of finance, the security of Industry, the Central
Bank of Libya and the watchdogs bodies which include the Public Control Office and the Tax Office).
However, all interviewees of this research believe that CSR information is one of the most important parts
that clarify what the extent of committing their companies to contribute to CSR activities to most
stakeholders. Some interviewees mentioned that CSR information are directed to some stakeholders such
as employees, management, investors, customers, shareholders, government through annual reports
(financial information, CSR information) to determine the following purposes: few employees use annual
reports to help their companies to protect their interests. Shareholders use annual reports to know how to

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use their funds; Investors use annual reports to help them in making investment decisions; Management
uses annual reports to evaluate the company and to address the problems and correct negative deviations
in the company through appropriate making a decision, as shown in the following quotations by some
financial managers:

The management in this company supports full disclosure for the transparency cause and we
review all activities in the annual report, you can apply this to everything when it is related to
social activities.

We are preparing the annual report in order to show the real situation of the company either
financially or socially, as we know that there are many parties that benefit from using this
information to assess the situation of the company and know what the company achieved and its
evidences during the year.

On the other hand, Ahmad, N.S.M. (2004) found that the Libyan companies did not inform employees
about CSR information due to a lack of importance of this information to their employees, while the
remaining stakeholders are interested in social and environmental information. Some interviewees
illustrated that while CSR information is important to management, investors and shareholders, there is a
lack of ability to comprehend CSR information by employees that in turn, may lead to their disregarding
information included in annual reports. This view is obliviously stated in the next quotations by some
financial managers:

I believe that the information about the activities of social responsibility affect the decisions of
management and shareholders and investors… But unfortunately, many employees were not
aware of the importance of social activities, only a few employees know the importance of social
activities and disclosure of them and their effects on the company.

Some interviewees believe that some Libyan companies are still under privatized. This means that the
government companies have limited stakeholders such as government, management, customers, employee
and creditors. These stakeholders except for the government cannot affect the policy of the company as
the Libyan government possess all shares in these companies, while non-government companies which
are listed in the Libyan stock market have all stakeholders such as investors, shareholders, customers,
creditors and so on that can influence the policy of disclosure. The following quotation was stated by
some financial managers.

Ownership base on the bank has a negative impact on the importance of this information for
stakeholders and the financial benefits expected to provide this information.

Abdulhamid et al.(2005) also revealed that stakeholders of the Private companies in the Libyan context
see a main influence of the disclosure of CSR information on the environment, in particular
manufacturing companies whilst the service companies may perceive little influence of CSR information
on the environment.The importance of CSR information differs from one category to another. Most
interviewees in banks and insurance sector as well as services sectors considered employee information
and customer information in annual reports to be more important than others. In this regard with a simple
difference, all interviewees in manufacturing and mining sectors confirmed the importance of employee
information, environmental information and customers’ information compared with community

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involvement information to all stakeholders excepting society. Some financial manager stated in the
following quotation:

Service companies such as ours are interested in social activities and information about the
employees, and information relating to customers, considering that this information helps the
company’s decision-making that in turns, is reflected in the improved financial performance for
the company and hence these companies disclose this information more.

Another interviewee supported this view in the following quotation:

I believe that the industrial companies such as this company take into account the environmental
impacts that may affect their workers and the community, particularly the places that surround it
as, it cares about workers and the quality of the product because these activities and these
information affect the performance of the organization.

This is general information about the importance of CSR and CSRD for the Libyan companies and the
extent of the importance of CSR activities and information to achieve the company objectives.In
summary, the main reasons of CSR activities and information are used to achieve the interests of
stakeholders. CSR activities and information in annual reports explain the extent of the contribution of the
company in CSR activities towards society to stakeholders; to assist the company in order to protect the
employees’ interests; to make investment decisions and to determine how the management use their
funds; and to make appreciate decisions.

4.2 Benefits of CSRD A number of theories in the accounting literature have presented some justifications
for disclosing CSR information in annual reports and hence stakeholder theory was used in this study to
answer the question regarding what determines that motivates companies to disclose social information.
Some benefits were mentioned in the accounting literature for companies disclosing CSR information in
developed countries; however, the benefits of CSRD in developing countries are still ignored and
ambiguous due to a few of the studies in the accounting literature related to answer the previous question.
Interviewees clarified different causes as shown in Table 2.

Most interviewees mentioned that there are two types of benefits for disclosing CSR information in
annual reports. The main benefits include an increase in the company profitability, the extent of
management attention for disclosing of CSR information, enhancing the company image, helping the
management to make decisions, informing stakeholders about the company’s contribution to community
service and transparency. Thirteen of interviewees believe that providing positive CSR information in
annual reports helps a company to support its financial performance. In this vein that twelve stated that
the financial support has obtained by encouraging and attracting some stakeholders such as investors and
consumers. In addition, twelve see that the growth of social and environmental awareness of the Libyan
management has given more attention for disclosing of CSR information in annual reports, because such
practices helps Libyan companies to make appropriate decisions. Six of interviewees see that the
competition is an involved factor in improving a company performance, whilst only one says that the
disclosure of social and environmental information has led to increase productivity.

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Table 2: Perception of Interviewees on Causes and benefits for Disclosing CSR information

Number of Interview The Percents of Interviews Causes and Benefits of Discloser
Improving Financial Performance:
13 out of 31
12 out of 31
12 out of 31
6 out of 31
1 out of 31
42%
39%
39%
19%
3%
Encourage and attract investors and customers
Supporting the organisation profit
Making-decision
Competition
Improving productivity
Regulation and Management:
3 out of 31
3 out of 31
5 out of 31
3 out of 31
10%
10%
16%
10%
Requirements of stock market
International Accounting Standards
Environmental law
Management
19 out of 31

61% Enhancement / creation of the company’s image/reputation
16 out of 31 52% Informing their stakeholders about the company’s
contribution to community service
14 out of 31 45% Transparency
2 out of 31 6% Improving employee commitment
Table 2 shows the perception of financial managers and information mangers about the benefits that motivate the company to disclose CSR
information in its annual reports. This is also evident in the following comment:

This company does not prepare annual reports for nothing; it has some reasons and benefits for
emerging social activities.

Furthermore, sixteen mentioned that Libyan companies use CSR information for informing their
stakeholders about the company’s contribution to community service. Moreover, fourteen of the
interviewees believe that transparency is considered as one of the most important motivations types that
have led to the disclosure of social and environmental information, and it is also one of the most
advantages of the top management. More specific, Armitage and Marston (2008) revealed that
transparency in emerging CSR information may lead to: promoting integrity within the company and in
its dealings with stakeholders; promoting confidence on the part of shareholders and other stakeholders;
being part of what is expected of a good corporate citizen; helping non-executive directors to understand
the business. Aribi, Z. A. (2009, p. 180) indicated that ‘disclosing social responsibility information for the
reason of transparency might be considered as a form of motivation for the top management to reveal
such information’. Momin (2006) also revealed that companies in Bangladesh have a social obligation,
and ‘CSR practices are driven by the altruistic motivation of discharging such obligation by providing
information to society, accepting that stakeholders have the right to know about the corporation in more
detail’. In addition, he indicates that the increase of CSR of awareness has given encouragement to
managers to use CSR information. Nineteen of interviewees that CSR practices could enhance/create the
company reputation and the company image, and thus the company works to make strong communication
with stakeholders, in particular its external stakeholders whom they think important for continuing their
operation.

They think that creating or enhancing Reputation and profitability regardless long term or short term are
often made by public relation exercises, and are essentially paying attention with investors and
consumers. Thus, the effect of CSRD on society has been referred to as tactics that possibly enable the
companies to affect this perception (Deegan 2002). Two theses of Momin (2006) and Aribi, Z.A.(2009)
also appears that emerging CSR activities in annual reports allow the company to enhance its reputation
and its image through focus on its stakeholders or a marketing attention-grabber that is aimed at attracting
consumers and investors and this has given benefits in long term and short term. Graham et al. (2005) that

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the main motivation for disclosure is a reputation enhancement for transparency. In the same way, Eccles
and Mavrinac (1995) stated that the main benefit of disclosure improvement is increased management
credibility in enhancing disclosure of quality. Lundholm & Van Winkle (2006) emphasize on the
importance of obtaining shareholder confidence to achieve the purpose of disclosure that lead to
increasing the share price through reducing scepticism about the company’s future. The following
comments by financial managers support the perceptions in table 2:

We believe that the company focuses on achieving some goals more than others, when it discloses
information about social activities conducted in their annual reports. For example, the company
focuses on enhancing the company’s image, improving its financial performance and
transparency, …making the right decision… publicizing the company and its activities to all
stakeholders….through conveying what has been done during the year to stakeholders such as
owners, shareholders, investors and other… and the benefits are greater if the management of the
company is convinced of the importance of disclosure of this information.

The secondary benefits that help the management to achieve some objectives are regulation and
improving employee commitment. In this regard, Momin (2006) indicates that companies that are not
responsive will not be able to survive and therefore companies will comply with regulations and
standards. Three of the interviewees stated that Libyan companies which are listed in the Libyan stock
market obligates disclosing for CSR information through the requirements of the stock market, while
another three said that a company uses international Accounting standards which are considered as one of
the main reasons for disclosing CSR information in its annual reports. Five confirmed that applied the
environmental laws in a manufacturing company helps in disclosing CSR information. Regarding
employee commitment, two see that disclosing CSR information might be considered as one of the forms
of benefits for the management to reveal such information. The following comments by financial
managers support the perceptions in table 2:

In fact, we believe that the dissemination of this information in the annual report will have a role
in supporting the commitment of the employee and, also takes into account the application of law,
but the commitment of employees is not non-core with most companies.

On the other hand, interviewees who are working in the manufacturing companies which are listed on the
stock market believe that the company is committed to preparing annual reports according to regulations,
in particular environmental laws and the requirements of the stock market because if the company did not
apply these laws, this will be costly. Therefore, applying these laws can be effective as the most important
factor for disclosing CSR information. Some financial managers stated in the following quotation:

Industrial companies such as steel and cement industry specifically committed to the application
of laws that are interested in social activities in general and in particular environmental
activities , hence it tries to show in the annual reports to avoid negative effects on the share price
and reduce the profitability of the investor in the company.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance and the benefits of CSRD in the annual reports of
the Libyan context, as perceived by financial managers and information managers of the four sectors
(manufacturing sector, banks and insurance sector, the services sector and mining sector), using a

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theoretical framework which combines stakeholder theory. This framework shows that an importance of
CSR disclosure related to four categories (environmental activities, consumer activities, community
activities and employee activities) to stakeholders. The focus on this topic is motivated by the emphasis in
the prior accounting literature review on the reasons for disclosing CSR information as a primary
motivation by which disclosure policy can influence the company performance. Managers and employees
increasingly require considering SRD as a signal of improved CSR conduct in those fields because
disclosure affects the business performance such as a company’s reputation. CSR disclosure also leads to
important results in the creation or deletion of other fundamentally intangible resources, and may help
build a positive image with employees and managers. By demonstrating that a company does emerge
CSR activities for their enhancing organisational performance, whereas non-emerging CSR can destroy
organisational performance for a company, hence stakeholders require their companies to disclose CSR
activities in their annual reports.

Furthermore, this paper presents some details about the effects of some factors on CSRD in the Libyan
environment context. Social, cultural, political, economic and legal factors are considered as the one of
the most main effective factors in the business performance and accounting through CSRD.This paper
provides evidence from these managers about the importance and the benefits of CSR information for the
company. The most important results are consistent with prior accounting research conducted in both
developed and developing countries. Our experience with CSRD in Libya suggests that CSRD are often
unimportant at being unable to prove the worth of CSR information. The results of this paper should help
address concerns often expressed by stakeholders about the importance of dissemination CSR information
in the annual reports. In particular, the results of this paper should be of value to managers concerned with
the company performance on the whole. The companies can reap the major benefits from disclosing CSR
information such as improving its financial performance through attracting some investors and
consumers, improving its competition in the Libyan market, supporting the company profit, making-
decision and improving productivity. They are also able to obtain tangible benefits such as enhancing the
company of image/ reputation, improving the company of employee commitment. The results explains
some reasons for disclosing CSR information in the annual reports such as requirements of the stock
market, applying international accounting standards, environmental laws, the growth of social and
environmental awareness of the Libyan management and transparency.

REFERENCES

Abdulhamid, MA, Ritchie, R, Lovatt, CJ & Pratten, JD 2005, ‘The social role of accounting: views and
perceptions of the accounting community in Libya towards corporate social responsibility and
accountability’, UK,

Ahmad, NSM 2004, ‘Corporate Environmental Disclosure in Libya: Evidence and Environmental
Determinism Theory’, Napier University, UK.

Ali, A 1996, ‘Organisational development in the Arab World’, Journal of Management Development, vol.
15, no. 5, pp. 4 – 21.

Aribi, ZA 2009, ‘An Empirical study of corporate social responsibility and its disclosure in Islamic
financial institutions’, Edinburgh Napier University.
—- 2009, ‘An Empirical study of corporate social responsibility and its disclosure in Islamic financial
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Momin, MA 2006, ‘Corporate social responsibility and reporting by multinational corporations in
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THE PRICE OF STOCKS IN LATIN AMERICAN
FINANCIAL MARKETS: AN EMPIRICAL
APPLICATION OF THE OHLSON MODEL
Pedro Martínez, Instituto Tecnológico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Diego Prior, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Josep Rialp, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

ABSTRACT

The emergence of the Latin American market and its growing importance are factors that attract global
investors to this region with an eye on profit opportunities, a situation that demands a reliable instrument
for the calculation of future stock prices of regional companies. This study examined the reliability and
validity of the use of the Ohlson Model to predict Latin American stock prices through an empirical
application of a panel data analysis of 1,112 companies from this region with data from 2002 to 2009.
The findings identified the countries in Latin America where the model can be used successfully.

KEYWORDS: Ohlson Model, Latin American, Stock Prices

INTRODUCTION

Calculating the value of a firm is of paramount importance; identifying and defining the broad spectrum
of factors that influence the prices of stock have been a challenge for the scientific community, who has
proposed different models with different approaches. The Ohlson Model attempts to determine the market
value of a company´s stock from accounting data. This model has attracted considerable attention (Ota,
2002) and has had the greatest impact on the relevant literature in recent years (Larrán & Piñero, 2005). It
has the advantage over other models in that the accounting information is available for all the listed
companies. Even though much research has been done using the Ohlson Model in the United States and
Western European and Asian countries, few research exists about Latin America. Therefore a research
opportunity exists in the literature, focusing on probing the validity and applicability of the Ohlson Model
to stock markets from Latin American countries, which have great development potential. To fill this gap,
this study attempted to answer the following research question:

Can the Ohlson Model be used to determine the stock prices in countries of Latin America?

LITERATURE REVIEW

As Milton Friedman stated in his “Price Theory” (2007), the allocation of resources among different uses
sets the price of one item relative to another. Other authors have developed models and theories in their
efforts to explain the price of assets. For instance, Sharpe (1964) developed the Capital Asset Pricing
Model (CAPM) and Ross (1976) offered the Asset Pricing Theory (APT), while Wei (1988) made an
effort to unify these two. There are other models based on dividends and on cash flow, such as the
Discounted Cash Flows (DCF´s), which have several drawbacks, such as difficulty calculating expected
dividends and the fact that cash flows are distributions of wealth instead of creation (Penman, 1992).
The Ohlson Model must be regarded as a breakthrough, with the price based on the expected future
earnings (Penman, 1992), and with the condition of the use of clean surplus accounting. The Ohlson
Model is presented by of James Ohlson in “Earnings, Book Value and Equity Valuation” (1995), and later

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in “Valuation and Clean Surplus Accounting for Operating and Financial Activities” by Feltham and
Ohlson (1995). The models developed in both works relate the accounting information to the firm value.
Basically they assume that the value of a stock can be calculated from the book value and the net present
value of the abnormal earnings; that is, the earnings a company makes above the cost of the money used
to make them, discounted at a risk free rate, in an accounting system that is based on the clean surplus.
The Ohlson Model has provided a solid theoretical framework for the market-based studies through the
clean surplus approach (Walker, 1997). The literature currently contains several important empirical
research studies based on this model. The study written by Ota (2001) had a very clear mathematical
development of the Ohlson Model and showed a great concern with the difficulty in estimating the factor
for “Other Information” variables that affect the future performance of a firm. A study by Duran, et. al.
(2007) attempted to validate the application of the model to Mexico´s companies.

Another study by Giner & Íñiguez (2006) corroborated the predictive ability of the Ohlson (1995) and
Feltham Ohlson (1995) models from future earnings. For their study, they took non-financial companies
from the Madrid stock market from 1991 to 1999, using book value and earnings. The simplifications
they used were the same as those used by Duran, et. al. (2007), using earnings instead of abnormal
earnings and discarding financial companies without a proper justification.

METHODOLOGY

Data from the Osiris Data base was used for analysis. First a Pooled Regression was made and compared
with the panel data analysis for data from 2002 to 2009 for several countries from Latin America. More
than 23,000 observations for 2,912 listed companies in 34 countries were used.

Adopting the Ohlson Model used by Collins, et al. (1999), and taking the model:
𝑃𝑡 = 𝑦𝑡 + 𝛼1𝑥𝑡𝑎 + 𝛼2𝛾𝑡 with a few notation changes; that is, 𝑦𝑡 = 𝐵𝑉𝑡 and 𝑥𝑡𝑎 = 𝐴𝐸𝑡𝑎 we arrive at:

𝑃𝑖𝑡 = 𝛼0 + 𝛼1𝐵𝑉𝑖𝑡 + 𝛼2𝐴𝐸𝑖𝑡𝑎 + 𝛼3𝛾𝑖𝑡 + 𝜀𝑖𝑡

The variables for this model are expressed in thousands of dollars at the closing date of each year. For this
model, 𝑃𝑖𝑡 was “MarketCap0atclosingdatethUSD” as the dependent variable, which is the total value of a
company. The Book Value 𝐵𝑉𝑖𝑡 one of the independent variables, “ShareholdersFundsthUSD”, and the
abnormal Earnings was estimated by the variable “NetIncomethUSD” as is seen in Duran, et al, (2007).
The term 𝛾𝑖𝑡, which stands for other information that affects the price, was neglected due to the
difficulties in estimating this parameter, (Ota, 2001).

With this model, a panel data analysis, was made because of the considerable advantages that it offers
(O´Connell, 2007), such as the control of unobservable firm-specific effects that are difficult to measure.
The panel data analysis has the advantage of allowing the identification of countries and/or time periods
where accounting conservatism is different (O´Connell, 2007). The use of US dollars in every country
gives the advantage of easy comparability, and the cost of money would be the same for all the countries.
Observations with no market capitalization or negative market capitalization values were eliminated from
the study. The countries that had less than 5 companies left after this adjustment were also discarded.
Only 13 countries were left, for a total of 1,112 companies, with a total of 8,896 observations.The first
analysis done was a pooled OLS regression. A panel data estimation was used and compared with the
pooled OLS regression using a Lagrangian Multiplier test for random effects. The Panel Analysis with

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fixed effects was then tested and compared. If both of these analyses were better than the pooled
regression, a Hausman test would be used to determine which one is better.

RESULTS

With this pooled Regression OLS, the R square value is 0 .6931 and the overall F test was displayed with
a 0.0000 value, which allowed rejection of the null hypothesis; therefore, it was concluded that the model
is valid. The p values for the individual coefficients, the constant, and the independent values were shown
to be statistically significant, with values of 0.000 in each case. All the coefficients were positive, and this
was consistent with the theoretical expected values for the Ohlson Model. A panel data analysis allowed
control of each company. In this second step, the Generalized Least Square (GLS) random effects
estimator was analyzed so that the model assumed that each company had a different constant.

The results of the analysis showed that the R square within, which is, the explained variation within
companies, was 0.5064, while the R square between had a value of 0.7317 and the overall R Square of
almost .70; this was a very good overall value. All of the coefficients were positive with P values of zero,
so the model and the variables were significant and had the expected sign: the model can be used.
To determine whether a pooled regression or random effects, was better, a statistical probe of the null
hypothesis could be performed, for this, a test formulated by Breusch and Pagan, known as the
Lagrangian Multiplier test for random effects was used. From the results of this test, the null hypothesis
can be rejected, given that the P value of the Chi Square was 0.0000. Therefore, it could be concluded that
the random effects were relevant; the random effect model was better than the pooled regression model.
Another model that was tested is the fixed effects regression model. The R square values were very
similar to the random effects model, and the p value for the F test was 0.0000. Thus it could be assumed
that this is a valid model. The values for Sharehoder and Net Income variables were positive and
statistically significant. To determine whether the fixed or random effect model was better a Hausman test
was used. The Test demonstrated that the difference between the fixed and the random coefficients could
be used to test the null hypothesis: The null hypothesis was rejected, so the fixed effect model was used.
Then a vector of dichotomic variables was added for each country to see if any country had an important
particularity. Every country was analyzed individually to see if the Ohlson Model could be applied to
each country, and if there was a significant difference. Tests needed to be done under the fixed effect
scope because of the result of the Hausman test. In Table 1 the results of this analysis are presented.

Table 1: Panel Data Analysis with Fixed Effects

Country Constant Shareholder NetIncome R² F
Argentina 823,033*** -0.0505 1.2358 0.7319 1.03
Bermuda 198,927*** 0.8419*** 1.5339*** 0.7045 589.23***
Brazil 508,540** 0.8801*** 0.4197 0.767 295.2***
Cayman Islands 34,709 1.3938*** 3.0931*** 0.4925 232.72***
Chile -110,718 1.5961*** 3.0733*** 0.8069 305.74***
Colombia -1,616,491* 5.0383*** -21.0066** 0.1686 18.68***
Mexico 700,538** .6397*** 5.4558*** 0.6316 84***
Panama -59,122 -1.7667 19.6347** 0.7868 10.69**
Peru -497,206*** 3.5599*** 1.4414 0.7116 101.97***
Venezuela 395,628 0.2255 -1.1718 0.0105 0.91
Note. This table shows results for the panel data analysis with fixed effect, separated by country using the STATA statistical program version
11.0. ***, **,* indicate significance at 1,5,10 percent respectively.

El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica were omitted because of the lack of observations or collinearity
problems. Furthermore, from the F test p values, it can be seen that the Ohlson Model did not explain the

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stock prices for the cases of Venezuela and Argentina; the R square values for Venezuela were also very
low, with 1% of the variance explained by the model. In these two countries, the independent variables
were not significant, given that, in the case of Argentina, the price of the stock had a negative sign in the
Shareholder variable, and, in the case of Venezuela, the NetIncome variable was also negative, although
none were not statistically significant in both cases.

From Table 1, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Chile, and Mexico had positive and significant values, as it was
expected from the Ohlson Model. In the case of Peru and Brazil, both values were also positive, but, in
the case of NetIncome variable were not significant. Colombia had a statistically good model with a
0.0000 p value, but the R square factor was 0.1686. In addition, the value for the NetIncome variable was
negative, with more than 95% of statistical significance, meaning that there had to be a difference that did
not allow the Ohlson Model to predict the stock value. As a result, as the NetIncome variable increased,
the stock price dropped. In the case of Panama, the p value was lower than 0.05, and the R square was
0.7868, which means that the Ohlson Model gave a good explanation of the variance, but the shareholder
variable was negative, although it was not significant.

CONCLUSION

The Ohlson Model is a good price estimator for stock in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Chile, and Mexico,
due to the fact that the variable coefficients were both positive and statistically significant. For the case of
Brazil and Peru, both of the variables were positive, but the coefficient for the NetIncome variable is not
significant. Panama has a p value smaller than 0.05, and the Shareholder Value which was negative even
though it was not significant. Colombia had a good model with a low R square, and the NetIncome
variable was statistically significant but negative, which is contrary to the theory.

In the cases of Argentina and Venezuela, the Ohlson Model did not work due to the fact that the F test
showed that the models were not statistically correct. For Argentina, the R square value was fair with a
value of 0.7319, but the only significant value was that of the constant, and there was a negative value in
the shareholder variable. In the case of Venezuela, the Ohlson Model did not work as expected. The R
square value was 0.0105, which was the percentage of the variance that is explained by the model. The F
test p value was not significant, for all of the variables and the model constant. It was concluded that the
Ohlson Model is a powerful tool to predict the price of the stocks for most of the Latin American stock
markets, with the exception of Venezuela, Argentina, and Colombia.

LIMITATIONS

A limitation of this research was the lack of a deep study of the different regulatory frames for each
county and the institutional differences. Another was the use of the US dollar, which simplified the
analysis but could have had an impact on the results of the application of the Ohlson Model, due to a
possible currency devaluation that could be an adverse factor. Some other limitations of the present study
included scale problems, autocorrelation, or heterocedastisity, which could be present; therefore, a more
sophisticated analysis is required. Another limitation was the use of net income as a proxy for abnormal
earnings. An important modification to the model could be made by estimating the factor, “Other
Information”, with a different supposition to see if the model improves.

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REFERENCES

Collins, D. W., Pincus M., & Xie, H. (1999). Equity Valuation and Negative Earnings: The Role of Book
Value. The Accounting Review, 74 (1), 29-61.

Duran, R., Valdés, A.L., & Valencia, H. (2007). Value Relevance of the Ohlson model with Mexican
Data. Contaduría y Adminitración, 223,33-55.

Feltham, G., & Ohlson, J.A. (1995). Valuation and Clean Surplus Accounting for Operating and
Financial Activities. Contemporary Accounting Research, 11 (2), 689-732.

Friedman, M. (2007). Price Theory. United States of America: Transaction Publishers

Giner, B., & Íñiguez, R. (2006). The predictive ability of the Felham-Ohlson models for future earnings:
An empirical Analysis. Revista Española de Financianción y Contabilidad, 35 (132), 729-759.

Larran, M.J., & Piñero López, J.M. (2005). El modelo de Ohlson (1995): ¿Hemos llegado realmente a
comprenderlo?. Revista de contabilidad, 8 (16), 115-149.

O´Connell, V. (2007). Dealing with panel data in accounting and Managerial finance research.
International Journal of Managerial Finance, 3 (4), 372-389.

Ohlson, J. A. (1995). Earnings, Book Value and Dividends in Equity Valuation. Contemporary
Accounting Research, 11 (2), 661-687.

Ota, K. (2001). The Impact of Valuation Models on Value-Relevance Studies in Accounting: A Review
of Theory and Evidence. The Australian National University School of Finance and Applied Statistics, 1-
37.

Ota, K. (2002). A test of the Ohlson (1995) model: Empirical Evidence from Japan. The International
Journal of Accounting, 37, 157-182.

Penman S. H. (1992). Return to Fundamentals. Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 7, 465-483.

Ross, S. A. (1976).The Arbitrage Theory of Capital Asset Pricing. Journal of Economics 13, 341-360.

Sharpe, W. F. (1964). Capital Asset Prices: A Theory of Market Equilibrium under conditions of Risk.
Journal of Finance, 19 (3), 425-442.

Walker, M. (1997). Clean Surplus Accounting Models and Market-based Accounting Research: A
Review. Accounting and business Research, 27 (4), 341-355

Wei, J. (1988). An Asset-Pricing theory Unifying the CAPM and the APT. Journal of Finance, 43 (4),
881-892.

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DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DERIVATIVES ARE?
Ann Galligan Kelley, Providence College

ABSTRACT

This paper is designed to assist individuals and organizations in understanding the role and risks of
derivatives in two specific areas — debt management and investing. It further serves as a warning to
those who are exposed to derivatives particularly in this post financial crisis era. Individuals and
organizations should take the time to educate themselves as to the serious potential risks involved with
these instruments.

JEL: M40, G11,G24

KEYWORDS: derivatives, exchange-traded funds, leveraged, futures contracts, counterparty risk,
tracking errors

INTRODUCTION
The 2,315-page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has been hailed as the
solution for preventing future financial meltdowns such as those currently experienced in this economy.
Investors should not be lulled into complacency though. This legislation creates a division within the
Federal Reserve designed to protect consumers. However, while its goal is to increase the transparency of
complex financial products including the oversight of swaps and other derivatives, it is certainly not a
substitute for individual and organizational prudence and due diligence. Furthermore, many of the
changes in this bill are not expected to be fully enacted until 2015. Boards of directors, management,
CPA firms, elected officials and even financial advisors should view this legislation as a tool to
eventually help protect their respective organizations and not insurance against future problems.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Debt Management Policies

It is important for all debt issuing organizations, whether they currently use derivatives or not, to have
formal written derivatives policies in place that assure that appropriate due diligence procedures be
conducted and require prescribed approval protocols for the acquisition and management of all types of
derivatives.

What are some of the more common types of derivatives used in debt management?

Derivatives, which include futures, options, forwards and swaps (including credit default swaps), get their
name from the fact that they derive their value from an underlying asset, typically an established index or
another financial instrument or security. Interest rate swaps have been around for years and are actually
quite prevalent in the governmental and non-profit world. There are many types of swaps. “The total
notional value of interest rate derivatives including swaps reached nearly $450 trillion as of June 30,
2010” according to the Bank for International Settlements’ June 2010 report.

The most common types of interest rate derivatives are:

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1) Interest rate swaps are used to synthetically convert variable rate debt to fixed rate and vice versa.
For example, if a university can efficiently issue variable rate debt but would prefer not to be
exposed to potential future interest rate increases, the university could enter into an interest rate
swap with another group, called a counterparty, to effectively convert their variable rate debt to
fixed rate debt. (Kelley, 2011)

2) Interest rate caps are used to limit exposure to interest rate volatility. For example, an
organization with variable rate debt may be willing to tolerate interest rate increases up to a
certain level or believe that interest rates will remain low. However, the organization may wish
to limit its interest rate risk by purchasing an interest rate cap, which assures that the organization
will not pay an interest rate exceeding the rate prescribed in the cap. (Kelley, 2011)

3) Basis swaps are used to manage or change the “basis” on which variable interest rates are
calculated. These are more commonly associated with revenue bonds where an organization’s
income may be dependent upon a particular interest rate index; yet the debt the organization has
issued is based on a different index. For example, if revenues are based on the prime interest rate
while the interest expense that must be paid is a function of the London Interbank Offered Rate
(LIBOR), and the traditional correlations between these two indices digresses; a basis swap will
protect the entity from market dislocations. LIBOR is used in determining the price of many
financial derivatives, including interest rate swaps. This is the average short-term deposit rate
that banks participating in the London money market exchange offer each other. (Kelley, 2011)

4) Rate locks, which are based on interest rate swaps, are used to hedge “lock in” a rate for an
upcoming bond issue. These are really nothing more than institutional versions of an interest rate
lock fee that one might pay to lock in an interest rate when applying for a home mortgage.
(Kelley, 2011)

However, there are risks associated with derivatives. There are certain fundamental risks associated with
the utilization of derivatives, which should be carefully considered by organizations and addressed in
their Derivative Policy statement.

1) Counterparty/credit risk is that the entity on the other side of the transaction might not be able to
fulfill their obligation.
2) Basis risk is that the interest rate that an organization is trying to hedge does not track exactly
with the derivative. Hence, the organization may not get the full benefit that they are anticipating
from the derivative.
3) Termination risk is the circumstances under which either the buyer or seller of the swap can
terminate and how are the termination costs calculated?
4) Credit downgrade risks are the consequences of a credit downgrade or default of either party.

Investments with Embedded Derivatives
Derivatives are not only used in debt management but can also be incorporated into investments which
may not be as readily apparent. Many organizations believe that they are not exposed to derivatives in
their investments because they do not directly purchase derivative contracts. Derivatives, however, are
being incorporated into many investment products which are not being fully disclosed or understood by
even many experienced financial advisors. Few people are aware that some mutual funds and many

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exchange traded funds (ETFs) use derivatives to hedge risk or to magnify market or security movements.
Many of these ETFs have labels such as Short, Ultra, 2X, Double Long, or Inverse among others.
Derivatives are actually used in a number of ways in our economy, and for the most part they can be
beneficial. Airlines often hedge the price of the fuel they are using for their jets by using futures
contracts, a type of derivative. Hence, if fuel prices increase significantly, your favorite airline will not be
at risk of losing money on passenger tickets that were sold months ago. Basically, they are locking in a
price for their fuel cost using derivatives.
ETFs are not index funds. They trade on stock exchanges similar to stocks and may hold physical assets
such as stocks, commodities or bonds. However, unlike index funds, ETFs typically range between two
categories. The first category owns at least some of the physical assets they seek to track. The second
category known as synthetic ETFs, are funds that earn a return by investing in derivatives. These
derivatives are typically asset swap agreements with a counterparty which strive to replicate the
performance of the index or asset it tracks. There are now more than 1,000 ETFs that track major indices
such as the S&P 500, industry sectors, commodities and currencies. “Not everything is (a) suitable
(investment for all people),” according to John Gabriel, Morningstar ETF analyst. “You need to
understand what you own. People let research end with the name of the fund. That can get you into lots of
trouble.” For example, some ETFs are leveraged, meaning they invest with borrowed money, which
makes them more risky. “Fund performance can be the opposite of what investors expect,” Gabriel further
stated. (Guste, 2010)
The SEC is also concerned that investors do not understand the risks associated with more complex ETFs
and the “abbreviated” disclosures that provide a false sense of security to investors pertaining to the scope
of a fund’s reliance on derivatives. “… some funds employing this type of disclosure, in fact, appear to
invest significantly in derivatives,” wrote Barry Miller, an associate director in the SEC’s division of
investment management. According to Paul Justice, CFA, an ETF strategist, he commented in his
January 22, 2009 Morningstar article after returning from an ‘inside ETF conference’, that he was
“shocked to learn how many people have a misconception as to how these funds work. And this sampling
was not of novice day traders –these are professionals and financial advisors.”

This is such a huge potential problem that the SEC on October 19, 2011, has deferred consideration of
new requests for ETFs that utilize significant investments in derivatives. Mary Schapiro, the current SEC
Chairman, stated in an SEC press release dated March 25, 2010, that “It’s appropriate to engage in a more
thorough review of the use of derivatives by ETFs and mutual funds given the questions surrounding the
risks associated with the derivative instruments underlying many funds”. Existing ETFs and mutual
funds that use derivatives are so far unaffected. While the SEC is studying the use of derivatives as of
April 1, 2010, there were 151 US listed inverse and leveraged ETFs with assets of $29.9 billion according
to investment bank Morgan Stanley. ETFs in the United States have grown to account for approximately
$1 trillion in assets, or approximately 10 percent of the long-term U.S. open-end investment company
industry, with U.S.-domiciled ETFs making up approximately two-thirds of global offerings. (Rominger,
2011)
One popular use of derivatives is to create leveraged or inverse ETFs. Inverse funds utilize a variety of
strategies to achieve their investment objectives including short selling, trading derivatives such as futures
contracts, and other leveraged investment techniques. Leveraged ETFs are marketed as a way of
doubling or tripling returns on the movement of underlying indexes and benchmarks such as the S&P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_%28finance%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_%28finance%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futures_contract

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futures_contract

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leverage_%28finance%29

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500. Hence, if the S&P were to increase by 10%, one would expect a 2x leveraged ETF to increase 20%.
Inverse ETFs supposedly provide investors with a vehicle to get a leveraged benefit if the targeted index
declines.
Most investors understand that borrowing money creates leverage, which can be used to magnify returns,
which is how they think a leveraged ETF operates. However, the 1940 Investment Company Act placed
restrictions on how much investment funds could borrow. ETFs, consequently, obtain their leverage with
the use of derivatives. The Investment Company Act could not have contemplated the use of these
complex types of investments. “… the Act, while in fact being 70 years old, is being challenged and
stretched in ways that were inconceivable when it was enacted, but which we in the Division of
Investment Management are dealing with today” stated Andrew J. Donohue, Director of the SEC’s
Division of Investment Management in June 3, 2010 SEC Staff Keynote Address at the ALI-ABA
Compliance Conference. It could be argued that leveraged ETFs are circumventing the intent of the
Investment Company Act by using derivatives to achieve leverage that would otherwise be prohibited.

Policy Considerations For Investments With Derivatives

The popularity and complexity of these new ETF investment vehicles requires that investment policy
statements be updated to specifically address their unique characteristics and their associated risks similar
to the debt management example above.

Risks of Exchange Traded Funds

There are two primary risks associated with ETFs that utilize derivatives such as interest rate swaps or
futures. The first major risk is reliance on a counter party to make good on their commitment. For a
derivative to function there is reliance on the performance of the entity on the other side of the
transaction. If that entity does not perform because of credit problems, legal issues or outright fraud, then
the derivative and most likely the investment will suffer a loss. In this worldwide economy, it is easy to
imagine situations where systemic risk could cause such large losses that the counterparty no longer has
the liquidity to pay. This counterparty risk also became painfully obvious with the collapse of Lehman
Brothers and the AIG bailout. One way of mitigating much of this risk is for the derivative to be
collateralized. However, it is not practical for an individual investor in an ETF to monitor the liquidity
and market value of the collateral. “ETFs that use swaps to clone stock, bond or currency returns have
been criticized by regulators and firms including Fidelity Investors, which say clients risk losing money
should the banks writing the derivatives become insolvent.” (Xydias, 2011).

The original prospectus of an ETF may state that the fund may use derivatives to carry out its investment
objectives. To know if the ETF you are holding or considering purchasing utilizes derivatives, and to
what extent, it is important to go directly to the particular fund’s website and click on the link for their
daily holdings. Most funds will indicate if their holdings include swaps or other derivatives. The
websites of most funds disclose their holdings, including the amount of swaps (See Table 1 example).

The second primary risk of ETFs that use derivatives is commonly associated with leveraged ETFs,
which are mainly managed by firms like Direxion, Rydex and ProShares. A popular example of a
leveraged ETF is an inverse ETF which is engineered to deliver a positive return that is a multiple of
any declines in the designated benchmark. The risk is a function of the daily compounding calculations
of leveraged funds caused by the mark-to-market of derivatives on a daily basis. For example, one

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would expect a triple inverse ETF on the S&P 500 to increase 30% if over time the market declined by
10%. The unexpected reality in a volatile market might be that this ETF actually declines rather than
increases. It should be pointed out that leveraged inverse ETFs should only be considered for very
short-term daily investment purposes since the mathematical impact of daily compounding in a volatile
market could result in the opposite of what an investor hopes to achieve. Over longer periods of time,
such as weeks or months, results could be significantly different from what an investor is expecting
particularly in volatile markets. “It pays to look beyond the cover,” says Matt Hougan, editor of ETF
Web site IndexUniverse.com. In August 2009 the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(FINRA) issued an Alert warning investors about extra risks involved with leveraged and inverse ETFs.
Two “real-life” examples provided in the Alert were:
• Between December 1, 2008, and April 30, 2009, a particular index gained 2 percent. However, a
leveraged ETF seeking to deliver twice that index’s daily return fell by 6 percent—and an inverse
ETF seeking to deliver twice the inverse of the index’s daily return fell by 25 percent.
• During that same period, an ETF seeking to deliver three times the daily return of a different
index fell 53 percent, while the underlying index actually gained around 8 percent. An ETF
seeking to deliver three times the inverse of the index’s daily return declined by 90 percent over
the same period.
There are a wide variety of ETF choices with different index compositions and methodologies. Not only
do leveraged ETFs depend on the use of derivatives but certain types of commodity ETFs also rely on
leverage to meet their investment objectives. On October 19, 2011 Eileen Rominger, director of the
Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management testified before a Senate
subcommittee that a certain small group of so-called “inverse, leveraged ETFs” are made up of
derivatives and other securities and can have an effect that that can be magnified in volatile markets. She
further stated that leveraged, inverse, and inverse leveraged ETFs approximated $48 billion in assets.
With the future of the US economy in question, those investors seeking to purchase investments that
move in the opposite direction of the market (inverse ETFs) or to hedge their existing investments should
be cautious. As Figure 2 illustrates, inverse ETFs may not necessarily deliver the results anticipated by
investors. The problem is that many retail investors as well as many professionals do not understand that
these leveraged and inverse ETFs compound daily and can produce these skewed results. Leveraged
ETFs should typically be held for less than one day and definitely not treated as index funds. This is
because of the effects of compounding (sometimes called “beta slippage”). This issue has attracted much
public attention now that these ETFs have been increasingly used by less experienced investors. The
Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA had issued a warning on the leveraged and inverse
ETFs. (2009) The SEC is seeking comments currently on ETFs that invest in derivative products to
provide input as it evaluates the acceptable level of risks for investors. (2011) If an investor purchased
ProShares ETF 2x Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index (SRS) in February 2007 and held it until August
2010, he would have expected an 88% gains based on the fact that the Dow Jones Real Estate Index
decreased 44%. However, an unpleasant surprise would have been the realization that the ETF 2x
decreased by 92% due to daily compounding in volatile markets. (Figure 2)
A random internet search of leveraged and inverse ETFs will still show individuals touting leveraged
ETFs as a way to bet against the market. Investors should be wary and educate themselves as to the risks
of these leveraged and inverse ETFs. There are now lawsuits from misinformed investors. RBC Capital
is being sued by Massachusetts for selling leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds to clients who did

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not understand what they were buying and subsequently suffered losses. (Condon, 2011) Other law
firms have received publicity for investigating FINRA brokerage firms who had advised customers to
purchase leveraged and inverse ETFs including those issued by Direxion, ProFunds (ProShares) and
Rydex. (De Veire, 2011)

ETF POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

Because of the inherent risks associated with ETFs that use derivatives, an organization’s investment
policy should state that every effort should be made to determine the extent of derivative use and its
associated risks before investing in ETFs. Furthermore, if the organization does invest in ETFs, these
ETFs should be constantly monitored to see if they are in fact actually performing as anticipated in
relation to their benchmark. For leveraged or inverse ETFs, this monitoring should be done daily.
Tracking errors for a variety of reasons are a significant risk for ETFs.

CONCLUSION

Derivatives can be useful tools whether they are interest rate swaps or components of investments. Just as
investors found though that complex instruments created from subprime mortgages like collateralized
debt obligations (CDOs) and CDOs-squared, if you do not understand the mechanics of how these
instruments really work, there is the potential for some startling surprises. “Education, obviously, is
always the key to being a successful investor,” says Kevin Quigg, head of the ETF strategy and consulting
group of State Street Global Advisors. “Investors need to ask questions and read carefully about the exact
structure of any prospective exchange-traded product purchase.” (Shari, 2011). ETFs need to be
thoroughly understood in order to be properly incorporated into an individual’s or organization’s overall
asset allocation, risk tolerance, and liquidity goals for their investment portfolio.

Table 1: Example of a Fund Showing Holdings with Derivatives

UltraShort Real Estate ProShares: UltraShort Real Estate seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that
correspond to twice (200%) the inverse (opposite) of the daily performance of the Dow Jones
U.S. Real Estate IndexSM.
Security Description Notional Value Market Value Shares/Contracts
DJUSRE SWAPS (324,697,672.94) – (4,114,685.30)
Net Other Assets / Cash – 161,693,221.83 161,693,221.83
As of 11/11/11 at www.proshares.com/fund/srs_daily_holdings.html

Table 2: Sample Data

$ Value of 2X
$ Value of % Change “Double the Inverse ETF
Period Index In Index Inverse” w/compounding
START
1 $100 100
2 $95 -5.00% 10.00% 110
3 $80 -15.79% 31.58% 144.74
4 $95 18.75% -37.50% 90.46
5 $75 -21.05% 42.11% 128.55
6 $90 20.00% -40.00% 77.13
7 $80 -11.11% 22.22% 94.27
8 $90 12.50% -25.00% 70.7
9 $100 11.11% -22.22% 54.99
10 $90 -10.00% 20.00% 65.99
11 $100 11.11% -22.22% 51.33

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Figure 1: Graph showing index vs EFT

Table 2 and Figure 1 illustrate period by period how compounding causes severe tracking errors for a 2X Inverse ETF versus its index.
Logically, the expectation would be that over a given period of time if the indexreturned to where it began, the ETF would also. However, in this
example if you just “bought the index” you would end up exactly where you started. The leveraged ETF on the other hand lost 50% of its value.

Figure 2: Proshares ETF 2x Inverse of Dow Jones US Real Estate Index (SRS) vs the Actual Index

Investor deposited $10,000 on March 1, 2007 into ProShares ETF 2x, which inversely tracks the Dow Jones Real Estate Index. There was a 44%
decline in the Dow Jones Real Estate Index from February 2007 until August 2010. Given that his investment was a 2x inverse, this investor
expected his ETF to INCREASE 88%. Inverse ETFs embed derivatives that are marked to market and are thus compounded daily. Therefore,
mathematically, the 88% increase does not happen in actuality. This investor actually experienced a 92% DECLINE, resulting in his $10,000
investment now only being worth $800 as of August, 2010. Hence, policies and guidelines must be in place for investors who invest in these
products. They should also not be purchased by small individual day traders due to the risk involved.

REFERENCES

Kelley, Ann G. (2011) “Why a Good Derivatives Policy Could Protect Your Job,” Strategic Finance,
June, pages
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
$140
$160
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11D
ol
la
r V
al
ue
o
f I
nd
ex
a
nd
E
FT

Time Periods
Example of an Index Starting & Finishing at $100 in comparison to a 2x Inverse EFT of That
Index Which Because of Volatity With Daily Compounding Incurs A Loss
Underlying Index 2 X Inverse ETF
Both No Loss For the
-150%
-100%
-50%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
ProShares ETF 2x Inverse of Dow Jones US Real Estate Index (SRS) vs the Actual Index

SRS Adj Gain or Loss Dow Jones US Real Estate Index Expected Return
Based on a 44% decline of DJ R/E Index, naive investor
% Gain or
-Loss
Actual SRS loss from Feb
2007 was 92%

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Gustke, Constance (2010) “Are exchange-traded funds dangerous?” Bankrate.com, September 17.

Miller, Barry (2010) “SEC Division of Investment Management letter pertaining to Derivatives-Related
Disclosures by Investment Companies,” July 30.
http://www.sec.gov/divisions/investment/guidance/ici073010

Justice, P., CFA (2009) “Warning: Leveraged and Inverse ETFs Kill Portfolios,” Morningstar, January
22.

Rominger, Eileen (2011) “Testimony on Market Micro-Structure: An Examination of ETFs,” United
States SEC Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment Committee on
Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the United States Senate, October 19.

Donohue, Andrew J. (2010) “Speech by SEC Staff: Keynote Address at the ALI-ABA Compliance
Conference” Securities & Exchange Commission, Washington, DC, June 3.

Xydias, Alexis (2011) “Swap ETFs, Lyxor Have Record Outflows” Bloomberg, November 1.
Condon, Christopher (2011) “Massachusetts Suing RBC Capital Over Leveraged ETF Sale” Bloomberg,
July 20.
Van De Veire, Robert (2011) “Malecki Law Announces Investigation into Leveraged and Inverse ETFs”
New York Securities lawyers Blog, November 2.

Shari, Michael (2011) “Everything Wants to Be Called an ETF These Days” Barron’s, November 12.
BIOGRAPHY
Ann Galligan Kelley is a Professor of Accountancy at Providence College and Director of the Business
Studies Program. She is a CPA whose research and interests include taxation, investments, financial
planning including retirement and pension research and financial accounting research. Having formerly
worked for both an international and small CPA firms as well as a tax accountant for a large New
England law firm, she has advanced degrees from both Northeastern University and Bryant University
and has published previously in various journals including The CPA Journal, The Practical Accountant,
Strategic Finance and various academic journals. She can be reached at akelley@providence.edu.

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CALIBRATION AND COMPARISON OF SPECTRAL
RISK MEASURES FOR A PRACTICAL
IMPLEMENTATION
Stephan Thomas, Phast Solutions & University of Paris Sorbonne

ABSTRACT

Recently, new coherent, law-invariant and comonotonic additive risk measures known as spectral risk
measures (SRM) have been proposed as interesting complements to the regulatory-standard VaR. While
such risk measures allow various attitudes towards risk to be specified by the risk manager through a risk
spectrum, there has not been proposed to date any practical way of calibrating them but arbitrarily. It is
not clear neither how a risk manager could supplement VaR or CVaR with such risk measures in its risk
assessment process through a realistic methodology. In this paper, we propose a methodology to both
calibrate and compare SRMs. For that, we rely on concepts of relative entropy optimization allowing us
first to build a data-implied distortion as a reference measure for calibration and second to define an
entropic risk measure that we use for comparison. Finally, we apply the methodology to real market data
and assess four SRM through various specifications of the historical probability measure.

JEL: C6, D81 D84, G11, G17, G32.

KEYWORDS: risk management, spectral risk measures, distortion risk measures, minimum relative
entropy, economic capital, backtesting, decision theory.

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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CORPORATE
ACCOUNTING MALFEASANCE AND RESTATEMENTS
FOR 100 COMPANIES WITH FINANCIAL AND
MARKET IMPACT AND ANALYSIS OF MONITORING
CHARACTERISTICS
Liz Washington Arnold, The Citadel
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT

This study examines corporate accounting malfeasance from an exploratory and empirical perspective for
100 companies to determine if there is an association between the Jenkins recommendations SOX
requirements. The exploratory perspective discusses the types of corporate malfeasance and gives the
dollar impact for the financials and the market dollar impact ($140 and $857 billion respectively) of 100
companies with publicly announced malfeasance. In addition to the dollar impact, the results of the
exploratory study supports previous studies which found that revenue was the most common area of
corporate malfeasance and actual theft was the least. The exploratory study was followed with an
empirical examination of corporate malfeasance using internal (corporate governance) and external
(auditor and financial analysis) monitoring characteristics by matching the malfeasance companies with
non-malfeasance companies. The results of the empirical study did not find any significant differences in
the monitoring characteristics of malfeasance as compared to non-malfeasance companies even though
these characteristics were chosen based on an examination of recommendations/requirements for business
reporting for SOX and several accounting committees over the years.

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THE VALUATION OF THE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS
IN A DIVORCE: A CASE STUDY
Hanna Savolainen, University of Eastern Finland

ABSTRACT

The discounted economic income method has increasingly been used for valuing small businesses. This
paper discusses the questions arising from the use of that method in the context of the valuation of a small
business for marital dissolutions. The paper is based on a case study. A real Finnish divorce case, which
ended up to the court, is used to illustrate the pitfalls of using the discounted economic income method in
valuing a small business for non-transactional situations. This study reveals that one of the pitfalls is the
subjectivism of the final value, depending on how the measure of the economic income and the present
discount rate is selected. It can sometimes result in an unrealistically high final value of the business.
Secondly, the method is based on the economic income expected in the future. In a divorce, the aim of the
valuation is to define the value of the business at the date of the partition. This means that when valuing
a small business in marital dissolutions it is essential to take both the accounting and the legal point of
view into consideration.

KEY WORDS: Valuation, small business, divorce, discounted economic income method

INTRODUCTION

The valuation of a small business in a divorce is problematic, because one needs both the accounting and
the legal knowledge. In a divorce, it is common that the spouses are not able to agree the value of the
business and the case may end up to the court. The court gives the judgment about the value of the
business usually basing it on an expert’s statement. The problem is that the judge is not often an expert in
accounting or finance. On the other hand, the expert, who has given the statement, may not be familiar
with the marital law neither jurisdiction nor how to interpret it from a valuation point of view.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the questions arising from using of the discounted economic
income method in the context of valuing a small local business in a divorce. A real Finnish divorce case
is used to illustrate the pitfalls of using that method in valuing the small business in marital dissolutions.
The main questions arising are on the one hand related to the method itself. On the other hand, they are
related to the legal point that should take into account in valuing business in a divorce. The method
related questions are dealing with measuring the economic income and selecting the discount rate and the
influence of the terminal value. In addition, a very important question is if the characteristics of the
business have sufficiently been taken into account in valuation.

The very essential questions from the legal point of view are related to the marital assets. One is the
inclusion and measurement of goodwill as marital assets. The other is the question of to which extent the
future income belongs to the marital assets. This is interesting, because the discounted economic income
method is based on the income expected in future. The point is if the method is applicable in marital
dissolutions or is it too much directed to the future.The next section discusses briefly the basis for valuing
small businesses in a divorce. The third section presents the case: the characteristics of the business and
the lawsuit. The fourth section describes the experts’ valuation using the discounted economic income

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method. The fifth section focuses on pitfalls of using the method in the context of a divorce. The last
section concludes.

BACKROUNDS

The traditional valuation approaches in business valuation are market approach, income approach and
asset-based approach (Hitchner 2011, Anderson 2009, Feldman 2005, Pratt et al. 1998, Fodor and Mazza
1992). The valuation methods are determined according to them. The market approach means that the
valuation is relaying on prices of similar assets traded in the open market. This kind of information is
seldom available about small businesses, so market approach is not often suitable for valuing small
businesses. Therefore, the two possible ways in valuing small businesses are asset-based approach or
income-based approach. The asset-based approach is based on a business’s net asset, relaying primarily
on accounting records. According Houghton (2002) asset-based approach has usually been applied for
example in valuing businesses where the future of the business is highly dependent on the owner-
manager’s personal relationships with providers of work. Versus according Gasson (2002) assed-based
valuation are used only where the value of the business is easily expressed in terms of its assets.
Anderson (2009) points out that the asset approach is theoretically weak as a valuation method, because
records based on the historical cost cannot be expected to predict the value that investors place on the
future earning power of business.

The income-based approach is using a discounted economic income to summarize the current value of the
future income. This approach contains a large number of measures of income, methods of projecting
them into future and applications of discount rate. The income-based approach and the valuation methods
relaying on it, particularly the discounted cash flow method, is widely accepted for valuing the small
businesses (Anderson 2009, Fernández 2007, Pratt et al. 1998, Fodor and Mazza 1992). In the financial
literature, the discounted cash flow method is presented as the most theoretically pure and constant of all
valuation methods. On the other hand the weakness of the method is its’ dependency on forecasts
(Martins 2011, Gasson 2002, Pratt et al. 1998). In addition, the validity of the valuation process depends
on two essential inputs – the expected income and the discount rate used in making the time adjustments
(Dukes et al. 1996). Both the asset-based approach and the income-based approach are accepted in
Finnish legal literature when valuing business in a divorce. According Aarnio and Helin (1992) the
adjusted book value derived from adjusted balanced sheet is an applicable basis for valuation. In
addition, one should take into account factors that affect the income such as goodwill.

Pratt et al. (2000) define the goodwill “the propensity of customers to return for repeat business”.
Goodwill in small businesses is either practice (institutional) goodwill or professional (personal)
goodwill. Practice goodwill is an intangible asset of the business as an institutional entity. It consists of
intangible elements such as location, operation procedures and client base. Personal goodwill is
associated primarily with the individual owner of the business (Pratt et al. 1998). According to Finnish
legal literature and judicial precedents, the personal goodwill does not belong to marital assets. Välimäki
(1996) questions the use of the adjusted book value as basis for valuation when the business is going
concern. Instead of it, he would rather base the valuation on the use of the discounted economic income
method. If the personal goodwill exists, the amount equivalent to the personal goodwill should depreciate
from the final value at the end. At the beginning of a valuation process one must define the standard of
value that applies to the specific situation. The standard of value defines for the analyst the type of value
being sought (Pratt et al 1998). The most widely encountered standards of value are fair market value,
investment value, intrinsic or fundamental value and fair value (Hitchner 2011, Anderson 2009, Pratt et

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al. 1998). Fair market value has been often defined in the financial literature according to U.S. Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) Revenue Ruling 59-60. It is the price at which property would change hands
between a willing buyer and a willing seller. Neither of them is not under any compulsion to buy or sell
and both parties have reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts (Anderson 2009, Pratt et al. 2000, Fodor
and Mazza 1992). The investment value is the value of an asset to a specific owner whereas the intrinsic
or fundamental value is a real value of the assets. The definition of the fair value in turn is depending on
the context of its use (Pratt et al. 2000).

Law or other legal documents can legally mandate the standard of value. The standard of value can also
be a function of the wishes of the parties involved. In the context of marital dissolutions, however, the
applicable standard of value is generally less clear than for any other appraisal purpose (Hitchner 2011,
Pratt et al 1998). This is the case also in Finland. In marital dissolutions, the applicable standard of value
is not clear in Finnish legislation. The law is silent with regard to standard of value and little judicial
precedents exist. According to Finnish legal literature, for example Aarnio and Kangas (2010), Välimäki
(1996), Aarnio and Helin (1992), the applicable standard of value as a basis is fair value. The problem is
that the expression fair value is ambiguous and no exact definition exists. According to above-mentioned
literature, fair value means a value, which is equivalent to the amount at which the business would change
hands between seller and buyer in the open market. However, when valuing small local businesses the
lack of free market makes the valuation difficult.

THE VIB CASE: THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUSINESS AND THE LAWSUIT

This study is a case study basing on a real Finnish divorce case. In the case, a great deal of the marital
assets consisted of a small local business, which the spouses owned together. In a divorce, they could not
agree on the value of the business and a legal battle followed. Finally, the Supreme Court decided the
value of the business relying on the statements made by two different experts. The study is a critical
analysis of the valuation from the accounting and the legal point of view. All the material, the
calculations, statements, briefs and other documents in the study originated from the files of the Supreme
Court. In Finland, the Supreme Court mainly relies on written evidence when deciding on a case, as it did
also in this case. Hence, this study has exactly the same material than the Supreme Court had when
deciding the case. The business in the case was a small vehicle inspection business, hereafter named with
the fictitious acronym of “VIB”. VIB was situated in a remote small locality and had approximately
€85,000 profit per year. It was officially a partnership owned by the husband (70%) and the wife (30%),
but virtually it was like a professional practice. There were no employers; the husband was working as a
vehicle inspector. He was also taking care of the secretarial work and the cleaning and the wife was
apparently helping him. He worked long days and did not take vacations. Then the husband and wife
divorced. The couple was arguing about the business and the husband tried to sell the business to some
larger businesses in the same industry, but they were not interested. They all said that it would not be
profitable running the business by hiring extra staff. It would also be very hard to find an entrepreneur to
run the business with such a remote location. Running the business like that alone would demand
exceptional commitment to the business.

Therefore, the husband decided to carry on the business himself, but he and the wife could not agree on
the value of their marital property including the value of the business. They applied to court to assign an
estate distributor to value and distribute their property. According to husband the value of the business
was €40,000. The wife had obtained a statement of the value of the business made by an expert and
referring to it, she claimed that the value was €120,000. The expert’s statement will be introduced in the

http://www.sanakirja.org/search.php?id=188826&l2=17

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next section.The estate distributor decided that the valuation method, which the expert had used, was not
applicable to a small “one man” business. The estate distributor valuated the business himself. He based
his valuation on both the assets and the income.He appraised the machinery and equipment to their
current value instead of the value in the balance sheet. He determined that the net asset value was zero.
However, the estate distributor thought that because the business is still operating it has a goodwill value.
It was consisted of the constant clientele, business location and working machinery. According to the
estate distributor, this value was indisputable although the immediate buyer could not be found. The point
was that as long as the business was going concern the value was in the hands of the husband.

The estate distributor based his valuation on the financial statements from the years 2003-2006. He
adjusted the profit by reducing it with the amount equivalent to the reasonable wage to the owner. It was
€4,000 per month in 2003, €4,500 per month in 2004 and €5,000 per month in 2005 and 2006. The key
figures he used are presented in the table 1.

Table 1: The Key Figures in the Estate Distributor’s Valuation

Year 2003 2004 2005 2006
Profit, € 63 000 77 000 100 000 100 000
Owner’s wage, € -48 000 -54 000 -60 000 -60 000
Adjusted profit, € 15 000 23 000 40 000 40 000

From the basis of the key figures, the estate distributor considered that the economic income, which he
took into account in valuing the business, was €20,000 per year. Two reasons for reducing the income
existed. One was that a part of the profit resulted from the professional goodwill of the husband.
According to Finnish legal system, professional goodwill is not a distributable marital asset and that must
take into consideration in measuring the economic income. The other one was that, according to Finnish
law, the vehicle inspection business is a licensed trade. The estate distributor decided that it also reduced
the economic income per year.The estate distributor considered that the income should take into account
for three years time. Thus, he multiplied the income €20,000 per year three and resulted in the final value
of €60,000.The wife disagreed and appealed to the District Court claiming that the value should be
€120,000 according to the expert’s statement. She also presented a new statement of the value made by
another expert. According to it the value was €106,500 – 156,400. The statement will be introduced in
the next section. The District Court however affirmed the estate distributor’s value €60,000 and the wife
appealed again. The Court of Appeal determined that the valuation should be based on the discounted
economic income method, which both the experts had used. The Court of Appeal admitted the
subjectivism of the method. It resulted to very different values when changing lightly the variants. That
is why the Court of Appeal pointed out that the valuation should not be based only on the experts’
statements. One should also take into account that the business had been deeply depended on the abilities
and the work of the husband. That was why the value should be reduced. Therefore, the Court of Appeal
decided that the value of the business was €90,000.

Now the husband appealed to the Supreme Court claiming that the discounted economic income method,
which had been used in valuation, had been developed for larger firms and was not applicable to small
businesses. He claimed that the valuation method should be asset-based instead and the value of the
business should be €60,000 as the estate distributor had decided.

The Supreme Court admitted that the husband was partly right. The fact that the business was small and
depended on the husband’s work and ability favored for the asset based method. However, the Supreme

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Court determined that because of the going concern assumption, the valuation should be based on the
discounted economic income method. The business was still operating and saleable. It had been
profitable in the ownership of the husband, so it would also be profitable in the ownership of someone
else. There will be a realistic possibility to a business acquisition.If selling the business the price will
probably be determined according to the future income. The future income will be assessed according to
previous income, which mainly was based on the husband’s work. If he stopped working after the
acquisition, it will be uncertain if the income remains as equal as they had been. The prospective buyer
will probably think that this decreases the price. Because of that, the Supreme Court determined that the
final value must be less than in the experts’ statements. Therefore, the Supreme Court upheld the value
the Court of Appeal had determined. Thus according to the Supreme Court the final value of the business
was €90,000.

THE EXPERTS’ VALUATION

As it was mentioned earlier, two different experts prepared statements about the value of the business,
hereafter called expert A and expert B. They were both Authorized Public Accountants. They both used
the discounted economic income method in their valuation. Both the experts calculated the adjusted
income and used it as a measure of the economic income as well. They based their statements exclusively
on the financial documents, mainly to the financial statement and the balance sheet. Expert A based his
analysis solely on the financial statements in years 2004-2006. Expert B made forecasts for expected
income for years 2007-2011 basing them on the financial statements in years 2004-2006.

The Value of the Business According to Expert A

Expert A decided that year 2006 represented financially a typical year of the business. Therefore, he
based his calculation of the economic income on the adjusted income in year 2006 as follows:

The adjusted profit in 2006 84 539
Reasonable wage to the owner including statutory cost, 4 725 €/ month – 56 700
Profit before tax 27 839
Tax – 6 400
Profit after tax 21 439

The adjustment of the profit was because of the depreciation differences. Taxes and the wage to the owner
were not included in costs in financial statement. In Finland, in partnership, they usually do not pay wage
to the owner and the owner himself pays the taxes. Expert A decided according to his calculation that the
expected income was approximately €20,000 per year. He calculated the present value of the expected
income for three years and the terminal value of the business at end of the year of that time using the 15%
discount rate and the following formula:

PV=∑ 𝐸𝑖
(1+𝑟)𝑖
𝑛
𝑖=1 +
𝐸𝑖/𝑟
(1+𝑟)𝑛+1
(1)
where:
PV=Present value
∑ = Sum of
Ei = Expected economic income in the ith period in the future
r = Present value discount rate
n= Last period for which the economic income is expected

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i = Period in the future in which the economic income to be discounted is expected to be received

Thus according to expert A the final value of the business was comprised of the following amounts:

Present value €45,660
Terminal value €76,226
Final value €121,886

The final value of the business in the statement of expert A was determined minimum €120,000 assuming
the business will operate as a going concern.

The Value of the Business According to Expert B

Expert B used the discounted economic income method as well. He made forecasts for expected income
for years 2007-2011 basing them on financial statements in years 2004-2006. He calculated the mean of
the adjusted profit from years 2004-2006. He adjusted the profit by reducing the wage of the owner,
€4500 per month and it was raised 5% per year. The mean of the adjusted profit was as follows:

Mean
Revenue €165,900
Operating profit € 89,000
Profit € 86,300
Adjusted profit €32,300

Expert B made forecasts for expected income for years 2007-2011, which based on mean of the adjusted
profit from the years 2004-2006. The forecasts are presented in the table 2.

Table 2: The forecasts for expected income for years 2007-2011 according to expert B

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Revenue, € 174,000 182,900 192,000 201,600 211,700
Operating profit, € 93,400 98,100 103,000 108,200 113,600
Profit, € 91,000 95,500 100,300 105,300 110,600
Adjusted profit, € 34,300 36,000 37,800 39,700 41,600

Expert B used these forecasts and made several alternative calculations for the present value of the
adjusted income using different rates and periods. He used the following formula, but unlike expert A, he
did not calculate the terminal value.

PV=∑ 𝐸𝑖
(1+𝑟)𝑖
∞
𝑖=1 (2)

The present values in different rating and timing that he calculated are presented in table 3.

Table 3: Present values in different rating and timing according to expert B

Time Rate 10 % Rate 12 % Rate 15 %
3 years €98,300 €96,600 €94,200
5 years €156,500 €151,300 €144,100

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According to expert B, there were also non-operating assets in the business about €12,300 and he added
them in the final value of the business. The final value of the business in the statement of expert B was
determined €106,500 – 156,400.

THE PITFALLS OF USING OF THE DISCOUNTED ECONOMIC INCOME METHOD IN THE
CONTEXT OF A DIVORCE

The study revealed that the use of the discounted economic income method in the context of a divorce
could be fraught with difficulties. First, the problems related to the method itself. One problem is the
subjectivism of the discounted economic income method. The final value is deeply dependent on how the
future economic income is measured and the discount rate is selected. Therefore, it is very important
when using this method to acquire an adequate amount of information about the economy and industry
conditions that affect the business. In addition, one must carefully examine the past earnings, project the
future earnings and then discount them (Anderson 2009, Fodor and Mazza 1992). One should also take
into account the characteristics of the business.

In the VIB case, both experts based their calculations on quite inadequate economic and operational
information of the business. They both based their analysis solely on the economic information taken
mainly from the income statement and balance sheet. They both ignored the facts that the prospective
buyers, the larger vehicle inspector firms, had pointed out. They claimed that the location of the business
was remote and the profitability of the business was strongly dependent on the husbands work and ability.
In addition, the machinery of the business was quite simple and old, and that was why the selection of the
services the vehicle inspection business served was restricted. Without this essential information, the
experts assessed the future income. This is problematic particularly when using the method where small
differences in the variants produced remarkable changes in the final value.The calculations made by
expert B showed this clearly.

The other problem in the experts’ statements in the VIB case was the discount rate. The importance of
selecting the discount rate is emphasizes in the financial literature (see for example Martins 2011, Gasson
2002, Pratt et al. 1998, Fodor and Mazza 1992). However, neither of experts explained how they had
determined the discount rate. Expert B made calculations with even two different rates, but did not
clarify the difference between them. Without knowing how the discount rate was selected it is difficult
for a judge to estimate if it is appropriate. It seems that the experts just relied on rules of thumb and used
the commonly used 10 or 15 % discount rates.

Expert A also calculated the terminal value using the same expected future economic income (€20,000)
and discount rate (15%) as he had used when calculating the present value. According Copeland et al.
(2000) a high quality of estimating terminal value is essential, because the terminal value often accounts
for large percentage of the total value of the business. For example, Mercer and Harms (2008) notes that
in a typical five-year DCF forecast, the terminal value will account for 60% to 80% or more of the total
present value for the method. Also Martins (2009) and Mercer and Harms (2008) warn that the impact of
the terminal value may turn to be a caveat. In expert A’s statement the terminal value (€76,226) was
approximately 64 % of the final value (€120, 000). He did not validate the key figures he had used in the
calculation. In VIB case, the terminal value seems to be overvalued regarding the characteristics of the
business mentioned above. In addition, the study illustrated that the difficulties of using the discounted
economic income method emphasize in the context of non-transactional situation such as a divorce. At

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first, it is very important to notice the difference in establishing a value and setting a price for the
business. According to Carland and White (1980), the value is the assessment of the worth of the
business by whoever is performing the valuation whereas the price is negotiated value agreed upon by the
buyer and seller. Also Sliwoski and Jorgenson (1996) point out that in many instances the value is really
a suggested selling price or purchasing price.

In business transactions, the computed value of business provides a starting point for the selling price
negotiations. One could assume that the “right” price for the business in business transaction is the price
at which the business changes hands. Thus, the final value, the price, is “tested” in transaction. If the
price is not appropriate, no transaction happens. This certain kind of control of the final value does not
appear in non-transactional situations. In the context of divorce, the court usually decides the final value
based on the experts’ statements.From the legal point of view, two issues relating to the marital assets are
important. One is the treatment of the professional goodwill. No mention of professional goodwill
included in the experts’ statements in the VIB case. They both adjusted the income by reducing the
amount of the owner’s reasonable wage. It remained unclear if they meant that the professional goodwill
included to that. Because the professional goodwill does not belong to marital assets in Finland, it should
exclude from the value of the business.

The other issue in valuation in a divorce context is the fact to which extent the future income belongs to
the marital assets. It relates to the purpose of the valuation in a divorce. The aim of the valuation in a
divorce is to define the value of the business at the date of the partition, not in the future. That might be
in contradiction with the discounted economic income method, because the method is based on economic
income expected in the future. When accepting the use of the discounted economic income method in the
VIB case the Supreme Court might not sufficiently took into account the purpose of the valuation.

According to Pratt et al. (1998), some analysts also are afraid that the discounted economic income
method impounds the results of future efforts of the operating spouse (which are not marital property) into
the present value to the business. If this is the potential issue, Pratt et al. continue, one should be careful
to reflect only the income that would reasonable expected from running the business with an employed,
non-owner manager. In the VIB case, the Supreme Court indeed concluded that the value of the business
should be less than in the experts’ statements. That was because the income was mainly basing on the
husband’s work. However, reducing the final value at the end may not be the correct way, if the final
value originally was unrealistic high.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that when valuing a small business in a divorce it is essential to take into account both
the accounting and the legal point of view. From the accounting point of view, careful consideration
should take into the valuation method. The discounted economic income method has increasingly been
used in small business valuation. However, some questions are arising when using it in the context of a
divorce.The method is very sensible giving different final values when changing lightly the variants. It is
also subjective. The final value is depending on the how the future economic income is predicted and the
discount rate selected. Therefore when using this method, one needs an adequate amount of information
about the economy and industry conditions that affect the business. It is also very important to take
notice to the characteristics of the business. Valuation in the context of a divorce differs from valuation
in business acquisitions, because no control of final value appears in a divorce context. From the legal
point of view, one should bear in mind that the professional goodwill might not belong to the marital

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assets. According to Finnish legal system, it does not. In that case it must not include in the final value.
The other point is that the purpose of the valuation in a divorce is to determine the value of the business at
a certain date. In Finland, the valuation date is the date of the partition. The income after that date does
not belong to the marital property. Hence, the valuation should not be based too much on the future
income. The more important is the value that the business has in the hands of the owner at the date of the
valuation.

REFENCES

Aarnio A. and Kangas U. (2010). Perhevarallisuusoikeus. Helsinki. Finland.

Aarnio A. and Helin M. (1992). Suomen avioliitto-oikeus. Helsinki, Finland.

Anderson P. (2009) “The value of Private Business in the United States,” Business Economics, vol. 44, no
2, p. 87–108.

Carland, J. and White, L. (1980) “Valuing the small business,” Journal of Small Business Management,
vol. 18 Issue 4, p. 40–48.

Copeland, T., Koller T., and Murin J. (2000) Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of the
Company, New York, USA: Wiley.

Dukes W., Bowlin O. and Ma K. (1996) “Valuation of closely-held firms: a survey,” Journal of Business
Finance & Accounting, vol. 23 no 3, p. 419–438.

Feldman S. (2005) Principles of Private Firm Valuation. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: Wiley,
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uef, p. 45–68.

Fodor G. and Mazza E. (1992) “Business valuation fundamentals for planners,” Journal of Financial
Planning, Vol. 4 Issue 4, p. 170–179.

Hitchner J. (2011) Financial Valuation, Applications and Models. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: Wiley.

Houghton, D. (2002)”Buying a Business” in Kogan Page Staff (Contributor). Corporate Finance
Handbook (3rd Edition). Milford, CT, USA: Kogan Page Ltd., 2002, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uef.

Martins A. (2011) “The valuation of privately held firms and litigation: a case study,” International
Journal of Law and Management, vol. 53 no 3, p. 207–220.

Pratt, S., Reilly, R. and Schweihs, R. (2000) Valuing a Business : The Analysis and Appraisal of Closely
Held Companies (4th Edition).Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing,
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uef.

Pratt, S., Reilly, R. and Schweihs, R. (1998) Valuing Small Businesses and Professional Practices (3rd
Edition). Blacklick, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uef.

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Sliwoski, L. and Jorgenson M. (1996) “Acquiring a small business: how much can your client afford?”
The national public accountant, vol. 41, issue 10, p. 16–21.

Välimäki P. (1996). ”Ositettavan omaisuuden ja sen arvon määräytymisestä” Defensor Legis, vol. 2
(March – April) p. 154–167.

BIOGRAPHY

Hanna Savolainen is LL.M. and postgraduate student in the business and law. She is also University
Lecturer in the University of Eastern Finland, at the department of Business and Law. Her research area
relates to different legal problems in small businesses. She can be reached at the University of Eastern
Finland, Yliopistonkatu 2, 80100 Joensuu, Finland, Hanna.Savolainen@uef.fi.

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THE DEFENSES OF LIFO AS AN ACCEPTABLE
ACCOUNTING METHOD
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
Liz Washington Arnold, The Citadel

The Last in First out Method (LIFO) is presently under severe scrutiny from the financial community
which may soon culminate in its repeal as an acceptable accounting method. There are pressures from
the SEC in conjunction with the International Financial Accounting Standards Board (IFRS) to
standardize accounting standards worldwide. In addition, there is political pressure imposed by the US
Obama administration to raise additional revenues. Both groups strongly oppose LIFO, raising a strong
possibility that’s its complete elimination as an accounting method will occur by as early as 2014. This
paper will address the reasons defending LIFO as an acceptable accounting method.

First, from an accounting theory perspective, it satisfies the principles of historical cost, conservatism,
reliability, matching, the temporary difference aspect of deferred taxes and the income statement
economic reality of LIFO presentation. Second, from the perspective of the US government, tax loopholes
are many and LIFO is but one small example. If the US government eliminates these many tax loopholes
at the expense of lowering the tax rates, as indicated, the result will be a tax neutral revenue situation
which does nothing to help the deficit. Third and lastly, IFRS and US GAAP are in the process of
convergence, which is far different than having identical accounting standards. Differences between the
two entities in financial reporting will remain in effect after 2014. The result is that the need to eliminate
LIFO is not necessary from taxation, political or financial reporting position.

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A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ONLINE
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Peng He, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Jianwei Lai, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Hsien-Ming Chou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Lina Zhou, University f Maryland, Baltimore County

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we describe both cultural and lingual factors have impacts on customers’ online reviewing
behaviors. In order to investigate the difference between customers’ reviews in English and Chinese, 20
reviews for each of three products (e.g., a cell phone, a camera and a computer external hard drive) on
both amazon.com and amazon.cn have been chosen and compared. Qualitative study has been conducted
to compare the difference between English and Chinese on these aspects. Coding schemes were extracted
based on the results of the qualitative study, and English and Chinese reviews were further studied in
quantitative methods. Our results show that Chinese reviews focus more on negative aspects than
American reviews, and American customers give more recommendations to others than Chinese
customers. Furthermore, Chinese and American customers focus on different aspects of products. The
results of this study can be used to improve customer service, product marketing and promotion in
multinational business.
JEL: M3 – Marketing and Advertising, M30 – General

KEYWORDS: online customer reviews, cross-culture perspectives, lingual difference, multinational
business, amazon.com, amazon.cn

INTRODUCTION

When consumers search for product information and buy potential products on the Internet, they could
browse online reviews written by other customers. These customer reviews are displayed in different
formats and content, for example, they may present as star-rating style, personal comments, product
functional reviews and so on. Prospective customers will read these product reviews and make their own
purchase decisions, and these consumers’ final selections will also affect the sales of retailers and
aspiration of other potential customers. What’s more, online customer reviews can be defined as peer-
generated product evaluations posted on company or third party websites. Retail websites offer consumers
the opportunity to post product reviews with content in the form of numerical star ratings and open-ended
customer-authored comments about the product [1]. The mere presence of customer reviews on a website
can improve customer perception of the website [2]. Sites such as Amazon.com elicit customer reviews
for several reasons, such as to serve as a mechanism to increase site “stickiness,” and to create an
information product that can be sold to other online retailers. Reviews that are perceived as helpful to
customers have greater potential value to companies, including increased sales [3-6].

Recent research has examined the role of online customer product reviews, specifically looking at the
characteristics of the reviewers [7, 8]. The cultural dimensions were also found to vary across the
different countries and different products [9]. However, despite the obvious importance of cultural
factors, only a few studies have been performed on cross-cultural issues [10]. This is partly because any
such study must confront the difficulty of explicitly identifying and measuring the intangible concept of

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culture in the context of a particular system [11]. In this paper, we will try to compare customer reviews
written in two different languages (English and Chinese) for three distinct products and collect data from
Amazon.com (US-based) and Amazon.cn (China-based) website.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Individualism-collectivism [12] is one of the most commonly used dimensions in cross-cultural studies.
Members of individualist cultures (e.g., American) tend to hold an independent view of the self that
emphasizes separateness, internal attributes, and the uniqueness of individuals, while those of collectivist
cultures (e.g., Chinese) tend to hold an interdependent view of the self that emphasizes connectedness,
social context, and relationships. As a result, there are attitudinal and behavioral differences between the
two cultures, which are listed in table 1 [13].

Table 1: Relative Attitudinal And Behavioral Differences Associated With Individualism Versus
Collectivism

Members of collectivist cultures tend to form attitudes about individuals on the basis of both dispositional
traits and contextual factors. However, members of individualist cultures form attitudes about individuals
solely on the basis of dispositional traits [14]. We believe these cultural differences will also influence
people’s attitudes and behaviors on online products reviewing. One of our research questions is to
determine whether there are any differences on the review content. Thus, we first hypothesize that:

H1: American customers comment on products focused more on products’ specific traits than Chinese
customers.

Online reviewing is a way of expressing people’s opinion. Huang [15] conducted a cross-cultural study to
explore the effects of cultural conditions, particularly the dimension of individualism/collectivism, and
the effects of individual motives on opinion expression by drawing two probability samples from the
United States and Taiwan, two countries with different scores on individualism/collectivism. Results
show that incongruence between one’s own and the perceived future majority opinion and a lack of
efficacy reduce Taiwanese people’s willingness to express their opinions. For Americans, it is only
motives for not expressing opinions that make them less willing to express their views. We believe that
Americans are more willing to give feedback to products as reviews:

H2: Americans tend to express more of their own opinions about products than Chinese.

In a collectivistic culture like the Chinese, the self is bound by relationships with others. The Chinese are

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more inclined to behave in accordance with personal preference and social demand that with objective
standard. Such concepts as “renqing” and “guanxi” have impact on how people persuading and
influencing others. Meanwhile, the major cultural values of Americans are individualistic which have the
emphasis upon independence and individual rights. In the process of persuasion, persuades are believed to
have the right to choose whether or not to comply. Individuals are socialized to make rational decisions
and prefer to use the factual-inductive style of persuasion [16]. Hence, we hypothesize that Americans
and Chinese use different persuading styles in their customers’ reviews:

H3: American and Chinese customers using different persuading styles in their reviews.

RESEARCH DESIGN

In this part, we will explore and try to answer these 3 following questions when we design our research:
How do we design our research to capture main culture factors in terms of English and Chinese online
product reviews? How do we choose products and reviews? And what kinds of data should be collected?

Design Research To Capture Main Culture Factors

In order to reflect two different culture backgrounds, two most popular websites in their own countries
have been chosen:

(1) www.amazon.com (US-based)

(2) www.amazon.cn (China-based)

The reasons that we chose these two websites are not only because they did look so similar in layout and
they are actually owned by one company, the main point is we are trying to eliminate other factors but
cultures, because our research design is to capture main culture factors in terms of English and Chinese on
these two B2C websites.

Choice of Products And Reviews

Again, in order to minimize other factors effect on our research, we narrow down to randomly select 3
distinct products in the category of electronic devices: A cell phone (Nokia 5530), a camera (Sony DSC-
W350 in black color) and a hard drive (Toshiba 2.5-Inch 320 GB External Hard Drive). Besides, we need
to make sure there are enough customer reviews on both websites for these selected products to be
analyzed. So for this study, we first order these reviews by “Most Helpful First” option and then we select
20 reviews from US website (www.amazon.com) and 20 reviews from Chinese website
(www.amazon.cn) for each product discussed above.

Data Collection

We collect 120 customers’ reviews from these two business-to-customer e-commerce web sites on three
different products. So, there are 20 reviews in English and 20 are in Chinese, totally there are 40 reviews
for each product. We firstly apply qualitative analysis: we review all the 120 customers review, and
analyze and compare reviews in two languages to figure out the similarity and differences, as well as find

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characteristics in both of them. And then based on the findings from qualitative analysis, we start to build
coding schemes. We capture such factors in our scheme: Total number of sentences; Overall review;
Price; Features; Recommendation to Consumers; Promotions (E.g. Accessories); Genuine; Location of
Manufactory; Others (E.g. Customer services, shipping and returning issues). For example, table 2 is the
scheme template for one of our products – camera (Sony DSC-W350). The frequency of how many times
the reviewer comments on these aspects will be coded and the frequencies of reviews in two languages
will be compared.

Table 2: Example of a Scheme Template For Camera Product

Revie
ws
Total
number of
sentences
Ove
rall
revie

Pri
ce
Feat
ures
Recommend
ation to
Consumers
Promotion
s (E.g.
Accessorie

Genu
ine
Location of
Manufactory Others
R1 35 1 2 27 1 0 0 0 4
R2 16 1 0 14 0 0 0 0 1
R3 11 3 1 5 0 0 1 0 1
R4 4 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
R5 9 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 2
R6 13 1 1 9 0 0 0 0 3
R7 23 1 0 13 2 0 0 0 7
R8 4 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1
R9 8 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 2
R10 9 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 0
R11 12 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 1
R12 5 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0
R13 9 1 2 6 0 0 0 0 1
R14 9 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 0
R15 4 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
R16 6 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0
R17 4 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
R18 6 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 3
R19 7 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 1
R20 9 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 1

RESULTS

120 reviews were first carefully compared and analyzed by us. Some valuable conclusions have been
drawn based on the comparison, which are presented in the following section. The data coded have been
analyzed through Chi tests and t tests, and the results are also presented in this part.

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Qualitative Analysis Results

Based on ours comparison of Chinese and English reviews, 7 conclusions have been drawn as follows:

(1) Praise vs. criticism

Chinese reviews focus more about negative aspects, e.g., “ 听筒有问题，听谁说话都是感冒一样的声音。 (In
English: There is a problem with the handset, so everybody’s talk voices are the same that looks like they
all get cold)”, “ 后悔死了，加密的内容还要硬盘才能打开，这叫什么加密？ (In English: I am so regret that the
encrypted content should be opened by the hard disk, what kind of this encryption?” However, English
reviews have more positive aspects, e.g., “I find it to be very functional – I have not had a dropped call or
any problems with the interface itself. The touch-screen is very easy and fun to use.”

Previous study has verified that culture has impact on feedback behaviors [17]. According to
individualism and collectivism theory, people in collectivistic cultures care about group harmony more
than in individualistic cultures, and they are less likely to show their dissidence directly. However, our
finding is not consistent with it. We believe it may be due to the special online environment. Firstly,
customers use IDs when they provided their feedback, or even anonymously. Hence it is impossible to
identify them, and they are more willing to express their true opinions. Secondly, online customers are not
familiar with each other, thus they may do not have strong sense of group.

(2)Persuadin gbehaviors

American customers tend to make some direct recommendations to others, while Chinese customers do
not make recommendations to others. For example, online product reviews are coming from American
customers like: “For anyone who is planning to buy this phone I won’t recommend it”; “I don’t
recommend to buy this cell phone ever”; “I recommend to others”. We did not see many
recommendations like those sentences in Chinese reviews.

Hence, our hypothesis three – H3: American and Chinese customers use different persuading styles in
their reviews, is supported in this context.

(3) Concerns

Both Chinese and American pay much attention on product functions, features, quality, and price.
However, Chinese customers complain much more on customer service of the website than American
customers, such as product packing problems and delivering qualities. It reveals that amazon.cn needs to
improve their localized customer services. Besides, Only Chinese customers make comments about
whether the product is genuine or not, and only Chinese customers make comments on manufactory
location. We believe it is because of the Chinese market environment is not as mature as American.
Counterfeit digital products are in some kind of degree indeed available in Chinese market.

(4) Motivation to give feedback

We have chosen top 20 most useful reviews in both Chinese and English for each product. However, it
seems that Americans are more willing to provide their feedback, and the length of American reviews is

Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012

GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 127

much longer than Chinese reviews. It is not clear why Americans are more motivated to provide more
feedback. It could be related to the operation strategy of those two localized web sites.

Quantitative Analysis Results

We also qualified the reviews of three products with the same nodes. The data have been analyzed in the
following ways.

(5) Number of review sentences

We have compared means of review sentence numbers, which is presented in figure 1. T-test results are
shown in table 3. As the result shows, English reviews are significantly longer than Chinese reviews for
three products, and all the reviews in total.

Figure 1: Means of review sentence numbers

Table 3: T-test of means of review sentence numbers

t P
total -6.576 <0.001 Toshiba hard drive -6.426 <0.001 Nokia 5530 -2.487 <0.01 Sony DCS-350 -4.122 <0.001 Those results support hypothesis two – H2: Americans tend to express more of their own opinions about products than Chinese. (6) Opinion numbers 3.47 1.75 5.60 3.05 10.80 10.40 11.85 10.15 .00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 Chinese English Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 128 Figure 2: Opinion numbers of Chinese and English reviews We also compared opinion numbers, which are presented in figure 2. As the result shows, English reviews have more opinions for three products, and all the reviews in total. This also support hypothesis two particularly – H2: Americans tend to express more of their own opinions about products than Chinese. (7) Customer concerned aspects Chi-Square tests have been conducted to see whether American customers and Chinese customers focus on the same aspects of products. 1. Product: Toshiba hard drive Table 4: Frequencies and percentages of concerned aspects (Toshiba hard drive) Overall comment Price Featu res Recommendation to Consumers Accessory Promotion Genui ne Location of Manufactory Others Total review number Chine se 20(29%) 6(9% ) 35(50 %) 3(4%) 1(1%) 4(6%) 1(1%) 0(%) 70 Engli sh 56(23%) 11(4 %) 96(39 %) 8(3%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 76(31 %) 247 Table 5: Chi-Square test result(Toshiba hard drive) Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 47.035a 7 .000 Likelihood Ratio 60.076 7 .000 N of Valid Cases 317 The frequencies and percentages of customer concerned aspects in table 4 and Chi-Square test result in table 5 indicate Chinese and American customers’ focused aspects are significantly different. Besides the total number of opinions for English reviews is much larger than that of Chinese reviews. 70 131 61 262 247 260 210 717 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 Toshiba hard drive Nokia n5530 Sony DCS- 350 total opinion numbers Chinese English Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 129 2. Product: Nokia 5530 Similar to the results for the product of Toshiba hard drive, the frequencies and percentages of customer concerned aspects in table 6 for Nokia 5530 and Chi-Square test result presented in table 7 indicate Chinese and American customers’ focused aspects are also significantly different. American customers’ reviews are mainly focus on features of products. However, Chinese customers pay much attention on other aspects rather than the products themselves. Table 6: Frequencies and percentages of concerned aspects (Nokia 5530) Overall comment Price Features Recommendation to Consumers Accessory Promotion Genuine Location of Manufactory Others Total review number Chinese 7(5%) 8(6%) 52(40%) 0(0%) 1(1%) 1(1%) 1(1%) 61(47%) 131 English 23(9%) 11(4%) 202(78%) 6(2%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 18(7%) 260 Table 7: Chi-Square test result (Nokia 5530) Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 98.114a 7 .000 Likelihood Ratio 97.924 7 .000 N of Valid Cases 391 3. Product: Sony DCS-350 We did the same research for the third product of Sony DCS-350. Again, the frequencies and percentages showed in table 8 and Chi-Square test result in table 9 indicate Chinese and American customers’ focused aspects are significantly. Table 8: Frequencies and percentages of concerned aspects (Sony DCS-350) Overall comment Price Features Recommendation to Consumers Accessory Promotion Genuine Location of Manufactory Others Total review number Chines e 15(25%) 11(18% ) 11(18%) 1(2%) 14(23%) 3(5%) 1(2%) 5(8%) 61 English 24(11%) 13(6%) 141(67%) 3(1%) 0(0%) 1(0.5%) 0(0%) 28(13%) 210 Table 9. Chi-Square test result(Sony DCS-350) Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 92.497a 7 .000 Likelihood Ratio 87.938 7 .000 N of Valid Cases 271 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 130 4. For all three products Finally, we did the research for all these products and would like to get the results in general. Just like the previous 3 experiments, the frequencies and percentages of customer concerned aspects in table 10 and Chi-Square test result in table 11 indicate Chinese and American customers’ focused aspects are significantly different. Table 10: Frequencies and percentages of concerned aspects of three products Overall commen t Price Feature s Recommendati on to C Accessor y P ti Genuin e Location of Manufactor Other s Total review b Chines e 42(16%) 25(10% ) 98(37%) 4(2%) 16(6%) 8(3%) 8(3%) 3(1%) 262 Englis h 103(14 %) 35(5%) 439(61 %) 17(2%) 0(0%) 1(0.5%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 717 Table 11: Chi-Square test result of three products Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 104.049a 7 .000 Likelihood Ratio 100.586 7 .000 N of Valid Cases 979 Figure 3 below compares the percentages of Chinese and English reviews focused aspects. And we can get the conclusion that more than 60% of American customers’ reviews are about features; on the other hand, less than 40% of Chinese customers’ opinions are about features. Figure 3: Comparison Of Percentages Of Chinese And English Focused Aspects From figure 3, it also validates our hypothesis one that is about customers’ focused aspects: 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Chinese English Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 131 H1: American customers comment on products focused more on products’ specific traits than Chinese customers. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH In our research, 120 pieces of customer online reviews of three electronic products from Amazon.com (US-based) and Amazon.cn (China-based) have been carefully collected, coded, and analyzed through qualitative and quantitative study approaches. We initially propose 3 hypotheses at the beginning part based on related studies in this area. After studying customer’s persuading behaviors in online reviewing, our research results finally well support these hypotheses: “H1: American customers comment on products focused more on products’ specific traits than Chinese customers”, “H2: Americans tend to express more of their own opinions about products than Chinese” and “H3: American and Chinese customers using different persuading styles in their reviews”. To conclude our study results, we list them as follows: (1) Chinese reviews focus more on negative aspects than American reviews, which may reveal different styles in two cultures of giving feedback. (2) American customers give more recommendations to others than Chinese people, which also indicate that people have different persuading styles in two cultures. (3) Chinese and American customers focus on different aspects of products. The results can be used to improve customer service, product marketing and promotion in the future. (4) American customers write more number of sentences in their feedbacks, and they express more opinions than Chinese customers. It indicates that American customers are more willing to provide feedbacks than Chinese customers. There are some limitations we will discuss below and some future research to be explored. First, we used sentence number to indicate the willingness of customers to provide feedbacks online. However, there may have some problems with this method. The expression power of Chinese and English is different, for example, one Chinese sentence can be translated into several English sentences. Besides, there might be some other factors rather than willingness that have impact on sentence numbers, such as the encouragement of the web sites. Even though, we still believe the results are significantly differences between the sentence numbers in two languages. Besides, we have only focused on whether customers concern certain aspects, and we have neglected the sentiment trends of Chinese and English reviews. Opinion analysis, such sentiment analysis, may be used here to help us. For example, when we study customers’ reviews and we have found that Chinese customers tend to provide more negative feedback than American customers. However, further research need to be studied in order to support our hypothesis. Also, we did not take the differences between two languages into consideration, such as sentence structure, syntax, etc., which are also our future research topics. REFERENCES Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 132 Mudambi, S. M. and Schuff, D. What Makes a Helpful Online Review? A Study of Customer Reviews on Amazon.-com. MIS Quartly, 34, 1 185-200, 2010 Kumar, N. and Benbasat, I. Research Note-The Influence of Recommendations and Consumer Reviews on Evaluations of Websites. Information Systems Research, 17, 4, 425-439, 2006 Chen, P. Y., Dhanasobhon, S. and Smith, M. D. All reviews are not created equal: The disaggregate impact of reviews and reviewers at amazon.com, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008 (available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=918083). Chevalier, J. A. and Mayzlin, D. The effect of word of mouth on sales: Online book reviews. Journal of Marketing Research, 43, 3, 345-354, 2006 Clemons, E. K., Gao, G. G. and Hitt, L. M. When online reviews meet hyperdifferentiation: A study of the craft beer industry. J Manage Inform Syst, 23, 2, 149-171, 2006 Ghose, A. and Ipeirotis, P. G., Designing ranking systems for consumer reviews: The impact of review subjectivity on product sales and review quality. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Information Technology and Systems, 2006 Forman, C., Ghose, A. and Wiesenfeld, B. Examining the relationship between reviews and sales: The role of reviewer identity disclosure in electronic markets. Information Systems Research, 19, 3, 291-313, 2006 Smith, D., Menon, S. and Sivakumar, K. Online peer and editorial recommendations, trust, and choice in virtual markets. Journal of interactive marketing, 19, 3, 15-37, 2005 Lee, I., Choi, G. W., Kim, J., Kim, S., Lee, K., Kim, D., Han, M., Park, S. Y. and An, Y. Cultural dimensions for user experience: cross-country and cross-product analysis of users' cultural characteristics. In Proceedings of the 22nd British HCI Group Annual Conference on HCI 2008: People and Computers XXII: Culture, Creativity, Interaction-Volume 1 (2008). British Computer Society, 2008 Smith, A., Dunckley, L., French, T., Minocha, S. and Chang, Y. A process model for developing usable cross-cultural websites. Interaction Computing, 16, 1, 63-91, 2004 Straub, D., Loch, K., Evaristo, R., Karahanna, E. and Srite, M. Toward a theory-based measurement of culture. Human factors in information systems, 61-82, 2002 Schwartz, S. H. Individualism-collectivism: Critique and Proposed Refinements. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology, 21, 2, 139-157, 1990 Aaker, J. L. and Maheswaran, D. The effect of cultural orientation on persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 24, 3, 315-328, 1997 Cousins, S. Culture and selfhood in Japan and the US. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 1, 124-131,1989 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 133 Huiping Huang. A cross-cultural test of the spiral of silence. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Vol. 17 Issue 3, p324 – 345, 22p, 2005. Ng, R. The influence of collectivism-individualism on persuasion in Chinese and American cultures. Communication and culture: China and the world entering the 21st century, 71-82, 1998 De Luque, M., and Sommer, S.M. The impact of culture on feedback-seeking behavior: An integrated model and propositions, Academy of Management Review 25: (4), 829-849, 2000 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 134 CASE STUDY ON SUCCESSIVE PLANNING Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology Katherine Kinkela, New York Institute of Technology Steven Shapiro, New York Institute of Technology We prepare, a case study on a real life situation on successive planning involving two shareholders of a privately held business. The issues explored are as follows: 1- reasons for successive planning 2- Failures resulting by not having a successive plan in place 3- Types of Successive plans(The 2 types of Buy-Sell agreements) 4- Taxation aspect of each plan 5- Other advantages and disadvantages of each plan 6- Valuation methods to value business and the need to revalue 7- Discount for marketability and Liquidity 8- Funding the plan 9- Types of insurance used to fund a successive plan 10- How to pay the premiums to maximize Estate and Income Tax aspects 11- Accumulated Earning Tax Penalty(IRC 529) 12- Disability aspect in the Buy-Sale Agreement We present the actual financial statements (change of name of course) of the company, and ask a series of questions on the above points. Generally, there will be a recommended answer which will not be exact due to the inexact science of valuation and more than one recommended solution may be viable, depending on assumptions and needs of the company and/or owners. In this case however, there will be one recommended solution as the owners are the same age, the company has much money to fund the plan and the owners agree on the method which will yield the most beneficial tax benefit from both: estate and income tax purposes. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 135 ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Diego Fernando Santisteban Rojas, Unidades Tecnológicas de Santander (UTS) Jorge del Rio Cortina, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar (UTB) ABSTRACT This paper addresses the different theoretical framework for organizational learning from two aspects, the individual to the organization and from the perspective of the organization to the individual. The most significant finding is intended to highlight the guidelines for each of the authors concentrated per cluster, and note, that different authors present guidelines for processes, individual skills, changes in the environment, teamwork and competitiveness. The insight gained, considers that organizational learning is a process, not routine. It allows you to create, acquire and transfer knowledge. This will always be limited to the internal capabilities developed during the course of the timeline, identifying skills and competencies generated in accordance with the requirements presented by the different environments. Organizational learning is associated with both the change in organizational behavior and creation of a knowledge base to support it. The information was derived from books, magazines and important links on the web, which analyzed and identified concepts, dimensions and levels of organizational learning. This exploratory study allowed for an adequate approach to the issue under study. KEYWORDS: organizational learning, organizational processes, models of competitiveness, smart organizations. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 136 OPTIMALIZATION OF LIQUIDITY STRATEGY: POLISH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS CASE Grzegorz Michalski, Wroclaw University of Economics ABSTRACT In dependence of kind of realized mission, sensitivity on risk, which is a result of decision about liquid assets investment level and liquid assets financing. The kind of organization influence the best strategy choice. The organization choosing between various solutions in liquid assets needs to decide what level of risk is acceptable for her owners and capital suppliers. That choice results with financing consequences, especially in cost level. It is a basis for considerations about relations between risk and expected benefits from the liquid assets decision and its results on financing costs for both nonprofit or for profit organizations. The paper shows how in author opinion decisions about liquid assets management strategy and choice between kind of taxed or non-taxed form inflow the risk of the organizations and its economical results during realization of main mission. Comparing the theoretical model with empirical data for 1000+ Polish nonprofit organization results, suggest that nonprofit organization managing teams choose higher risky aggressive liquid assets solutions than for-profit organizations. JEL: G31, L31, M21 KEYWORDS: liquidity value, short-run financial management, financial liquidity, liquid assets, working capital INTRODUCTION As is widely believed, the advantage of commercially driven businesses is more effective management than in government controlled organizations (Nowicki, 2004, p. 29). In that paper we study the nonprofit organization liquid assets management. That group of organizations face specific incumbent needs, which are the result of higher unemployment and other similar factors (Zietlow, 2010, p. 238-248). The main financial aim of the nonprofit organization (NPO) is not the maximization of organization value but the best realization of the mission of that organization (Zietlow, 2007, p. 6-7). But for assessment of financial decision NPO, should be used analogous rules like for for-profit organizations (Brigham 2006, p. 524-536). One of that rules is fact, that the higher risk is linked with the higher cost of capital rate which should be used to evaluate the future results of decisions made by nonprofit organizations. That is also positively linked with the level of efficiency and effectiveness in realization of the NPO mission. Cost of financing net liquid assets (working capital) depends on the risk included to the organization strategy of financing and/or investment in liquid assets. Managing team of non-profit organizations has a lot of important reasons for which their organization should possess some money resources reserves even if current interest rate is positive (Michalski 2010, Kim 1998). The reasons may be classified into three main groups: the necessity of current expenses financing (transactional reason), fear of future cash flows uncertainty (precautional reason), future interest rate level uncertainty (speculative reason). Liquid assets, especially cash, understood as money resources in organization safe are not a source of any or small interests. Maintaining liquidity reserve in the non-profit organization is a result of belief that the value of lost income on account of interest will be recompensed by the benefits for incumbents of non-profit organization (Kim 1998, Lee 1990). The hypothetical benefits are from higher profitability that organization mission will be completed, thanks adequate liquidity level. There is a point corresponding with the optimal (critical) liquidity level, up to which the amount of liquid assesses in the non-profit organization may be increased at a profit (Washam 1989, p.28; Henderson 1989, Lee 1990). Financing of the liquid assets has its cost depending on risk linked with liquid assets strategies used by the financed organization. If we have higher risk, we will have higher cost of financing (cost of capital) and as result other Organization efficiency growth. There are no free lunches. Cost of financing of liquid assets depends on kind of financing, next on level of liquid assets in relation to sales and last but not least risk exposition. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 137 According to kind of financing we have three strategies: an aggressive strategy with the most risky but the cheapest, mainly short-term financing, a compromise strategy with compromise between risk and costs of financing or a conservative strategy with the most expensive long-term financing and with the smallest level of risk. Choosing between various levels of liquid assets in relation to sales, we use one from three strategies: a restrictive strategy when management use the most risky but the cheapest, the smallest as possible, level of liquid assets, a moderate strategy when management moderate between risk and costs of holding liquid assets, or a flexible strategy when management use the most expensive and rather high levels of liquid assets wanting to hedge the organization before risk of shortage of liquid assets (Michalski 2010). Risk exposition depends on position of the organization in its business branch. If the risk exposition should be higher, then more smart is to choose more flexible and more conservative solutions to have better results. It works in opposite direction also, the safe organization with near to monopoly positions can use more restrictive and more aggressive strategies to have better results. STRATEGIES IN LIQUID ASSETS INVESTMENT AND LIQUID ASSETS FINANCING Current assets investment strategies are the set of criteria and specific code of conduct revolved around attaining multiplication of efficiency of using donors money for realization of the mission. Organization managing team implement such strategies into practice while making the crucial decisions concerning obtaining sources for financing current and future needs and defining ways and directions of utilization of these sources, taking into consideration at the same time: opportunities, limitations and business environment that are known to the board today. It is possible to apply one of the three liquid assets financing strategies (or their variations): aggressive, compromise or conservative. Aggressive strategy consists in the significant part of the organization fixed demand and the whole organization variable demand on liquidity-linked financing sources coming from short term financing. The Compromise version of liquid assets financing strategy aims at adjusting the needed financing period to the duration of period for which the organization needs these assets. As a result, the fixed share of current assets financing is based on long term capital. However, the variable share is financed by short term capital. The conservative liquid assets financing strategy leads to the situation where both the fixed and the variable level of current assets is maintained on the basis of long term financing. Liquid assets financing strategy to risk relation. There is a relationship between the three above mentioned approaches based on the relation between expected benefit and risk. In case of capital providers for organizations that have introduced this specific strategy it is usually linked with diversified claims to the rate of return from the amount of capital invested in the organization. The connection of these claims with the chosen way of financing may be insignificant. Nevertheless, it also might be important to such a considerable degree that it will have an effect on the choice of strategy. Example. XYZ organization managing team is pondering over the choice of current assets financing strategy. Need to be chosen the best strategy provided by the aim which is to minimize cost of financing liquid assets and maximize organization efficiency. Fund capital/engaged capital ratio is 40% {E/(E+D) = 40%}. Anticipated annual sales revenues (CR) are 2000. Forecasted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for XYZ will amount to about 50% of sales revenues (CR). Fixed assets (FA) will be going for around 1400, current assets (CA) will be constituting almost 30% of forecasted sales revenues (CR), property renewing will be close to its use (NCE = CAPEX), and changes in relations of net liquid assets constituents will be close to zero and might be omitted (ΔNWC = 0). The organization may implement one of the three liquid assets financing strategies: the conservative one with such a relation of long run debt to short run debt that (Ds/Dl = 0,1), Compromise one (Ds/(Dl) = 1) or the aggressive one (Ds/(Dl) = 2). Accounts payable will be equal to 50% of current assets. It is necessary to consider the influence of each strategy on the cost of organization financing capital rate and on organization efficiency. In the first variant, one must assume that capital providers seriously consider while defining their claims to rates of return the liquid assets financing strategy chosen by the organization they tied in. Let us also assume that the correction factor CZ depends on Ds/Dl relation. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 138 CZ1 variant. We assume here that capital providers take into consideration the organization liquid assets financing strategy while defining their claims as regards the rates of return. Of course, aggressive strategy is perceived as more risky and therefore depending on investors risk exposition level, they tend to ascribe to the financed organization applying aggressive strategy an additional expected risk premium. To put it simply, let us assume that ascribing the additional risk premium for applied liquid assets financing strategy is reflected in the value of β coefficient. For each strategy, the β coefficient will be corrected by the corrective coefficient CZ corresponding to that specific strategy in relation to the situation Ds/Dl = 0. XYZ risk premium will amount to 9%×(1+CZ) in relation of fund capital to foreign long term capital and 12%×(1+CZ) in relation of fund capital to short term debt level. Risk free rate is 4%, rate of return on market portfolio is 18%. If our organization is a representative of A sector for which the non-leveraged risk coefficient βu = 0.77. On the basis of so called Hamada relation (Hamada 1972), we can estimate the fund capital cost rate that is financing that organization in case of each of the three strategies in the first variant. 19.1)66.081.01(77.0)1(11 =×+×=      ×−+×= E DTuββ (1) where: T – effective tax rate, here the assumption is taken that the NPO uses the tax-exempt debt and as a result there have about the same effective cost of debt as for profit organizations (Brigam 2000, 30-5,7,20), D – organization financing capital coming from creditors (Ds+Dl), E – organization financing capital coming from owners, β – risk coefficient, βu – risk coefficient linked with assets maintained by the organization (for an organization that has not applied the system of financing by creditors capital), βl – risk coefficient for an organization that applying the system of financing by creditors capital (both the financial and operational risks are included). For aggressive strategy (CZ = 0.2): ( ) 43.12.1)66.081.01(77.01)1(1 =××+×=+×      ×−+×= CZ E DTulAGR ββ (2) where: CZ – risk premium correction factor dependent on the net liquid assets financing strategy For compromise strategy (CZ = 0.1): (3) ( ) 31.11.1)66.081.01(77.01)1(1 =××+×=+×      ×−+×= CZ E DTulCMP ββ For conservative strategy (CZ = 0.01): (4) ( ) 2.101.1)66.081.01(77.01)1(1 =××+×=+×      ×−+×= CZ E DTulCNS ββ Thanks to that information, we can calculate cost of fund capital rates for every variant. (5) %24%4%1443.1)( =+×=+−×= RFRFMe kkkk AGR β ; %3.22%4%1431.1)( =+×=+−×= RFRFMe kkkk CMP β ; %8.20%4%142.1)( =+×=+−×= RFRFMe kkkk CNS β where: k – rate of return expected by capital donors and at the same time (from organization’s perspective) – organization cost of financing capital rate, ke – for capital coming from owners (cost of fund capital rate), kM – for average rate of return on typical investment on the market, kRF – for risk free rate of return whose approximation is an average profitability of Treasury bills in the country where the investment is made. Hence, since the risk premium for XYZ accounts for 9%×(1+CZ) in relation of fund capital to foreign long term capital, we can get long term debt cost rates: (6) %2.132.1%9%24 =×−= AGRld k ; %4.121.1%9%3.22 =×−= CMPld k ; %7.1101.1%9%8.20 =×−= CNSld k where: kdl – for long term debt rate, i.e. capital coming from long term creditors, And consequently for short term: (7) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 139 %6.92.1%12%24 =×−= AGRsd k ; %1.91.1%12%3.22 =×−= CMPsd k ; %7.801.1%12%8.20 =×−= CNSsd k where: kds – for short term debt, i.e. capital coming from short term creditors, However, for each strategy, this cost rate will be on another level. Cost of capital and changes in organization efficiency (or economic efficiency nonprofit organization) depending on the choice of strategy, give us results for cost of capital financing organization (CC): 14.8% for aggressive, 14.2% for compromise and 13.9% for conservative strategies. In result of such costs of capital levels, organization efficiency growth (∆V) is 5057 for aggressive, 5342 for compromise and 5494 for conservative strategies. Cost of organization financing capital rates are different for different approaches to liquid assets financing. The lowest cost of capital rate is observed in conservative strategy and the conservative strategy gives in CZ1 case the most effective organization efficiency growth. In the CZ2 variant, we will also assume that capital providers while defining their claims to rates of return take into consideration the organization liquid assets financing strategy to a lesser extent. Obviously, the aggressive strategy is perceived as more risky and therefore, depending on their risk exposition, they tend to ascribe an additional risk premium for an organization that implemented this type of strategy. For conservative strategy, XYZ risk premium is equal to 9%×(1+CZ) in relation of fund capital to long term debt and 12%×(1+CZ) in relation of fund capital to short term debt. Risk free rate of return is 4%, rate of return on market portfolio is 18%. Our NPO is a representative of a sector for which non-leveraged risk coefficient βu = 0.77. On the basis of Hamada relation, we may estimate the cost rate of fund capital financing this organization in case of each of the three strategies. We are given all necessary information to assess cost of organization financing capital rate for the organization applying the given type of liquid assets financing strategy. For each strategy the organization efficiency growth will be on another level. Cost of capital and changes in organization efficiency (or economic efficiency nonprofit organization) depending on the choice of strategy, give us results for cost of capital financing organization (CC): 13.15% for aggressive, 13.3% for compromise and 13.81% for conservative strategies. In result of such costs of capital levels, organization efficiency growth (∆V) is 5905 for aggressive, 5819 for compromise and 5541 for conservative strategies. Taking into consideration the risk premium resulting from implementation of a certain liquid assets financing strategy has an additional impact on the organization financing capital. Organization financing capital cost rates are different for different approaches to liquid assets financing. In this variant, the lowest level is observed in aggressive strategy. As a consequence, the highest organization efficiency growth is characteristic for aggressive type of strategy. In the third CZ3 variant, we also assume that capital providers to a lesser extent consider while defining their claims to rates of return the liquid assets financing strategy chosen by the organization they invested in. For conservative strategy, XYZ risk premium amounts to 9%×(1+CZ) in relation of fund capital to long term debt level and 12%×(1+CZ) in relation of fund capital to short term debt. Risk free rate is 4%, rate of return on market portfolio is 18%. Our NPO is a representative of sector W for which non-leveraged risk coefficient βu = 0.77. On the basis of Hamada relation we may estimate organization financing fund capital cost rate in case of each of the three strategies. We have all necessary information to assess the organization financing capital cost for the organization applying the given type of liquid assets financing strategy. Cost of capital and changes in organization efficiency (or economic efficiency nonprofit organization) depending on the choice of strategy, give us results for cost of capital financing organization (CC): 13.7% for aggressive, 13.6% for compromise and 13.8% for conservative strategies. In result of such costs of capital levels, organization efficiency growth (∆V) is 5591 for aggressive, 5653 for compromise and 5546 for conservative strategies. Here the best is compromise strategy. EMPIRICAL DATA Data collected about Polish NPO show their liquidity strategies for 2009 and 2010 years. If we compare it with for profit Polish organizations results, we can see that the average length of operating cycle and net operating cycle (cash cycle) is shorter than for average for profit organizations. Observation of NPO data can inform us about interesting customs of NPO managing teams. Generally, basing on the data collected from Opolskie area in Poland, for 2009 and 2010 years, also average operating cycle for such group of organizations vary differ, in 2009 was short Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 140 (about 5,89 days for 2009 data, with standard deviation = SD = 22,69 days) and in 2010 was shorter (about 3,59 days for 2010 data, with SD = 9,35 days). The data delivered from 80 selected nonprofits in Opolskie (Bopp 2011) suggests also that is no hard link between operating cycle and ROA and ROE results. Operating cycle policy must be first of all a slave of the best realization of the mission nonprofit organization. The economic results are important, but the second or even third in the queue of the aims. According to data received from 1000+ Polish NPOs, the average NPO investment in liquid assets is more aggressive than in for profit organizations. Average Polish NPO accounts receivable period for 2009-2010 data is about 23 days (5.8 days using winsorized mean and 5.8 days using truncated mean). Average Polish for profit accounts receivable period for 2009-2010 data is about 46 days (Dudycz 2011). Average Polish NPO inventory period for 2009-2010 data is about 4.7 days. Average Polish for profit inventory period for 2009-2010 data is about 39 days. The observation delivered from data of over 1000 selected nonprofits in Poland (Bopp 2011), suggests that here, in Polish NPO case we have situation typical for small risk sensitivity. Is it small risk exposition or rather smaller aversion of managing teams? Unfortunately, author believe that rather the second. That point will be the subject of next findings. CONCLUSIONS As was shown in our findings, depending on kind of realized mission, sensitivity on risk, NPOs should chose liquid assets investment level and resulting from that liquid assets financing. The kind of organization influence the best strategy choice. If an exposition on risk is greater, the higher level of inventories, accounts receivable and operating cash should be. If the exposition on that risk is smaller, the more aggressive will be the net liquid assets strategy and smaller level of inventories. The organization choosing between various solutions in liquid assets needs to decide what level of risk is acceptable for her owners and capital suppliers. That choice results with financing consequences, especially in cost level. It is a basis for considerations about relations between risk and expected benefits from the liquid assets decision and its results on financing costs for both nonprofit or for profit organizations. Decisions about liquid assets management strategy and choice between kind of taxed or non-taxed form inflow the risk of the organizations and its economical results during realization of main mission. Comparing the theoretical model with empirical data for 1000+ Polish nonprofit organization results, suggest that nonprofit organization managing teams choose higher risky aggressive liquid assets solutions than for-profit organizations. That observation suggest us that here, in Polish NPO case we have figure 6 situation with smallest risk exposition solution in managing team mind. But in fact probably there is not a smaller risk exposition but rather smaller aversion of managing teams. REFERENCES: Brigham E.F. (2006), Fiancial Management 11e, http://www.swlearning.com/finance/brigham/theory11e/web_chapters/bri59689_ch30_web (last visit: April 2011). Database of Polish NPO’s https://bopp.pozytek.gov.pl/, last visit 17.08.2011 Dudycz T., Rachunkowość (2011) http://rachunkowosc.com.pl/text/wskaz2009s Hamada, R.S. (1972) “The Effect of the Organization's Capital Structure on the Systematic Risk of Common Stocks,” The Journal of Finance, 27(2):435-452. Henderson J.W., T. P. Maness (1989), The financial analyst's deskbook: A Cash flow approach to liquidity, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 141 Kim C-P., D. C. Mauer, A. E. Sherman (1998), The Determinants of Corporate Liquidity: Theory and Evidence, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, vol. 33, nr 3, september. Michalski G. (2010), Planning Optimal from the Firm Value Creation Perspective. Levels of Operating Cash Investments, Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting , 13(1)/2010, ISSN: 1582-6163, Institute of Economic Forecasting, Bucharest, p. 198-214. Nowicki M., (2004), The Financial Management of Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations, Health Administration Press, New York 2004., p. 29 Washam J., D. Davis (1998), Evaluating Corporate Liquidity, TMA Journal, March / April, vol. 18, nr 2. Zietlow J., (2010), Nonprofit financial objectives and financial responses to a tough economy, Journal of Corporate Treasury Management, vol.3, nr 3., May 2010, Henry Steward Publications, ISSN1753-2574, p. 238-248. Zietlow J., J.A.Hankin, A.G.Seidner, (2007), Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations, Wiley, NewYork, 2007; ACKNOWLEDGMENT The research is financed from the Polish science budget resources in the years 2010-2012 as the research project NN113021139 BIOGRAPHY Grzegorz Michalski is Assistant Professor at Wroclaw University of Economics. His main area of research are Business Finance and Financial Liquidity Management. He can be reached at Wroclaw University of Economics, Komandorska Street 118/120, p.Z-2, KFPiZW, PL53-345 Wroclaw, Poland, +48503452860, Grzegorz.Michalski@ue.wroc.pl Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 142 THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF LIFO Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology Katherine Kinkela, New York Institute of Technology ABSTRACT The Last in First out Inventory Method, (LIFO) is under intense scrutiny from many various groups, which may result in its complete elimination in the near future. There are pressures from the SEC to standardize financial reporting standards in light of the ongoing worldwide financial and economic unrest, in conjunction with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), coupled with the political pressures imposed by the U.S. Obama Administration to raise additional tax revenues; both of whom strongly oppose LIFO, resulting in its possible elimination by as early as December 31, 2014. A critical review of LIFO is examined, and its shortcomings addressed, which include: The “tax loophole” aspects of LIFO, leading to faulty asset management decision making processes,Balance Sheet and Income Statement limitations and the imposition of political pressures. Assuming a complete repeal of LIFO , recommends a host of tax and managerial opportunities available to the taxpayer to help ease in this transition. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 143 FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN AFRICA: SECURING CHINESE’S INVESTMENT FOR A LASTING DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA Paulin Houanye, University of International Business and Economics Sibao Shen, University of International Business and Economics ABSTRACT At the end of the 20th century, when the investors were actively seeking for a favorable and secure place of their capital investment, the African continent has almost never appeared on their schedule. The most recent uncertainty experienced by financial markets as well as capital markets around the world and the increased demand of natural resources forced investors to focus on Africa. The most important investors turned permanently to the mainland unusually shortlisted. This situation, for over a decade, has put the whole of Africa, the developing countries as well as the industrialized ones, in an embarrassing position with a little high rate of foreign investment in the world. Regarding China's presence in Africa, it is not easier to discuss about African development without referring to the currently Chinese investment in Africa. In these past twenty years, its interest in Africa is growing significantly and arouses intense debates within the international community because it has a noble ambition to establish long term relationship with its African partners. This new state of affairs will inevitably generate a legal protection’s problem of the interests of each part. This article has examined the impact of the Chinese’s investment in African countries development regarding the foreign direct investment, how Chinese investors face challenges in Africa and what legal protection the host country provides to the investors to secure their profit and at the same time protect their own interest. JEL: K33 KEYWORDS: Foreign direct investment, foreign protection of international investment, developing countries and regional integration. INTRODUCTION Historical evidence shows that the African continent has never appeared on the program of foreign investors, when they were actively seeking a favorable and secure place of their capital investment. The fundamental reason was the legal and judicial insecurity that prevailed in Africa after the 1960’s. But, the most recent uncertainty experienced by financial markets as well as capital markets around the world and the increased demand of natural resources forced investors to focus on Africa. The most important investors turned permanently to the mainland unusual shortlisted. This situation, for over a decade, has put the whole of Africa, the developing countries as well as the industrialized ones, in an embarrassing position with a little high rate of foreign investment in the world. As it relates to China's presence in Africa, it is not easier to discuss about African development without referring to the currently Chinese investment in Africa. China has become the leading country on foreign direct investment in Africa. For the last two decades, its interest in Africa is growing significantly and arouses intense debates within the international community because its foreign direct investment has increased exponentially and also for its noble ambition to establish long term relationship with its African partners. But China is not a new player in Africa, since it has invested in few African countries before such as Sudan. But during that time, the investment was very low and it is not worrying about protection. This new state of affairs will inevitably generate a legal protection problem of the interests of each part because the foreign investment is Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 144 subjected to the law and administrative control of the host country and it therefore means that the guarantees afforded to the foreign investors must not jeopardize the States’ right to legitimate regulation. The purpose of this paper is to examine and explore the increasingly important economic impact of the Chinese’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in West African countries development as it relates to the foreign direct investment, how Chinese investors face challenges in Africa and what legal protection the host country can provide to its foreign investors to secure their profit and at the same time protect its own interest. China’s economic growth is leading China to increase its investment activities in Africa and makes it all the more relevant to African countries. It has become a “new” lender for African countries. This position is not determinate by the duration of its presence on the continent, but the exploding increase in amounts lent to African countries and by its importance as a lender outside the existing hegemony of development actors as Western donors. Then, there are needs to protect its investments to allow continuity for foreign direct investment. This paper will review the evolution of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Africa by identifying the model of Chinese partnership with Africa, the prospects for China’s role in developing Africa’s infrastructure within the context of China’s new trend investment engagement in Africa before analyzing the various obstacles and challenges faced by Chinese investors and finally the setup of laws and regulation of the investment policy in the regional integration organization to improve, increase and protect foreign investment as well as Chinese investment in the region. THE TRENDS OF CHINESE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN AFRICA The last two decades, China has been rapidly becoming an important source of outward foreign direct investment and the recent profound increase has made an important change in Chinese foreign investment policy as well as in the world economy and geopolitical competition. Historically, China has had a long economic and political relationship with African countries which as far back as 500 years old. The landmark Bonding Asia-Africa conference in 1955 is seen as the foundation stone of Sino-African modern relationship. Despite some important economic projects, the relationship orientation between 1955 and the mid 1990's was mainly political. But the important period of their relations started when Chinese Government policy was initially the main determinant of outward foreign direct investment. Since 1990, the forces unleashed by the China Open Door Policy of 1979 created a significant momentum in China’s interest in the mainland continent. Presently, the primary focus is economic growth. Most Chinese companies have been moved into African countries in the last 5 years. In the context of China’s growing role as an investor in Africa, concerns over China’s investment behavior are being raised and Chinese enterprises are under increasing pressure to be more responsible global players and such efforts have been encouraged by the Government. Our purpose is to establish the Chinese “model” is a harbinger of a new international economic regime or a continuation of old ideas with a more modern dimension. China’s presence in Africa: a new economic partner for Africa development Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populated continent after Asia. It comprises of 54 independent countries with many cultures, heterogeneous customs and languages; but it is also known to be the world’s poorest inhabited continent despite its natural resources. China’s interest in trade and investment with African-home to over 1 billion of the globe’s poorest people and the world’s most formidable development challenge presents a significant opportunity for growth and integration of the Sub-Saharan continent into the global economy. China is not a new player in African continent and its economic and political presence, also its impact has grown exponentially in the last few years. This Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 145 argues African countries to face a lot of new challenges for the China’s role on the continent. Like other parts of the world, Africa is really affected by the phenomenal growth of the Chinese economy. In the view of China aid strategy in Africa, the main motive for its partnership with African countries is to gain access to the abundant raw materials of Africa. This is the political foundation principle, which governs its establishment and development relations with African countries and regional organization. China’s contemporary policy for Africa is to focus on few factors that are important, such as its need for energy security driven by its domestic development strategy; new market and investment opportunity to establish export markets for its light manufacturing, services, agro-processing, apparel and communication offerings; diplomatic and development support for its “The one-china” principle; and forging partnership strategic. In its main co-operation driver’s way, “China will continue to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries in the international arena, conduct regular exchange of views, co- ordinate positions on major international and regional issues and stand for mutual support on major issues concerning state sovereignty, territorial integrity….” China is the world’s second important consumer of oil and energy, with its limited national resources, its dynamic economic growth fuels an ever-increasing need for energy and strategic minerals. Africa is the best place to get these resources. China is attracted to Africa’s relatively underexploited petroleum and other natural resources since 1993 when it changed its policy from a net exporter to a net importer of oil. Sudan is the first African country that receives firstly Chinese investment for the oil in 1994. Ten years later, China was consuming 5.46 million barrels a day (bbl/d), outstripping Japan’s 5.43m bbl/d but still some distance from the United States’s 19.7m bbl/d. On investigation reports show that Chinese interest in Africa is for the foray into the continent’s energy business. Another important reason of Chinese presence in Africa is economic interest, which aims to establish a new market and investment opportunities. Despite the small consumers market for African goods, the Africa trade relationship with China has had a significant impact on African economic growth and development. China has been able to find a market for low-value consumer goods brought in by Chinese-dominated import companies and sold through a growing informal network of trading posts across urban and rural Africa. “Chinese products are well suited to the African market. At the time, China is in a position to manufacture basic products at very low prices and of satisfactory quality.” The Chinese private companies are actively investing in Africa with flexible and diversified means to invest. The number of private enterprises investing in Africa accounts for more than 70 percent of the total number of foreign enterprises investing in Africa. In the last decade, there are officially 820 Chinese enterprises being established in Africa and the trade volume between Africa and China is more than 29 billion Euros. China is now the second commercial partner of Africa since 2005. Its growing population and energy demand is pushing it to forge joint-partnerships with several African states rich in natural resources where China invests capital and develops the country’s infrastructure in exchange for employment and favorable terms for extracting raw materials to China. Agricultural investment in Africa has been encouraged by the government. Chinese investors have also established, in the textile and agro-industries, joint ventures whose aim is to export goods to the West at concessional rates by using the special provisions of the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the European Union’s Continuo Agreement. During the radical revolution movement period which saw China’s youths lose a generation education for ten years, a slow economic production and trade, and virtually severed China's relations with the rest of the world. As a result China’s desire to be an economic power was set back significantly. This situation has made a critical change on the China’s foreign policies and led it to open the trade relations with the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 146 West. Since then, it started playing an active role in international organizations, and diplomatic relations were established with countries willing to recognize the People’s Republic as the government of China rather than the Nationalist government on Taiwan. On January 1st, 1979 China full diplomacy was recognized to the detriment of Taiwan. China’s insistence on recognition of its “the One-China” policy by African has forced it to provide deeply aid and investment to the mainland. Its economy had become the fastest growing economy in the world, in spite of not changing its communist political stance and it needed cheap resources that led it to Africa. Regarding how the relationship changed over time, what is the Chinese strategy to increase its investment in Africa? Chinese Investment Model in Africa Many factors have made China and Africa relationship to be distinct compared with the West relationship with Africa. China kept up an active menu of aid projects in more than forty-five African countries and its investment assistance to Africa in the form of building infrastructure boasts a long history. The Chinese model of investment in the continent brings in essence economic growth objectives and foreign policy together guiding trade and invest decision in Africa along with zero or near-zero percent interest financial and technical assistance. Chinese bid competitively for resource and construction projects using investment and infrastructure loans. Many Africans view Chinese investment in the continent as different from western investment. The neo-liberalism reform usually required by the World Bank under its “conditional provision” does not conduct Chinese investment model which aid by contrast comes without strings attached. China is having a profound impact on African economies by building a network of trade, aid and investment and some important infrastructures with close to fifty countries. Chinese investment in Africa is not only benefits to the Africans, but also to the Europeans and the Americans. China investment model by financing development projects in Africa as direct investment has very little interest for the western. In order to grow, African economies need some important infrastructures as well as Chinese investment, which helps these African countries to build roads, railways, hospitals and schools. In Africa, China is playing an important role by financing and providing much expertise development needed by the continent. The main trends of Chinese investment in Africa are: - Chinese FDI structure which is based on the noble intention to establish long term relationships with African government is very different of Western countries model which is to involve private investors and does not undertake a long-term presence in the continent. - Chinese investment encourages the development of infrastructure in Africa. - Improved infrastructure facilitates the access for the African products to regional and international markets. African’s exports to China are increasing; while the trade between the other major continent markets and Africa is stagnated or regressed. - Actually African’s imports from China are more diversified than its exports. There are three main types of products imported: machinery and transport equipment; manufactured goods and handicrafts products for improving local consumption and then contributed to the emergence of a consumer society in Africa. - The creation of special economic zones exploited by the Chinese in African countries since 2006 should focus on value-added manufacturing by building the capacity of many African countries. But Africa still has challenges in its relations with China because the Chinese’s trade does not seem to be directed towards an African, but it is consistent with China's policy as well as to reduce the country’s strain energy and the open markets opportunity for its light manufactured goods. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 147 New trend of Chinese investment in Africa Africa provides China is a good opportunity to secure a sustainable access to raw materials, which are necessary for its growth. Africa is now a "laboratory" for Chinese manufactured goods. The breakthrough of the Chinese presence in Africa following four phases: firstly the oil, then minerals and construction, and finally exports with private operators, which is not necessarily related to the state apparatus. The fourth and last aspect constitutes the focal point of the trend of the new Chinese investment model in Africa. Recent developments of the Chinese presence on the continent focused on investments in the private sector and SMEs. With the Chinese government encouragement policy "Going out", many private companies have turned to Africa in recent years. In terms of number of projects, the vast majorities are not in natural resources areas. These investments provide favor to the business model and distribution that promotes not only an easier access of foreign companies, but also to promote and support the local economy development. Actually, the majority of Chinese enterprises in Africa are private companies. There are five factors leading them to invest and operate in Africa: the first one concerns the access to local market; the second one is the intense competition in domestic markets; the third is the transfer abroad of excessive domestic production capability; the fourth is the entry into new foreign markets via exports from host and the fifth one is its ambition for taking advantage of African regional or international trade agreements. The Chinese enterprises are feebler to the risk than their Western counterparts. They are not subject to the same social and environmental safeguards. Most Africans are welcoming Chinese investment and products. The history of traditional Western aid and investment in Africa is one of a nagging "I correct you because I want what's best for you" parental-like stronghold over the continent. Tired of "the politically motivated, finger-wagging approach of western governments," Africans have welcomed China’s emphasis on pure business. Some of the key areas of Chinese investment, which align with improving the efficiency of resource extraction, are telecommunications, energy and physical infrastructure. These areas have traditionally been ignored by donors in Africa, who have instead favored social development programs such as education and health. Chinese companies are using some countries for its re-exports, particularly in the textile industries. Reasons for investing in Africa As we mentioned above, the primary evidence of the Chinese private investment in Africa resulted of the both domestic and global factors. Since 1990, China had started an economic restructuring with recognizing the need to upgrade its manufacturing capacity for increasing its international competitiveness. The success of this economic restructuring policy led many new entrants into the market. But the inability to find sufficient domestic consumption had created excess production capacity and led many firms to look to establish operations overseas in new less challenging markets. On the order hand because both China and Africa are developing countries, Chinese private companies feel comfortable in investing in Africa and the commercial opportunities in Africa are so profound. Also, the introduction by the US government in the late 1990s of preferential textile quotas for Africa encouraged some Chinese firms to establish operations in African countries to exploit this opportunity. INVESTMENT RISK IN AFRICA Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss. A common definition for investment risk is deviation from an expected outcome. The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists. Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks". Almost any Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 148 human endeavor carries some risk, but some are much more risky than others. People invest money to earn a return on their money, but often they receive less than expected—indeed, sometimes the return can be negative, when the investor receives less than the initial investment. With some investments, the entire investment can be lost. Investment risk is the chance that you will receive less than expected return from an investment, and differs according the type of investment. There are many types of risk that are caused by different factors, or which affect different investments to varying extents. Some factors affect most investments and are called systematic risks. Other risks, such as sector risks affect only a particular sector of the economy. Some risks are specific to a business or asset, and are called nonsystematic risks, or diversifiable risks, because such risks can be lowered by diversified investments. In general, the more active the investment strategy, the more an investor will need to pay for exposure to that strategy. When investors are looking for a good profit, they also think about the potential risk associated to their investment in the host country. It is well known that investors make decisions based on a function that includes the rate of return and the risk of any investment choice: the higher the risk, the higher the required rate of return. Each investment carries its own particular risk-return ratios. However, in Africa, a number of environmental factors, external to the individual investment, tend to raise the risk, and thus, for any given rate of return, reduce the rate of investment. The African continent is considered as a high risk place for investment and there is a few reasons supporting this statement according to our understanding: Political instability Most African region is politically unstable because of the high incidence of wars, frequent military interventions in politics, and religious and ethnic conflicts. Except Ethiopia, Liberia and South Africa, the other African countries came to political independence later and more rapidly than those of other developing regions. The historical politic evolution of sub-Saharan Africa countries proved that in 1966 the average independent state in Africa had held sovereignty for 10 years less; its counterparts in the rest of the developing world had been independent for the better part of a century. Colonial structures of political control were both arbitrary and effective because of the boundaries cutting across historical patterns of politics and trade raison. This has contributed greatly to the various regional conflicts on the continent between neighboring nations, wars often tribal, ethnic, etc. There is some evidence that the probability of war is very high in the region. Recently, Rogoff and Reinhart (2003) had computed regional susceptibility to war indices for the period 1960-2001 when they found that wars are more likely to occur in Africa than in other regions. Their study also pointed out that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between FDI and conflicts in Africa. Benno Ndulu, Lopamudra Chakraborti, Lebohang Lijane, Vijaya Ramachandran, and Jerome Wolgin (2007) also argued that in the last two decades or so, Africa has experienced a debilitating descent of states into persistent internal conflict that has become an all-too-familiar phenomenon across the region. In fact, conflicts are now arguable the single most important determinant of poverty in Africa. Conflicts affect the economy through reduced investment in both physical and human capital, as well as through the destruction of existing assets, including institutional capacity, and these are reflected in reduced economic growth. The incidence and severity of conflicts in Africa have had a robust, negative effect on the growth rate of income. The evidence showed that the countries that experienced civil wars had an average income 50 percent lower than that of countries that experienced no civil war and sometimes, the indirect cost of the war could be very higher than the direct cost because conflicts have always caused serious reversals in Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 149 health and other human development aspects. As we see, political stability is one of the most important determinants of FDI in Africa. Macroeconomic instability Despite the fact that the macroeconomic stability has been achieved in most African countries now (low inflation, low public deficits), the investment environment is still uncertain because of investing in Africa is still riskier than doing so elsewhere. Instability in macroeconomic variables as evidenced by the high incidence of currency crashes, double digit inflation, and excessive budget deficits, has also limited the regions ability to attract foreign investment. More riskier in business, therefore more profitable. There is no doubt that firm investments are very low in Africa, pointing to other forms of uncertainties (political, regulatory, contractual, infrastructure). Investment and growth are higher in more stable countries in Africa and more recently evidence based on African data suggests that countries with high inflation tend to attract less FDI. Lack of policy transparency In most sub-Saharan African countries, it is not very easy to accurately identify the specific aspects of government policy because of the political regime changes in several countries, also regional policy changes and lack of transparency in macroeconomic policy. The consequence of the lack of transparency in economic policy in a country is the increases in transaction costs due to strict regulation while reducing the incentives for foreign investment. In Africa, the situation is one of concern and needs to be contained. The Chinese lending is generally suitable for Africa and often help to financing infrastructure and other projects which are the main needs of African countries. Unfortunately, we see that the Chinese lending is more willing to countries that have large debts outstanding or only in the resources rich countries. This increases the risk to debt sustainability of poor countries and lack of transparency in the process of negotiating loans with China. The loan agreements between China and African countries are not open to the public as well. This leaves a lot of power in the hands of a few African leaders and taints the process of transparency “effort already sick’’. The lack of transparency makes the conditions and the assessment of the debts very difficult. It also increases the risk that funds will not be used as intended and might be cases of illegitimate debt in the future. The lack of a favorable investment climate also contributed to the low FDI trend observed in the region as inhospitable regulatory environment. In the past, domestic investment policies were not conducive to the attraction of FDI. But since 1980, extensive efforts have been directed at generating economic recovery in West Africa. Much attention has been given to the need to promote investment because investment is essential in all West Africa country to promote the regional integration. Information imperfections If investment projects with high social returns exist in Africa, securing financing for them requires overcoming informational frictions. We trust that investment projects with high social returns exist in Africa and socially productive investment opportunities also exist on the continent, but it is not sufficient, the securing financing for them requires overcoming informational frictions. It is also necessary that potential external creditors be aware of such opportunities. Frictions are the most important variables explaining the geographic distribution of cross-border equity flows. The information-related variables explain a large share of the variance in the allocation of cross-border equity flows, with countries from which information flows freely receiving larger flows than those that are relatively more opaque. Informational frictions play also a prominent role in the literature on home bias in the allocation of Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 150 financial portfolios, as well as in the analysis of herding and contagion in international capital markets. Information costs have also been cited to help explain why investors holding highly diversified international portfolios tend to react aggressively to “news” in the form of market rumors. At least, informational frictions may help to explain why international lending by banks tends to have a regional bias. The information costs may represent an independent obstacle to investment in Africa. Informational frictions may be particularly severe in the case of Africa because of distance, isolation and poverty. The effects of distance and isolation are self-evident. High protectionism The low integration of Africa into the global economy as well as the high degree of barriers to trade and foreign investment has also been identified as a constraint to boosting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the region. The relationship between openness and FDI flows to Africa must be very positive and suitable to the continent. There are also other factors that increase the low FDI flows to the region like the high dependence on commodities, the intensification of competition due to globalization which has made an already bad situation worse in Africa because globalization has led to an increase in competition for FDI among developing countries. The Weak law enforcement stemming from corruption and the lack of a credible mechanism for the protection of property rights are possible deterrents to FDI in the region. Foreign investors always prefer to make investments in countries with an effective legal and judicial system to guarantee the security of their investments. Investors can choose globally where to put their money and countries shouldn't make it too difficult for foreign investors if they want to get a benefice from that money. Sometimes, the African governments stifle investment by their regulatory policy whereas companies can only invest in big projects in countries where there is certainty and security for their profits and operations. Table 1: African governments stifle investment How much it costs to build a company Some selected West African countries Number of procedures Time requested (days) % of cost’s income % of the minimum capital for income Benin 9 63 189.2 377.6 Burkina Faso 15 136 325.2 652.2 Cote d’Ivoire 10 77 143.1 235.2 Mauritania 11 73 109.7 896.7 Niger 11 27 446.6 844 Senegal 9 58 123.6 296.1 Some selected Asian countries Korean, Rep. 12 33 17.9 402.5 Malaysia 8 31 27.1 0 Singapour 7 8 1.2 0 Thailand 9 42 7.3 0 Source: http://rru.worldbank.org/DoingBusiness/default.asp. The table above shows the selected West Africa countries with some challenges that foreign companies may have to face for investment or start business in these selected countries. Africa represents incredible potential. While capital flows have occurred quite successfully elsewhere, most notably in Asia, Africa has been left behind. Despite Africa’s enormous potential, low cost labor, and vast natural resources, investors, quite frankly, remain reserved. They are afraid of putting their money in a place which is often perceived as a continent affected by war, famine, AIDS, and corruption. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 151 Although specific financial mechanisms are necessary, they cannot address all the risks that confront businesses in Africa. Like everyone, Chinese investors also are facing all these challenges in Africa. Since then Sino-African trade has continued to grow at an exponential rate, with China displacing the UK as Africa’s third largest trading partner behind the US and France. China accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Africa’s total exports and more than half of Africa’s exports to Asia. Across the continent the Chinese are multiplying investments in infrastructure, telecommunications and agro-businesses. The uncertainty of the business environment in Africa and the fact that all or part of the investment costs are "sunk", the Chinese investor may also like all traditional investors adopt an attitude of "wait and see attitude’’. To avoid this situation at a time when the African continent need to raise the level of development, African countries need to innovate in the field of legislation and regulation of investment policies in order to make the business environment conducive. LEGAL PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT IN WEST AFRICA The provision of a legal protection to improve Chinese investment in West Africa must be a new challenge for this economics West Africa region (ECOWAS). China has pledged continuing development assistance and government-backed FDI to African countries. It pledged to double its investment in Africa by 2009 and to give Africa US$2 billion in preferential buyers' credits over the next three years. Chinese investment in Africa has focused on two main areas: infrastructure and human development. Chinese aid provides funding for highly visible and, to many minds, important infrastructure projects, which Western donors have long since stopped financing. ECOWAS Investment policy Framework Investment policy framework is a tool, providing a checklist of issues in policy domains for consideration by any national/regional government interested in creating an environment that is attractive to all investors and in enhancing the development benefits of investment to society. Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional integration organization which was founded in order to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trading bloc through an economic and trading union. It also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region. The ECOWAS consists of two institutions to implement policies, the ECOWAS Secretariat and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001. The region is a vast area of 5.1 million square kilometers with an estimated population of 300 million; its huge unharnessed water resources, arable land and large market make it an attractive place for investors. So it is a good place for Chinese investments and it has to provide a security panel for these investments. The Foreign Direct Investment’s issue has emerged in Africa as one of the flashpoints of the negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements context with European Union. There are a number of actions that ECOWAS countries might take at the international level to help attract greater flows of Foreign Direct Investment. These are solely focused on getting investment to come, and have little to do with assuring the quality of the investment, or helping ensure that it fosters sustainable development in countries. These options involve signing some sort of international treaty committing to certain types of treatment for investors. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 152 Investment policy framework gives a list of questions under each theme to encourage policy makers to ask appropriate questions about their economy, their institutions and their policy settings and to help governments determine whether their policies are likely to encourage or discourage investment. In the last two decades, the Member States of the community have become more determined to address the problem of low investment inflows into the region. The Economic Community of West African States has become more accommodating toward foreign direct investment as evidenced inter alia by changes in the regulatory regimes of most of the countries towards overseas investors and their investments. As mentioned above, foreign investment is governed primarily by national law of the host state and this economic integration community is expected to provide a single economic space in which business and labor operate in order to stimulate great productive efficiency, higher levels of domestic and foreign investment, increased employment and growth of intra-regional trade and extra-regional exports. Recently, most countries in West Africa, in appreciation of the impact of the regional investment climate on national fortunes, have begun to adopt policies that improve their investment climate. The quality of investment policies directly influences the decisions of domestic and foreign investors. Transparency, property protection and non-discrimination are investment policy principles that underpin efforts to create a sound investment environment for all. Investment policy principles under ECOWAS The West Africa regional Community has adopted some important elements of a more coherent and comprehensive investment policy framework including the followings:  Reviews of its policies and rules affecting investment and private sector development with a view to improving the investment climate in their individual countries;  Greater adherence to relevant rules and instruments on Corporate Governance;  Reviews of costs and benefits of investment incentives and exchange views and experience on their use and economic impact;  Intensified actions to remove obstacles to business development, in particular regulations and administrative practices that obstruct or delay investment;  Greater emphasis on partnership in building human capacities and skills necessary for acquiring and spreading the benefits of investment in the region;  Efforts and initiatives to develop a framework for the competitive functioning of their markets which would include effective competition laws and the reform of economic regulations;  Initiatives to strengthen the capacities of investment promotion agencies to disseminate information and to provide services to investors and encourage co-operation among these agencies at regional and international levels;  Programs and projects to support small and medium sized enterprises and encourage their co- operation in regional projects; and  Consultations between business groups, private sector associations, social partners and civil society organizations to explore the development of investment opportunities and to provide input to the decision making process on investment policies, laws and regulations. The investment policy must set of laws and regulation to focus on issues as property and contractual rights, including intellectual property rights; the equal treatment of both foreign and national firms; removing the administrative obstacles to investment and Cost-benefit assessment of investment incentives. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 153 Investment security in West Africa For many observers, the capacity of African countries to attract foreign direct investment is principally determined by their natural resources and the size of their local markets. The apparent lack of interest of foreign multinationals in African countries that have attempted to implement policy reforms has contributed to support this argument. The continent has been much less favored than Asia and Latin America over the past decade in attracting FDI. It has been argued that the reforms in many African countries have been incomplete and thus have not fully convinced foreign investors to develop activities that are not dependent on natural resources and aimed at regional and global markets. It takes time for a country to modify its image, especially when the State has a long tradition of policy intervention, and when the reforms have been mostly symbolic with the adoption of new texts. As market size and access to natural resources are crucial determinants in the foreign multinational decision processes, so is the investment security important. The successful European integration model has considerable attraction and impact as an example for many other regional agreements like ECOWAS. EU is assisting ECOWAS in its harmonization of its various national investment policies into a regional one. Some established arrangements in ECOWAS region have already provided legal and regulatory framework for investments within the Community to operate, in order to access economies of scale in preparation to compete at multilateral level. To secure the Chinese investments in West Africa, it is now necessary to harmonize national laws of ECOWAS member States with a regional focus which will permit to abolish the uncertain and irrelevant provisions to promote transparency, and improve competitiveness of the regional economy. With the putting in place of the regional investment code, locational choices of ECOWAS firms are now wider within an integrated regional market and investments of firms originating from non-ECOWAS member countries are now equally attracted to serve and exploit the consequent economies of scale and scope in the community. The codification of the regional investment policies is equally expected to mobilize investment as a driving force for economic growth and development of ECOWAS Community. ECOWAS Investment Code seeks to provide the framework for designation of the region as a single investment location and is expected to enhance the regional investment climate. CONCLUSION It was discovered that West African countries have become more accommodating towards FDI over the last two decades, as evidenced inter alia by changes in the countries regulatory regimes. This changing stance towards FDI has also given rise to proliferation of investment promotion agencies, special economic zones and other targeted mechanisms by which ECOWAS countries aspire to attract foreign investors. It seems important and crucial firstly for the West African region to protect its domestic and foreign investments as well as Chinese. Good laws are a very essential promotional tool and provide confidence to Investors and Government. Good laws clarify the role and responsibilities of private investors and Government, bind them to their respective rights and obligations, reduce the scope for discretionary decision-making, ensure transparency in administrative processes and certainty for investors, provide a basis for dispute resolution. Investment promotion is absolutely necessary but incentives should not distort regional competition for investors. ECOWAS shall create regional structures for implementing Community Investment Rules in promotion and facilitation of investments. The harmonization of the investment policies in the region into a single code is to simplify the investment regulatory regime. The prospects for attracting and sustaining enhanced investment can be significantly improved when commitment to ECOWAS regional integration and the harmonization of investment policies based on a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 154 high level commitment to the key principles and best practices for successful investment policies prevail. So such simplification involves not only a business process but also cultural change in how ECOWAS nation states view those whom they regulate, and how those who are being regulated perceive the value and effectiveness of the regulatory processes. In conclusion, our main question here will be to know if Chinese presence in Africa provides an advantage for the development of the regional organization or if the relationship between China and Africa is suitable for the regional organization or for some selected countries? REFERENCES Dr Jing, GU (2009) “China’s Private Enterprises in Africa and the Implications for African Development”, Institute of Development Studies, European Journal of Development Research Special Issue, Vol. 24, No. 1, (Forthcoming) Onyeiwu, S. & Shrestha, H. (2004) “Determinants of foreign direct investment in Africa”, Journal of Developing Societies 20, p. 89-106 Basu, A. & Srinivasan, K. (2002) “Foreign direct investment in Africa: some case studies”, International Monetary Fund Working Paper, WP/02/61, March Shola, O. (2007) “Sino-Africa Trade Relations”, Journal of the Washington Institut of China Studies, Spring, Vol.2, No 1, p. 98-105 Grace, Augustine (2008) “Chinese Activity in Africa”, Part 2: The Path of Least Resistance, August Cai, C. (2006) “Outward Foreign Direct Investment Protection and the effectiveness of Chinese BIT Practice”, Journal of World Investment and Trade 7(5): 621-652 Benno, N. Lopamudra, C.; Lebohang L.; Vijaya R.; & Jerome W. (2007), “Challenges of African Growth Opportunities, Constraints and Strategic Directions”, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Working Paper, p.3-9 Collier, P. & Patillo C. (2000) “Investment and Risk in Africa St Martin and Mc Millan”. Journal of International Trade and Economic Development 8 (1) pp. 53-71; Akinlo, A. E. (2003), “Foreign direct investment and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa”, International Review of Economics and Business 50, p. 569-80 Konings, P. (2007) ‘‘China and Africa: Building a strategic partnership’’, Journal of Developing Societies, 23(3) p. 341-367 Erica Downs (2004), “The Chinese Energy Security Debate”, China Quarterly, no.177, March, pp. 21–41 Rogoff, K. & Reinhart, C. (2003), “FDI to Africa: the role of price stability and currency instability”. International Monetary Fund, Working Paper 03/10 He, “China- Africa Relations Moving into an Era of Rapid Development”, Inside, pp. 6 Zafar, A. (2007), “The growing relationship between China and Sub-Saharan Africa: macroeconomic, trade, investment, and aid links”. The World Bank Research Observer, Vol 22, Issue1, p.103-130, Abraham, T. (2005), “Reviving an old dream of Afro-Asian cooperation”. YaleGlobal. Aryeetey, E. & Udry, C. (2000), “Saving in Sub-Saharan Africa”, Harvard Center for International Development Working Paper No. 38. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 155 Lucy C. & Christopher B. (2006), “China’s Interest in Africa’s Construction and Infrastructure Sectors”, South Africa: DFID/ Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University, Available at: http://www.ccs.org.za/downloads/DFID%203rd%20Edition , accessed September 30, 2011 Bigsten, & al. (1999b), “Exports of African Manufactures: Macro Policy and Firm Behaviour”, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development 8 (1) pp. 53-71 Joshua E. & Joshua R., (2003) “China must Play by the Rule in Oil-rich Sudan”, Alexander’s Gas and Oil Connections, vol. 8, no. 6, 21 August, p. 1. Yao, G-M. (2008), “Africa: A promising land for Chinese Enterprises to Invest”, Africa Investment 1 (3):17 J.A. AREMU, “The Process of ECOWAS Investment Policies Harmonization”, ECOWAS Common Investment Market, Private Sector Development, P.2 Portes, Richard, Helene R., & Yonghyup Oh (2001), “Information and Capital Flows: the Determinants of Transactions in Financial Assets,” European Economic Review, Vol.46, pp. 783-796 Mohan and Kale, (2007) “The invisible hand of South-South globalisation: Chinese migrants in Africa”, The Development Policy and Practice Department, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK, Page 7 Pierre-Antoine B., “Afrique, nouvel horizon chinois”, dans Le Monde du 10-12-2006, p.16 Nathalie F., “Les Chinois à la conquête de l'Afrique” » dans Le Nouvel Observateur, web, semaine du jeudi 11 mai 2006 - n°2166 Calvo, Sara and Carmen M. Reinhart (1996), " Capital Flows to Latin America: Is There Evidence of Contagion Effects?", in Guillermo Calvo, Morris Goldstein and Eduard Hochreiter (eds.), Private Capital Flows to Emerging Markets After the Mexican Crisis, Washington: Institute for International Economics, pp. 15 1- 17 1. Adeyemi, Segun (2003). "West African Leaders Agree on Deployment to Liberia". Jane's Defence Weekly, 6 August Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook 2009 (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/) Drafting of an Investment Policy Framework and Community Investment Code for the ECOWAS region Feasibility Investment Policy Framework, P. 3 BIOGRAPHY Paulin Houanye is a Phd Candidate, Researcher in International Investment Law at the University of International of Business and Economics since 2008. He can be reached at UIBE; Building 6 Room 547, No10 Huixin DongJie, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, China; houanye@yahoo.fr Mr. Shen Sibao is the Dean，Professor of Law and Academic Advisor for the doctorate of law program at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) Law School. Member of the Group of Law of the Degree Commission under the State Council in China and the Chairman of China International Economic Law Studies Association and the Special Advisor to the Supreme Court in China. Since early 1990's, Mr. Shen Sibao has been the senior Arbitrator of the China International Economic & Trade Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 156 Arbitration Commission and served as Vice-Chairman from 1996 to 2004. He can be reached at UIBE, 17th Floor, Building C, Grand Place, Huizhong Rd, Beijing, 100029, China, shens@yahoo.cn. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 157 INTEREST RATE RISK: SEVERAL STATISTICAL ANALYSES Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology K. Kallianotis, New York Institute of Technology K. Kasibhatla, New York Institute of Technology Scott Liu, New York Institute of Technology J. Malindretos, New York Institute of Technology Steven Shapiro, New York Institute of Technology ABSTRACT We introduce a macroeconomic system which we use for interest rate determination. Then we generate the interest rate risk premium. Considering this risk premium function, we investigate, test, and determine the macro-variables which affect the interest rate risk premia by using a GARCH (p,q)and an ARC?H-M model. The empirical results examine ten different interest rate risk premia and fifteen factors. Factors with significant effects on risk premia are, the real risk-free rate of interest, the inflation rate, the unemployment rate, the growth of GDP and industrial production, the growth of national debt and current account deficit, the money supply growth, the yield differentials on S-T and L-T securities and other variables. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 158 CASE STUDY ON INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Leslie. Bobb, New York Institute of Technology James Dunne, New York Institute of Technology Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology ABSTRACT We will prepare a case study of a real scenario high end restaurant (chain) which sells fish and liquor.Actual financial statements of the company will be the basis for evaluation. The case will center around effective inventory management for this high cost inventory-fish and wine. We will present the pros an cons of inventory buildup from different perspectives including ;the taxation and accounting inventory choices which will address including an analysis of the tax advantages of LIFO and LIFO buildup(LIFO Reserve), the cost of carrying inventory ,the investment return on this investment as well as stock out costs. Models such as the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) and Just In Time (JIT) will be considered in this evaluation. This case study which will be interdisciplinary in nature can be used in a hospitality course capstone at the graduate or undergraduate level as well as a quantitative analysis , operations management and a taxation class. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 159 COMPARING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD Denis Wendt, University of Goettingen, Germany ABSTRACT This study compares two basic types of financial systems in a global framework. It especially focused on the question if countries with an important stance of the capital markets set different incentives for international investors than a system where banks are the leading part in financing projects. It could be assumed that in countries where the capital markets are huge and liquid the investor protection is better too and therefore create an incentive for foreign long- and short-term investors to place a corresponding investment. Moreover the type of the financial system should have an impact on the international trade of goods, particularly if you treat the financial system and in connection with that the capital access as a component of the production function of an economy. Because of an expected dissimilar access to capital and different rates of innovation, the integration in the global trade could be different between economies with a significance of stock and venture capital markets and those with major banking systems. The same may be true with respect to the volatility of the business cycle, due to different degrees of specialization and a more or less probability of banking crises. Furthermore the study analyses the globalization of banks and shed light into that research area. Former studies show that profitable banks are doing direct investments abroad. Structural aspects like the size of the capital market and the market concentration could determine the profitability of banks and hence their engagement in the world. Last but not least this research work also has a look on the deposit holding and the life insurance penetration, which should differ in general owing to differences in asset holding and the social security net and the price of life insurance products in particular. Altogether the study detects several varieties in the above mentioned variables and shows that the type of financial system is important for them. JEL: E32; F40; G15; G21; G22 KEYWORDS: Business Cycle, Financial System, Globalization, Life Insurance. BIOGRAPHY Denis Wendt is a research associate at the Chair of International and Monetary Economics at the University of Goettingen, Germany. His special research interests are money and currency political implications of the globalization, financial structure analyses and international financial markets. Tel: +49 551 39 7294; fax + 49 551 39 22054; e-mail: Denis.Wendt@wiwi.uni-goettingen.de Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 160 IS THE IRS A SORE LOSER? Laura Lee Mannino, St. John’s University ABSTRACT Like all administrative agencies, the Internal Revenue Service is given a fair amount of authority to enforce the laws enacted by Congress. Taxpayers often question the amount of authority granted to the IRS, and whether such authority is abused. In some situations this questioning of authority leads to litigation, resulting in both wins and losses for the IRS. From time to time, the IRS will respond to losses by creating a new rule or amending an existing one. Recent examples in the judicial system highlight the issue of administrative authority, and beg the question: Is the IRS a sore loser? INTRODUCTION Congress delegates certain authority to the Treasury Department through the Internal Revenue Code (Code). For example, Congress states that “the administration and enforcement of [the Code] shall be performed by or under the supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury.” In addition, “the Secretary shall prescribe all needful rules and regulations for the enforcement” of the Code. It is pursuant to these grants of power from Congress that the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issue regulations. Taxpayers have questioned the IRS’s powers in a series of recent cases, and the IRS has responded by exercising even more authority. RECENT CASES FICA and Medical Residents In recent years the IRS has been battling with hospitals over whether stipends paid to medical residents are subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes. A “student” that works for a “school, college, or university” is exempt from FICA under an exception in the Code, and many hospitals have claimed that their residents are students and are therefore eligible for the exemption. The argument rests on the fact that the purpose of a residency program is to train new doctors and provide them with the experience necessary to obtain their licenses to practice medicine. Regulations previously in effect expanded on the statutory language. The prior regulation stated that the determination of whether an employee was a student would be based on “the relationship of [the] employee with the organization for which services are performed.” Further, an individual who performed services “in the employ of a school, college, or university, as an incident to and for the purpose of pursuing a course of study at such school, college, or university” would be considered a student. In addition, the prior regulation held that the term “school, college, or university” should be “taken in its commonly or generally accepted sense.” Mayo Foundation is a not-for-profit organization having medical education and scientific research as its charitable purposes. Under the umbrella of Mayo Foundation is the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine which operates roughly 150 residency programs. Approximately 1,000 residents participate in the programs at any given time, with a typical residency lasting from three to seven years. Residents are required to attend lectures, read, and take examinations, however the bulk of their learning is clinical in nature and occurs from doing rounds with attending physicians. Residents spend anywhere from fifty to Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 161 eighty hours each week doing rounds. They are not hired or fired, but rather must apply and be admitted into the program. Further, there is no expectation of continued employment after the residency program is completed. Residents do not pay tuition but instead receive a stipend, which for the years at issue ranged from $40,000 to $60,000. The taxation of these stipends was the issue in Mayo Foundation v. U.S. Both Mayo Foundation and the IRS agreed that the stipends were subject to income tax. However, they disagreed as to whether the stipends were subject to FICA. Mayo Foundation believed that the residents were within the student exception and the stipends were not subject to FICA. Mayo Foundation argued that it was a “school, college, or university” and that its residents were “students,” as those terms are used in the Code and interpreted by Treasury Regulations then in effect. Since the regulations provided that the term “school, college, or university” should be taken in its generally accepted sense, Mayo Foundation provided dictionary definitions to show that it easily fell within the terms. It also provided credible testimony from residents that the only reason they enrolled in the residency program was to learn. The government argued, on the other hand, that a “primary purpose” test should be applied in order to determine whether an organization is a school, college or university. Since Mayo Foundation’s primary purpose was patient care, argued the government, it should not be treated as a school, college or university. With regard to whether residents could be considered students, the government argued in the negative because the services performed by the residents were not “incident to learning” as the regulation required. The government argued that the opposite was true; because the residents worked between fifty and eighty hours per week, the learning was incident to the services, and therefore the statutory exception was not satisfied. The Federal District Court for the District of Minnesota held for the taxpayer. Mayo Foundation was considered by the court to be a school, college or university and the residents were considered to be students. Therefore, the stipends paid to them were not subject to FICA. In its opinion, the court specifically rejected the arguments put forth by the government. First, the district court pointed out that a “primary purpose” test shouldn’t be read into the regulation because it did not in fact contain such requirement. The court further note that even if a “primary purpose” test applied, the taxpayer would satisfy the test because the taxpayer is a non-profit institution having medical education and scientific research as its charitable purposes. With regard to the government’s argument as to why residents could not be considered student, the district court stated that “[t]ime alone cannot be the sole measure of the relationship between services performed and a course of study.” Within a few months of its loss in Mayo Foundation, the IRS issued amended regulations. Pursuant to the amended regulation, an organization is a school, college, or university as that term is used in the Code “if its primary function is the presentation of formal instruction, it normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum, and it normally has a regularly enrolled body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on.” The amended regulation also changes the definition of student. Although the regulation still states that an employee shall be treated as a student if the services provided are incident to and for the purpose of pursing a course of study, it now says that the educational aspect of the relationship between the employer and employee must be “predominant.” The regulation expands on this predominance factor, stating that “[t]he evaluation of the service aspect of the relationship is not affected by the fact that the services performed by the employee may have an educational, instructional, or training aspect. Further, the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 162 regulation states that a full-time employee – defined as someone who regularly works forty hours or more per week – cannot be considered a student because the services of a full-time employee are not incident to education. It is interesting to note that the IRS’s new interpretations of the terms “school, college, and university” and “student” were those specifically rejected by the Federal district court in Mayo Foundation. Statute of Limitations The IRS is currently litigating an issue relating to the statute of limitations for audits. Generally, the IRS has three years from the filing of a Federal income tax return to assess an additional tax. However, the Code provides that the statute of limitations is extended to six years when a taxpayer “omits from gross income an amount properly includible therein which is in excess of 25 percent of the amount of gross income stated in the return.” If a taxpayer improperly overstates the tax basis of an asset, the result is an understatement of income from the sale of the asset. The issue in these cases is whether the understatement of income that results from an overstatement of basis is considered an omission of income, thereby triggering the six-year statute of limitations. The U.S. Supreme Court addressed this issue in 1958 in Colony v. Commissioner. Colony involved a corporation in the real estate business which overstated the basis of land it sold. The result was an understatement of gross income that was more than twenty-five percent of the gross income shown on the return. The IRS argued that the extended statute of limitations applied, and the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed. However, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed on appeal. The Court examined the legislative history of the statutory language and determined that Congress intended the extended statute of limitations to apply only in situations where a taxpayer “actually omitted” an item of income and not when there are “errors in computation arising from other causes.” The Court further explained: Congress manifested no broader purpose than to give the Commissioner an additional [number of] years to investigate tax returns in cases where, because of a taxpayer's omission to report some taxable item, the Commissioner is at a special disadvantage in detecting errors. In such instances the return on its face provides no clue to the existence of the omitted item. On the other hand, when, as here, the understatement of a tax arises from an error in reporting an item disclosed on the face of the return the Commissioner is at no such disadvantage. And this would seem to be so whether the error be one affecting “gross income” or one, such as overstated deductions, affecting other parts of the return. Accordingly, the Court held that the extended statute of limitations does not apply to understatements of gross income due to overstatements of basis. In 2007, the U.S. Tax Court addressed whether Colony applies outside the context of a trade or business in Bakersfield v. Commissioner. Bakersfield involved a limited partnership which overstated its basis in oil and gas property. The IRS claimed that Colony only applied in the context of a trade or business, and since Bakersfield involved an investment the six-year statute of limitations should apply because the taxpayer’s basis error resulted in a substantial omission of gross income. However, the Tax Court held against the IRS on the basis that it was bound by Colony and therefore the three-year statute of limitations applied. The IRS appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed the Tax Court. In so holding, the Ninth Circuit noted that the Supreme Court in Colony “did not even hint that its Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 163 interpretation of [the Code] was limited to cases in which the taxpayer was engaged in a ‘trade or business.’ There is no ground for suggesting the Court intended the same language…to apply differently to taxpayers in a trade or business than to other taxpayers.” The IRS didn’t give up, however. In 2009, the IRS asked the Tax Court to reconsider its Bakersfield holding in Intermountain v. Commissioner. The taxpayer in Intermountain, a partnership, filed its 1999 Federal income tax return on September 15, 2000 which contained a loss which was overstated due to an overstated basis. On September 14, 2006, just one day less than six years later, the IRS issued a notice of Final Partnership Administrative Adjustment (FPAA). The taxpayer claimed that the FPAA was untimely because the three-year statute of limitations had long expired. Further, the taxpayer cited Bakersfield for the proposition that an overstatement of basis does not trigger the six-year statute of limitations. The IRS, however, claimed that the Tax Court had incorrectly decided Bakersfield. The Tax Court disagreed with the IRS, stating that Bakersfield “is directly on point.” Expressly declining the IRS’s “invitation to overrule it,” the Tax Court reaffirmed its holding in Bakersfield and held once again that the six-year statute of limitations is not triggered by an overstatement of basis. The IRS issued temporary regulations in September 2009, less than a month after the Tax Court ruled against it in Intermountain. The temporary regulations state that “an understated amount of gross income resulting from an overstatement of unrecovered cost or other basis constitutes an omission from gross income” for purposes of the extended statute of limitations. QUESTIONS PRESENTED Is the IRS permitted to create or change a rule following a loss in the judicial system? If so, can the new rule reflect a position that contradicts a court’s previous interpretation of a statute? DISCUSSION The U.S. Supreme Court recently answered the first question with a resounding “yes.” The Court was not troubled at all in Mayo Foundation v. U.S. by the fact that the Treasury Department changed the regulations relating to the student exception to FICA as a response to adverse litigation. To the contrary, the Court stated that it “found it immaterial to [its] analysis that a ‘regulation was prompted by litigation.’” The Court amplified the point by noting that in the past it has “expressly invited the Treasury Department to ‘amend its regulations’ if troubled by the consequences of [its] resolution of the case.” The Supreme Court has stated that an administrative agency’s interpretation will be upheld if Congress did not speak directly to the question at issue and if the regulation is a permissible interpretation of the statute. It has been noted, however, that more than one permissible interpretation can exist. Accordingly, the Treasury Department can amend an otherwise reasonable regulation in response to adverse litigation as long as the amended regulation is also a permissible, albeit different, interpretation. Ultimately, Mayo Foundation was resolved by the Supreme Court in favor of the government. The Court concluded that the amended regulation is a reasonable interpretation of the statutory language. The result is that medical residents are not students, and the stipends they receive are subject to FICA. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 164 The current status of Intermountain also favors the government. Reversing the Tax Court opinion, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently upheld the current regulation which states that an overstatement of basis triggers the six-year statute of limitations. Given the current split among the circuits, however, this issue is far from over. UNRESOLVED ISSUE What if the court that had previously interpreted the statutory language was the Supreme Court of the United States, and it had held that the statutory language is clear and unambiguous such that an administrative interpretation is unnecessary? Can the IRS still issue a regulation in response to the adverse litigation? Such is the situation in Intermountain. The current regulation appears to conflict with the Supreme Court’s holding in Colony. The IRS argues that no conflict exists because Colony involved an overstatement of basis within the context of a trade or business, whereas Intermountain occurs outside of such context. This statute of limitations issue has arisen in other factually-similar cases in several circuits with varying results. In January 2011 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held for the government in one such case, Beard v. Commissioner. Following its loss, the taxpayer in Beard filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. On July 29, 2011, the government filed an acquiescence, which means that although it agrees with the Seventh Circuit’s holding, the government concurs that the Supreme Court should hear the case. Given this acquiescence, it is expected by some that the Supreme Court will grant Certiorari in Beard, thereby resolving the question for all circuits. CONCLUSION The Supreme Court has recently reiterated that the IRS is permitted to create or amend a regulation following a loss in court. As long as the regulation is a reasonable interpretation of the statute, it is not inappropriate for the new regulation to conflict with a court’s previous holding. Whether that also applies to holdings of the High Court remains to be seen. The Supreme Court will respond to the Petition filed in Beard when it resumes in October. REFERENCES IRC § 3121(b)(10) IRC § 6501(a) IRC § 6501(e)(1)(A) IRC § 7801 IRC § 7805 Treas. Reg. § 31.3121(b)(10)-2(c) Treas. Reg. § 31.3121(b)(10)-2(d)(3) Treas. Reg. § 301.6229(c)(2)-1T Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 165 Treas. Reg. § 301.6501(e)-1T Treas. Reg. § 31.3121(b)(10)-2(Pre-T.D. 9167) Mayo Foundation v. U.S., 562 U.S. __ (2011) Chevron v. U.S., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). Colony v. Commissioner, 357 U.S. 28 (1958) Beard v. Commissioner, 633 F.3d 616 (7th Cir., 2011). Intermountain v. Commissioner, __ F.3d __ (D.C. Cir., 2011), 2011-2 USTC ¶ 50,468, rev’g 98 TCM 144 (2009). Mayo Foundation v. U.S., 568 F.3d 675 (8th Cir., 2009), aff’d 562 U.S. __ (2011). Bakersfield v. Commissioner, 568 F.3d 767 (9th Cir., 2009) Colony v. Commissioner, 244 F.2d 75 (6th Cir., 1957), rev’d 357 U.S. 28 (1958) Intermountain v. Commissioner, 134 T.C. 211 (2010). Bakersfield v. Commissioner, 128 T.C. 207 (2007), aff’d 568 F.3d 767 (9th Cir., 2009) Intermountain v. Commissioner, 98 TCM 144 (2009). Mayo Foundation v. U.S., 282 F.Supp. 2d 997 (Minn., 2003) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 166 THE IMPACT OF IFRS FOR SMES ON THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION, EVIDENCE FROM FIJI Fazeena Fazneen Hussain, The University of the South Pacific Priyashni Vandana Chand, The University of the South Pacific Prena Rani, The University of the South Pacific At the turn of the millennium, the many corporate collapses, business failures and fraudulent financial reporting scandals tarnished the reputation of accountants, giving rise to a credibility crisis for the accounting profession. The profession struggled to rebuild its reputation and desperately searched for a solution. At the same time, the growth of financial markets, resulting in increased investment opportunities in capital markets and the international orientation of businesses created the need for a common reporting framework, which would provide reliable and comparable accounting information across borders. The constantly changing information needs of users of financial reports and the increasing use of fair value added to the many challenges facing the accounting profession. All this resulted in a major restructure in the financial reporting framework leading to the development of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Almost 66 jurisdictions around the globe have already adopted or plan to adopt IFRS for SMEs as their principal financial reporting standard for small and medium sized reporting entities, with or without revisions (IFRS Foundation, 2010). Fiji is not far behind from other developed countries when it comes to adoption of international reporting standards as this is evidenced by the early adoption of IFRS by large reporting entities beginning January, 2007 and IFRS for SMEs by small and medium-sized entities from January, 2011. Prior literature has mostly examined the impact of IFRS for SMEs on small and medium sized entities (see, for example, Eierle & Haller, 2009; Alp & Ustundag, 2009; Paseková, et al., 2010), but so far, there has been no published work examining the impact of the standard on the accounting profession. The decision by the Fiji Institute of Accountants to adopt IFRS for SMEs so early since the enactment of the standards will obviously bring about a number of challenges to the accounting profession in Fiji and affect the future of the profession in a number of ways. Although accountants in Fiji have demonstrated that they can deal with the full suite of IFRS, the adoption of IFRS for SMEs, a much simpler form of reporting, will pose a set of challenges that the profession did not face when dealing with IFRS. This study therefore aims to examine the challenges faced by the accounting profession in Fiji in adopting IFRS for SMEs in terms of benefits, limitations, preparedness, capacity, educational resources, training support and overall transition to the new reporting framework. Understanding the impact of adopting globalised accounting standards in emerging economies would help us identify the benefits and limitations of such adoption as well as identify the potential factors that are necessary for a successful transition, thereby allowing us to better prepare ourselves for the adoption. We conducted in-depth interviews in order to get perceptions of practitioners on the issue. These practitioners were randomly selected from the big 4 and the non-big 4 accounting firms in Fiji. The results indicate that the adoption of international reporting standards by emerging economies are important decisions, which require considerable thought on the part of standard setters and regulatory bodies. While benefits from adoption of such reporting frameworks are imminent in developed countries, it is still too soon to comment on whether such benefits would be realized in emerging economies like Fiji. The institutional and regulatory frameworks in developed economies is significantly different from Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 167 that in emerging economies and for that reason, reporting standards developed in these economies may still be complex for reporting entities in emerging economies. Thus, adequate revisions are necessary to ensure that the requirements of the standard are applicable and suitable to our reporting environment. The transition to IFRS for SMEs from Fiji Accounting Standards is likely to pose a number of challenges for practitioners in Fiji, including meeting training and educational requirements, SME information needs and justifying to SMEs the need for a globalised reporting framework among many others. The results also indicate that the big 4 have a competitive advantage over the non-big 4 in adopting international standards as their international counterparts provide substantial resources, expertise and training support to them. The big 4 firms are hence in a much better position to adopt international standards like IFRS for SMEs. However, small and medium sized reporting entities are more concerned about the costs associated with the transition rather than the perceived benefits from such an adoption. While the results merely summarize the perceptions of accountants on the issue concerned, it may not be advisable to draw conclusions on the matter so early in the transition. In conclusion, a single set of reporting standards for all small and medium sized reporting entities should result in a more transparent principles-based reporting that enhances comparability and consistency. While SMEs in many jurisdictions have been subject to reporting under national accounting standards, such standards deter comparability of financial statements and are usually out-dated. A number of jurisdictions around the globe have therefore adopted IFRS for SMEs and in doing so; have faced quite a number of challenges. These challenges have particularly affected the accounting profession in such jurisdictions in a number of ways. Further, the reporting requirements under IFRS for SMEs are such that most of it may still not be applicable to SMEs in emerging economies like Fiji. This suggests that wherever guidance is not provided under the new reporting framework or is provided but not applicable to the current reporting environment, practitioners may refer to the old set of standards for guidance. In other words, careful consideration must be given in deciding whether the full set of IFRS for SMEs should be adopted by emerging economies, or should they use IFRS for SMEs as a reference point in developing their own standards or should such economies adopt IFRS for SMEs with necessary modifications to suit their reporting needs. For that reason, it is advisable for regulatory bodies in emerging economies to give considerable thought to the adoption of IFRS for SMEs and engage in wider consultations before deciding on the matter. REFERENCES Alp, A. & Ustundag, S. (2009). Financial reporting transformation: the experience of Turkey. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 20, 680-699. Eierle, B., & Haller, A. (2009). Does size influence the suitability of the IFRS for Small and Medium- Sized Entities? – Empirical evidence from Germany. Accounting in Europe, 6(2), 195-230. IFRS Foundation. (2010). IFRS for SMEs World Standard Setters Meeting London. London, UK. Paseková, M., Müllerová, L., Strouhal, J., & Chyzhevska, L. (2010). IFRS for SMEs: Challenge for Emerging Countries? Case of Czech Republic and Ukraine, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 66, 1691-1694. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 168 PREFERENCES FOR PERFORMANCE BASED EMPLOYEE REWARDS: EVIDENCE FROM SMALL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS Susan J. Kowalewski, D’Youville College Suzanne L. Phillips, D’Youville College ABSTRACT Rewarding and motivating employees is extremely important to organizations because employees are a critical resource for success. The primary objective of this paper was to determine if there are gender based employee preferences for performance rewards in small business environments. The results of this research indicate that social rewards were more valuable than economic rewards that would be valuable to small business owners and managers to develop programs to reward and motivate their employee. INTRODUCTION Employees are a critical resource for small business owners and managers. They need to be motivated and rewarded so they recognize how vital they are to the organization. This in turn will inspire employees to contribute to the company’s ability to grow and expand; increasing retention and decreasing turnover. However, small businesses typically have limited resources for providing incentives and performance rewards for their employees. The opportunity for an employee's advancement may also be constrained in a small business because there is typically no organizational chart or corporate ladder to climb. The combination of a small business owner’s limited resources and their dependence on highly motivated employees makes it extremely important that the employer provide incentives and rewards that the employee values. Understanding gender influences in this respect can assist in developing reward and incentive programs that are of value to the employee. There have been several studies conducted over the past 50 years that explored the differences between male and female perceptions regarding work satisfaction, work-related rewards and values (Kovach, 1995; Marini, Fan, Finley, and Beutel, 1996; Mottaz, 1986; Ross and Mirowsky, 1996; Schul, Remington, and Ben, 1990). This topic was first considered due to the increase in the number of females in the workforce during the post-World War II era. During the feminist movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the driving force behind these studies was the lower-paying positions afforded to most females. As women continued to attain higher level positions and commensurate higher pay, the focus shifted to potential differences in leadership styles of female managers in contrast to their male counterparts, as well as motivational factors for female employees as compared to those for males. The primary objective of this study was to determine if there are gender based employee preferences for performance rewards in small business environments. All of the studies referenced focused on larger companies or specific sectors of industry. There is limited research that looks at how gender influences employee preferences for performance rewards and motivational incentives in the small business environment. In addition, the information available is not current with the most recent studies occurring during the late 1990’s. Since small business as a vital part of the United States (US) economy, additional current data to assist small business owners and managers related to reward programs is needed. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 169 LITERATURE REVIEW In evaluating intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, organizations need to understand that “to change employees’ behavior and motivate them to improve their performance, you must influence their perception of how you reward them for their behavior and performance” (Bragg, 2000). The relationship between what employees (of either gender) value and consider motivational versus what supervisors believe should motivate the employee is also important to consider. Kovach (1995) compared results of three surveys distributed to industrial employees concerning employee and supervisory rankings of ten motivational items. This study was originally conducted in 1946, repeated in 1981, and conducted again in 1995. Differences were noted in the rankings for employees between 1946 and 1995. In 1946, US citizens had recently experienced a depression and war. In 1995, after 35 years of relative prosperity, the list of what workers wanted from their work had changed significantly. As part of the same survey, supervisors were asked to rank the list of job rewards as they believed the employees had ranked it. There was virtually no change in the responses from the 1946, 1981, and 1995 surveys. The supervisor rankings were: 1. Good wages 2. Job security 3. Promotion and growth in the organization 4. Good working conditions 5. Interesting work 6. Personal loyalty to employees 7. Tactful discipline 8. Full appreciation of work done 9. Sympathetic help with personal problems 10. Feeling of being in on things. Based on the responses from the supervisors and employees, it was clear that there was a significant disconnect between what employees valued and what supervisors believed employees valued. It appeared that rewards and incentives supervisors offered did not correspond with what workers desired. Kovach (1995) also looked at several subgroup comparisons, including male versus female responses. He found that there was no significant statistical difference in the ranking of rewards found between men and women. In terms of the actual ranking of values, females ranked “full appreciation of work” in first place while men ranked it in second place. “Sympathetic help with personal problems” was ranked seventh by females and tenth by males. The author suggested that female employees may place greater importance on interpersonal relationships and communication than male employees. The conclusion drawn by Kovach (1995) was “Employee motivation is a key factor in determining long-term employer success levels. Yet, ironically enough, it is an area overlooked by many organizations . . . in most organizations, the time to address this issue was yesterday” (p. 107). Schul, Remington, and Ben (1990) examined potential gender differences in an industrial sales force and the relationship between a set of supervisory behaviors (i.e. reward and punishment behaviors) and three key performance outcomes: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work motivation. Work motivation was analyzed in terms of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. The influential factors for extrinsic motivation included money, promotions, and praise from a supervisor. Intrinsic motivation came from the satisfaction a person gets from the task itself, or in completing the task successfully. Schul et al. (1990) found that for both males and females, supervisory contingent reward (CR) behavior positively affected job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Supervisory CR behavior consisted Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 170 of giving praise, recognition, and acknowledgement to employees based on effective performance of the task. CR behavior positively influenced females’ extrinsic work motivation, but had no effect on either the male salespeople’s extrinsic work motivation or the intrinsic work motivation of either gender. According to Schul et al. (1990) non-contingent reward behavior had no effect on male or female salespeoples’ job-related outcomes. This type of behavior (granting of approval and recognition without making it contingent on performance) was not viewed as overly negative by either male or female respondents. The authors also found that contingent punishment positively influenced male salespeoples’ extrinsic and intrinsic work motivation, while it had little effect on females. However, supervisory non- contingent punishment negatively influenced male salespeoples’ job satisfaction, work motivation and organizational commitment, with only limited effects on female salespeople’s’ work-related attitudes. The authors believed that when a manager exhibits arbitrary behavior (non-contingent reward and/or punishment), the employee’s identification with the job, relationships with people on the job, and the organization were weakened. Ultimately, the study conducted by Schul et al. (1990) identified more similarities than differences among male and female industrial salespeople in terms of how they respond to supervisory reward and punishment behavior. Mottaz (1986) conducted a study that focused on the following related issues: (a) the extent that men and women differ in overall work satisfaction, (b) possible gender differences in perceived work rewards, (c) possible gender differences in work values, and (d) possible gender differences in the determinants of work satisfaction. Based on his study, Mottaz (1986) concluded that there was no significant difference between men and women in their rating of overall work satisfaction. With regard to work related values, men assigned greater importance to promotional opportunities while women regarded task involvement along with friendly and supportive supervision as more important. He also found that there was a difference in the determinants of work satisfaction for men and women. For men, task autonomy was a significant predictor of overall work satisfaction; for women friendly and supportive relationships with supervisors were significantly more powerful determinants. However, he qualified the results of his study with the following statement, “It is clear that the pattern of gender differences in work is considerably influenced by the type and sample studied and the area of work considered” (p.374). Ross and Mirowsky (1996) conducted a study to examine interpersonal work rewards as potential alternatives to economic rewards. The purpose of the study was to determine if the theory of compensating differentials, which was used to explain why women choose jobs that pay less, was valid. The theory suggested that subjective utility, measured as psychological well-being and personal control of earnings, was greater for men, whereas interpersonal rewards were of greater importance for women. The researchers tried to understand if non-economic rewards, rather than earnings, contributed significantly to the work satisfaction of women, knowing working women earn approximately 70% of the salary of working men. According to the theory of compensating differentials, the employer must offset the negative effect of working conditions with sufficient pay to make the overall utility of the job positive for men. However, because women were willing to accept lower paying jobs, it was believed that these jobs must offer benefits other than high pay. It was concluded that men must value money more than women if the theory is true. However, the results of the authors’ study did not support the theory of compensating differentials. Their study found that men and women valued pay equally highly, and that men and women agreed on the characteristics of a good job. Both men and women ranked the feeling of accomplishment, high income, chance for advancement, job security, and short working hours identically (most to least preferred). They also concluded that women value money slightly more than men, not less; men value fewer work hours slightly more than women, not less. Ross and Mirowsky (1996) concluded that although women did not value economic rewards less or noneconomic rewards more than did men, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 171 women get economic rewards less and noneconomic rewards more than men do. Compared to men, women received more appreciation for their work and more recognition from others while getting lower earnings. As can be determined from the existing literature, not only have the studies of gender influences on reward and motivational preferences provided mixed results, but there is a notable lack of recent research in this area, limiting the applicability of early research in today’s workplace. Further, the subjects used in the research were primarily from large companies or institutions. It is not clear if the results and conclusions presented in these studies will hold true in the small business environment. All of the studies referenced focused on larger companies or specific sectors of industry. There is limited research that examines how gender influences employee preferences for performance rewards and motivational incentives in the small business environment. In addition, the majority of information available is not current. While small business is a vital part of the US economy, more current data to assist small business owners and managers with reward programs for their employees is needed. It is clear that additional research is needed in the area of gender preferences for rewards in the small business environment. Since the resources available to small businesses are more limited than for larger organizations, a better understanding of the effect of gender on reward and incentive preferences may assist with the development of a targeted and effective reward and incentive program for employees. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION The primary objective of this paper was to determine if there are gender based employee preferences for performance rewards in small business environments. Information from this research are useful to owners, leaders, and supervisors of small businesses. Generally speaking, both male and female employees were concerned with economic issues such as job security, good wages, and good working conditions. This may be a result of the current economic conditions. However, when discussing specific situational reward preferences, social rewards (thank you from the boss) consistently ranked higher than monetary rewards. This indicated that employees valued rewards that do not place an additional financial burden on the company. It is important that supervisors develop a greater awareness of what employees want; they may be surprised to realize that actions can be taken to reward and motivate employees that have little or no economic costs. It is imperative that supervisors and organizations understand that what motivates one individual may not motivate another. REFERENCES Bragg, T. (2000). How to reward and inspire your team. llE Solutions, 32(8), 38-40. Kovach, K. (1995). Employee motivation: Addressing a crucial factor in your organization’s performance. Employement Relations Today, 22(2), 93. Mariani, M., Fan, P., Finley, E., & Beutel, A. (1996). Gender and job values. Sociology of Education. 69(1), 49-65. Mottaz, C. (1986). Gender differences in work satisfaction, work-related rewards and values, and the determinants of work satisfaction, Human Relations, 39(4), 359-378. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 172 Ross, C., & Mirowsky, J. (1996). Economic and interp0ersonal work rewards: Subjective utilities of men’s and women’s compensation. Social Forces, 75(1), 223-245. Schul, P., Reminton, S., & Ben, R. (1990). Assessing gender differences in relationships between supervisory behaviors and job-related outcomes in the industrial sales force. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 10(3), 1. BIOGRAPHY Dr. Susan Kowalewski is an Assistant Professor at D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York. Email: kowalews@dyc.edu Suzanne Phillips completed her MBA from D’Youville College May 2011. Email: 8phillis@dyc.edu Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 173 THE EVOLUTION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPTS: THEORETICALLY DIFFERENT ROADS LEADING TO PRACTICALLY SAME DESTINATION! Solomon A. Keelson, Takoradi Polytechnic ABSTRACT This work is part of a larger study on market orientation and business performance. The evolution of the marketing concept from the pre-industrial revolution, down to our day is critically reviewed. The marketing concept as a business philosophy is traced from its origins as a business belief where efficient production was the emphasis to the current belief which emphasizes customer needs as a means of long- run business success. The concept has theoretically evolved over the last century. The underlying assumption of all the concepts, irrespective of the era in which they were dominant, is to provide stakeholders’ interests – including customers, producers, shareholders and society. The paper acknowledges that the different concepts of marketing are seen as different roads leading to the same destination, because each concept served important purpose of creating profitable customer. Thus, the development of a new concept would not necessarily mean abolition of old concepts. New concepts may build on old ones to make a business more successful in serving the interests of its stakeholders, especially, the creating and serving of profitable customers. Similarly, some old concepts may work well for some businesses and industries better than even new concepts depending on the type of product and industry. KEYWORDS: Marketing concept; Organizational objective, profitable customers; organizational performance INTRODUCTION The marketing concept is the known concept for explaining organisation’s philosophy of doing business. Since the 1900s, different business philosophies have been adopted by organisations, all aiming at creating and retaining profitable customers. The particular marketing concept over specific business era defines the customer’s involvement in product development decision. While some concepts gave minimal or no attention to customers involvement in product design decisions, others recognize the customer as an important factor in product design decision (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008; Ride and Ferrell, 2008; Kotler and Keller, 2009; Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009; Kotler and Armstrong, 2009). At least six concepts have emerged since 1850 to date. Businesses have since adopted production philosophy (Ferrell, 2008); product philosophy (Fullerton, 1988); selling philosophy (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008), marketing philosophy (Day and Wensley, 1983; McGee and Shapiro, 1988); societal marketing philosophy (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008); and the holistic marketing philosophy (Kotler and Keller, 2009). While each of the six business philosophies has received some form of criticisms, knowledge of these concepts reminds the marketer of the shifts of business thinking over the years. History it is said, ‘is a good starting point’ to understand today and plan the future. Marketers are in a good position to understand and better practice marketing now and even anticipate new and better ways of practicing marketing in future as they learn about the different stages that marketing has evolved. Moving from the early concepts to the latest, businesses are thought a great lesson of where marketing was, where it has gotten to and where it is heading towards. One may appreciate the argument that organisation’s Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 174 movement from earlier philosophy to latter ones constitutes improvement in business practices to meet the market needs (Keith, 1960; Kotler, 1994). Yet, it is evident that the different concepts of marketing are different roads leading to the same destination (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008; Ride and Ferrell, 2008). The evolution helps appreciate that changes in customer characteristics and preferences with time, is inevitable; and that companies must be aware and operate their businesses in harmony with the changing needs of the market. Thus, in the view of this paper, new concepts may build on old ones to make a business philosophy more relevant. Again, some old concepts may work well for some businesses and industries today, better than even new concepts, depending on market conditions, production goals, as well as product design and customer types. The issue of hierarchy and superiority might not be too relevant a consideration in an objective analysis of the concepts. Such a view has the potential to miss the point of the importance of individual business thinking that might not work well for the achievement of business objectives (creating and retaining profitable customers) in different marketing eras. The paper addresses the different concepts that have been developed over time, highlighting their primary assumptions. The paper also puts the arguments related to the different concepts into perspective. This should help appreciate that in theory the concepts may seem different, but in practice they might all aim at achieving the same business objective of creating and retaining profitable customers. EVOLUTION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT The academic discipline of marketing has two main schools of thought, where marketing is considered as either a philosophy or a function. Greater emphasis has been put on marketing as a philosophy or concept rather than a function. The marketing concept represents business thinking, and started developing since 1850s. Businesses have since adopted production philosophy (Ferrell, 2008); product philosophy (Fullerton, 1988); selling philosophy (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008), marketing philosophy (Day and Wensley, 1983; McGee and Shapiro, 1988); societal marketing philosophy (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008); and the holistic marketing philosophy (Kotler and Keller, 2009). The Production Philosophy Pride and Ferrell (2008) trace the production philosophy back to 1850s, through to the 1900s. This was the period of industrial revolution in the United States. At this period the country witnessed growth in electricity generation, rail transportation, division of labour, assembly lines, and mass production. These made it possible to produce goods more efficiently with new technology and new ways of using labour. Though production of goods increase with these emerging ways of production, there was heavy demand for manufactured goods (Ride and Ferrell, 2008). The production philosophy is premised on the assumption that consumers will favour product that are available and highly affordable (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). This required that businesses’ concentration were directed toward product improvement and efficient distribution of goods. According to Schiffman and Kanuk (2009:5), the production philosophy assumes that “consumers are mostly interested in product availability at low prices; its implicit marketing objectives are cheap, efficient production and intensive distribution”. Miller and Layton (2001) observed that in the production era, the manufacturers typically concentrated on increasing output with the assumption that customers would look for, and buy, reasonably priced, and well made products. The production philosophy worked for businesses in the 1950s onward to achieve their business objectives. Today, such a business Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 175 orientation may only make sense when the objective of the company is to expand the market. However, production orientation hardly works for many of today’s businesses. Companies with such a business philosophy today risk focusing their effort too narrowly on their own operation losing sight of the core idea of producing to meet customer expectation and needs to create customer value (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). However, in the development of completely innovative products, where customer might not have any idea, and thus could not make any input into the design and development of such products, the production philosophy shall still be appropriate even today. Product Philosophy The product philosophy was the dominant marketing philosophy at the dawn of 1900s and continued to the 1930s. According to Fullerton (1988:103), “For more than a generation the concept of the production era dominated the understanding of marketing’s past held by students and scholars”. The production orientation assumes that consumers will prefer product based on its quality, performance and innovative features (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). This means that the company knows its product better than anyone or any organization. Thus, the company knows what will work in designing and producing the product and what will not work. Since the company has the great knowledge and skill in making the product, it also assumes it knows what is best for the consumer. The product concept compelled companies to ensure improving product quality, and introduce new features to enhance product performance; as much as possible. These were done without consulting the customer to find his or her view on these product features. Yet products were produced with the customer in mind. Since the era culminated development of innovative products which did not have substitutes, customer needs might not be too much a demand since customer might not know their needs in such innovative market situation. In much of the product era, organizations were able to sell all of the products that they made. The success of this philosophy was due mostly to the time and level of technology in which it was dominant. The product concept survived much of the time after the Industrial Revolution (Miller and Layton, 2001). Most goods were in such short supply that companies could sell all that they made. Consequently, organizations did not need to consult with consumers about designing and producing their products. Much as some companies may still have a product oriented business thinking that direct their operations, the concept is not popular in today’s business environment. A product philosophy often leads to the company focusing on the product rather than on the consumer needs that must be satisfied (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009), which leads to ‘marketing myopia’ (Levitt, 1960). Selling Philosophy The selling philosophy was the concept of businesses that proceeded the product era, and has the shortest period of dominance compared to the two preceding philosophies. It began to be dominant around 1930 and stayed in widespread use until about 1950. The emphasis of selling philosophy was to create a department to solely be responsible for the sale of the company’s product; while the rest of the company could be left to concentrate on producing the goods (Perreault Jr. and McCarthy, 1999). According to Kotler and Armstrong (2008), the orientation of the selling concept was that the company can sell any product it produces with the use of marketing techniques, such as advertising and personal selling. The concept assumes that “consumers are unlikely to buy the product unless they are aggressively persuaded to do so – mostly that ‘hard sell’ approach” (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009). The emergence of the selling philosophy was necessary because of increase in production of variety of goods after the Industrial Revolution, as companies became more efficient in production. The increase in Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 176 amount of product and types of products led to competition which eventually led to the end of product shortages and the emergence of surpluses. Regarding this Comyns and Jones (1927:147) noted, “Obvious pressure to buy may lose the customer for the future even though it takes the immediate sales”. It was because of the surpluses that organizations turned to the use of advertising and personal selling to reduce their inventories and sell their goods. The selling philosophy also enabled part of the organization to keep focusing on the product, via the product philosophy. In addition, the selling era was characterized by an orientation that a sales or marketing department could sell whatever the company produced. Miller and Layton (2001) noted that apart from the aggressive selling approach, the era was also noted for other unhealthy features, such as the idea that ‘selling is the goal of a company and not customer satisfaction’. Recently, Kotler and Armstrong (2010:35) note: “The selling concept takes an ‘inside-out’ perspective. It starts with the factory, focuses on the company’s existing products, and calls for heavy selling and promotion to obtaining profitable sales. It focuses primarily on customer conquest – getting short-term sales with little concern about who buys or why.” The selling philosophy in theory focuses on sales rather than customer satisfaction. In this connection, the challenge with this orientation is that when customers are persuaded to buy product that they would ordinarily not buy, they would buy just once. Also, they are more likely to communicate negatively of the product through word-of-mouth to other consumers, which could affect their purchases. In practice, however, if producers ensure that quality products are sold to customers, they are more likely to repeat purchase and also communicate positive word-of-mouth to others. Therefore, despite the fact that the selling concept has almost seized to be a preferred business orientation today, its acceptance or rejection should not be determined by the concept itself, but whether the belief was to sell quality products and services to customers in order to retain them. Even in the ear of a market oriented philosophy, organizations that deal with ‘unsought’ goods (such as life insurance); political parties who sell their candidates aggressively to apathetic voters; and also by companies that have excess stock (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009) still use selling orientation successfully. Though the marketing philosophy has become the prescription for facing competition, “old habits die hard” (Miller and Layton, 2001:11) and even to date some companies still hold to the fact that they must use the ‘hard sell’ approach for business success and prosperity (Miller and Layton, 2001). Marketing Philosophy The marketing philosophy started to dominate business orientation during the 1950s (Pride and Ferrell, 2008), and continues until the twenty first century. This concept assumes that the starting point for any marketing process is the customer needs and wants, and no longer the aggressive selling. The key assumption underlying the marketing philosophy is that “a market should make what it can sell, instead of trying to sell what it has made” (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009:15). The marketing concept focuses on the needs and wants of the buyer rather than the needs of the seller and the product. As noted by Mckitterick (1957), the principal task of the marketing function in a management concept is not so much about being skillful in making the customer do what suits the interests of the business as to be skillful in conceiving and then making the business do what suits the interests of the customer. These views are consistent with an earlier proposition by, Shaw (1912:736), who noted: “goods are being made to satisfy rather than to sell”. He also remarked, “today the more progressive business man is searching out the unconscious needs of the consumer, and is then producing the goods to gratify them” (p.708). Recently, Kotler and Armstrong (2010:35) noted: “The marketing concept takes an ‘outside-in’ perspective. The marketing concept starts with a well-defined market, focuses on customer needs, and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 177 integrates all the marketing activities that affect the customers. In turn, it yields profits by creating lasting relationship with the right customers based on customer value satisfaction”. The marketing concept recognizes that the company's knowledge and skill in designing products may not always be meeting the needs of customers. Thus business orientation shifted from product to market (Keith, 1960). Keith (1960:35), observed: “our attention has shifted from problems of production to problems of marketing, from the product we can make to the product the customers wants us to make, from company itself to the market place”. He also recognizes that even a good sales department cannot sell every product that does not meet consumers' needs. When customers have many choices, they will choose the one that best meets their needs. This is expressed in Levitt (1960) who made a clear distinction between the selling and the marketing orientation. According to him selling focuses on the needs of the seller; marketing on the needs of the buyer. Selling is preoccupied with the seller’s need to convert his product into cash; marketing with the idea of satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and the whole cluster of things associated with creating, delivering and finally consuming it. This philosophy is what is expected of firms today to be market oriented and reap business success. The Societal Marketing Philosophy The societal marketing concept emerged in the 1970s and has since overlapped with the marketing philosophy. The concept assumes that there is a conflict between consumer short-term wants and society’s long-run interest, and that organizations should focus on a practice that ensures long run consumer and societal welfare (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008, 2009). Kotler and Armstrong (2010) consider the societal marketing orientation as the best business philosophy to be adopted by organisations. They suggested: “this new concept represents an attempt to harmonize the goals of business to the occasionally conflicting goals of society’. They concluded: “the organisation’s task is to determine the needs, wants and interest of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer’s and society’s well-being” (p. 35). The appropriateness of societal marketing philosophy is deduced from the fact that it supports a socially responsible behavior of organization. It thus, challenges the earlier assertion by Friedman (1962) that “the social responsibility of business is to make profit”. Organisation will still need to adopt this business philosophy to be able to deal with the cultural and regulatory aspect of the business environment. This means adoption of the societal marketing concept generate some factors of market orientation that foster business performance. It could be concluded from the literature that societal market orientation should not be seen as a separate concept. It should be a complementary business practice at the adoption of any marketing philosophy. Thus, whether a business is adopting production, product, selling or marketing philosophies, the interest of the society must still be given its rightful place because society is a key stakeholder in every business. The Holistic Marketing Philosophy he holistic marketing concept is a 21st century business thinking (Kotler and Keller, 2009).The concept is based on the “development, design, and implementation of marketing programmes, processes and activities that recognizes their breadth and interdependencies” (Kotler and Keller, 2009:59). The holistic marketing concept suggests that the 21st century business firm needs a new set of belief and practice toward business operation that is more complete and cohesive than the traditional application of the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 178 marketing concept. According to Kotler and Keller (2009:60) holistic marketing recognizes that “everything matter” in marketing. Holistic marketing is thus based on the assumption that the approach to marketing should be the adoption of all activities of marketing. Thus, holistic marketing includes internal marketing, performance marketing, integrated marketing and relationship marketing. Kotler and Keller’s (2009) holistic marketing concept seems to be an embodiment of marketing practice rather than a concept or philosophy of business. A marketing concept is “a way of thinking; a management philosophy guiding an organisation's overall activities [affecting] all the efforts of the organisation, not just its marketing activities" (Dibb et al., 1992: 13). The holistic marketing orientation seems to dwell on just the marketing functions and not the overall activities of the organisation. The concept looks at internal marketing, performance marketing, integrated marketing and relationship marketing, which are all typical activities of marketing. The concept fails to acknowledge other activities of business such as production, management style, organisation culture and other non-marketing factors of business that make a firm business orientated. Thus, the holistic marketing concept (Kotler and Keller’s, 2009) should better be viewed as a summary of what effective and efficient marketing involves rather than a business philosophy, and for that matter a marketing concept, because a marketing concept means more than just marketing functions (Dibb et al., 1992: 13), as suggested by Kotler and Keller’s, 2009. This means the holistic marketing concept is relatively not a superior philosophy that has the potential of generating the required antecedents of market orientation that fosters superior business performance, which includes non-marketing activities (Kohli and Jaworski, 1990; Zebal, 2003; Lok and Crawford, 2004; O’Regan et al., 2005). In this connection, the holistic marketing concept fails to acknowledge this strategic as opposed to functional approach to marketing (Drucker, 1973; McDonald, 1989). Marketing should be seen as an attitude of mind rather than a series of functional activities (McDonald, 1989), as seems to suggest by the holistic marketing concept (Kotler and Keller’s, 2009). The recent work by Kotler and Armstrong (2010) supports the fact that the holistic marketing concept is just an extended version of the marketing concept. They noted: “The marketing concept takes an ‘outside- in’ perspective. The marketing concept starts with a well-defined market, focuses on customer needs, and integrates all the marketing activities that affect the customers. In turn, it yields profits by creating lasting relationship with the right customers based on customer value satisfaction” (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010:35). ‘Integration of all marketing activities’, this should include internal marketing, performance marketing, integrated marketing and relationship marketing. Thus, the holistic marketing concept can be described as a clever combination of all the concepts that have been developed prior to it (Perreault Jr. and McCarthy, 1999; Pride and Ferrell, 2008; Kotler and Armstrong, 2008; Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009). DISCUSSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Despite the appreciations and criticisms, knowledge of the development of the marketing reminds us of the shifts of business thinking over the years. The evolution of the concept shows how businesses have reacted to changing customer characteristics and demand; as well as the needs of the market. Although any given business can operate under any of the philosophies, the underlying precept of the development of marketing concept is that these philosophies form a hierarchy, with later philosophies being considered superior to those of earlier ones as the formation of the market change. Thus, organisation’s movement Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 179 from earlier philosophy to latter ones constitutes improvement in business practices to meet the market needs of a particular time period with specific type of customers (Keith, 1960; Kotler, 1994). The different philosophies of marketing cannot be described in isolation. They should be discussed with the business objective and marketing conditions and practices at the time in mind. Though businesses have several objectives, the most important one is to create and maintain satisfied customers, and ultimately make profit. Except for social reasons, no company can continue in business if it is not making profit. Thus, whatever business philosophy or marketing concept an organization adapts, it should be one that leads the company to attainment of profit through creation of satisfied customers. Thus, the importance of a customer to a firm is defined in terms of the ‘customer’s ability to make the firm realize its profit goals in the long run’. In the same way the customer would give the company his ‘custom’ if he is provided with product and services that meet his needs and expectations (with or without his involvement in the product design and development). Therefore, while it may be a good concept to involve the customer in product design and development, it might not always be a requirement for effective business practice and provision of customer value. The customer can be a “victim” and a “victor”. The customer is a ‘victim’, if because of excess demand over supply; he is not involved in product design and development decision. In this case the customer has no choice but to accept what product the producer has made available. This is particularly true in eras or markets where there are hardly any substitutes to the products or services; or in new product development situation where the customer might not have any idea to determine what he wants. The customer is a ‘victor’ in competitive markets where supply exceeds demand. In such a market situation, consumers might be the ultimate determinants of what satisfy their needs. The producer only has to produce according to the dictates of the consumer. Thus, the customer’s involvement in product decisions – including design and development is very paramount. Yet other factors such as cost, profitability and capacity might influence the final product decision. No company can produce the product that the consumer wants if it lacks the organizational capabilities. In view of this, the six philosophies or concepts of marketing can be seen as different concepts aiming at producing efficient and profitable products and services to customers at one time or another. During these different times and market situations, customers might be either involved in the product decision or not, depending on whether demand for the product exceeds supply or vice versa. In other word the concepts are “different roads leading to the same destination”. The table 1 below helps us to appreciate how the different concepts of marketing that have developed over the years, aim at the creating and retaining profitable customers: Table 1 outlines the development of the marketing concept since its acceptance in the mid-1800s to the twenty first century (Bartels, 1962; Dalgic, 1998; Pride and Ferrell, 2008). A cursory look at the assumptions helps us to appreciate one important facts about the concepts. They all aim at producing products that the customer will buy for the company to make profit. For example, the business thinking in the production era was for firms to produce reasonably-priced and well-made products that customers will buy. This implies that even though customers might not be involved in the product design decisions, they were taken into consideration before a company develops products. Thus, to assume that production orientation means total avoidance of customers in product design and development that meet customer needs and wants is not wholly true. The production concept still holds the view that the customer should be the central consideration for productdesign decision so that the company can sell products that the customer wants, and to consequently make profit. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 180 Table1: Marketing Concepts and Their Underlying Assumptions Authors Marketing Concept Assumptions Layton (2001) Kotler and Armstrong, (2008) Schiffman and Kanuk (2009:5) Production Concept (1850s – 1900s)  Customers would look for, and buy, reasonably priced, and well made products  Consumers will favour product that are available and highly affordable  “Consumers are mostly interested in product availability at low prices; its implicit marketing objectives are cheap, efficient production and intensive distribution” Miller and Layton, (2001) Kotler and Armstrong, (2008) Product Concept (1900s – 1930s)  The company knows its product better than anyone or any organization.  Since the company has the great knowledge and skill in making the product, it also assumes it knows what is best for the consumer.  Consumers will prefer product based on its quality, performance and innovative features Comyns and Jones (1927:147) Miller and Layton (2001) Schiffman and Kanuk, (2009) Kotler and Armstrong (2010:35) Selling Concept (1930s- 1950s)  “Obvious pressure to buy may lose the customer for the future even though it takes the immediate sales”.  Selling is the goal of a company and not customer satisfaction’.  Consumers are unlikely to buy the product unless they are aggressively persuaded to do so – mostly that ‘hard sell’ approach”  “The selling concept takes an ‘inside-out’ perspective. It starts with the factory, focuses on the company’s existing products, and calls for heavy selling and promotion to obtaining profitable sales. It focuses primarily on customer conquest – getting short-term sales with little concern about who buys or why.” Shaw (1912:736) Keith (1960:35) Schiffman and Kanuk (2009:15) Marketing Concept (1950s)  “Goods are being made to satisfy rather than to sell”  Attention is shifted from problem of production to problem of marketing, from the product that the firm can make to the product the customers wants the firm to make, from company itself to the market place”.  “A market should make what it can sell, instead of trying to sell what it has made” Kotler and Armstrong (2009:35) Societal Marketing Concept (1970s)  There is a conflict between consumer short-term wants and society’s long-run interest, and that organizations should focus on a practice that ensures long run consumer and societal welfare  “The organisation’s task is to determine the needs, wants and interest of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer’s and society’s well-being” Kotler and Keller (2009:60) Holistic Marketing Concept (2000s)  The concept is based on the “development, design, and implementation of marketing programmes, processes and activities that recognizes their breadth and interdependencies”  The 21st century business firm needs a new set of beliefs and practices toward business operation that is more complete and cohesive than the traditional application of the marketing concept.  Holistic marketing includes internal marketing, performance marketing, integrated marketing and relationship marketing. Similarly, the product philosophy carries a business thinking that the company has the great knowledge and skills in making its product; and that it knows what is best for the consumer (Miller and Layton, 2001). Thus, it was assumed that consumers will prefer product based on its quality, performance and innovative features (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). This means that consumer needs and preferences were the key determinants of product design and development. Once the company considers quality, the customer stands to benefit from what the company produces. Though what is considered quality by the firm may be different from the consumer’s perception of quality, it is believed that quality product is more likely to meet customer needs and to foster sales and finally profit. After all, in the era of the product orientation, the customer might not always know his needs since there were few products available to choose from. Therefore, it was the duty of the firm to produce quality, innovative products and create the need for these. Involving the consumer in the product decision at this time may not yield Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 181 the desire result, especially when the demand exceeded supply so much that the customer was ready to buy any quality, innovative products and services. The selling concept is not different in terms of ultimate orientation from the other two above. This concept developed after the industrial revolution when mass production was the order of the day. Since there was huge supply, there was equally high demand for products and services. Most products had substitute at this time, hence there was the need for sales effort before a company could sell its products. Thus, the business philosophy was that consumers would buy the product only if they are aggressively persuaded to do so (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2009). In this concept, the firms operation starts with the factory, focuses on the company’s existing products, and calls for heavy selling and promotion to obtaining profitable sales (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010). Customer persuasion involves customer intimacy and relationship management, which is also a factor in the marketing concept. Therefore, it could be deduced that the selling concept involved obtaining profitable sales by persuading the customer to buy the company’s product instead of competitors’. This approach to business is particularly justified in situations where customers might not know their needs with regards to innovations or product availability. It must be noted that if customers are not positively persuade, even if they are involved in product development, they might still switch to ‘perceived’ strong brands if other companies do persuade them to believe so. In this connection, it can be said that sometimes it makes business sense to develop a product without the consumers’ knowledge and create the awareness later for the consumer to see the need to have the product. By this, consumers’ interest shall be considered and profitable sales can be made. The marketing concept has had wider acceptance since its emergence as a business philosophy. It is basically the belief that company’s attention be shifted from problem of production to problem of marketing, from the product that the firm can make to the product the customers wants the firm to make, from company itself to the market place” (Keith (1960:35). It is good for a business to make what it can sell, instead of trying to sell what it has made” (Schiffman and Kanuk (2009:15). The emphasis is to make the customer decides what his needs are and not the company doing so on the consumer’s behalf. The concept assumes that “goods are being made to satisfy rather than to sell” Shaw (1912:736). While this may theoretically be acceptable, no company can produce product that can satisfy the customer, if it cannot sell. Product must sell at all cost, if the company will remain in business and can be profitable. Thus laying too much emphasis on consumer involvement in product decisions might be an over exaggeration of a business thinking. This means companies must produce product which satisfies the customer; but they must also make sure that these products could be sold for profit. The societal marketing philosophy is seen as not just business thinking, but a responsible behavior for every firm that wants to succeed in business and the social environment of the market. The concept beliefs that the organisation’s task is to determine the needs, wants and interest of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer’s and society’s well-being” (Kotler and Armstrong, 2009). It is understandable why this concept did not emerge until around the 1970s. The importance of this concept became eminent when the effect of business activities on the environment and society became too pronounce. It was then necessary for business to think on how to satisfy the market with the aim of profit, and still minimize its effects on society. Happy society is more likely to buy and to recommend a firm’s product, while an angry society will refuse purchase of a company’s product even if it can satisfy the need of the customer. This means the societal marketing philosophy, like other concepts gears toward creating and maintaining satisfied and profitable customers. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 182 The holistic marketing concept aims at integrating all marketing activities, including internal marketing, performance marketing, integrated marketing and relationship marketing to produce value for customer. The concept is not too different from the marketing concept. According to Shaw (1912) the more progressive business must search out the unconscious needs of the consumer, and then producing the goods to gratify them. In order to produce goods that gratify the consumer, conscious effort is needed on the part of the company, including involving the consumer in product design and development. This requires that organisations have the right minded staff, particularly the sales force who will directly deal with the customer. Such a business behavior is known as internal marketing (Berry, 1981, Ahmed and Rafiq, 2003). The idea of integrated marketing also involve the marketing mix, including promotion, distribution, pricing and product quality. These are important ingredients in production, product and selling concepts, where quality product at relatively lower price, product availability and product promotion respectively are considered as a business’s belief. Relationship marketing is something that is captured in all the concepts. Whether a company sells efficient and quality product through persuasion or not; and whether the company involves the consumer in product decision or not, one thing is sure: “as long as the producer makes product for the consumer, the supplier-customer relationship should always be implicit”. Thus, the holistic marketing concept also aims at creating and maintaining profitable customers for the organization. CONCLUSIONS Reviews of the related literature support the fact that different concepts have emerged as business philosophies for the last one century or so. These concepts are all important and acceptable business beliefs at one time or another; and they individually supported the firm’s ultimate objective of creating and retaining profitable customers. While some of the marketing concepts may be considered superior to others, the acceptability of one concept or the other is dependent on customer characteristics, including customer product’s knowledge; changing times, competitive intensity and market turbulence. Some concepts which seem outdated may even be necessary to adopt today in some situations. Therefore, we can say the evolution of the marketing concept may theoretically define different business philosophies; yet, in practice they all aim at creating and retaining profitable customers. Thus, the marketing concept can be described simply as “different roads’ (varying ways of looking at how best business should be operated) leading to the same destination (provision of customer needs and company profitability). REFERENCES Keith R.J. (1960) “The Marketing Revolution” Journal of Marketing, vol. 24, pp. 35-38. Kotler (1994). Marketing Management, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2009) Marketing Management, Pearson Education International, London. Levitt T (1960), “Marketing Myopia”, Harvard Business Review, 38(4). Drucker, P. F., (1954) The Practice of Management, Harper and Row, New York. Drucker, P.F. (1974) Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, Harper & Row. Comyns, R.J. and Jones, J.G. (1927) Selling Alexander Hamilton Institute, New York Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 183 Day, G.S. and Wensley, R. (1983) “Marketing Theory with Strategic Orientation”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 79 – 89 McDonald, R.P. (1989). An Index of Goodness of Fit Based on Noncentrality. Journal of Classification, 6, 97-103. McKitterick, J.B. (1958), ‘What is the marketing management concept?’ The Frontiers of Marketing Thought and Science, ed F.M. Bass, American Marketing Association, Chicago. BIOGRAPHY Solomon A. Keelson, Takoradi Polytechnic, PO Box 256, Takoradi, solkiilson@yahoo.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 184 MANAGERIAL INCENTIVES FOR EARNINGS MANAGEMENT AMONG LISTED FIRMS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES, EVIDENCE FROM FIJI Prena Rani, The University of the South Pacific Fazeena Fazneen Hussain, The University of the South Pacific Priyashni Vandana Chand, The University of the South Pacific INTRODUCTION The high profile corporate collapses of the past decade have greatly questioned the integrity of financial reporting. Earnings management has been of growing concern to many academics, practitioners and regulators. Despite an enormous amount of regulation and standards governing the financial reporting process, earnings management practices are accelerating at an alarming rate in organizations today. Fiji, like many other developed countries, has had instances of financial reporting failures in the past. One does not need to look further than the multi-million dollar saga involving the state owned Bank, the National Bank of Fiji, which was the largest known financial scandal in the history of Fiji and the Pacific Islands. This suggests that even emerging economies like Fiji have been introduced to earnings management practices long ago but was not that apparent. A large number of studies (DeAngelo, 1986; Cahan, 1992; Dechow, 2000; Beneish, 2001) have been conducted on managerial incentives for earnings management in USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. While these were developed countries, very few studies have been conducted in emerging economies. Fiji’s weak regulatory environment makes it subject to high level of earnings manipulation therefore it becomes important to study earnings management practices in Fiji. This study therefore will use a questionnaire-based approach to examine management policies that give rise to earnings management among listed firms in Fiji, highlighting the most prevalent incentive for earnings management. These findings will provide FIA and other standard setters in emerging economies evidence on the most common driver for earnings management, which should assist them in formulating relevant financial reporting and corporate governance policies to ensure that management makes adequate disclosures. It should also assist users especially investors and financiers while reviewing annual reports to be cautious if the firm concerned displays characteristics that are aligned with the most prevalent incentive for earnings management. METHODOLOGY In order to obtain information about firm policies and practices that is not publicly available, we emailed questionnaires to CEO’s of the listed companies. In some cases, where the CEO was unavailable we requested an interview with the company’s CFO. The respondents completed the questionnaire in the presence of the researcher. Researchers were present in case the respondents needed clarification about any issues. In the questionnaire, we had closed-ended questions, whereby the researcher provided a suitable list of responses. Closed questions provide little or no scope for the researcher to misinterpret the meanings of answers. For example, if an answer is restricted to “Yes / No / Don’t Know” it is easy for the researcher to understand the exact intentions of the respondent. However, it also does not give an in-depth picture of Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 185 the question being researched, as it is possible that respondents had some other answers to the research questions. That is another reason researchers were present before the respondents so they could discuss and note any other important points being raised. Our intended group of recipients for the questionnaire was the management team from each listed company. This is because we felt that a member of the management team would be the best person to answer the questionnaire as he/she has access to inside company information. Managers are in-charge of the day-to-day operations of the company and therefore possess more knowledge about their management policies and practices. There are 16 companies listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange. This was our initial sample for the study that was later reduced to 14. This was because one of the listed firms was a financial institution and consistent with prior studies financial institutions were excluded due to their unique working capital structures. Another listed company was unavailable for interview and failed to return our questionnaire despite several calls and emails. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Agency theory provides a solid framework for understanding earnings management as it provides the agents with economic incentives to manipulate financial results. These incentives with research results are provided below. Managerial Compensation Incentives One of the most common incentives for managing earnings is the manager’s remuneration package. In most businesses, managers are entitled to cash bonuses or share options upon achieving predetermined reported earnings. It is quite common for management employment contracts to include accounting based constraints that determine compensation opportunities, such as annual salary increases, bonus, performance evaluation, and reaching targets set in compensation contracts (Singh, 2008). The results show that management compensation is the most common incentive for earnings management in listed companies in Fiji. In the entire sample of companies, members of the management team are entitled to other incentives apart from normal salary, for instance, bonuses, annual salary increments, share options etc. In 86% of listed firms, the Board of Directors and other senior executives set the management compensation plans, while in the other 14% of firms, it is the Human Resources Department. From the firms studied, 93% of them revealed that the performance evaluation criteria for rewards are stated in the management contracts. Profit and sales figures was the most common benchmark for rewards in the management compensation policies amongst all listed companies. Therefore, if management remuneration is based on entity profit or sales for the period, managers may manipulate firm’s earnings so they can reach their sales/profit targets and get additional rewards. Borrowing Cost Effects The firm’s closeness to violating its debt covenant provides its management with another incentive to engage in earnings management. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 186 The results show that the debt financiers have imposed some form of debt covenant on 57% of the listed firm’s loan agreements. Results disseminate that 43% of the listed firms did not have a loan agreement with anyone. None of the respondents admitted to violating any debt covenants. Equity Offerings Share issues provide a direct incentive for management to engage in earnings management as higher earnings would result in increased share prices implying an increase in market valuation and a reduction in cost of capital. We found that equity offerings are probably the least common incentive for earnings management in Fiji, probably, due to the highly inactive capital market in Fiji. Management Buyout In case of a management buyout, earnings are managed downwards. Usually, in such a situation, management faces a conflict as they have a fiduciary duty to the shareholders to get the best price for the firm and as buyers, managers would not want to pay a high price. Hence, managers have an incentive to reduce reported earnings prior to the buyout. There has not been any instance of management buyout in any of the listed firms in Fiji. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that this can never be an incentive in the near future. Usually, management buyout is considered by government as one of the methods for privatizing state owned entities. An example of an attempt of management buyout in Fiji is the case of Rewa Rice Limited in 1999 when the government was planning to sell off its shares. However, the management's offer was declined. Meeting Targets/Expectations Financial analysts or management usually forecast firms’ expected earnings prior to year-end. In Fiji, we do not have analysts who forecast or make predictions about firm performance. Therefore, our results solely focus on internal forecasts. In all the listed firms, Board of Directors, CEO’s and managers set targets for various divisions in the company. Various factors such as past trends, non-financial measures, competition levels, demand for products/services and current economic conditions are all considered when setting company targets. “Economic conditions such as devaluation and political upheavals in Fiji in the past have led to non achievement of forecasts,” commented one of the respondents. With the presence of unpredictable events such as these, managers may not be able to meet their targeted expectations and this may lead to managing earnings upwards. One respondent also stated that if management does not meet their forecasted earnings, and they do not have a valid reason for this, their employment is at risk in the company. This means that to save their employment, the managers might have to engage in earnings management. Reduce (Increase) Regulatory Cost (Benefits) Regulatory concerns can also induce management to engage in earnings management. Usually firms that are vulnerable to anti-trust investigations or other adverse political consequences or firms seeking government subsidy have enormous incentives to manage earnings to appear less profitable. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 187 A number of firms receive some form of assistance from the government such as grants or subsidies. One respondent stated that they receive concessionary rates of duty on capital investments. Another stated that they receive tax exemptions on local production of wood chips. One respondent stated that they had tax exemptions when they were listed in 2000, however now, this has expired and they no longer receive any assistance from the government. Our findings reveal that 79% of listed firms do not receive any form of assistance. This indicates that only a few listed firms would be inclined to report conservative earnings so that they can qualify for subsidies and other grants from government. Therefore, after examining provisions in management policies and practices, we find that management compensation incentive, meeting firm targets/expectations, reduction in regulatory costs, increase in regulatory benefits and borrowing cost incentives are common drivers of earnings management in Fiji. Out of these, we find that management compensation is the most prevalent incentive for earnings management in Fiji. The least common ones are: equity offerings attributable to a highly inactive stock market; and management buyout. REFERENCES Beneish, M. (2001). Earnings management: a perspective. Managerial Finance, 27(12), 3-17. Cahan, S. (1992). The effect of antitrust investigations on discretionary accruals: a refined test of the political cost hypothesis. The Accounting Review, 67(1), 77-95. DeAngelo, L. (1986). Accounting numbers as market valuation substitutes: A study of management buyouts of public stockholders. The Accounting Review, 61(3), 400-420. DeChow, P., & Skinner, D. (2000). Earnings management: reconciling the views of accounting academics, practitioners, and regulators. Accounting Horizons, 14(2), 235-250. Singh, A. (2008). Analyses of Earnings Management Practices in SOEs (Masters thesis). University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 188 WEB-BASED CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORTING IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: EVIDENCE FROM FIJI Priyashni Vandana Chand, The University of the South Pacific Fazeena Fazneen Hussain, The University of the South Pacific INTRODUCTION The prominent corporate collapses, the ongoing scandals over product responsibility and environmental issues, followed by the globalization of financial markets increased the demand and need for businesses to be socially responsible and to disclose their CSR practices to their stakeholders. Stakeholders expect firms to demonstrate social and ethical behavior by actively contributing to society through environment conservation, health and safety awareness, product quality, educational support and the like. Consequently, CSR is defined as “the obligation of the firm to use its resources in ways to benefit society, through committed participation as a member of society, taking into account the society at large and improving welfare of society at large independent of direct gains of the company” (Kok, et al., 2001, p. 287). This definition and many more are open to a number of interpretations depending on the culture and the context in which they are applied. Hence, there exists no universal definition of CSR. Over the years, public awareness on the role of businesses in the society has substantially increased (Hackston & Milne, 1996). While CSR activities undertaken by the organization is necessary and probably the most important measure towards being socially responsible, there is an urgent need for organizations to communicate these measures to relevant stakeholder groups in an effective and efficient manner. Literature suggests that consumers and other stakeholders prefer firms that embrace social responsibility and disseminate their CSR information along with financial performance. Consequently, firms have adopted environmental, social and sustainability reporting mechanisms to demonstrate their accountability and integrity. While in the early years of CSR reporting, firms opted for traditional paper-based reporting, the recent developments in information technology and the wide usage of internet as a communication medium have shifted CSR reporting to the web. Consequently, the pressures from stakeholders to disclose continuous CSR information, together with the technological advancements and the wide reach of the internet have shifted CSR reporting on the web. While CSR studies have been conducted in some developing countries, very few studies have examined CSR reporting practices in Pacific Island countries, especially, Fiji. Businesses operating in these Pacific Island Economies must contribute to the welfare and betterment of the society in return for the use of its resources, environment and people. As of today, there are no laws governing CSR reporting practices in Fiji; hence, firms voluntarily disclose CSR information. This study therefore focuses primarily on Fiji’s emerging economy. Seemingly, prior studies mainly examined the annual reports and none so far analyzed the corporate websites to find the nature and extent of CSR reporting present on the corporate websites of firms in Fiji. Hence, the current study is the first to examine web-based CSR reporting in Fiji. Since the wide usage of internet provides businesses with an alternative means for communicating with its stakeholders, it is important to examine how firms make use of this opportunity to exert their corporate social behavior and apparently how the firms use this mode to gain, maintain or repair their legitimacy status. The present study, therefore, aims to examine the nature and extent of CSR reporting on corporate websites of listed firms in Fiji, through in-depth content analysis of each company website. The modest amount of literature available on web-based CSR Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 189 reporting in emerging economies motivates the present study. This study will add to the limited literature on web-based CSR reporting practices in Fiji. The current study embraces a web-based content analysis, whereby we carry out a detailed observation of all listed firms corporate website. We believe that this form of analysis will fulfill our research question in examining the nature and extent of CSR reporting on corporate websites. To quantify CSR disclosures, researchers use various measures, for example, number of characters, words, sentences, pages or proportion of pages. We use number of sentences to measure the extent of CSR reporting on company website. In analyzing the nature of web-based CSR reporting, the present study used four themes: Environment, Community, Marketplace and Workplace. An initial sample of 16 firms was selected for this study. From our initial sample, we removed four firms, leaving this study with a final sample of 12. Data obtained for the study related to a 64-day period, beginning from 17th July, 2011 to 28th September, 2011. The results of this study show that 18.75% of the listed firms in Fiji do not maintain corporate websites to facilitate their business, to demonstrate their social responsibility, or to exhibit accountability to stakeholders at large. In terms of reporting CSR practices on the corporate websites, only 76.92% of the listed firms do such reporting. Additionally, only a few firms had their websites updated. We found that the most disclosed CSR theme on websites examined was Marketplace, with Environment being the least. Accordingly, inter-industry comparisons reveal that on average, Manufacturing / Merchandising sector provides the most CSR disclosures on their corporate website. It has also been noted that firms, which disclose CSR information, mainly focus on positive disclosures in an effort to build their legitimacy. Negative CSR information should be communicated to all stakeholders. Thus, a more serious and rigorous CSR reporting is needed by the listed firms operating in Fiji. In conclusion, this study revealed that firms in developing and emerging economies generally provide very limited or insufficient CSR information on their website. Even though the listed firms realize the importance of engaging in CSR activities and accordingly communicating it to their stakeholders, they have not yet fully committed themselves to achieving these objectives. BIBLIOGRAPHY Hackston, D., & Milne, M. J. (1996). Some Determinants of Social and Environmental Disclosures in New Zealand Companies. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 9(1), 77- 108. Kok, P., Weile, T., Mckenna, R., & Brown, A. (2001). A Corporate Social Responsibility Audit within a Quality Management Framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 31(4), 285-297. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 190 OPTIMAL DIVERSIFICATION - DOES IT EXIST? Chien-Chih Lin, Tamkang University Yung-Shun Tsai, Asia University Hsiao-Yin Chen, Kainan University ABSTRACT This study discusses the existence of the optimal diversification to maximize bank value. It finds that the impact of diversification on bank value depends on the business cycle. Since diversification can lower individual risk and raise system risk simultaneously, it will not always be beneficial for financial institutions to diversify their assets fully. This paper finds that, in a good economy, there will be an optimal diversification to maximize a bank’s value, but in a bad economy, diversification will hurt a bank’s value. Empirical evidence from Taiwan’s banks is provided. JEL: G34; L22; G21; G24 KEYWORDS: Diversification; Business Cycle; Systemic Risk; Banking INTRODUCTION International financial transactions and investments contribute to diversifying the assets of financial institutions, especially banks. Diversification can reduce individual risk, but the shocks of the recent mortgage and financial crises in the US and the credit crises in Europe have resulted in financial institutions’ having to withstand more risk because of their diversification. Of course, diversification has benefits. Elsas et al. (2010) examined the impact of diversification on bank value during 1996-2008 and found two reasons for diversification’s ability to increase bank value. The first is banks’ economies of scope: because of their frequently long-term relationships with customers, banks can get more client information than non-financial institutions can in order to improve diversification in products and services.In addition, banks’ high operating leverage allows banks more opportunities to find low-cost capital sources and achieve economies of scope. The second reason that diversification can increase bank value is due to the technological advantage and liberalization of the financial industries, such as progress in financial marketing technologies (e.g., the foot-in-the-door strategy of requesting small demands before major ones) and the spread of financial openness and liberalization, including financial derivatives and financial consolidation, to financially developing countries. Enterprise integration also provides internal capital markets to improve efficiency in the allocation of funds (e.g., Williamson, 1975; Stein, 1997). The cost of the internal capital market is usually lower than that of the external capital market (Goold and Luchs, 1993; Ghemawat, 2000), so it can reduce cost and increase profit while also reducing information asymmetry. Hadlock et al. (2001) showed that external financing in the open market had more serious adverse selection problems than did financing in internal markets. Khanna and Palepu (1999) studied the role of diversification in India’s enterprises and found that diversification can create shareholder value via products and labor and that diversification has a risk transfer effect in financial markets, particularly in emerging markets that are not fully developed. Lewellen (1971) argued that enterprise integration could improve capital efficiency and increase debt capacity, thereby improving corporate value by means of debt expansion. Chandler (1977) and Teece (1982) confirmed that economies of scope can improve the efficiency of resource allocation, reduce costs, and increase corporate value, while Bhide (1990) suggested that diversified investment could address consumer, supplier, borrower, and tax issues to increase the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 191 efficiency of resource use. Montgomery (1994) proposed three major theoretical viewpoints—the agency theory, the resource-based view, and market power—to explain why enterprises may choose to diversify investments. According to the agency theory, the manager may seek diversified investment in order to (1) increase his or her compensation (Jensen and Murphy, 1990), power, and reputation (Jensen, 1986); (2) consolidate his or her position in the company by using expertise in investment (Shleifer and Vishny, 1990; Shleifer and Vishny, 1991); and/or (3) reduce the risk in his or her personal investment portfolio by lowering corporate risk (Amihud and Lev, 1981). From the resource-based view, when a company has excessive capital for investment, activities that take advantage of economies of scope, such as the integration of marketing channels and operating strongholds after product diversification, can increase corporate efficiency (Penrose, 1959) . Moreover, the integration of legal and financial resources can be improved by using diversified business operations (Wernerfelt and Montgomery, 1988; Bodnar et al., 1999). Using the perspective of the market power theory, Villalonga (2000) proposed three reasons why enterprises choose investment diversification to increase market power: (1) to use a company’s profits to offset the price-cutting competition of another; (2) to ally with other companies to compete with rivals in multiple markets; and (3) to crowd out smaller firms by investing in major enterprises to expand market share.On the other hand, diversification has its costs. Wagner (2010) argued that portfolio diversification increases opportunities for asset overlap. Under the influence of the wealth effect, a bank failure would decrease the wealth of another bank that holds the same assets, leading to further collapse and the possibility of systematic crisis. Goldstein and Pauzner (2004) suggested that, under the influence of wealth effect, international portfolio diversification would trigger international “risk infection” since bad news in one country would reduce investors’ wealth, resulting in rising risk aversion and disinclination to invest in other countries. Allen and Carletti (2006) and Allen and Gale (2005) argued that the credit risk transfer effect between the insurance and banking industries would lead to risk transfer from the insurance industry to the banking industry. When the banking and the insurance industry hold the same assets, the insurance industry may lower prices in order to sell the assets in times of crisis, harming the banking industry that holds the same assets. If the loss expands to a certain level, bank failures can result. Diversification may also result in increasing agency problems and increasing corporate costs (e.g., Jensen, 1986; Meyer et al., 1992), and inefficient resource allocation may arise from the functional failure of internal capital markets (e.g., Lamont, 1997; Scharfstein and Stein, 2000a; Rajan et al., 2000). In addition, information asymmetry between investment companies and managers of the companies in which they invest (e.g., Harris et al., 1992) is detrimental to business operations since information asymmetry may increase the rent-seeking behaviors of the managers and enable them to engage in non-productive profit- seeking activities (e.g., Scharfstein and Stein, 2000b), increasing corporate costs and lowering corporate value. Despite the competing positive and negative effects of diversification, studies on optimal diversification are rare. This study attempts to determine the conditions necessary for an optimal level of diversification to exist using the banking industry as an example. The study follows the model Wagner (2010) used to explore the effect of diversification in reducing individual risk and increasing system risk. We find that optimal diversification is related to the business cycle: When the economy is good, there is an optimal diversification level for maximizing banks’ value, and when the economy is bad, diversification will lower bank value. THE MODEL Consider a three-period economy and two banks. Suppose each bank has collected one unit of funds from investors, of which a share d is in the form of deposits and the remaining share is capital. At time 1 bank Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 192 1 invests in an asset X , and bank 2 invests in an assetY . Each asset requires one unit of funds. The values of the assets are independent and uniformly distributed on the interval[0, ]s ; that is 1( ) ( ) , , [0, ]X Yf x f y x y ss = = ∀ ∈ , (1) where ( )Xf x and ( )Yf y are the probability density functions of the values of assets X andY . At time 2, each bank decides whether to transfer its asset to the other bank. We denote 1[0, ], {1, 2} 2i r i∈ ∈ , the share of a bank invests in a new asset. Thus, the bank is undiversified if 0ir = , and fully diversified if 1/ 2ir = . The payoffs of assets are realized at time 3, and the values of banks 1 and 2 at time 3 are 1 1 1 1( , ; ) (1 )v x y r r x r y= − + (2) 2 2 2 2( , ; ) (1 )v x y r r x r y= + − (3) When the value of bank 1 is less than d , it is insolvent, and it has to liquidate its assets. If the other bank is solvent, then the failing bank can sell its assets to the other bank for their total value, reduced by c ; that is ( , )iv x y c− . If the other bank is insolvent as well, then the assets of bank 1 have to be acquired by outsiders who are inferior users of the assets, so the assets have to be liquidated at a loss of qc , where 1q ≥ . Under these assumptions, the expected value for banks 1 and 2, 1W and 2W , can be written as 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2( , ) [ ( )] ( ( ) , ( ) ) ( ( ) , ( ) )W r r E v r cP v r d v r d qcP v r d v r d= − ≤ > − ≤ ≤ (4)
2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2( , ) [ ( )] ( ( ) , ( ) ) ( ( ) , ( ) )W r r E v r cP v r d v r d qcP v r d v r d= − ≤ > − ≤ ≤ (5)
Therefore, the total welfare in the economy is the sum of the expected values of bank 1 and 2:
( )
1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 2
1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1
1 1 2 2
( , ) ( , ) [ ( )] [ ( )]
( ( ) , ( ) ) ( ( ) , ( ) )
2 ( ( ) , ( ) ).
W r r W r r E v r E v r
c P v r d v r d P v r d v r d
qcP v r d v r d
+ = +
− ≤ > + ≤ >
− ≤ ≤

Since [ ( )]i iE v r is independent of ir , the optimal diversification simply minimizes the total expected
liquidation losses at both banks. Because of symmetry, the optimal degrees of diversification for banks 1
and 2 are equal. Therefore, we can focus on the losses for bank 1 and solve
( )1 2 1 2rMin ( ( ) , ( ) ) ( ( ) , ( ) ) c P v r d v r d qP v r d v r d≤ > + ≤ ≤
Using these assumptions, the optimal degree of diversification can be derived.
Proposition 1. The optimal degree of diversification in the banking system is given by *
1
1 2 1
r
q
=
+ −
when 1
1 2 1
d
s q
≤
+ −
, and * 0r = when 1
1 2 1
d
s q
>
+ −
.

In the Nash equilibrium, the degree of diversification for Bank 1 is solved by

Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012

GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 193

1
1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2r
Max [ ( )] ( ( ) , ( ) ) ( ( ) , ( ) )E v r cP v r d v r d qcP v r d v r d− ≤ > − ≤ ≤ , (6)
which leads to Proposition 2:

Proposition 2. In the Nash equilibrium the degree of diversification in the banking sector is given by
1
1
Er
q
=
+
when 1
1
d
s q
≤
+
, and 0Er = when 1
1
d
s q
>
+
.

The threshold of optimal diversification is related to the cost of liquidation by outsiders q . In this study,
the threshold of the optimal diversification is
1
1 2 1q+ − in general equilibrium and
1
1 q+ in the Nash
equilibrium. The cost of liquidation by outsiders q is suggested to be constant in the short term, which
implies that the threshold would also be constant in the short term.

EMPIRICAL RESULTS

Sample

We chose 33 publicly listed banks in Taiwan from TEJ (Taiwan Economic Journal) data bank as the
screening group, based on the length of their history and the availability of data. We excluded banks that
were merged into financial holding companies because of difficult access to data and their reduced
business independence. Then we selected banks from this group whose business cycle was apparent
(equity market capitalization had once been lower than book value, namely, Tobin’s q value was <1) and whose levels of diversification had fluctuated. After this screening, we were left with ten publicly listed banks and 120 monthly observations for each year from 2000 to 2009. Optimum Diversification We use Tobin’s q as a measure of bank valuation. Tobin’s q is calculated as the sum of the market value of common equity, plus the book value of preferred shares, plus the book value of total debt, divided by the book value of total assets. Lang and Stulz (1994) employed Tobin's q to observe the relationship between corporate diversification and performance, arguing that Tobin's q contains the capitalized value of diversification. Under the hypothesis of an efficient market and market value as the unbiased estimated value of the current cash flow of the company, Tobin's q can measure the contributions of the intangible assets of the company to market value. Hence, management activities (e.g., diversification) can increase or decrease corporate value through the impact of intangible assets. When the company’s investment portfolio changes, its Tobin's q will also change. When the diversification indicator is calculated from the perspective of the bank’s profitability, the profit- making activities are divided into interest-rate-related activities and non-interest-rate-related activities. Stiroh and Rumble (2006) studied the impact of diversification on the performance of American financial holding companies and found that diversification facilitates the revenue from interest-rate-related activities and that diversification is detrimental to non-interest-rate-related activities. As the non-interest- rate-related activities have higher fluctuations and the profit-making capabilities are not necessarily higher than the interest rate-related activities, asset diversification in non-interest-rate-related activities http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsdos.ejournal.ascc.net%2Fcgi-bin%2Fsearch.pl%2FGetSearchResults%3FAny%3D%26Title%3D%26Abstract%3D%26Author%3DStiroh%252C%2520Kevin%2520J.%26JournalTitle%3D%26Past%3DNo%2BRestriction...%26Since%3D%26Start%3D1%26Max%3D10&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzeitWte3N4-cseul1X3hD8O0c4vvg http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsdos.ejournal.ascc.net%2Fcgi-bin%2Fsearch.pl%2FGetSearchResults%3FAny%3D%26Title%3D%26Abstract%3D%26Author%3DRumble%252C%2520Adrienne%26JournalTitle%3D%26Past%3DNo%2BRestriction...%26Since%3D%26Start%3D1%26Max%3D10&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzc3kLl_zF1UFgK50698cyBtXJBWPA Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 194 lowers the performance of the financial holding companies. The establishment of diversification indicators by Stiroh and Rumble is illustrated as follows: )(1 22 NONNET SHSHDIV +−= 2 NETSH : is the share of net operating revenue from net interest sources 2 NONSH : is the share of net operating revenue from non-interest sources Laeven and Levine (2007) studied the diversification effect of financial integration on corporate market value by categorizing the operational activities that affect diversification into loan-related activities and non loan-related activities. Their findings suggested that the economies of scope of business diversification after financial integration do not generate diversification premiums. The diversification indicator is set as illustrated below: income operating total income operatingother - incomeinterest net 1)( −=LLationDiversific Elsas et al. (2010) studied how diversification affected the value of bank during the 1996-2008 in nine countries. They classified the bank’s non-interest-related activities into net commission revenue, net trading revenue, and all other net revenue. The set diversification indicator is illustrated below: ])()()()([1 2222 TOR OTH TOR TRAD TOR COM TOR INTDIV +++−= INT: gross interest revenue COM: net commission revenue TRAD: net trading revenue OTH: all other net revenue TOR: total operating revenue, which is equal to the sum of the absolute values of INT, COM, TRAD and OTH. Referring to the diversification indicators proposed by Elsas et al.(2010), this study, in accordance with the items on the balance sheet of Taiwan’s banking industry, categorizes the revenue sources of the banks into four types in order to calculate the banks’ diversification indicator: H=1-[(interest revenue/total revenue)2 +(handling fee and handling charge commission revenue/total revenue)2 +(financial transaction revenue/total revenue)2 +(other revenue/total revenue)2] http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsdos.ejournal.ascc.net%2Fcgi-bin%2Fsearch.pl%2FGetSearchResults%3FAny%3D%26Title%3D%26Abstract%3D%26Author%3DStiroh%252C%2520Kevin%2520J.%26JournalTitle%3D%26Past%3DNo%2BRestriction...%26Since%3D%26Start%3D1%26Max%3D10&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzeitWte3N4-cseul1X3hD8O0c4vvg http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsdos.ejournal.ascc.net%2Fcgi-bin%2Fsearch.pl%2FGetSearchResults%3FAny%3D%26Title%3D%26Abstract%3D%26Author%3DRumble%252C%2520Adrienne%26JournalTitle%3D%26Past%3DNo%2BRestriction...%26Since%3D%26Start%3D1%26Max%3D10&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFrqEzc3kLl_zF1UFgK50698cyBtXJBWPA Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 195 In order to verify the existence of an optimal level of diversification in the sample banks in Taiwan, Tobin’s q is used as the measurement indicator of the value of the bank, and H is used as the diversification indicator of the bank’s revenue to establish the regression model: Q=c+a1H+a2H2 (7) Q: Tobin Q=(M/B)=(Market Value/Book Value) H: the degree of diversification, c: the effects of other influencing factors If the operational purpose of the bank is to maximize its value (Max Q), and there is an optimal level of diversification H, then H should satisfy the following two conditions: Condition I, 02 2 < dH Qd , Second-order condition, namely, H2 regression coefficient a2<0, representing that the existence of diversification has maximized corporate value. Condition II, The optimum diversification: * 1 2 0 2 aH a = >
−
; hence, the regression coefficient is a1>0.
If the effects of reducing individual risk through the bank’s diversification are greater than the effects of
increasing system risk, there should be an optimal level of diversification to maximize the value of the
bank. This paper uses the corporate value Q of Taiwan’s sample banks to conduct a regression estimation
of the diversification variables H and H2, leading to the results shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Regression Results for Optimal Diversification

Bank C H H2 Adj.-R2
Coeff. p-value Coeff. p-value Coeff. p-value
2801 0.9616 0.0000
*** 0.2432 0.0000
*** -0.3002 0.0000
*** 0.3502
2809 0.9425 0.0000
*** 0.3667 0.0000
*** -0.5502 0.0000
*** 0.4077
2812 0.9491 0.0000
*** 0.2291 0.0004*** -0.2885 0.0015*** 0.1144
2834 0.9778 0.0000
*** 0.0658 0.0033*** -0.0504 0.1433 0.2730
2836 0.9626 0.0000
*** 0.1446 0.0000
*** -0.2004 0.0000
*** 0.1244
2837 0.9031 0.0000
*** 0.7495 0.0000
*** -1.2301 0.0000
*** 0.2699
2838 0.8376 0.0000
*** 0.6151 0.0002*** -0.6340 0.0008*** 0.2231
2845 0.8404 0.0000
*** 0.7383 0.0000*** -0.7422 0.0000*** 0.6366
2847 0.9017 0.0000
*** 0.3378 0.0000*** -0.2779 0.0001*** 0.5297
2849 0.9003 0.0000*** 0.4031 0.0000*** -0.3851 0.0000*** 0.6197
Tobin’s q is calculated as the sum of the market value of common equity, plus the book value of preferred shares, plus the book value of total
debt, divided by the book value of total assets. Herfindal H=1-[(interest revenue/total revenue)2+(handling fee and handling charge commission
revenue/total revenue)2+(financial transaction revenue/total revenue)2+(other revenue/total revenue)2]. * significant at the 10% level.
** significant at the 5% level. *** significant at the 1% level.

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As Table 1 shows, the regression coefficients of the first-order variable H of diversification against the
bank value variable Q at the 1% significance level is positive, indicating that increasing diversification
leads to rising corporate value. The regression coefficients of the second-order variable H2 of
diversification at the 1% significance level are mostly positive except for one sample, indicating that
diversification can maximize corporate value. Hence, Taiwan’s banking sample suggests that
diversification’s positive effects on bank value (reducing individual risk) are greater than the negative
effects (increasing system risk).Regarding the impact of economic conditions on the optimal level of
diversification, this study organizes the probability of corporate value to be lower than liability value in
conducting the sensitivity analysis and finds no significant results. It is not easy to estimate accurately the
loss probability q and the observation value s of the highest possible value of the bank’s investment
assets. Therefore, this question is expected to be explored in future studies. Among the sample banks in
Taiwan, the Taichung Commercial Bank (2812) and the Kaohsiung Bank (2836) have higher risks (risk
incidents had taken place) than other banks. The probability of liquidation conditions of the two samples,
the d /s values, are more likely to exceed the threshold, so an optimal level of diversification is less likely.
However, the regression fitness of the two samples is relatively poor (relatively smaller modified R2), and
the representativeness is weak. The probability of the liquidation condition indicator, the d/s value of
other sample banks, is more likely to exceed the threshold; hence, the possibility that there is an optimal
level of diversification in Taiwan’s banking industry is relatively high.

CONCLUSIONS

For financial institutions, diversification may reduce individual risk and improve corporate value, as well
as increasing system risk and lowering corporate value. Hence, if the integration results of the two are
beneficial to the corporation, there is an optimal level of diversification to maximize corporate value. This
study finds that diversification’s impact on corporate value is related to the business cycle such that, when
the economy is good, there is an optimal level of diversification to maximize banks’ value, and when the
economy is bad, diversification will hurt banks’ value. Moreover, the optimal level of diversification and
the loss rate are in an inversely changing relationship. These results suggest that the integration effect of
diversification in good economies are beneficial, and investment should increase, while the integration
effects of diversification are negative in poor economies, and investment should be reduced. Most of the
recent empirical studies on the impact of diversification on the value of financial institutions begin from
the perspective of financial integration to test whether corporate value falls after financial integration.
Such limitations are not generalized. Hence, with Taiwan’s banks as an example, this study tests the
impact of diversification on the banks’ value and finds that, in the case of the sample banks, there is an
optimal level of diversification to maximize corporate value. This finding suggests that Taiwan’s
economic conditions still benefit the diversification of the banking industry. However, this study does not
verify the indicators of conditions leading to probability of liquidation or loss rate, which may be
considerations for future study.

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http://ideas.repec.org/s/bla/jacrfn.html

http://ideas.repec.org/s/bla/jacrfn.html

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BALANCED SCORECARD FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL
STRATEGIC MARKETING IN COLOMBIA
Santiago García Carvajal, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada

ABSTRACT

The article formulates a Balanced Scorecard based upon research outcomes that enables knowledge
centric entrepreneurships in Colombia to implement strategic Marketing practices. It explores
entrepreneur´s marketing rationale through fieldwork and data analysis by evidencing relationships
between their education, revenues and years of experience with various strategic marketing options.
Marketing rationale was defined within The Wheel of Consumer Analysis (WCA) framework:
(Environment) Knowledge acquired from the outside, (Affective and Cognitive) Specialized training and
procedures and formal and non-formal education thorough technical instruction, Competences
implemented and experienced as routines and finally, (Behavior) transferring that knowledge across
business areas and embed it the final products. Factor analysis helps determining appropriate marketing
mixes for technology based entrepreneurships in terms of local idiosyncrasies. One way ANOVA provides
mean comparisons between different categories for education, revenues and years of experience to factor
scores.

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DECODING THE REGULATORY SYSTEM FOR
ADVERTISING IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA
Luding Tong, Marietta College

ABSTRACT

The recent announcement of the advertising code of ethics, “China’s Responsible Marketing Code,” by
the China Association of National Advertisers was celebrated by the World Federation of Advertisers as a
milestone in China’s advertising industry and the first step to establishing an effective self-regulatory
system for advertising in China. This paper cautions that China’s advertising regulatory system is
complicated and that the fundamental role of the Code remains to be seen. The paper examines the
development and the principal dimensions of China’s current advertising regulation system, including the
Advertising Law, the regulations that complement the Law, censors and the censorship process, and
examples of censorable advertisements under the current system. The intricate relationship between the
written and unwritten rules, on the one hand, and government involvement, on the other hand, leaves
ample room for officials to make subjective decisions regarding advertisements in different contexts and
political situations. The paper demonstrates that, in the ideological contest between socialism and
capitalism, the Chinese government resorts to different strategies to regulate the advertising industry, and
that the path to establishing effective advertising standards that are consistent with the principles in many
developed countries is formidable.

JEL: M31, M37, M38

KEYWORDS: China, advertising regulations, global marketing

INTRODUCTION

To help understand China’s advertising regulatory system and censorship, this paper examines the
development and principal dimensions of the contemporary Chinese regulatory system for advertising,
censorship, and their enforcement. The paper seeks to shed some insights on how different elements in the
system work by looking into the intricate relationship among the written rules—which include the
Advertising Law, the government-issued regulations and explanations of the Advertising Law, the ad
industry’s self-regulatory rules—and the unwritten “moral law.” The paper also describes the connections
between the government and the censorship organization, and the censorship process and practices.

On April 11, 2011, at a press conference in Beijing, the China Association of National Advertisers
(CANA) announced China’s first cross-industry self-regulatory advertising code of ethics, the “China
Responsible Marketing Code” (hereafter, “the Code”). The Code had been developed jointly by CANA
and the other two leading advertising associations in China—the China Advertising Association (CAA)
and the China Advertising Association of Commerce (CAAC)—in consultation with the World
Federation of Advertisers (WFA). The principles of the Code are reported to be consistent with
advertising standards in the rest of the world. The Code was celebrated by representatives of WFA as a
milestone in China’s advertising industry. (WFA Global News, April 13, 2011).

However, WFA’s optimism regarding the important role of the Code did not seem to be shared by
CANA’s Chinese colleagues in CAA, an organization instrumental in China’s advertising censorship.

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During my recent interview at CAA, Li Fangwu, Executive Assistant to the Secretary General of the CAA
and Director of the CAA’s Legal Service, was low-keyed about the significance of the Code: “CANA is
a member of the WFA. Naturally, the Code has received international attention. Advertising censorship
in China is government controlled. The regulatory rules are strict, and the system is complicated. There is
little room for the Code to play a significant role in the advertising regulation system” (Tong, 2011).

“COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION”

The past three decades have witnessed a new era in China in which many cultural changes have taken
place. With Deng Xiaoping’s proclamation “To get rich is glorious,” the “Mao fevers” of the Mao Era
(1949-1976) have shifted to today’s “consumer fevers.” Commercialism has penetrated every aspect of
contemporary Chinese society, exerting impact on every Chinese man and woman, old or young. This
phenomenon has been characterized by critics as a “consumer revolution” (Davis, 2000).

China’s rapid economic growth since 1992 has given a further powerful impetus to a progressive
expansion of consumerism. The Chinese consumer economy has shifted from one of satisfying needs to
one that develops wants. Acquiring and consuming material goods—tastefully—has become an intrinsic
part of modern living and a validation of one’s high social standing in China. China’s new elites like to
dine at Western food restaurants; frequent outdoor cafés, bistros, and boutiques that possess a foreign
cachet; and show off their newly acquired Western brand-name products, such as Armani and Louis
Vuitton. China now ranks second in the world in the consumption of luxury goods, just behind Japan.
According to projections by Goldman Sachs, China is likely to tie Japan as No. 1 in 2015, consuming 29
percent of luxury-goods sales world-wide (The Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2006). The
government’s recent policy to transform China’s economy from an export- and manufacturing-oriented
one to a domestic consumer-oriented one will no doubt further help expansion of consumerism in China.

As a central totem of commercialism, advertising has developed at a speed unprecedented in its Western
counterparts. Only three decades ago, few Chinese people knew what a commercial advertisement was, or
how it functioned. After the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, Western-style commercial
advertising in China had been restricted for about 30 years. It was believed that advertising encouraged
individual consumption, and was seen as a symbol of capitalism and a deliberate perversion of public
communication for decadent commercial purposes. Products featured Mao’s face and the faces of other
political leaders. Chinese people at that time lived a thrifty life. Almost every consumer good was
rationed. When consumer wares were so scarce, no advertising was necessary.

In the spirit of “deepening reform and broadening the open-door policy,” “socialist commercial
advertising” was welcomed back in December 1978. Eager to earn advertising revenue from foreign
clients, Chinese government officials responsible for economic development and advertising
professionals informed foreign companies that they could place advertisements on radio, television, and
billboards, and in newspapers and magazines. Shortly after the curtain lifted, a newly resuscitated
Shanghai Advertising Corporation pursued foreign clients with English language advertisements: “Do
you want to promote your business? Consult us. We are ready to offer full & efficient services” (Stross,
1990, p. 489). Drawn by China’s booming market, the world’s major advertising agencies rushed into the
Chinese advertising market in the 1980s. Initially, foreign advertising companies explored the Chinese ad
market with caution. Since the 1990s, foreign advertising has expanded rapidly. Now, almost all the
world’s major advertising companies have operations in China. Tom Doctoroff, the North Asia CEO of
WPP Group’s JWT ad agency, boldly claims that “We [at JWT] want our creative ideas to be extended

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into every corner of the country” (The Wall Street Journal, March 30, 2006). Once inside the country,
Western advertising aroused the desire of the Chinese masses to embrace Western consumerism.

GOVERNMENT, ADVERTISING LAW, AND ADVERTISING REGULATIONS

For three decades, the advertising industry in China has grown from practically nothing in 1979 to a
multi-billion-dollar business today, with annual advertising spending reaching $36 billion in 2010—the
world’s second-largest national expenditure on advertising after the U. S. (CAA, 2010). The size of the ad
industry, its explosive growth, the size and diversity of the country, the vague and potentially
controversial government regulations, the novelty of the advertising industry and the comparative
ignorance of indigenous advertising professionals about the new field, posed challenges for both
government law makers and advertisers seeking to produce sound regulatory measures and quality ad
products. Today’s Chinese advertising market, as accurately described by Jian Wang, is “vibrant yet
chaotic” (Wang, 2000, p. 112). This chaotic situation has at least three explanations.

1. The Ideological Incongruity of a Socialist Society and a Capitalist Economy

Since China’s adoption of a “socialist market economy,” party leaders have been struggling, on the one
hand, to hold on to communist ideology as the country’s spiritual foundation and, on the other hand, to
depend on capitalism to further the country’s economic development, in order to keep the party’s
authority and legitimacy to rule the country. More than three decades have passed since the Chinese
Communist party-state endorsed “socialist commercial advertising.” What exactly “socialist commercial
advertising” is, is unclear, except that it “should differ from advertising in a capitalist country” and should
be “in conformity with the criteria for socialist spiritual civilization” (Wang, 2000, p. 111). Consumerism
was a hot (obsessive) topic in 1980s and 1990s in China. There were heated debates in newspapers and
magazines and on television and radio, regarding the “shoulds” and “should nots,” as well as on the
functions and principles of advertising in a socialist system. In his address to the Third World Advertising
Conference held in Beijing in 1987, Wan Li, then China’s acting premier, stated that “Advertising links
production and consumption. It is an important part of the economic activities of modern society” (Wang,
2000, p. 40). As noted by critics in the West, the arguments by those who advocated for advertising were
precisely those that critics in capitalist societies used to attack advertising. These Chinese writers cheered
advertising’s ability to “stimulate the consumers’ desire to consume—advertising consequently
accelerates the expansion of production” (Stross, 1990, pp. 498-490). At that point, the ostensible
distinction between Chinese socialist advertising and Western capitalist advertising disappeared.

2. The Advertising Law, Government Regulations, and Self-Regulation

After advertising was welcomed back to China, there was initially little control by the government over
regulations, resulting in a chaotic situation. It took a few years before government officials began to take
measures to regulate the advertising industry. To promote ad industry standards and protect consumer
interests, the government published a series of policies and regulations governing advertising. In 1982
the State Council issued “Provisional Regulations for Advertising Management,” and then the
“Regulation for Advertising Management” in 1987. Other important advertising policy initiatives were
the “Interim Regulations on the Advertising Agency System” and the “Interim Advertising Review
Standards” by the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) in 1993, and finally the
Advertising Law was passed by the National People’s Congress and came into effect in February 1995
(Wang, 2000, pp. 95-96). Experience with the 1995 Advertising Law in the past decades, however, shows

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that the Law is not sufficient as a guide for the rapidly developing advertising industry in China. Ad
agencies and professionals complain that the Advertising Law is vague and out of date. Many critics call
for revision (Qu, 2006, pp. 16-17). Since 2007, the SAIC has published several sets of standards and
measures to supplement or explain of the 1995 Advertising Law for the supervision and management of
advertising in China. Examples are the “Standards for the Censorship and Publication of Advertising for
Medical Products” and “The Announcement of Strengthening Supervision and Management of Print
Advertisements.”

Over the years, CAA and, recently, CANA have issued more detailed self-regulatory principles for
advertising, advocating honest, truthful, and decent ad behavior and specifying responsibilities of the
advertising parties. Although it encourages self-regulation by advertisers, the government has ultimate
power over the industry. Because advertisers’ self-regulation is not legally binding, enforcement has been
relatively weak. Punishments of violations of the rules usually involve media exposées. Over the past few
years, the SAIC, with the participation of CAA, CANA, and China’s Consumer Association have been
revising and updating the 1995 Advertising Law. It is unknown when the revised law will be passed by
the People’s Congress and become effective. According to Li Fanwu, who has been involved in the
revision, the revised law will remain general and conceptual, similar to the 1995 Advertising Law, rather
than being specific and detailed.

3. The Unwritten Daode fa (Moral Law)

Although the Advertising Law and the government-issued ad regulations are the primary codified legal
texts for the advertising industry in China, a “law” that is not in writing, known as daode fa, roughly
translated as “moral law,” is an important component of the government policies toward
advertising. The “moral law,” which is similar to the code of ethics in the West, is generally
associated with moral consciousness or ethical principles in human behavior, intended for human
betterment. Such moral guidance usually is believed to derive from shared values and mores of a
culture or society; however, Chinese daode fa, is more complicated, both in its concept and in its
practice of regulating human behavior—specifically, advertising communications. There are at
least three conceptual components in the formation of contemporary Chinese daode fa.

The first is the body of Confucian moral values. Being the “central pillar” of Chinese culture, it
is generally believed that the moral principles advocated by Confucianism shaped the core of
“Chinese characteristics.” Confucian moral principles include belief in humaneness, or ren, and
the practice of benevolent conduct. “Ren” is defined in Confucianism as “a sublime moral
attitude, a transcendental perfection attained only by legendary heroes” (Guo, 2004, pp. 82-83).

Since the turn of the 20th century, Confucianism has been going through political and ideological ups and
downs in China. Attitudes of the masses toward Confucian values subsequently have undergone changes;
so have Confucian moral responsibilities. Confucianism was criticized by Mao’s regime during the
Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) as being feudalist and reactionary, and Chinese were ordered to
eradicate it from their hearts and minds. In the wake of economic success in East Asia, Confucianism was
resurrected. Confucian moral values once again have been advocated both by Communist Party leaders
and by the New Confucians who believe in Confucianism in contemporary China as spiritual guidance to
lead China through the nation’s modernization. Confucianism has been touted as the nation’s insurance
to regain its power in the world and to influence the world’s future direction.

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The second conceptual component in the formation of contemporary daode fa is the so-called “socialist
morals.” Historical materialism postulates that societies are divided by classes and fraught with class
conflict. Chinese Marxists advocate that moral beliefs and values should reflect historical and socio-
economical conditions of a society. In Zhou Wangsheng’s article explaining the relationship of moral
values and the state law (Zhou, 2007), the author emphasizes that in socialist China, moral values are
defined by socialist laws and should be for the benefit of socialist society: More specifically, Zhou states
that Chinese socialist morals are manifested, in addition to the “goodness” of the nation’s traditional
values, in “five loves,” namely, love of the country, love of the people, love of work, love of science, and
love of socialist public virtues (Zhou, 2007). According to one advertising handbook, one key element in
Chinese advertising is “its relatively strong, ideological content. In a class society, the essence of such an
ideology reflects the thoughts of the class.” (Wang, 2000, p. 94) A development and an expansion of the
traditional moral system, socialist moral consciousness should show the spirit of collectivism, defend the
socialist cause, and serve the people and society, heart and soul. In short, socialist morals constitute an
important part of the Chinese socialist spiritual civilization (Zhou, 2007).

The third component of daode fa is its unique role in the enforcement of the law in China. Commenting
on the practice of moral consciousness and the state law, Zhou Wangsheng characterizes the legal system
in China as “not perfect” and in an on-going process of improvement. Regulating various social relations
is subtle and complicated, and the regulations of many social relations cannot be thoroughly defined in
words (Zhou, 2007). Zhou’s assertion is also stipulated in the 1995 Advertising Law. Article III of the
Advertising Law of the PRC stipulates that “An advertisement shall be … in compliance with the
requirements of raising a socialist cultural and ideological progress” (italics added). In other words, an
advertisement should reflect socialist spiritual consciousness. So as socialist spiritual guidance,
contemporary daode fa is crucial in regulating social relations: It functions to complement the law and to
close the loopholes in the Chinese legal system. In this sense, the wordless daode fa bears an equal, if not
superior, weight to the state law in China.

The daodefa was an important source of spiritual guidance during the so-called “Anti-Spiritual Pollution”
campaign in the early 1980s. It reinforced the need to separate the essential Western things from the
dross, and to blend the West’s quintessence with China’s to create “socialist advertisements” that
reflected China’s own “special characteristics.” This was a goal that all Chinese could support, and
though the defining characteristics of a socialist advertising style remained vague, mere mention of the
goal served to deflect criticism of undue Western influence” (Stross, 1990, p. 497). Despite some
similarities between the Chinese daode fa and the codes of ethics in most developed countries (in terms of
upholding the principles of honesty, truth, and decency), daode fa differs in its strong political and
nationalistic implications. The nature and role of daode fa in contemporary China can be summarized as
follows: 1) it is to serve as a “law” to protect the interest of socialist construction, the state, and the
people; 2) unwritten, but shaped by certain socio-economic conditions in history, the concept and
definition of daode fa are ever-changing, flexible, and open to interpretation; and 3) as a complement to
law, it has the power of being morally binding in its regulation of social relations and human behavior.

CENSORS AND CENSORSHIP

Currently ad regulation in China is, in theory, a combination of government regulation and the industry’s
self-regulation. However, the word “censorship” in Chinese “shencha” has strong political connotations
and therefore implies an action of authoritarian enforcement. The Chinese political system ensures that
the government controls ad-regulating activities and has the ultimate authority over approval or rejection

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of an advertisement. Although legal autonomy has been advocated in recent years, the Chinese legal
institution is, in many ways, still an extension of state administration. Government regulations are a
complication for advertisers in China. They require considerable work to either circumvent or
accommodate. Advertising censorship in China is confusing, at best, and has created problems for
advertisers in the Chinese market. Many companies, particularly foreign companies complain that
avoiding violations of government advertising policies is painfully confusing and difficult.

The Chinese Advertising Association

The implementation and enforcement of the Advertising Law and the various regulations rest within the
jurisdiction of SAIC. What is interesting is that, despite the tight government control of advertising, the
government itself does little ad censoring. Advertisements in China are divided into two categories in
terms of censorship requirement: mandatory and voluntary. The “mandatory advertisements” are the
advertisements for pharmaceutical products, medicine, health products, agricultural chemicals, veterinary
drugs, and medical equipment. Those advertisements must be censored by the state or provincial bureaus
in charge before the ads are released to the public. The advertisements for other products are encouraged,
but not required, to go through the censorship. For “non-mandatory” advertisements, the Chinese
Advertising Association conducts the censorship review.

Founded in 1983, the mission of the CAA is “to promote self-regulation and development, guide,
coordinate, serve and supervise advertising organizations under the leadership of the State Administration
for Industry and Commerce of the P. R. China,” according to the association’s brochure. Although the
CAA describes itself as a non-governmental trade organization, it reports directly SAIC, indicating a
level of government intervention that would be highly unusual for a trade organization in many
other countries. As a result of their close association with the state bureau, the CAA enjoys enhanced
authority as a pre-government regulator in censoring advertisements. For a fee, the Association’s review
board will examine an ad and determine whether it is appropriate, before it is released to the general
public.

Currently, CAA’s approval or rejection of an advertisement is, in theory, not legally binding. However,
as a government-sponsored organization charged with censoring responsibilities by SAIC, its stamp of
approval seems to carry an almost official ring. During my interview with Li Fangwu at the CAA, Li
stated that CAA’s legitimacy in executing ad censorship will be specified in the forthcoming revised
advertising law. Therefore, in practice, as good as the Association may be at evaluating ads, its weight
comes from its association with the government and its effectiveness at screening ads. Although sending
ads to CAA for review is voluntary, it is customary for ad agencies to seek approval from CAA for their
ad before producing and scheduling its appearance in the media. One major consideration in submitting
the ads first to the CAA is that by detecting potential problems at an early stage of ad production (that is,
at the storyboard stage), the agency and the advertiser can save money and effort if the ads are found to
violate the Advertising Law, or the ad regulations, and therefore need to be altered. In essence, the CAA
advertising review is a bureaucratic process.

Censorship Process

The first stage of censorship is usually self-censorship, which takes place during the creation stage of an
ad. The ad agency and the client who has requested an ad sit down and examine a proposed ad for any
potentially offensive or censorable material. This stage of the censorship process can be the most time-

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consuming and painstaking because of the indeterminate interpretation of the broad Advertising Law and
the numerous newly issued rules that either supplement or supersede the existing regulations. It is also
time-consuming because a large number of ads is submitted to a client, and each of them generally
receives scrutiny. An interview with a professor of advertising in Beijing in 2006 revealed that an ad
agency might submit 25 to 30 print ads per session to a client, and there may be as many as 5 different
sessions before an ad is found that satisfies a client. This translates to more than 100 ads that must each
be examined for censorable material. Although print ads are easier to examine than television ads, the
sheer number of trial ads makes self-censorship a time-consuming and inconvenient task for ad agencies.
However, self-censorship is also a very important stage.

The next stage is usually censorship by the CAA. The CAA is generally good at anticipating what is and
is not appropriate, and a successful pass through the CAA makes government approval very likely. If the
CAA certifies an ad as appropriate, then the biggest hurdle is over. On other occasions, the CAA would
make suggestions of revision. After alterations are carried out according to CAA’s recommendation, the
CAA issues an approval certificate on the final version of the spot, and then the pre-showing censorship is
over. Not all companies go through the CAA. Smaller companies usually do not bother to get their ads
certified by the CAA. One reason for this is that the government does not care much about small
businesses. Thus, smaller businesses have lesser motivation to join the CAA and invest in pre-censoring
efforts. Larger businesses, on the other hand, have more money and have more influence in the Chinese
market. They are under close watch by the government. Foreign businesses are, almost by definition,
large businesses. It takes considerable time and resources for them to move into a foreign market,
especially one as complex as the Chinese market. Almost all of them become CAA members and
dutifully go through the screening process at the CAA. Too much is at stake for them to risk a blunder in
their relationship with the government.

An ad can be aired if it clears the CAA. However, this does not mean that the company is home free.
Even then, it is possible for an ad to be pulled. The government does not ignore ads once they are
cleared. The government monitors current ads for censorable material that may have escaped notice at an
earlier stage and for consumer reactions. This actually happened with a McDonald’s ad at one point. The
company’s TV commercial shows a man down on his knees begging for something. Later in the ad, the
man is shown to be begging for a sandwich. The ad cleared the censors, only to be met by public concern
for promoting undignified behavior. Although most Americans would be more likely to find this ad
amusing than insulting, it caused a debate among the officials censoring ads. The government stepped in
and pulled the ad soon after it was released. It was surprising that the advertising agency that created the
ad was found culpable for this mistake and ended up paying. It was not the McDonald’s Corporation, the
CAA, or even the media that failed to catch the ad at an earlier stage. It is apparently not uncommon for a
company to put off paying an ad agency for work until the project is aired, or even later. Because the ad
was pulled so quickly, the company that commissioned the ad (McDonald’s) refused to pay. It is the
potential for mistakes like this that prompt many companies, particularly large companies, to submit
material to the CAA for review. Even though the CAA is not perfect at eliminating inappropriate
material, the potential losses from a bad product make a good attempt at censorship far better than none at
all. The entire censorship process demonstrates the potential for ambiguous law enforcement of business
practices to create difficulties for the advertising industry in China.

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The Media

The last gatekeepers in the censorship process are the advertising media. They review all ads to be
broadcasted or printed. The media establish their own advertising review mechanism. They reserve the
right to reject any advertising deemed inappropriate for print or broadcast. However, a major challenge
they have is how to survive in China’s socialist market economy. With the introduction of a market
economy, the Chinese government is determined to eliminate the economic losses sustained by
subsidizing media. Earlier in 2004, more than 1,400 state and party newspapers and periodicals were shut
down, merged with commercial groups, or forced to finance themselves. Since 2000, the government has
pressed China’s thousands of televisions channels to commercialize, even though the government still
tightly controls media content. Media either go broke or “contribute” to GDP by relying on the market
and attracting more advertising.

Advertisers, domestic as well as foreign, encounter restrictions placed on the total quality of advertising
accepted for television, newspapers, and magazines. During the early years of the advertising expansion
in China, the government was concerned about the most important media being overwhelmed by
commercialism. When China Central Television (CCTV), China’s most powerful television network, first
announced that it would carry commercials, it stated its intention to restrict commercial time to only 15
minutes each day, and it stuck by this policy (Stross, 1990, p. 492). However, as the country is becoming
more consumer-driven, the limits on television ads issued by the government in the 1980s are no longer
followed. It is common for a TV program to be interrupted by two or three brief commercials. But
between programs, commercials run for as long as 15-20 minutes. The bombardment of advertisements
on television has caused sharp criticisms by the TV viewers and concerns by government officials. In
April 2011, a government official stated that television advertising might be banned, according to the
people I interviewed at CAA in May.

Although many Chinese media are now primarily supported by advertising (an average of over 90 percent
of the revenue for a television station is generated by advertising), they remain, in essence, state-owned
entities. As Jian Wang has pointed out, “propaganda and profit are … equally important for them.
Without one or the other they won’t be able to survive in this new media environment. The major media
are particularly strict about advertising content because they cannot afford to bear the brunt of deviating
from the government and party line” (Wang, 2000, p. 99). CCTV has its own censorship process for its
own programs. As the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, and with its far-reaching impact across
China, CCTV is more cautious in observing the Advertising Law than are provincial or local stations, and
it censors content to assure consistency with values and ideas that the central government approves.
The stipulations by the ad media in China do not necessarily duplicate what is established in the codified
Advertising Law, yet they are not incongruent with the spirit of the law, either. The measures in censoring
advertisements by media are more politically than legally motivated, as the political and the legal in
China are often intricately intertwined.

The verdict by the media on accepting or rejecting an ad is sometimes also a result of administrative
interference from government officials and the current party line. An illustration is the sudden “pig ban”
on Nestlé’s TV ads for the 2007 Chinese Lunar New Year, China’s biggest holiday. As China rang in the
Year of the Pig, Nestlé planned to celebrate with a TV ad featuring a smiling cartoon pig. “Happy New
Pig Year,” the ad said. A little over three weeks before the Lunar New Year, CCTV banned Nestlé’s ad.
According to the CCTV official who made the announcement of the ban, the intent was to avoid
offending Muslims, who consider pigs unclean. It is observed in a Wall Street Journal report that the ban

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came in the wake of the killing of 18 Muslims by police in the northwest of China. The government
accused the men of being terrorists. Muslim activists called for an independent investigation. The
network’s ad department explained to ad agencies that China was a multiethnic country. “To show
respect to Islam, and upon guidance from higher levels of the government, CCTV will keep any ‘pig’
images off the TV screen” (The Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2007). Although advertisers have
learned to cope with sometimes inconsistent government edicts as it attempts to control the media and
popular culture, they were still taken aback by the ban on pigs.

From first draft to post-release, someone is examining ads for objectionable material. The idea of self-
regulation generally means that any government policy is to cultivate an environment in which the
community will have freedom to operate. This is not the case in China. Due to the political structure, the
ad industry’s self-regulation is an extension of the government regulation. There is little freedom or
autonomy in ad decisions and ad activities. What is most surprising is how little of this censoring is done
by the government itself. The government influence on the advertising industry seems more “inactive”
than “active” with regard to the daily operation of ad agencies. It is the CAA, the media, and self-
censorship that do most of the actual censorship work in Chinese advertising. The government exerts a
powerful influence over advertising by spreading the threat of press exposé or government punishment.
This threat is much more common than actual intervention, although the government is proactive about
dealing with concerns should it feel the need. The method for censoring and controlling the content of
advertisements may seem surprising to Westerners, but the Chinese model makes considerable sense. It
would be difficult, as well as impractical, for the government to try to censor every advertisement of a
multi-billion-dollar industry that is still growing. Thus, it makes more sense for a government with
finite resources to have the companies themselves do most of the work and to provide a separate
oversight organization through the CAA. This way, the government delegates a considerable portion of
the work while minimizing the actual loss of control over content.

“CENSORABLE” ADVERTISEMENTS

Another strategy in the ad censorship by the government is that, rather than screening the details of every
single ad, the government focuses on those for the “targeted” products and companies that are most likely
to run afoul of the law. Two types of advertising that are mostly likely to be scrutinized: One is
fraudulent advertising, particularly for medical products, food, and cosmetics. The other is advertising of
national images that would “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.”

Fraudulent Advertising

In the early 1980s, the business of ad companies mainly involved design and manufacture of product
catalogs, media buying, and indoor and outdoor decorating for department stores, as well as sales
exhibitions. By the late 1990s, commercials were produced to promote all kinds of electronic products,
furniture, automobile, real estate, services, talents, employment, rental, entertainment, consulting, and so
on. In the explosive expansion of the advertising industry, false advertisements were prevalent, causing
damages to consumers and a bad reputation of the industry. So during the early stage of the ad
development in post-Mao China, the official criticism had been focused almost exclusively on
“fraudulent” ads. In 1986, the government issued a circular warning that advertisements had to be truthful
and legal. The president of the Chinese Consumer Association reinforced this warning by stating that
“Where false products cause death, those responsible should pay with their lives” (Stevenson, 1985). The

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1995 Advertising Law requires “all advertising to be truthful (Article 3) and to exclude false information
(Article 4), and advertisements and their agents, and publishers to be fair, honest, and credible (Article 5)
(Palmer, 2006, p. 64). A classic story of China’s insistence on the absolute truth in all advertising was
how Toyota had launched in China an advertising campaign based on an old Chinese proverb about
having faith: “When you drive (your cart) into the mountains, you will always find a road out.” Toyota
had added “Where there is a road, you will find a Toyota.” A year after Toyota’s slogan appeared on
billboards, in newspapers, and on television, the Chinese authorities told Toyota that this constituted false
advertising. Reasoned one official, ‘China has roads but there are not necessarily Toyotas on them. The
roads in other countries do not necessarily have them either.’ Toyota had to drop the campaign. Later the
Chinese regarded the story as the embodiment of the crucial difference between the strict standards of
socialist advertising and the lax standards of its capitalist counterpart (Stross, 1990, p. 499).

There are numerous examples of false advertising placed by domestic Chinese advertisers as well. The
Economics Daily and other newspapers receive what they describe as a “continuous flow” of letters from
readers who had been misled or cheated by domestic advertising. The 2002 Shanghai Regulations,
reflecting a growing concern with ‘unethical selling’, place a heavier burden on sellers to advise
consumers of the relevant aspects of their products and services, and honestly to answer consumer queries
(Articles 17, 19, 21, 22, and 23). The 2005 annual advertising report reveals that 67,676 advertisements
had been found to have violated the law (Qu, 2006, p. 7).

National Images

The other type of advertisement that has received heavy government scrutiny is ads that harm the Chinese
national image. Any advertisements that are believed to portray a “bad national image” of China or the
Chinese would “hurt the Chinese people’s feelings,” and are effectively banned under Chinese law.
Partly due to their troubled history with foreigners in modern history, the Chinese have a greater
sensitivity to self-image and public standing than Americans. This sensitivity is reflected in the country’s
advertising policies. As stipulated in the Advertising Law, the national flag, the national emblem, and the
national anthem, government agencies or their representatives, and other figures and images associated
with the Chinese government are banned from commercial advertising (Article 7). The Chinese
government is very concerned with maintaining a positive perception in the media. Preserving face seems
to be the highest priority, especially at the national level. This is seen in the ill-fated ads by Toyota Motor
Company. Toyota ran a commercial showing a Land Cruiser SUV towing what appeared to be a Chinese
military truck, and another featuring stone lions, a traditional symbol of power in China, bowing down to
Toyota’s Prado GX. Chinese consumers balked at the perceived insult to their armed forces in being
towed, and at the notion of bowing to anything—even a car—representing Japan. Nike had a similar
experience. As widely reported by the media, the ad campaign “Chamber of Fear” by Nike Inc. featured
LeBron James, then of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, battling—and defeating—a computer-generated
Kung Fu master. Although there was nothing inherently offensive in the eyes of Westerns, Chinese
consumers found the concept insulting, and the Chinese government felt that publicly acknowledging
foreign goods in such a manner was offensive. So the advertisements were blocked. (The Wall Street
Journal, November 15, 2007).

Inconsistency in Censorship Enforcement

The ambiguity of the advertising law and the unwritten “moral law” give the government enough leeway
to retain control of advertisements in China. Sometimes ads are blocked for unpredictable and less

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definable reasons. Officials deployed public letter-writing campaigns to encourage viewers and readers to
express concern about foreign dominance of advertising or “unhealthy” advertisements to editors and
television station officials.

Women have occupied a central place in advertising since its return to China in the late 1970s.
Representations of women in advertisements have been a heated topic among critics since then. Although
the government claims to be protecting consumers from false, or other “unhealthy,” advertising, some
gets more scrutiny than others. Article 7 of the Advertising Law prohibits advertising from “carrying any
pornographic, superstitious, horrible, violent or ugly information.”

Sexually appealing advertising, formerly considered taboo, has now been received with mixed attitudes.
Take, for example, two advertisements containing sensually sensitive content. One is the commercial for
Meijiajing (beautiful and clean) facial cream that was aired very briefly in early 2008. The commercial is
about a young mother using the product. After she applies Meijiajing facial cream, her face becomes,
smooth, youthful, and radiant. Her five-year-old son says to the young mother: “Mom, you’re so
beautiful. I will marry you when I grow up.” After the ad was aired, some people expressed concern that
this ad was “unhealthy” because it showed “incestuous love.” The commercial was quickly pulled. The
other is the McDonald’s “beef” ads. In the campaign to promote its Quarter-Pounder in 2006,
McDonald’s ran a series of racy advertisements. One billboard featured a close-up of a woman’s lips; on
another ad, a woman runs her hand over a man’s flexed biceps. “Flirt with your senses,” the sign says.
The burger chain’s TV commercials are even racier than the print ads. In one spot, a man and a woman
eat Quarter-Pounders, and close-up shots of the woman’s neck and mouth are interspersed with images of
fireworks and spraying water. The actors suck their fingers. The voice-over says: “You can feel it.
Thicker. You can taste it. Juicier” (The Wall street Journal, September 21, 2006). For some reason, these
edgy McDonald’s ads were not found offensive and met no criticisms.

Advertising for the tobacco industry tells another story. There are strict rules on tobacco advertising.
Article 18 of the Advertising Law states,

Publishing of advertisements for tobacco by means of radio, cinema pictures, television,
newspaper, magazine or periodical is prohibited. Erecting or placing advertisements for tobacco
at public places such as various waiting rooms, cinemas and theatres, conference halls and
sports stadiums and gymnasiums is prohibited. Advertisements for tobacco must be marked with
“Smoking is harmful to your health.”

The actual practices, however, are quite different from what the written law allows. It is most
puzzling to see how lax government control is over ads for tobacco. Chinese authorities initially were
reluctant to impose restrictions on cigarette and liquor advertising. Foreign cigarette companies, for
example, were warmly welcomed in 1979; these companies accounted for four of the first five advertising
accounts for Chinese television. When Chinese finally decided to ban advertising for foreign cigarettes,
liquor, and cosmetics, the government’s ban showed only half-hearted concern with protecting the public
from physical harm caused by cigarette consumption. In 1987 the state issued “Draft regulations for
greater control over sports advertising.” But, there were, and still are, loopholes within the law that
tobacco companies can exploit, and restrictions on tobacco are not so high as they appear. The foreign
tobacco companies were free to take advantage of every possible opportunity to promote their products.
In order to get around legal technicalities, tobacco companies would sponsor sports teams and events, and

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also purchased buildings in visible places and name them after the brand. So cigarette brand-names are
seen during popular sports games (Stross, 1990, pp. 491-92).

CONCLUSION

China’s giant, vibrant, yet chaotic ad market remains a big challenge for both the Chinese government
and advertisers, foreign and domestic. Although advertising regulation in China is increasingly governed
by a more transparent legal framework than being subjected to the whim of personalities, advertising
regulation in China is characterized by a lack of autonomy in legal regime, indeterminacy in
interpretation, and thus low predictability. One of the sources of confusion over the legal boundaries of
advertising expression is that the Advertising Law was written in broad and vague terms and is open to
various interpretations. The inconsistency in the content of the Advertising Law and the multiple
regulations issued at different times and by different organizations frustrate advertisers as they struggle to
abide by its provisions and deal with the Chinese regulations and bureaucracy.

An overarching explanation for many of these apparent contradictions in ad censorship rules and practices
is the political shift that the Chinese government is trying to deal with. A Communist government runs
China, but that government is at the same time trying to merge with a capitalist marketplace. The
government is obliged to follow a Communist ideology, which conflicts with the rapid growth of free
trade in China. So, the Chinese government has created a dilemma for itself. The party leaders must
either renounce Communism, which seems extremely unlikely in the foreseeable future, or find a way to
make communism compatible with free trade. The second option not only preserves face but also allows
the government to maintain a higher level of control over the economy than other countries that have free
trade. However, because the ideologies of Capitalism and Communism oppose each other, mixing them
should prove very difficult.

The experience of the multinational advertising industry in China seems to suggest that the Chinese
government holds enormous power in influencing, and sometimes even determining, advertising
behavior. Such government authority, according to Jian Wang, “derives from the state and, more
importantly, its legitimacy to speak on behalf of the nation and to police and regulate … advertising
content and practice” (Wang, 2000, p. 101). Under the notion of “building a harmonious society” and a
loose definition of what benefits the nation and the people, the decision of whether an ad is censorable or
acceptable is sometimes purely a party official’s preference. In Billions: Selling to the New Chinese
Consumer, Tom Doctoroff asserts that government censors use the ambiguity of regulations to reject an
advertisement simply because the government does not like it, rather than because it is truly a violation of
the law (Doctoroff, 2005, p. 91). The generality and vagueness in the principles governing advertising, as
well as the application of “moral law,” leave ample room for cognizant officials to make subjective
decisions regarding ad products in different contexts and situations, thus making the principles more of an
expedient. On the one hand, by subjectively applying the notion of “being good” to the people and the
country, the Communist party-state can continue to seek opportunities to increase revenue brought in by
the booming advertising industry. On the other hand, the government’s imposition of its control over
advertising reinforces its claim that the Communist Party is the sole, legitimate representative of the
masses and the nation. The path to establishing a transparent regulatory system for advertising in China,
with standards consistent with other developed countries, is arduous and formidable.

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REFERENCES

China Advertising Association (2010). Zhongguo guanggao nianjian (Chinese Advertising Annual
Report).

China State Administration of Industry and Commerce (1995). Advertising Law of the People’s Republic
of China.

Davis, D. S. ed. (2000). The Consumer Revolution in Urban China. Berkeley: University of California
Press.

Doctoroff, Tom (2005). Billions: Selling to the New Chinese Consumers. New York. Palgrave Macmillan.

Guo, Yingjie (2004). Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary China: The Search for National Identity
Under Reform. New York: Routledge Curzon Press.

Palmer, Michael (2006). “The Emergence of Consumer Rights: Legal Protection of the Consumer in the
People’s Republic of China.” Consuming China: Approaches to Cultural Changes in Contemporary
China. Kevin Latham. et al. eds. London: Routledge, p. 56-81.

Qu Jianmin (2006). “It Is Extremely Urgent to Revise the Advertising Law,” Modern Advertising, vol. 6,
p. 16-17.

Stevenson, H. L (1985). “Chinese Worried About Ad Growth,” Advertising Age. September 16.

Stross, Randall (1990). “The Return of Advertising in China: A Survey of the Ideological Reversal,” The
China Quarterly, vol. 123, p. 485-502.

Tong, Luding (May 2011). Interview with Li Fangwu at CAA.

The Wall Street Journal (November 15, 2005; March 30, 2006; September 8, 2006; September 21, 2006;
January 25, 2007).

Wang, Jian (2000). Foreign Advertising in China: Becoming Global, Becoming Local. Iowa: Iowa State
University Press, 2000.

World Federation of Advertisers (April 13, 2011). Global News. http://www.wfanet.org/en/global-
news/first-principles-of-ad-ethics-1, retrieved on July 27, 2011.

Zhou Wangsheng (2007). “Daode yu Zhongguo fa de shishi,” (the practice of moral consciousness and
the state law), in Faxue wenxian (documents of law), http://article.chinalawinfo.com, retrieved on August
20, 2007.

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TEACHING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS BY USING
FICTION: HOW AND WHY I WROTE AN
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NOVEL
Mark Bagshaw, Marietta College

ABSTRACT

In teaching international business, the author found that a textbook-and-lecture approach was efficient
but ineffective for knowledge retention; group exercises and simulations evoked student interest but were
inefficient and ineffective for transfer and application of knowledge to other business contexts. Because
both textbook and lecture presentations suffer from being composed primarily of generalizations and
abstractions distilled from practice, many students fail to see their practical relevance. To address the
problem of student interest and to improve learning retention, the author wrote an international business
novel that attempts to make major international business concepts more graphic and more concrete, and
thus more memorable, for students. This paper chronicles that process and reports some preliminary
results.

JEL: A3; F1; F2; L1; L2; M1

KEYWORDS: International business, pedagogy, fiction

INTRODUCTION

Like many business professors, I imagine that I know more about the content of the course I am teaching
than most of the students taking it. This has been particularly true with the international business (IB)
course that is now required of many business majors at my institution and that serves as a popular elective
for other students at the sophomore-junior level who are seeking to fulfill a general education requirement
in globalization and diversity. One of the problems with my international business classes is achieving
good knowledge retention by students as demonstrated by lackluster performance on class exams. One of
the obstacles to knowledge retention appears to be lack of student interest in lecture and textual materials.

How could any student not be interested in—fascinated by—international business? Although my
colleagues and I joke that a prevailing student attitude at our institution assumes that Ohio is not only the
center of the universe but extends in all directions to its outer limits, the mundane truth seems to be that
student interest appears to be directly affected by the textbook-and-lecture classroom pedagogy I have
used. One result has been that animated, relevant, and informed in-class discussions focused on IB-
related concepts and processes, and on related world events, have been rare. My textbook-and-lecture
approach has proven efficient in “covering” the core content but ineffective in achieving the desired
student learning outcomes. At the same time, my forays into using group exercises, mini-case-studies,
and simulations have been effective in evoking greater student interest and enjoyment but have been
inefficient in terms of the amount of core IB learning that can be included in the class. They also have
been ineffective for the transfer of core learning to other applications than the specific exercise, case
study, or simulation at hand.

To address this constellation of problems, I have tried to improve the success of my IB classes by
reshaping my pedagogy. Specifically, I have written an “international business novel,” assigned it as an

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ancillary reading to the IB textbook, and held classroom discussions of the novel with students in the
class. The first section of this paper discusses some of the important specifics of the overall problem.
The second section discusses how I came to choose the particular mode of fiction I did and describes
several available fictional modes or genres as represented by some prominent contemporary examples. In
section three I discuss my suitability for undertaking such a project, the implementation setbacks I
encountered in seeking to execute the project, and how I resolved them. The final section looks briefly at
my one semester of classroom experience using the novel—Chaucer on the Nile—to teach my
international business class.

CRITICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE PROBLEM

In terms of student interest and knowledge retention, textbooks have some serious defects. First, the
presentation values of many pages filled with type, relieved by the occasional photo or graph, are quite
limited in engaging a reluctant or previously unengaged reader’s interest. Second, despite exotic four-
color photos of exotic locations and subjects, the dominant medium for presenting IB content in
textbooks—words, words, words—is, for many students, boring and lifeless: a book is an inanimate
object and predictably repetitive in many respects. Further, the typical textbook treatment is organized
around generalizations drawn from many concrete incidents and situations—each of which is,
nonetheless, far removed from the abstractions that appear on the pages. These abstractions or
“distillations” lack the vivaciousness of the practical contexts from which they are drawn and
consequently often fail to attract student interest or are not memorable.

Similarly, lecturing as a pedagogy—the venerable but soporific “talking head” standing in front of the
classroom and holding forth—also has limited appeal to student interest, particularly when repeated for
every class, at regular intervals, for weeks at a time. In terms of lecture and learning retention, it has been
asserted (Dale, 1946, 1954, 1969; NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, 2011) that learners
retain only five percent of what they’ve learned from lecture—but retain 50% of what they learn when
engaged in a group discussion. With pedagogies that involve “practice by doing,” such as simulations,
and learning a particular knowledge content by teaching it to others, it is asserted that retention rates
climb to 75% and 90%, respectively.

Lecturing as a pedagogy, with its allegedly low learning retention rate, seems likely to be ineffective with
regard to student learning. The higher retention rate of the learning modes where students are more
actively engaged—learning by doing and learning by teaching others—would be greatly preferable, were
there but world enough and time. However, in fourteen weeks of 75-minute classes with enrollments
around 35 students, these learning modes would be grandly inefficient. With a “learn-by-teaching”
pedagogy, each of the enrolled students would be able to teach the class only a few times, and only a few
of the major IB concepts. With regard to the “learn-by-doing” mode, the practical limits of the classroom
would permit engagement with only those few of the major IB concepts that permit a hands-on or
laboratory approach, and this limitation would render the “learn-by-doing” mode impracticable.

The situation would seem to require a compromise. Learning by discussion, with an alleged learning
retention rate of 50%, is more effective than lecture and less inefficient than learning by doing and
learning by teaching others, and seems a reasonable pedagogic compromise, provided we offer our
subject-matter in a way that lends itself to discussion by, for one thing, being significantly more
interesting than a collection of generalizations and abstractions.

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CRITICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE SOLUTION

And so it was that I went looking for ways of grounding IB content in a practical and workable context
(class discussion) in a manner that would (a) make it more real, vital, and interesting to students; and (b)
make it “sticky”—both in the sense of contextual and applicable, and also in the sense of being
memorable, sticking in the mind. Gary Overvold, a former colleague in the philosophy department at
Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, has suggested that texts in the humanities, texts such as
stories and fiction, allow us to learn about how the world operates in particular contexts and do it, as it
were, on the cheap. He calls these texts “humane texts” and one of their principal purposes is to permit
“the rehearsal of life in imagination”:

One of the most ancient models for the humanities (and for learning generally) is the
one which sees them as the rehearsal of life in imagination. The text . . .is
construed as an imaginative means for discovering value and disvalue in life. What
the model evoked . . .was a low risk way to knowledge of others’ lives. What it drew
on was the power of the word and of the symbol to anticipate, to display, and to teach
possible futures, to analyse, review, and add insight to the past, and to provide
a level of integration to the portrayal of the present.

(Overvold, 1985, p. 16-17)

The idea of rehearsing life in imagination suggested rearranging my thinking about my IB class—not to
remove textbook and lecture altogether—but to incorporate a work of fiction in my class that would
promote interest in IB concepts and promote their discussion in class. As an intervention, what I had in
mind was no more complex than the analogy described by the Roman poet-philosopher Lucretius Carus
(d. 55 A.D.) in his De Rerum Natura. Lucretius says that if you wish to gain compliance from someone
who does not find compliance intrinsically desirable, you should do it as you would when getting a child
to drink bitter medicine from a cup: you smear the rim of the cup with honey to make the medicine go
down (1937, I. 935-943). In my case, the bitter content of the cup is the IB content of the class, and the
fictional overlay or framework is the honey around the cup’s rim.

Of course, I soon realized that I did not have to reinvent the wheel: there are any number of fictional
modes currently being used in business education, the most obvious of which is the case study, which I
use in my department’s senior capstone for management, marketing, and finance majors. A more recent
fictive modality is the simulation, a variety of which are now readily available in packaged and electronic
form, and used regularly by several of my colleagues.

More exotic, although probably a closer approximation to what Overvold had in mind with his phrase
“rehearsal of life in imagination” is the Japanese comic book or manga, which has been used for decades
as a vehicle for the exposition of business content in Japan (Berfield, 2008). Japan, Inc: An Introduction
to Japanese Business (1986, 1988) by ISHINOMORI Shōtarō first appeared in its Japanese form in 1986,
with an American version in 1988. The True Life of Carlos Ghosn written by TOGASHI Yoko and
illustrated by TODA Takanobu (2002-2004), chronicled the history of the Chairman and CEO of both the
French Renault and the Japanese Nissan auto companies, and the work appeared in its original serialized
Japanese form in 2002.

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Fables have been a core genre of human writings since before The Holy Bible and Aesop. Business
fables have been a distinct literary genre, not just in Europe, but in Japan, since feudal times (Mulhern,
1991, vii). In contemporary American business literature, the range of works fall into three broad
categories:

(1) Moral tales focused on teaching ethical behavior in business, such as Jim Stovall’s The Ultimate Gift
( 2001) and The Arbinger Institute’s Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box (2000).

(2) Didactic tales intended to teach useful attitudes or perspectives toward big ideas like accepting change
in life and business, such as Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese? (1998); Subhir Chowdhury’s
The Ice Cream Maker (2005); and John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber’s Our Iceberg Is Melting (2005).

(3) Functional fables, which seek to teach how to perform business or managerial functions and
operations—examples here would include very professionally focused fables, such as James K.
Loebbecke’s The Auditor (1999) or more general treatments of functional business issues, such as Patrick
Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Jossey-Bass, 2002), or, for that matter, any of the half-
dozen of what Lencioni calls his “leadership fables.”

Loebbecke’s work is closer to a didactic yet realistic novel—he characterizes the fictional mode of The
Auditor as “instructional novella”—but Lencioni’s leadership fables are crafted to focus reader and
attention almost exclusively on the message or moral. Lencioni’s fables are sparse, gemlike, and maintain
interest by minimizing distractions Here, for example, is the complete opening chapter of Lencioni’s Five
Dysfunctions of a Team in its entirety:

LUCK

Only one person thought Kathryn was the right choice to become CEO of
DecisionTech, Inc. Luckily for her, that person was the Chairman of the board.

And so, less than a month after the previous chief executive had been removed,
Kathryn Petersen took the reins of a company that just two years earlier had been
one of the most talked-about, well-funded, and promising start-up companies
in the recent history of the Silicon Valley. She could not have known just how
far from grace the company had fallen in such a short period of time, and what
the next few months had in store for her.
(Lencioni, 2002, p. 3)

An attempt to meld the fable genre with the Japanese manga is represented by Daniel Pink’s The
Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need (2008). When Johnny breaks
apart his throw-away wooden chopsticks in a Japanese restaurant, a cute Japanese genie (improbably
named Diana) emerges to teach him and his coworkers six big-picture career advice lessons, which the
reader learns in the context of seeing the story taking place in manga-style cartoon drawings by Rob Ten
Pas.

Johnny Bunko is sufficiently recent that it is too early to tell whether the manga version of the business
fable will catch on in the United States, but the “instructional novella” has had some prominent recent

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follow-ups, most notably Austin et al.’s The Adventures of an IT Leader (2009), published by Harvard
Business School Press. Like Loebbecke’s The Auditor, the IT Leader focuses on a functional role (IT
manager) in the context of a contemporary business. Both of these short business novels derive from
what is a long-established genre of business novels in Japan (Mulhern, 1991)—a genre that is not well
represented in English translation. A representative Japanese business novel in English is Chieko
Mulhern’s translation of ARAI Shinya’s Shoshaman (1991). The work currently is out of print, though
used copies appear from time to time on online booksellers, such as eBay and Amazon.com.

The Shoshaman story takes place during the decline of the sōgō shōsha, the Japanese all-purpose trading
company, during the 1980s and traces how one of these companies, Nissei Corporation, tries to migrate
into types of businesses that add value, rather than simply serving as a middleman between manufacturer
and retailer. At the beginning, the protagonist of the story, NAKASOTO Michio, is a newly promoted
manager who is trying to figure out “the ropes to skip and the ropes to know”:

“What a close call! Nakasato shuddered, recalling his recent trip to the United
States. Was I lucky to escape the fate of being sidetracked into a post away from
Nissei’s mainstream! If I expect to be the first in my class to make it into
senior management, I must position myself in the head office . . . . I must avoid a
sideline assignment, no matter how significant, to say nothing of hanging my fate
on an American restaurant chain!”
(Arai, 1986, 1991, p. 5)

Before being assigned to the United States to vet new business acquisitions, Nakasoto befriends and
becomes romantically involved with a female officeworker at the company, Masako. He teaches her (and
the reader) the basic concepts of starting and sustaining a business before flying off and abandoning her.
When he returns to Japan, years later, he discovers she has used her entrepreneurial skills to develop a
chain of successful upmarket dress boutiques in the Tokyo area. She gives him a tour of her outlets,
including the small floor space she rented in another store when she first opened for business:

“Behind that pillar, over there, the recessed area to the left of the entrance—that’s
the space I rented to start my business.”
“Very impressive,” Nakasato said. “What’s the ultimate secret of your success?
In the beginning you were in no position to cut costs by volume purchases. Maybe it
was your fashion sense? But until you established some influence and rapport with
the wholesale houses, you must have had trouble getting specific items you
wanted, I imagine.”
“I just kept on doing whatever was necessary, as best I could, with
stubborn persistence. There is no other secret,” Masako explained and turned toward
her manager. “Minami-san, what do you think is the most important thing in
managing this store?”
“It’s communication,” the manager replied without hesitation. “Communication
among the staff, communication with the head office, and communication with
the customers. I believe well-maintained communication never fails to solve
any problem.”
“Well, you have it right,” Masako said, nodding in satisfaction.
(ARAI, 1986, 1991, pp. 178-179)

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The “business novel” mode represented by ARAI’s Shoshaman seemed particularly suited to the
requirements of my project in several ways. First, it allowed for a measure of expansiveness in treating a
number of international business concepts and processes. Unlike Lencioni, for example, I was not in a
position to unify my subject matter, to focus only on one critical issue such as how to avoid dysfunctional
behavior in teams. My subject matter would range from the important contexts of international business—
international politics, law, economics, finance, banking, and risk assessment with regard to prospective
markets and production sites—to elements of the workings of the international business firm: business
models and strategy, cash flow, modes of entry, logistics, production, and management and leadership,
particularly in teams. Second, it allowed me to be selective: I could continue to assign a textbook that
would do the heavy lifting with charts and figures, and I could enhance a variety of content areas that
required more fleshing-out, such as the differences in international approaches that derive from
differences in industry and a firm’s country of origin. Third, it allowed me to create and teach fiction in a
way with which I already was comfortable.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EXECUTION

In the decade between 1971 and 1981, I wrote three novels (none of which was published), so I was
familiar with the regimen. What was uncertain was whether I could still write fiction. I was on firmer
ground with teaching novels in my social-science courses, having used fictional works for discussion in
other courses: Stovall’s The Ultimate Gift in my Introduction to Leadership class, E.M. Forster’s A
Passage to India in the Leadership in Global Contexts course, Qiu Xiaolong’s Death of a Red Heroine in
the leadership capstone, and Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team in a master’s level international
leadership course. My approach in all of these cases has been to assign one or more chapters and then
discuss key concepts from the works with the class.

In the summer of 2009 I wrote a sabbatical proposal to create an IB novel set in the country that had been
the site of one of my international excursions, Egypt. I submitted the proposal in the fall of 2009, and it
was approved in the spring of 2010. I began the actual organizing and plotting of the novel over the
semester break in December 2009.

Organizing on the business side meant determining what IB content to highlight in the novel. In the end,
I settled on an outline that looked like this:

• Basic business definitions & concepts
• How does “international” differ from “domestic” business?
• What criteria shape the decision to
– Leave/expand beyond your home market?
– Enter a particular foreign market (Egypt as the presenting example)?
• Which markets to enter, with which product or service, when to enter, what scale, what entry
mode?
• What types of changes do foreign markets require?
• What are the prominent risks in international business?
• Why do people trade? Who trades with whom?
• What does superior management look like in international business? What ethics guide
manager behaviors?
• How do we operationalize value-added and competitive advantage?

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• What are the effects of diversity and cultural differences on business success?
• What roles are played by governments and international organizations?
– the role of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade
– the role of infant industries and dealing with “neo-mercantilists”
• Market demographics (serve rich man or poor man? offer luxury goods or value-priced
goods?)
• How do we craft international business strategy?
• How do we organize production operations, sourcing, and logistics?
• What does superior leadership look like in international business?

Organizing on the fiction side meant imagining characters and opportunities where discussion of business
could be a logical outcome of the situation. I did not want to simply transfer lectures on IB from the
lectern in my classroom to the pages of my book, and so I spent some time trying to minimize lecture by
including a number of characters—often foreigners touring Egypt—who were in a position to reflect on
their own business experience in a way that would shed light on other international business experiences.
For example, one character is a general contractor who has built fast-food outlets for his company in the
American Midwest. On the shuttle bus from the Cairo airport, he mentions his business, and is asked
immediately by one of my young protagonists what his company would have to do differently if they
were to migrate their business to Egypt. The result is some compelling reflections. Other characters with
business tales include a female Chinese student whose family has businesses in California; a Mexican-
American retailer who owns shoe stores in Long Island, New York; a Canadian engineer who is helping
to bring a nimble, emerging-market cargo plane back into production; a Chicago-based lawyer who has
been a serial entrepreneur; and a casino employee from Las Vegas. There is even an original diversity-in-
the- workplace case study (“The Invisible Dr. Zhou”).

I started the first draft in the summer of 2010 and had a significant leg completed by the time the
sabbatical unofficially began in December 2010. The final chapters were completed by the end of March
2011. The initial complete draft ran to over 200 thousand words—an artifact of having both significant
business content and a complex tale to tell. The final edited manuscript ran to about 170-thousand words,
a little over five-hundred published pages—still too long—but manageable, I thought, as an
undergraduate “read” in the context of a fourteen-week semester, even as an ancillary reading to the
regular textbook assignments.

I had begun shopping the book idea to business text publishing houses in 2009 and had received no
encouragement, so by the time the book was finished in the spring of 2011, I was ready to begin querying
regular literary agents. Happily, literary agents’ individual preferred methods of contact, query, and text
submission are listed online. (I used an excellent site called AgentQuery.com.) From late March through
the end of May, I contacted over sixty agents who accepted email queries, several of whom were
surprisingly sympathetic and encouraging, despite the deadening aspects of the author’s-query side of
their jobs—usually carried out at arm’s length by having editorial assistants do the reading. Despite my
assiduousness, I did not have representation for my work when June came, let alone a contract to publish.

But also happily, over the previous two years, The Wall Street Journal had been running stories on the
growth of the e-book and the on-demand publishing industry, and I had been reading them. In the same
vein, a colleague who is president of the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters
(the former chair of the English department at the institution where I teach) had been attending sessions at
the Society’s national conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida, in Spring 2011, and had heard publisher’s

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representatives urge writers to self-publish in the face of current publishing realities (Pridgeon, 2011).
The burden of many of these stories was that publishers and agents have become overwhelmed. Slush
piles (the repository of unsolicited manuscripts that publishers and agents receive from writers) have
doubled in size in recent years, the economics of the publishing industry have made taking risks on
unknown writers a very rare thing, and partially as a result of these two phenomena, the ‘vanity press’
label and onus has been peeled off self-publication in the contemporary literary world:

Writer Karen McQuestion spent nearly a decade trying without success to
persuade a New York publisher to print one of her books. In July, the
49-year-old mother of three decided to publish it herself, online.

Eleven months later, Ms. McQuestion has sold 36,000 e-books through
Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle e-bookstore and has a film option with a
Hollywood producer. In August, Amazon will publish a paperback version
of her first novel . . . .
(Fowler and Trachtenberg, The Wall Street Journal, 2010, A1)

So, the question lingering at the back of my mind for two years—will anyone publish this manuscript in a
timely fashion; that is, in time to use it in class for fall semester 2011?—was answered in the affirmative:
Yes, I will.

The finished product, Chaucer on the Nile: A Pilgrim’s Progress, was published by CreateSpace, a
company owned by Amazon.com, Inc. The costs to both CreateSpace and me were minimal: publication
is on-demand, so the up-front costs for CreateSpace were negligible; the total costs to me for cover
design, interior design, e-book formatting, and hand-holding were less than a thousand dollars.

Chaucer on the Nile is told from the point of view of a male American college student (Chaucer Jeffries)
who is on a college-sponsored summer study-abroad trip to Egypt—Cairo, the Nile, the Red Sea—just
months before the Mubarak regime implodes. International business professor Robert Bobbitt (“Dr.
Bobs”) and ancient-history professor Florence Lowe (“Profflo”) accompany him and his classmates as
teachers and chaperones. In Cairo, other tourists from the U.S., China, Mexico, Australia, Canada, and
France join their group, and these have their own (often IB-related) tales to tell.

On the Nile, Chaucer discovers a flash drive in his backpack; its content appears to be fundamentalist
jihadi propaganda. A contest for possession/recovery of the flash drive begins among parties known (the
Amn al-Dawla—the thuggish internal secret police) and unknown (Sheikh Anwar, Gamel Sabah al-
Weiki, Yusif Lawandy). Chaucer and his friends grapple with the flash drive’s purpose, and why it was
planted on him. Their snooping leads to their being snatched and incarcerated. The conflict takes place
against the background of a typical Egyptian tourist pilgrimage to the Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum in
Tahrir Square, Nile temples and historic sites, the world-heritage site at Abu Simbel, and a Red Sea
resort. —To my mind, all the makings of a ripping good yarn!

CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE TO DATE

The end-of-semester, “official” student evaluations of the international business course I offered in the
past fall semester (which included the maiden voyage of Chaucer on the Nile) have not yet been made
available by the central academic administration. Students complete these evaluations online, and then

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the academic dean’s office collects, calculates, and distributes aggregated results and individual student
comments to instructors. However, two unofficial sources of student self-report information on the
course are available: one, an anonymous self-report questionnaire that I fashioned and distributed in late
October; and the second, face-to-face feedback to the instructor from students.

Anecdotal face-to-face comments, during class discussion and to the instructor after class, suggest that
classroom discussants, and students who listened to the class discussion, valued Chaucer for its
understanding and portrayal of the complexity of international business concepts and processes in the
context of putting them into effect on the ground in a particular setting (Egypt). Students also expressed
great appreciation for the way the novel accurately portrayed college-aged people and their concerns,
particularly when interacting with each other and with persons from other cultures and countries abroad.
Several students, were enthusiastic about the degree to which issues of cultural understanding arose as the
novel’s touring party encountered the Egyptian and Islamic “Other” on its home turf.

When the class had completed its reading and discussion of the novel, I administered a simple printed
questionnaire of my own design. Chapters of Chaucer had been assigned for reading concurrent with
chapters of the assigned IB textbook. This amounted to nine days of assignments from the novel, three
chapters per assignment. In the 10th week of the semester, students were asked to fill out the brief
anonymous-response questionnaire to determine the specific ways in which the reading this international
business novel had been useful (or not), and whether the novel’s contribution to student learning in the
class made it worthwhile to assign the novel when the class was offered again. Each questionnaire item
provided the opportunity to append a brief comment.

Thirty-five students completed and turned in the questionnaire. Thirty of them (roughly 86%) strongly
agreed that the novel was a worthwhile addition to their learning of international business content in the
class.

In the next two paragraphs I discuss the largest clusters of specific student responses in two groups: so-
called “positive” responses (ones in which students indicated unequivocally that the novel added to their
learning of IB content in the class) and “negative” responses (ones in which students indicated
unequivocally that the novel did not add, or detracted, from their learning of IB content in the class).

One group of specific positive responses clustered around the idea that classroom discussion of the novel
seriously enhanced the learning environment in the classroom. A majority of students reported that they
enjoyed coming to class because they anticipated participating in these discussions (n = 21; 60%). A
clear majority of students asserted that their learning of IB content had been enhanced by having the
opportunity to discuss and listen to the discussion of others (n = 25; 71%). Another group of positive
responses (n = 19; 54%) suggested that reading the novel made the IB material (and the class) more
relevant, interesting, and lively than it would have been with just instructor lecture and class discussion of
the textbook. A related group of positive responses/comments (n = 27; 77%) thought that studying
international business concepts and processes in a particular country and setting, with specific characters,
helped to make these concepts and processes more available and comprehensible.

The largest group of negative responses focused on issues of form rather than IB content. Half of student
respondents (n = 17; 49%) said Chaucer was just too long to be enjoyable as an assigned text. A
somewhat smaller group of responses (n = 7; 20%) indicated that although the story itself was enjoyable
and absorbing, it did not focus enough on international business. A third group of negative comments (n

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= 4; 11%) strongly agreed that Chaucer did nothing to make the international business class more
relevant, interesting, or lively, and that the presentation of IB concepts and processes in the novel were no
more interesting than those discussed in the textbook. A fourth group (n = 5; 14%) found at least some of
the IB content in the novel boring, specifically, those parts where the IB professor’s lectures are reported
secondhand by the student narrator Chaucer Jeffries.

CONCLUSION

The student response data available to date are just too fragmentary to draw serious conclusions from
them. More feedback will be available from the official student class evaluations and from using the
novel next semester. It is gratifying to have over half the class react positively to use and discussion of
the novel, and to have my own impressions validated by the obvious enjoyment of the class discussion by
many students. However, I have no conclusive evidence to suggest that student knowledge retention was
improved by this experiment. Student performance on exams did not differ significantly from previous
semesters. I also incline to trust the responses that suggest the work, at 500-plus published pages, was
just too long to hold the attention of many of the students taking the class.

REFERENCES

Arai, Shinya [pen name: AZUCHI Satoshi](1986, 1991), Shoshaman:A Tale of Corporate Japan (trans.
by Chieko Mulhern). Berkeley: University of California Press. [Originally published in Japanese in 1986
as Kigyōka sararīman—“Entrepreneur Salaryman.”]

The Arbinger Institute (2000), Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box. San Francisco,
CA: Berrett-Koehler.

Austin, R.D., Nolan, R.L., and O’Donnell, S. (2009), The Adventures of an IT Leader. Boston, MA:
Harvard Business School Publishing Corp.

Bagshaw, Mark (2011), Chaucer on the Nile: A Pilgrim’s Progress. Charleston, S.C.: CreateSpace,
Amazon.

Berfield, Susan (2008), “Career Advice from a Comic Book,” Bloomberg Businessweek, March 3, 2008.

Chowdhury, Subhir (2005), The Ice Cream Maker. New York: Doubleday.

Dale, Edgar (1946), Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching. New York: The Dryden Press.

Dale, Edgar (1954), Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching (2nd ed.). New York: The Dryden Press.

Dale, Edgar (1969), Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching (3rd ed.). New York: The Dryden Press.

Fowler, G.A., and Trachtenberg, J.A. (2010), “ ‘Vanity’ Press Goes Digital,” The Wall Street Journal,
June 3, 2010, A1.

Ishinomori, Shōtarō (1986, 1988), Japan, Inc.: An Introduction to Japanese Business (trans. by Betsey
Scheiner), with an introduction by Peter Duus. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

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Johnson, Spencer (1998), Who Moved My Cheese? New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

Kotter, J., and Rathgeber, H. (2005), Our Iceberg Is Melting. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Lencioni, Patrick (2002), The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Loebbecke, James K. (1999), The Auditor. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Lucretius, Titus Carus (1937), De Rerum Natura (trans. by W.H.D. Rouse). Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.

Mulhern, Chieko (1991), “The Japanese Business Novel,” in Shoshaman: A Tale of Corporate Japan.
Berkeley: University of California Press, vii.

NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science (1961), About the Learning Pyramid. Retrieved July 7,
2011 from www.homepages.gold.acuk/polovina/learnpyramid/about.htm.

Overvold, Gary E. (1985), “The Humanities and the Human Sciences,” in Interpreting the Humanities.
Princeton, NJ: The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, 16-17.

Pink, Daniel (2008), The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. New
York: Penguin Group.

Pridgeon, Charles. personal communication, May 19, 2011.

Stovall, Jim (2001), The Ultimate Gift. Colorado Springs, CO: RiverOak Publishing.

Togashi, Yoko (2002-2004), The True Life of Carlos Ghosn (illustrated by Toda Takanobu). Tokyo:
Shogakukan Inc.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Mark Bagshaw is Professor of Management and Leadership at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.
Chaucer on the Nile is available as a hardcopy paperback from the publisher at Createspace.com/3612873
or as hardcopy or Kindle eBook from Amazon.com. He can be contacted at bagshawm@marietta.edu.

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SCENARIOS AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Kathleen Wilburn, St. Edward’s University
Ralph Wilburn, St. Edward’s University

ABSTRACT
Unintended consequences litter the landscape of problem solving and decision making. Often, decisions
are made and solutions are implemented in order to alleviate immediate negative conditions. However,
little or no consideration is given to what unintended consequences that decision or solution might create
in the future. Problem solving and decision making in the 21st century require a systems approach that
anticipates future consequences—negative as well as positive. Scenario planning is a systematic tool that
identifies those possible consequences in a world of uncertainty. It is an organized methodology, which
provides a coherent and plausible picture of what the future might be. It allows exploration of different
paths, based on forces such as the economy, the environment, globalization, culture, society, and
language, which might affect the long terms results of decisions and solutions. This paper will provide a
historical context for scenario thinking, describe existing global scenarios that can be used by
organizations to develop scenarios, and provide an example of how scenario thinking can identify
possible unintended consequences of solutions and decisions. By identifying signposts to monitor key
changes, the probability of the occurrence of negative consequences can be evaluated, and interventions
to mitigate the effects can be developed.

INTRODUCTION

Unintended consequences litter the landscape of problem solving and decision making. “How was I
supposed to know?” is the plea when a solution yields a different result than the one intended, or yields
unanticipated results as well as the intended one. The 21st century environment increasingly is creating a
landscape that has landmines for strategic planning and risk management.

A problem is never completely solved because the act of solving it changes the system in which it existed.
The longer the time required for implementation, the more those changes in the system can alter the effect
of the solution on the system. Dörner (1996) argues that it is human to focus on the present and to
assume that we can solve the new problems later.

We must learn that there is a lag time between the execution of a measure and its effect. We must
learn to recognize “shapes” in time. We must learn that events have not only their immediate,
visible effects but long-term repercussions as well. We also must learn to think in terms of
systems. We must learn that in complex systems we cannot do only one thing. Whether we want
it to or not, any step we take will affect many other things. We must learn to cope with side
effects. We must understand that the effects of our decisions may turn up in places we never
expected to see them surface. (p. 198)

Problem solving and decision making in the 21st century require a systems approach that anticipates
consequences, both positive and negative, other than the one that is planned, especially in a time when
those consequences can have ethical as well as economic elements. As companies adopt corporate social
responsibility (CSR) programs, they are finding that such programs meant to solve problems may create
new problems. For example, donations of food to a drought stricken nation may solve an immediate
problem of lack of food, but if they do not take into account that there are farmers in the nation that need

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to sell the crops they produced so they can plant again next year, the donations may mean the farmers,
who can provide the long term solution, are put out of business.

Chermack (2004) cites four contributors to failed decisions: “1) bounded rationality, 2) a tendency to
consider only external variables, 3) the stickiness and friction of information and knowledge, and 4)
mental models that include decision premises or policies” (p. 296). Scenarios can help decision makers
step outside their boundaries and models to re-perceive the decision and the forces that surround it. In a
study of causes of success and failure of scenario planning interventions, Wright, van der Heijden, Burt,
Bradfield, and Cairns (2008) found that when leaders’ decisions had moved them to a point where they
felt bound by them, even though they were not successful, bringing in a consultant to do scenario thinking
was not successful. It thus appears that scenarios need to be developed before a crisis happens to ensure
that all parties engage in quality discussions and ask “What if?” questions. Then the scenarios can be
used to work though the crisis or problem. This paper will provide a historical context for scenario
thinking, describe global scenarios that already exist that can be used by organizations to develop
scenarios, and provide an example of how scenario thinking can identify possible unintended
consequences of solutions and decisions.

SCENARIO DEFINITION AND HISTORY

Definitions

Scenarios are compelling, vivid stories that allow the future to easily be seen in the reader’s mind. They
should be negative or positive since business-as-usual scenarios rarely cause people to re-perceive their
assumptions about the future. Each scenario must be memorable so that it is a filter when people are
considering decisions. Each scenario must have enough detail about the steps that led up to the ending so
that the person can identify the trends that must be monitored in order to support a positive scenario or
derail a negative one. There should be one or two positive scenarios and one or two negative scenarios.
Scenarios allow people to test possible actions by playing them out in three or four different scenarios.
Schwartz (1991) says that an effective scenario

asks people to suspend their disbelief in its stories long enough to appreciate their impact. You
know that a scenario is effective when someone, pondering an issue that has been taboo or
unthinkable before, says, “Yes, I can see how that might happen. And what I might do as a
result.” (p. 39)

In order to make that possible, scenarios must be believable. “The time horizon for scenarios must be
short enough to create scenarios that are probable, but long enough for us to imagine that important
changes with an impact on the future business can take place” (Lingren & Bandhold, 2003, p. 53).

Scenarios address the need for identifying possible consequences and exploring what forces in the system
may influence the success of any solution. Scenarios can study possibilities in a world of great
uncertainty; they are a tool for creating alternative future environments in which to test the future viability
of today’s decisions particularly about implementing solutions to a problem. They are organized stories
of specific possible futures for a specific organization. They allow exploration of different paths that an
organization could follow into the future, and then identify what would need to happen on each path to
lead to a desired goal. Scenario thinking is not unfamiliar to human beings. In fact, people often ask
“What if?” when planning something important. For example, people plan alternative routes to work.

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They identify certain places that will make them take an alternative if they see more traffic than normal.
In sports, players think about their own plays as responses to the opponent’s moves. Chess players think
many moves ahead. Wayne Gretzky, a great hockey player, said he anticipated where the puck would be
after a shot so that he was in place to meet it. He was able to do this by studying the plays of his
opponents and knowing the area to which each one shot the puck under normal circumstances.
Developing scenarios is a tool that helps people consider where the puck will be under different
circumstances.
Scenarios Are Not Predictions

Scenarios are not predictions. Schwartz (1991) quotes an old Arab proverb that says, “he who predicts
the future lies even if he tells the truth” and goes on to say, “Rather, scenarios are vehicles for helping
people learn. Unlike traditional business forecasting or market research, they present alternative images;
they do not merely extrapolate trends of the present” (p. 6). Instead, they ask what might change in the
future that would impact today’s decisions. Scenarios force executives and managers to consider the way
current realities might change or mutate in the future and thus affect the goals set and the decisions made
today. They also uncover possible unintended consequences of chosen actions.

To solve problems in an uncertain world, organizations need to be able to re-perceive—to question their
assumptions about the way the world works, so that they can see the future more clearly. Because
organizations have used the past to develop future plans, they may not realize that what worked in the
past, whether it be consumers’ behavior or suppliers’ availability, will not work in the future. Using
scenarios provide an easy way to evaluate the assumptions and biases behind goals and strategies.
Scenarios can allow risks to be assigned to certain forces so that as the probability increases for a certain
scenario to come to be, a contingency plan can be fleshed out.

Scenarios allow an organization to make choices in the present with an understanding of possible
consequences of each of those choices. Using what is known in the present and what might happen in the
future, the scenarios describe a coherent and plausible picture of what the future might be. They describe
how an organization and its stakeholders might respond to the changing forces. By identifying what can
happen, the organization is able to identify the signposts that will indicate that the probabilities of certain
possibilities noted in the scenarios are increasing or decreasing.

Once developed, they are used to test decisions going forward. The scenario development process
identifies what actions will be most beneficial or detrimental going forward, and what adjustments may
need to be made as events unfold. In the midst of a continual onslaught of information and data,
scenarios identify what information and trends are crucial to the future success of an organization, and
thus what trends must be tracked.

HISTORY OF SCENARIOS

Hermann Kahn developed a model to think about the future as part of his work in military strategy at
RAND corporation. He is responsible for first using the word “scenario,” a Hollywood term for the script
for a movie Scenarios were used by after WWII to imagine what the enemy might be able to do in the
future and plan contingencies to counter that. Today, the military develops electronic simulations that act
as scenarios in which planners make decisions in real time crises in a changing landscape and understand
from making decisions. Thus, they can evaluate decisions in the light of what consequences they might
create in the future (Lingren & Banhold, 2003).

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Shell International’s use of scenarios started 50 years ago when Pierre Wack and his planning team
considered what might happen to the price of oil, which had been stable since the end of WWII, after the
1967 Arab-Israeli war. Wack wrote a scenario describing the consequences of the energy crisis that
would be the result of prices and production were controlled by a consortium. The scenario led the
company to develop a contingency plan that would move it from heavy fuels, which could be replaced by
coal and nuclear power to light fuels like gasoline, and would include investing in refining plants that
could make lighter fuels. The scenario identified signposts to track in the oil producing countries. When
the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) consolidated its power over the oil market in
retaliation for the West supporting Israel, Royal/Dutch Shell was prepared. After the Yom Kippur War in
fall of 1973, an oil shortage followed and prices soared. Shell had already implemented its new strategy
and moved from seventh to third in global oil company rankings (Schwartz, 1991).

Royal Dutch/Shell

In 1983, Royal Dutch/Shell was considering building a platform to extract natural gas from a field in the
North Sea. It asked its current scenario team to write scenarios about the viability of the project, since it
had a requirement for its return on investment (ROI), to look for possible consequences of developing the
field. The scenario planning team realized that since the customers would be European countries, the
future of the USSR would affect the profitability of the field. If the direction of Russia’s government
changed and ended the Cold War, the restrictions on how much European countries could purchase from
Russia, which had the world’s 2nd largest reserves of natural gas, would be lifted. Royal Dutch/Shell’s
research determined that Russia’s labor force and birthrate were declining, its population was aging, and
its productivity was declining. One scenario told a story of a person in Russia who could convince his
country that rapprochement with the West was an extension of Lenin and Stalin’s ideas. Royal
Dutch/Shell began tracking its identified signposts and noted when Russia’s factories fell into disrepair
and when a person name Mikhail Gorbachev couched his economic and political ideas as being aligned
with Lenin’s New Economy. Thus, Royal Dutch/Shell anticipated the fall of the Berlin Wall many
months before it happened, and, since it did not know if Western companies would be invited in to help
Russia develop the country’s oil and gas deposits, it delayed developing the North Sea gas field. Only
after it determined that Russian oil and gas would not be available in the near future, did it move forward.
Its strategic decision allowed it to make its required return on investment (Schwartz, 1991).

JDS Uniphase Corp

JDS Uniphase Corp, a company that designs and produces optical communication instruments, began
using scenarios in 2004; each spring, executives consider three potential sales scenarios. In 2008, a
worst-case scenario allowed the company to be proactive in responding to what appeared to be an
economic downturn. Sales people found customers becoming cautious, and JDS shipped more orders
than it booked in the quarter ending Sept. 27.

In October, the company announced it would kill some products, combine two of its four
segments, shift more manufacturing to contractors, and shut three factories along with seven
research-and-development sites, eliminating 400 jobs. . . . In the quarter ended Dec. 27, revenue
fell for the first time in the downturn, by 11%, to $357 million. In January, the company said it
would shut operations for one week each quarter, suspend its matching contribution to employee

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401(k) plans, and require senior managers to take extra unpaid days off. In February, JDS said it
would sell a factory in China and shift more U.S. production to contract manufacturers.
In all, the moves cut roughly one-third of JDS’s 6,700 employees and reduced annual operating
expenses by $120 million. The company continued to generate cash, despite a projected 15%
decline in revenue in the fiscal year ended June 27. (Tuna, 2009, para. 9)

Paul J. H. Schoemaker, research director of the Wharton School’s Innovation, cited an example of
successful strategic decision-making based on scenarios involving a large global industrial goods
company; one of the scenarios dealt with possible outcomes of the 2009 election in Iran. When chaos
erupted after the election, executives already had thought through how they might respond in the
scenarios.

The impact on decision-making represents a perfect illustration of how so-called scenario
planning techniques can be used to help managers navigate in complex and uncertain
environments. . . . Pulling out the notes from these discussions, they already knew their options
and had a view on how they would like to respond. In many ways, they were prepared—and
already one-step ahead of some other companies. (“Eyes wide open,” 2009, para. 2)

BUSINESS RESPONSES TO SCENARIOS

Schoemaker sees companies responding to the chaos of the future in three ways. In the first, no long-term
decisions are made and the company is in a holding pattern. In the second, the company bets on a
favorable future that it likes, but the decisions may be disastrous if the future is not the envisioned one. In
the third, a company identifies what can be known and what cannot be known and uses it
. . . as a basis for exploring many possible futures—in other words, developing scenarios rather
than predictions. This approach differs from the first two primarily in that it is a much more open
mindset, with a focus on agility and options. Yet it also is in many ways the most challenging to
adopt. “It takes courage to admit our collective ignorance,” Schoemaker says, “because it
conflicts with our common notion of leadership, which prizes omniscience. However, our world
is too complex for the heroic leadership of the past where a great leader rides up on a white horse
and points the way to the future. A better approach now is to embrace uncertainty and examine it
in detail to discover where the hidden opportunities lurk.” (“Eyes wide open,” 2009, para. 2)

The use of scenarios has ebbed and flowed with the health of the economy and the financial success of
companies. “Shell’s success with the scenario planning approach also encouraged the majority of the
Fortune 1000 companies to adopt scenarios in one way or another during the 1970s” (Lingren &
Bandhold, 2003, p. 37). An unintended consequence for using this forward thinking tool that was helpful
in downturns, was that in the recession in the 1980s, companies lost the creative people needed to write
scenarios due to budget cuts, and brought back traditional forecasting. The tectonic shifts in the global
business environment in the past fifteen years have renewed interest in using scenarios as a means of
making better decisions.

A 2008 McKinsey Global survey revealed that business executives see scenario planning as an important
strategy in succeeding in a global environment where information comes from all sides and where sudden
changes in global forces can have catastrophic consequences.

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Almost 70 percent of the executives agree that global trends have become more or much more
important to corporate strategy over the past five years. . . . A wide difference exists between
assigning importance to trends and taking active steps to address them (something we also found
in previous surveys). For example, while around 75 percent of the responders say that a faster
pace of technological innovation and the increasing availability of knowledge will have an
impact—positive or negative—on their companies’ profits, just over 50% have done something
about either of those two trends. (“How Companies Act,” 2008, p. 4)

A 2010 McKinsey report said that more executives are acting on key global forces today. Three fourths
of the executives surveyed said that they were addressing the shift from developed-market countries to
emerging-market countries, two-thirds said they were addressing the connectedness of the global
economy, and one-half said they were addressing the collision between rising demand for resources and
constrained supplies (Bisson, Stephenson, & Viguerie, 2010).

One only has to review the recent economic chaos to realize how useful a scenario that detailed such a
downturn would have been for individuals, individual companies, governments, and global corporations.
It would have identified all the possible consequences of certain actions in response to a recession. A
negative scenario would have detailed the environment in which one would need to act, and would have
allowed consideration of possible decisions proactively instead of reactively. Having that scenario would
have identified signposts that could have been tracked to see if the probability of certain events happening
was increasing. Once a threshold was reached, a contingency plan could have been implemented. New
hires or new office space or new ventures would have been delayed. As it was, few people knew what to
look for in the myriad of available data, and even when it became obvious that the economy was souring,
few had a plan to implement to minimize its negative effects. More importantly, because few companies
have developed positive scenarios, they do not know what to look for in the current environment, so they
may be missing excellent opportunities because of fear.

The 2010 McKinsey survey revealed that few executives acted on any of the trends they thought might be
important. When responders did act, “few companies seem to be capturing all the opportunities or
addressing all the risks presented by the trends on which they act” (“How Companies Act,” 2008, p. 5). If
companies had had scenarios that identified forces that they knew directly affected their operations, they
would have known what trends to track. The scenarios would have allowed risk management to be based
on data showing increased probabilities of events taking place.

In the global environment the stability of a government and its regulations on workplace safety and
worker rights, on environmental safeguards, and on tariffs are key factors in whether a company should
locate in a country. Even if the need is only for suppliers, these issues will affect prices. The Arab Spring
has brought freedom to people, but how the government is reconstructed will have a major affect on how
business will be done. If the price of oil increases, the price of fuel will increase and thus the price of
transportation. A company that could track the factors that would increase the price of oil might change
its business model and find suppliers closer to its base, or move its base closer to its suppliers, if the
country in which the suppliers existed had customer demand. Despite the economic problems in the
United States and European Union, American businesses in 2011 are very profitable because they have
found markets in other countries.

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IDENTIFYING FORCES THAT LEAD TO CONSEQUENCES

There are global scenarios that are already written and available for companies to use. Royal/Dutch Shell,
the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have developed
scenarios based on data and a global perspective.

World Economic Forum Scenarios

According to the World Economic Forum:
The scenario stories in this report have a very broad scope and are intended to increase our
understanding of the various uncertainties regarding the future of the global financial architecture.
Such high-level scenarios can provide a useful framework for posting more detail about an
organization’s specific external environment at the country, industry, or even product-line level.
Used purposefully, scenarios can:
• enhance a strategy’s robustness by indentifying and challenging underlying assumptions
• allow better strategic decisions by discovering and framing uncertainties, leading to a more
informed understanding of the risks involved with substantial and irreversible commitments
and promoting strong and pre-emptive corporate positioning
• improve awareness of change by shedding light on the complex interplay of underlying
drivers and critical uncertainties, and enhancing sensitivity to weak and/or early signals of
significant changes ahead
• increase preparedness and agility in coping with the unexpected and by making it possible to
visualize possible futures and mentally rehearse responses
• facilitate collaborative action by providing different stakeholders with common languages
and concepts in a non-threatening context. (World Economic Forum, 2009a, p. 77)
Its four financial scenarios are Financial Regionalism, in which companies must work strategically with
three major trade and financial blocs; Fragmented Protectionism, in which companies face individual
countries’ controls and regulations; Re-engineered Western-centrism, in which companies operate in a
homogenous world that is always one crisis behind in its regulations; and Rebalanced Multilateralism, in
which companies compete in a world of shifting geo-economic power, but one that is open to trade. It has
also published specific scenarios on China, India, Russia, and the Gulf States, as well as scenarios on
demographic shifts, engineering and construction, and technology and innovation. For example in China
and the World: Scenarios to 2025, there are three scenarios: Regional Ties describes China’s success at
reform and overcoming historical regional enmities; Unfulfilled Promise describes China’s failure to
enact structural reforms necessary for economic development; New Silk Road describes a China that has
flourished economically and culturally in a peaceful integration in the global community (World
Economic Forum, 2009b).

U.S. National Intelligence Council Scenarios

The U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) began publishing global scenarios in 1997 Global Trends
2000, and published Global Trends 2015 in 2000, Global Trends: Mapping the Global Future in 2004,
and Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World in 2008. The scenarios focus on the global economy
driven by technology, the changes in political power, the effects of democratization and the power of
tribes and religion, as well as the rising power of developing nations.

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In the introduction to Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World, C. Thomas Fingar, Chairman, National
Intelligence Council, says:
By examining a small number of variables that we judge probably will have a disproportionate
influence on future events and possibilities, the study seeks to help readers to recognize signposts
indicating where events are headed and to identify opportunities for policy intervention to change
or lock in the trajectories of specific developments. Among the messages we hope to convey are:
“If you like where events seem to be headed, you may want to take timely action to preserve their
positive trajectory. If you do not like where they appear to be going, you will have to develop
and implement policies to change their trajectory.” For example, the report’s examination of the
transition out of dependence on fossil fuels illustrates how different trajectories will entail
different consequences for different countries. An even more important message is that
leadership matters, no trends are immutable, and that timely and well-informed intervention can
decrease the likelihood and severity of negative developments and increase the likelihood of
positive ones. (National Intelligence Council, 2008, para. 2)

The document is based on predetermined forces that are relatively certain such as the emergence of a
mulipolar system, the continuing shift in wealth from West to East, continuing economic growth that will
create pressure on energy, food, and water resources, the increasing potential for conflict in the Middle
East, especially if the youth unemployment is not reduced, and the continuance of the United States as a
powerful, if less dominant, country. The uncertain forces include the pace of the energy shift from oil and
gas, the speed of climate change and its effects, the shift of China and Russia from state capitalism to
democracy, the effect of a nuclear Iran on its neighbors, and the outcomes of transformed geopolitics. In
Global Scenario I: A World Without the West, the United States withdraws from Central Asia, the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization becomes more important than NATO, and the lack of any stable bloc
adds to instability that could threaten globalization. In Global Scenario II: October Surprise,
governments must consider drastic action as a result of the destruction caused by climate change, such as
relocating coastal cities. In Global Scenario III: BRIC’s Bust-Up, conflict between China and India over
access to natural resources develops into global conflict. In Global Scenario IV: Politics is Not Always
Local, digital communication and growing economies allow nonstate groups like NGOs, businesses, and
religious groups to gain power.

Royal/Dutch Shell

Royal/Dutch Shell developed scenarios in 1992, 1995, and 1998 that “all featured a market-centric world
(New Frontiers, People Power, and Just Do It!) as well as an alternative world giving more room to social
and community aspirations” (Shell International Limited, 2005, p. 9). In 2005, Shell International
published Global Scenarios to 2025: The Future Business Environment: Trends, Trade-offs and Choices.
It poses a “Trilemma: Triple Dilemma” by asking how (1) Efficiency, perceived as market incentives, (2)
Security, perceived as coercion and regulation, and (3) Social Cohesion and Justice, perceived as the force
of the community, would be resolved in a future globalized world. Shell proposes three major global
scenarios in which a business may find itself in the 21st century. Low Trust Globalization: Carrots and
Sticks, based on Efficiency and Security, focuses on regulation of competition by the state where barriers
to entry are high and security of citizens is paramount. Open Doors: Incentives and Bridges, based on
Efficiency, and Social Cohesion and Justice, focuses on governance that values accountability for private
and public sectors, which then allows global business to thrive. Flags: Nations & Causes, based on
Social Cohesion and Justice, and Security, focuses on gated communities that value self-sufficiency and

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value national security and sovereignty rule, and distrust globalization (Shell International Limited,
2005).

THE SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

How does a company develop scenarios that can be used to identify possible consequences of
implementing solutions to problems and making decisions? The first step is to define the forces that are
important to the stakeholders involved in the solution or decision; they are those forces that, if they
behaved differently than anticipated, would affect the planned outcome. These are forces that can create
opportunities and threats. The global scenarios above provide information on these forces and how they
might act in the future.

Example: Fictitious Company A

Company A makes irrigation equipment and has identified a market in a developing country. The country
has a problem. Its current food production cannot support its population because lack of water at correct
times causes crops to fail. Before making a decision about whether its irrigation equipment could solve
this problem, the company would want to investigate the causes of the problem. The causes could be
poor soil, lack of rain, lack of access to water sources (lakes, rivers), lack of good seeds, or government
policy that exports food rather than using it for its people. Irrigation equipment would not solve the
problem if these are the causes. However, if there is normal rainfall to sustain agriculture or if the
government could develop a treaty on the use of water from a lake or river other countries also border,
then improved irrigation could make a difference; farmers could pay for the irrigation equipment with
increased income. Then it could use the global scenarios published by NIC, WEF, or Shell to study what
the major forces might look like going forward.

Environment

Has the lack of water occurred often in the past? If so, is it because the population has grown or because
the country is in a drought cycle or because it is slowly become more desert like? If it is a cycle, when
does the cycle normally turn? If this is a new occurrence, is water from a river being diverted for industry
or by another country? What is happening in countries bordering on this country? The NIC and WEF
have data on what countries may have water scarcity in the future, and whether this is due to lack of
rainfall, lack of water resources within the country, or other countries cutting off water supply for their
own use.

Economy

What is the economy of this developing country? How much is devoted to agriculture? Does the country
export crops? If there is industry, is industry using more water now than in the past? Is the economy
diversified enough to weather this drought and survive until the next harvest, perhaps with some
immediate assistance? If the economy has industry, are plants or factories taking more water than they
have in the past?

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Government and Politics

Is the government stable? What is the government doing to solve the problem? If so, is it run by leaders
who have demonstrated a concern for their people or is it a corrupt government that typically ignores the
problems of the poor? If the government is not corrupt, do the government leaders have the resources and
power to help solve the problem? Are there grants available for farmers to improve their harvest with
better irrigation? If another country has dammed the river, does the government have enough power to
negotiate water rights? Is there any indication that local governments would decide on cooperative
irrigation systems rather than individual systems?

Population

Has the population been increasing in the past years? If so, why? Is there conflict that has sent refugees
to this country? Will the increase in population be temporary? Where does the population live? Is it
rural or have people been moving to the cities? Are fewer farmers feeding more people who live in the
cities? Is city growth using more water than in the past?

Infrastructure

Does the country have a good infrastructure? Does it have good roads? Does it have warehouses to store
agricultural products? Does it have trucks and trains that could move produce from places where there is
water to grow crops to the cities? Does it have a sound financial system? Are there banks that could
make loans to farmers if this lack of water is temporary? Could farmers be granted loans to buy
equipment from the company? Do the citizens have electricity or any type of power grid? If so, is it only
in the cities?

Resources

Does the country have resources that it is exporting so that it does not need to export agricultural
products? Does it have the capacity to create a demand for more of those resources on the global market?
Does it have the capacity to buy enough food to feed the population in the short term as farmers are
improving the irrigation systems? What are the farmers doing now about supplying their fields with
water? Is it possible that pipes or waterways are leaking? Is there any use of renewable resources such as
solar or wind to provide power? Would new irrigation have access to electricity, generators or only foot
power?

Culture/Social

Are there social or tribal issues such as a caste system that leaves poor farmers powerless? Is there a
growing middle class or a government that is focused on industry at the expense of farming because it
thinks it can import the food it needs? If there is a growing middle class, is the food problem because the
population is eating more food that requires more water? Are agricultural acreages being turned over to
grazing to produce more meat rather than grains and vegetables?

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Technology

What technology is available in the country? Since it is a developing country and one could assume that
electricity is not abundant, are there cell phones that can be used for communication? Do the farmers
have equipment that must be maintained? Do the farmers use fertilizers that require land to lay fallow or
genetically altered seeds that may not provide a future seed bank? If so, what percentage of their profit
goes to maintaining equipment, fuel, and fertilizers? Do they have access to computers so they can
communicate with experts on plant diseases?

SAMPLE SCENARIO FOR FICTITIOUS COMPANY

A scenario is a narrative that places the writer in the future. Each scenario can be positive or negative; for
purposes of the assignment, there should be two positive and one negative or two negative and one
positive. The first two or three paragraphs of each scenario should describe the organization as it exists in
2020. It might begin:

It is 2020, and developing country’s water shortages are a thing of the past. Water storage
facilities now assure that water is available even in times of drought. A result of a partnership
between the government and Company A, the storage facilities are required to maintain a reserve
based on historical needs during drought. The partnership has also developed irrigation systems
that capture rainwater rather than letting it run off, and have sensors to indicate when the crops
need water. The government has developed regulations on industry growth and use of water and
water plans to ensure that the arable land needed for crop production is available.

Once the first part of a scenario is written, the question becomes, “If this scenario became reality, how did
we get there?” The second part of the scenario describes that path and the new decisions that had to be
made in the process of implementing the original solution or decisions. Working backward from the
future of the scenario to the present decision creates a map that allows us to see possible consequences.

Company A realized that the county it was considering for expansion, could have enough water to
grow crops to feed its population, but it did not have a system to save water during the rainy
season. Farmers were irrigating at the wrong time of day, and the system of trenches was
allowing water to evaporate. However, it also learned that the farmers were poor and did not
have access to loans nor did they have enough money to buy irrigation systems. Company A also
realized that the drought conditions felt by this country was also a problem for neighboring
countries, so population shifted between countries depending on conditions. The possibility of
further droughts in the future was increasing. Thus Company A decided that the only way to
expand to the country, and perhaps then to the region, was through a partnership with the
government.
In 2011 that looked like a low probability. The government was not stable, and there was
upheaval in the political arena. Many thought that the economy could survive by exporting
manufacturing goods and importing food. One consequence of this thinking could be that more
of the existing water would be funneled to manufacturing by the government and there would be
less for farmers, who would then make even less profit. Another consequence that Company A
saw in bringing in irrigation systems was that only those farmers who had money already could
afford the systems. As they became more efficient, many poor farmers would lose their livelihood

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and move into the cities. Company A conjectured that this would have a negative impact on the
entire economic system which was precarious because its manufacturing sector was not strong.
However, by 2013, the continued global downturn made people realize that the market for
manufactured goods was stagnant, and food prices were increasing because transportation was
increasing as the new governments in North Africa brought oil exports back slowly. A new set of
leaders began to focus on infrastructure and becoming more self-sufficient. Food production was
a priority. Company A set up meetings with the leaders to look at irrigation systems. Company
executives wanted a partnership with the government that would provide government assistance
to build water storage units and provide grants to farmers to set them up with irrigation systems,
because the executives feared that the economic issues would not provide enough demand. They
also feared that even thought farmers could get loans, they would not be able to pay off the loans
quickly enough if there was another drought before storage units could be built and filled. The
executives also wanted the storage units to be controlled by the government, not the private
sector, to insure that farmers would receive what they needed at a fair price. Company A also
realized that the infrastructure necessary to support irrigation would not be developed for two or
three years so it invested in foot pedal systems that did not need electricity or generators.
By 2016, there was some success. Company A had watched carefully a growing conflict between
the country and one of its neighbors who wanted to damn up a river that the irrigation system
depended on. The company actually stopped installing irrigation systems until the two countries
agreed on a plan to share water. Part of the agreement was that Company A would expand its
business to the second country, although it had doubts about its ability to expand that quickly and
also concerns about the government in the other country. It continued the bulk of its work in the
first country, and worked with farmers in the second country that were close to the border.
Company A monitored global warming, pollution, rainfall numbers, and population numbers. It
monitored how much water was being diverted to industry. It also monitored the development of
new seeds that needed less water. Research showed that water was wasted if there were low
spots in fields, so it helped farmers find ways to level their fields. It also monitored food prices
and the kinds of food the growing population in the cities were eating.
By 2018, it had expanded into four countries in the region, and was manufacturing its systems
there. It had developed a local maintenance force. In one country, it slowed sales because the
data showed the government was favoring manufacturing in water pricing and use. The company
representatives, studying trends, also realized that many farmers were considering planting crops
that required considerably more water than those they had been growing because the farmers
knew they could get higher prices for those crops. Company A produced charts and graphs
showing that one consequence of the shift would be that the staple grains would need to be
imported and that the increase in water use would mean an increase in prices, since the country’s
water supply was certainly not excessive, and thus farmers could have less income than more. It
also showed how another drought, which the region could easily have, would mean the farmers
could not grow the new crops at all.

The third step in preparing the scenarios for future use is to select signposts to monitor changes in the key
forces established as important in the scenario. Sources of information and data are identified. Much as
information from weather satellites and radar is used to measure the probability of a tropical storm

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becoming a hurricane, these signposts are the key sources of information that are important to achieving
the organization’s strategic goal. Once the indicators are identified, the increasing or decreasing
probability of their impact can be calculated, as the future becomes the present. Being proactive rather
than reactive allows decisions and actions that can diminish or thwart a negative consequence or support a
positive consequence. A solution can be halted if the signposts say that the probability of a negative
consequence is growing. A plan can be altered to adapt to a change in forces that was not part of the
scenario.

In the case of Company A, that would be needed to track the indicators are then chosen so that, as the
probability increases that a particular scenario is becoming reality, the new strategy can be implemented.
Obviously, seeing a change in government coming that would nationalize companies could help the
company extract itself from a country. Tracking the development of crops that change color when they
need water, or cheap desalination plants, or collection of water from fog, could mean changes in the
future of the business, particularly if any of those were happening in neighboring countries that might
make importing food cheaper than growing it. In developing countries, the speed of infrastructure growth
can change with leaders. It can be bogged down in corrupt policies. It can be derailed because competing
projects gain strength. All of these could have negative consequences that would derail the best-case
scenario, but if they are watched carefully, they can be contained.

CONCLUSION

If different scenarios are developed detailing what the future might be as best case and worst case, then it
is possible to evaluate the consequences of implementing a program or solution in the future. Not only
can unintended consequences be uncovered, there will be signposts for positive and negative trends that
can be identified. By then watching for the signposts, interventions can be implemented when a negative
trend is gaining strength and support can be made available for positive trends.

Building scenarios that can answer “What if?” allows the problem solvers to practice the implementation
of the solution before it goes “live.” They allow the problem solvers to identify possible consequences,
especially negative ones, early enough to then watch for them and intervene early enough that they do no
harm. With this ability to monitor changes, the probability of negative consequences occurring can be
evaluated, allowing for interventions that will mitigate the effects of negative consequences, especially if
they have ethical considerations, and allow an organization to continue to succeed.

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RECOGNIZING COMMON SENSE LEADERSHIP
WITHIN THE 21ST CENTURY ORGANIZATIONAL
CONTEXT
Jon K.Webber, University of Phoenix
Gregory W. Goussak, Ashford University
Elliot M. Ser, Florida Atlantic University

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is call for further academic conversations into how to recognize common sense
leadership as it relates to the 21st century organization. This qualitative study was performed from July
29th through December 7th, 2010, which involved 26 participants from across the United States who were
identified as senior leaders in their organization. These executives indicated that common sense
leadership is a multi-pronged approach that requires flexibility to address both the needs and desires of
the organization in conjunction with those of the members of the organization. Participants concluded
that common sense decision making requires a sense of morality that sometimes supersedes
organizational performance and profitability. Finally, study participants strongly believe that employee
motivation that encompasses goal attainment and decision making, through a sense of morality, are
important benchmarks in being a common sense leader.

JEL: M1

KEYWORDS: Leadership, Transformational Leadership, Common Sense

INTRODUCTION

Much like the definition of leadership, there is not one common word or phrase that seems to best
describe what common sense is all about, just what attributes are encompassed in that term. Our study
sought to find broad categorizations of what common sense can be identified as encompassing among
senior leaders across multiple disciplines and various locations across the United States. The following
summarizes the findings of those who took part in this initial inquiry, which then can be used as a starting
part for further dialogue among those who might pioneer this concept ahead.

RESEARCH BACKGROUND

The study started out with the assumption there must be a common set of terminology that could be used
to define common sense as it relates to organizations. After reviewing the literature, conversing with
colleagues, and considering the data collected, the researchers discovered this is an impossible task to
complete. The one certainty about the definition of common sense leadership is there is no single
quantifiable measurement that could tell us how to define the term but everyone seems to recognize its
attributes in practice much like one could differentiate the famous contour design of the Coca-Cola bottle
from one that came from one of its competitors. Common sense leadership follows the same pattern
because people can tell you what it is without being able to correlate the term to a single benchmark or
paradigm.

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Observations were made following leadership conferences in Eastern Europe in the early 21st century that
attendees were eager to embrace a Western leadership style but often did not show their comprehension of
how such principles could be applied in a practical, organizational setting. Much of this resistance was
because of the participant’s past experiences in a Communist worldview setting where such an approach
was forbidden. Even after democratic reforms were initiated, the old paradigm of leadership could not be
easily shaken from emerging organizational leaders who openly stated they wanted to find a new
paradigm to do their business but did not know where to begin the process.

Further observations among United States leadership conference attendees, whom had already practiced
the skills that the Eastern Europe attendees hoped for, seemed to show a similar pattern of participants
wanting to embrace a different style. Yet, barriers seemed to be in place so the application of new
paradigms was hindered. It appeared that while there was a will to make an organizational leadership
style change, there was a missing element that did not allow these leaders to take the principles learned
from theory into practice. A final consideration was the plethora of styles that are available for leaders to
emulate in their organizations. Beginning with Taylor and the scientific management movement (1890-
1940), followed by Weber’s bureaucratic management approach (1930-1950), and then Mayo and
Roethlisberger (Hawthorne study), McGregor (Theory X and Theory Y), and other notable researchers
involvement in the human relations movement studies (1930-today).

What seemed to connect these observations to the researchers was the notion of common sense and its
ability to serve as the hitching mechanism to connect individuals and their organizations to the desired
principle of operations. Without common sense, it seemed the parties could appreciate the appearance of
the desired principles from a distance but could not have a full connection to them in order to move the
paradigm forward personally or organizationally.

LITERATURE REVIEW

There is a literature gap involving common sense and the areas of leadership and organizational behavior
in general. The topic is mostly identified within the context of the political arena and whether someone’s
actions are appropriate or not. However, since 2000, the notion of common sense leadership as it relates
to organizational behavior is almost a quiet topic by theorists in the field.

Fletcher (1984) believed common sense is a component of common understandings about the
environment consisting of three points. First, common sense unites underlying presuppositions about the
environment (Goodwin, 2009). Second, common sense consists of a group of shared opinions about the
environment (Goodwin). Finally, common sense is a shared “way of thinking” about the environment
(Fletcher, 1984, p. 204).

Salter and Highhouse (2009) relate common sense within the context of situational judgment. They note
there are eight schools of thought in this area starting with File (1945) and continuing through Brooks and
Highouse (2006); Motowidlo, Hooper, and Jackson (2006); and Stemler and Sternberg (2006). Salter and
Highhouse note there is a commonality in how each of these scholars defined situational judgment such
that “good judgment does not exist in a vacuum; it usually occurs in the context of other people or
situations” (p. 394). The Situational Leadership Model, developed by Hersey and Blanchard, postulated
that leaders maximize their opportunity for success by adapting style to the specific situation based on the
skills, abilities and desires of the followers (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2007; Newstrom & Davis,

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2007; Pechlivanidis & Katsimpra, 2004). The seminal research seems to point to the notion that there is a
connection between common sense and its relationship with familiar experiences of people in a grouping.
Salter and Highhouse (2009) further state that situational judgment (what this study calls common sense)
is a qualitative determination where factual and procedural knowledge are used to discover how others
will respond to various circumstances. This is perhaps why there are differing definitions of what
common sense is given it is not a measure that can be quantified because of its amoebic, ever changing
nature. What might be considered common sense by one person now may not be deemed as such by later
investigations because of what Polanyi (1960) called tacit knowledge or what one learns from past
experiences, which are not always quantified or recorded for later review.

Moon (2009) relates the importance of common sense study to change management particulars. He links
the need for common sense as a means to “pass stakeholders’ common sense ‘sniff tests’” (p. 518). Moon
further notes “stakeholders are less likely to adopt change when their common sense perspectives are
violated” (p. 518). Kaler (2006) believes that properly managing stakeholders for any kind of an
organization focuses on the ability to address the needs of more than corporate profits and the growth of
shareholder wealth. Managing in the 21st century requires a much broader thinking concerning the
ramifications that organizational decisions have on the overall environment (Harrison & St. John, 1996).
Effective management of a wide range of stakeholders requires leaders to identify each type of
stakeholder that could influence the direction of the organization and their specific expectations (Harrison
& St. John, 1996). Rigsby and Greco (2003) believe that leaders with a creative and unique vision look
beyond the obvious needs of the organization towards an uncharted future. Leaders that fail to recognize
the tangible and intangible future of any stakeholder, individual, group or environment creates a
detrimental atmosphere where failure becomes a possibility (Wallace, 1995). Thus, common sense
becomes a benchmark that is “so clearly self-evident and to think/do otherwise would obviously be folly”
(Moon, personal communication, April 28, 2011). In this context, common sense then becomes a group
norm that is transformed from what one person thinks to something that is embraced by other members of
the organization.

Clawson (2009) believes that one needs to consider common sense from a broader perspective because
“managers who are unable to review and adjust their common sense are not likely to be effective
managers locally or globally” (p. 470) He notes the reason why leaders cannot come to a firm definition is
because “people draw conclusions based on vague values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations they
have about the way the world is or should be” (Clawson, personal communication, April 26, 2011).
Clawson also sees common sense as being a local or global perspective rather than something identified
by all who understand the term (2011).

Rausch (2009) notes that while there have been myriad leadership publications a general consensus on the
meaning of common sense has not been reached among scholars and practitioners. What can be agreed
on, though, is there is a positive relationship between common sense and how one is thought to make
sound decisions on any given matter (Rausch). That is accomplished in the organizational setting through
the communication of the leaders’ values.

Zhao (2009) makes an important observation on common leadership when he notes, as others, that it
seems the common sense is a self-evident concept espoused by practitioners, which then ends further
discussion. However, opinions about what the term common sense includes are more “about effectiveness,
not about science” (Zhao, 2009, p. 449). Zhao goes on to connect those who are proponents of common

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sense leadership to a “response to arbitrary and bureaucratic management, and useless complicated or
dogmatic procedures” (p. 449).

What is interesting in the literature is common sense is recognized as having an imprint on organizational
behavior (Goodwin, 2009; Moon, 2009; Rausch, 2009; Salter & Highhouse, 2009; and Zhao, 2009).
However, common sense serves as an intangible qualifier that people can see the effects of without being
able to hold it in their hands, much like the wind. Yet, common sense is no less important to
organizational survival and the ability of managers to make prudent decisions that could lead to success or
failure based on how these actors are implemented and grasped by their followers.

STUDY BACKGROUND

This qualitative study on recognizing common sense as it relates to the 21st century organization was
performed from July 29th through December 7th, 2010. It involved 26 participants who were identified as
senior leaders in their organization (Vice-President and higher on the organizational chart). The
convenience sample included individuals from both the public and private sector and included leaders
from information technology, insurance, investment, legal services, manufacturing, marketing, public
utilities, real estate, restaurants, and staffing. Participants were polled from Georgia (50%), Nevada (23%)
and other regions of the United States (Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North
Carolina, and Pennsylvania); using SurveyMonkey.com as the platform for them to record their complete
comments.

FINDINGS

It was not difficult for these senior-level leaders to identify how common sense leadership was recognized
by them, although there was no single broad category that could be used to delineate the meaning of the
term. Instead, three predominant groupings were produced from the data, which seemed to guide the
participants’ perceptions of what common sense leadership means in their organizational setting: (a) goal
setting, (b) decision making, and (c) motivation.

Goal setting

Opinions about common sense as they relate to operational issues fell within three broad groupings:
mission, vision, and purpose. Within those areas, participants identified two specific subsets: recognition
and getting back to basics.

Recognition

Participants noted that common sense starts within the proper mindset of what is happening in the
organization. CS7 opined that meant the leader needs to have an “innate ability to recognize issues and
processes within a business structure and address them accordingly”. That perspective was echoed by
CS23 added that commons sense realizes this in the context of “social environments in which a person
operates. Common sense includes a personal feel for the operations of a business, knowledge of the
external environment in which the business exists, and understanding of the social dynamics that exist
within the organization”. In other words, common sense operates within an amoebic kind of environment
where all parts are connected, blended together, and flowing together in tandem within the parameters of
mission, vision, and purpose. CS13 adds, “Since the state of man is such that he is constantly searching

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to find his meaning and purpose, common sense would dictate that a leader be able to
provide/communicate, in part, this meaning and purpose to the individual in an organization”.

Other participants in this study noted a similar connection as they saw how common sense relates to “the
absolute understanding of your business model and processes (CS25). CS8 attributed common sense to
the leader’s “ability to assess reality”. CS20 viewed the pursuit of using common sense in the context of
“vision expressed daily. Efficiency tweaked daily. Productivity measured daily. Relevance to customer
needs examined daily”. Common sense then would be bounded by observing what has been done in the
past, looking to what the organization is experiencing now, and looking to the realities of the future in
almost a simultaneous set if activities by the leader.

The notion of common sense was also framed within the ideal of knowing what tools are available to the
leader. CS26 defined this area as “a set of mental tools that guide a person through the decision process
to a point where the obstacles have been analyzed, potential solutions have been outlined with different
consequences thought through, and then reasoning the way to the best solution”. Instead of describing a
situation where one tool fits all leaders, common sense then would seem to relate to the recognition that
there are differing ways to use those devices and arrive at varying solutions, which may be beneficial to
the organization. At least that is what CS26 seems to indicate when it was opined that leaders in the 21st
century “will have to accommodate people in leadership positions who have a different common sense
matrix than has been thought of as traditional common sense”. The reason why that may be true is best
described by CS13 who posited that “common sense is that set of intuitions, biases, and perceptions
which are taken for granted by the one who possesses them”. If one thinks that a leadership tool has only
one use then there may be a surprise when that device ends up having different uses by those who do not
see common sense leadership within a narrow set of definitions. However, the study of leadership is
challenged because CS26 also noted that “what makes it harder is that we now have two generations who
have developed a different sort of common sense as a result of a different upbringing”. Intergenerational
differences need to be considered when determining what is or is not defined as common sense leadership
in the 21st century.

Back to Basics

Aligned with mission, vision, and purpose issues are where participants felt common sense leadership
begins in an organization. CS3 sees the genesis of such understanding starting by “getting back to the
basics of setting measurable and attainable goals”. Only when the leader knows their true north
coordinates will the organization be able to know the clear direction they want to follow without being
distracted by alternative opinions from those who are following an outdated map of operations. CS25
added that common sense is more than just the leader knowing where the organization is heading but they
also possess “the ability to know that all processes and functions are working properly or improperly.
This applies to everything from software to human resources”. When a leader is confident that they have
marked a clear path for the rest of the organization to follow behind them and all known and needed
resources are in place then the participants believe common sense is being used optimally.
Participants noted that common sense relates to the ability of a leader to offer “the product or service in a
way that is easy to understand, purchase, and see the value of the product or service” (CS22). The reason
is that, as CS25 noted, “Without understanding how your organization is built and functions you cannot
see if something is amiss”. If a leader is able to have such focus then CS3 suggests that one can pursue
“those goals without being impacted by noise or emotional drivers. Too often these days, plans are
created and decisions are made with drivers that are contrary or not related to success”. That is why the

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participants may have been focused mostly on mission, vision, and purpose because as CS8 views
common sense in leadership, one has to “develop a plan, and present and sell that plan to achieve your
objectives”.

Decision-making

Opinions about common sense as it relates to decision-making fell into broad principle-driven
considerations. Common sense, according to the participants, is based on internal drivers rather than
outside factors that may affect the leader. CS2 notes common sense is “experienced based decisions that
are not driven by politics”. The leader in such cases will look at situations as doing what is right first
while looking out for the best interests of the organization. CS14 says this process all begins by knowing
your customer and what their expectations may be. CS15 sees common sense as “looking past numbers
to do the right thing for employees, customers, and shareholders”. CS11 agrees with that notion and
further states that common sense is “acting in a way that positively affects company goals while
appearing to stakeholders to be the most appropriate approach”. CS24 added that “common sense as it
relates to leading a 21st century organization is best defined as doing the right thing at the right time with
resources–time, people, money and information”. Common sense then is formed as CS24 described “a
fail-safe, flexible model for action that results in obtaining the key objectives of the organization
consistently” while doing the right thing every time. CS10 connected common sense leadership to “doing
what is right by leveraging personal and professional experiences” rather than what someone else wants
you to do.

Many of the participants equated common sense to moral decision making. CS5 said this relates to
“using your moral compass to make decisions and following the ‘do unto others’ principle”. The core
question that leaders would then need to answer would be, “Is what you are considering something that
you would personally feel right about, and would you be proud to talk about it to others”? (CS17). CS4
notes that leaders should “try to perceive the outcome of their action(s) and determine if they would be
happy with that result”. CS19 believes the answer follows one’s practice of “simply doing the right thing
even when it is often not the easy thing to do. Lead by example. Practice what you preach”. By setting
the right example in their organizations, leaders can show common sense that can be emulated by their
followers.

Several participants noted that the benchmark for common sense activity in organizations is “actually a
matter of aligning our lives with timeless principles” (CS21). CS7 stated a similar observation that “one’s
moral/ethical beliefs play an important part in how these things are addressed”. The end-result according
to CS12 is that “common sense and doing what is right is what leaders do to grow their fruit stands into
factories”.

Motivation

Opinions about common sense as it relates to motivation fell within two broad groupings: employee focus
and the setting up the right environment. Both seem to work in tandem with each other to encourage
further common sense practice and application within established organizational norms.

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Employee Focus

Another element that participants said would apply to common sense leadership relates to human capital
considerations. CS3 believes the starting place for common sense leadership in this area begins with
“assembling a team of people with a track record of success”. Common sense then would include the
leader knowing who the right people are to move the organization ahead, understanding their availability
for hire, and making sure the targeted individuals have gained success within similar areas of operations.
Once the human assets are in place, CS1 believes one starts by first having the mindset of caring about the
people who are employed by your organization.

At the very base of common sense in leadership is how to motivate your employees so they will maintain
a long and productive relationship with your organization. CS9 says it begins with praising and
rewarding “employees for the good work they do – take care of the employees and the bottom line will
take care of itself”. At the core of commons sense and motivation is what CS13 sees as “an endowment
given to all mankind in varying degrees. It is a subjective, non-material object, which can only be
measured and defined in relationship with something else. Since organizational leadership is necessarily
people-driven, common sense possessed by the leader of any organization will be marked by his
seemingly ‘natural’ ability to understand what motivates people”. CS1 notes that also means knowing that
“the employees of the company are people first, employees second”. CS12 puts the onus for that on
leaders as they show their “understanding that people work with people, not for people”. The nuance
there is one of use as being proactive vs. reactive in how it is approached.

CS18 notes that empowerment is a part of what happens because “common sense consists of
understanding the unique ways in which the members of your organization can be enabled to be part of a
team effort to achieve worthy goals”. CS6 concurs by noting “common sense is the ability to look at
more than one party’s perspective on an issue or subject and make reasonable decisions based on that”.
How a leader can reach that level of understand comes by “realizing that people are the base of our
services, products, technology, etc… and the only value your company has is the quality of employees”
(CS15). CS14 adds that common sense means “treating employees and customers fairly”, which seems to
be the hallmark of what the participants said best defined common sense in this area of inquiry.

Setting the Right Environment

A smaller area of consideration of what common sense means as it relates to motivation was described by
several participants who noted that setting the right environment was a consideration. CS1 noted that
getting employees to “ride for the brand” needs to be emphasized. The goal in such work would be to
engage employees in activities that would move the brand forward while concurrently recognizing the
followers’ individual work in doing so. CS12 believes that means to “try to make all areas “win/win”
situations” for leaders and their followers. CS13 posits that “at a basic level, leadership is a function of
an individual’s ability to intrinsically motivate people to work together to make a vision reality.
Organizations exist around a common purpose, and it is the job of the leader to help people in an
organization understands and cares about the purpose.” By doing so, the work environment will thrive
and survive in whatever challenges it may face from its stakeholders.

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CONCLUSIONS

According to Fletcher (1984), common sense leadership focuses on organizational environment. A single
answer to define common sense leadership is not possible because senior level management has a number
of different points-of-view. Summarizing the results of this study categorize common sense leadership
into three areas: (a) goal setting, (b) decision making and (c) employee motivation.

Kinicki and Kreitner (2010) believe that setting goals requires a “clear line of sight” in order to lead a 21st
century organization (p. 245). Furthermore, common sense leaders differentiate between performance
outcome goals and learning goals (Kinicki & Kreitner). CS3 believed that common sense requires the
leader to “set measureable and attainable goals”. The results of this study indicate that leader flexibility
adapting to the ever changing environment is critical to being a common sense leader. According to
CS26, leaders in the 21st century “will have to accommodate people in leadership position who have a
different common sense matrix than has been though of as traditional common sense”. Maintaining a
flexible view of both the environment and the members of the environment is the first indication of 21st
century common sense leadership.

The second of the three areas of common sense leadership concerns the decision making process used by
21st century leaders. It is important that the reader understand that decision making in modern
organizations follow one of two directions: (a) rational or (b) nonrational. According to Kreitner and
Kinicki (2010), the rational approach to decision making requires the leader to solve problems by
following a process that examines all potential alternatives before making a final decision. Participants in
the current study indicate that a moral compass in choosing a direction for an organization is an important
component of being a common sense leader. The central focus of this moral compass is the ability to
inspire. Inspirational leaders expand their credibility by engaging their followers into accepting new
responsibilities necessary for goal attainment (Bass & Avolio, 2002; Bass, 2003). CS24 believed that
“common sense, as it relates to leading a 21st century organization, is best defined as doing the right thing
at the right time with resources, time, people, money and information”. This study concluded that true
common sense leadership requires leaders to inspire followers while making directional choices for the
organization that ethically satisfy the morality of the overall environment.

The final area of common sense leadership focuses on employee motivation. Motivating people accounts
for the influential effectiveness leaders have with their followers (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2004).
Motivation theory is divided into three overall categories: (a) reinforcement theories, (b) content theories,
and (c) process theories. Reinforcement theories reflect the “process of controlling an individual’s
behavior by manipulating its consequences” (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2004, p 85). Content
theories focus on the needs of employees. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs measures motivation through
meeting certain physiological human needs (Newstrom & Davis, 2002). Finally, process theories
motivate from a more esoteric approach concentrating on behavioral influences (Schermerhorn, Hunt &
Osborn, 2004). CS13 views motivation and common sense leadership as a partnership between focusing
on people and determining the direction required for the organization to be successful.

In summary, understanding common sense leadership is not possible from a single point-of-view. Senior
level executives indicate that common sense leadership is a multi-pronged approach to 21st century
organizational behavior. Common sense leaders must maintain a level of flexibility to address both the
needs and desires of the organization in conjunction with those of the members of that organization.
Decision making requires a sense of morality that sometimes supersedes organizational performance and

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profitability. Finally, study participants strongly believe that employee motivation that encompasses the
previous two concepts (e.g. goal attainment and decision making) through a sense of morality is the key
to being a common sense leader.

REFERENCES

Bass, B.M. (2003). Power to change: a conversation with Bernard M. Bass. Leadership in Action, 23(2),
9-11.

Bass, B.M., & Avolio, B.J. (2002). Developing Potential Across a Full Range of Leadership: Cases on
Transactional and Transformational Leadership. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Clawson, J.G. S. (2009). Level three common sense. Management Decision, 47(3), 470-480.

Fletcher, G.J.O. (1984). Psychology and common sense. American Psychologist, 39(3), 203-213.

Goodwin, P. (2009). Common senses and hard decision analysis: why might they conflict? Management
Decision, 47(3), 427-440.

Harrison, J.S. & St. John, C.H. (1996). Managing and partnering with external stakeholders. Academy of
Management Executive, 10(2), 46-60.

Hersey, P.K., Blanchard, D.J., & Johnson, D.E. (2007). Management of Organizational Behavior:
Leading Human Resources (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Kaler, J. (2006). Evaluating stakeholder theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 69, 249-268.

Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2010). Organizational Behavior (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Moon, M.Y. (2009). Making sense of common sense for change management buy-in. Management
Decision, 47 (3). 518-532.

Newstrom, J.W. & Davis, K. (2007). Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Pechlivanidis, P. & Katsimpra, A. (2004). Supervisor leadership and implementation phase. Leadership
and Organizational Development Journal, Bradford, 25(1/2), 201.

Polyani, M. (1966). The Tacit Dimension. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co.

Rausch, E. (2009). Do we know what common sense is and, can we prove it if we do not? Management
Decision, 47(3), 413-426.

Rigsby, J, & Greco, G. (2003). Mastering strategy: Insights for the world’s greatest leaders and thinkers.
New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Salter, N.P., & Highhouse, S. (2009). Assessing managers’ common sense using situational judgment
tests. Management Decision, 47(3). 392-398.
Schermerhorn, J.R., Hunt, J.G., & Osborn, R.N. (2004). Core Concepts of Organizational Behavior.
Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Wallace, G. (1995). Managing and mismanaging stakeholder expectations. The Journal for Quality and
Participation, 18(3), 76-79.

Zhao, S. (March 2009). The nature and value of common sense to decision making. Management
Decision, 47(3), 441-453.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Jon Webber is a Professor at the University of Phoenix. He can be contacted at: Webber Impact
Management, 5015 Sunset Trail, Cumming, Georgia 30040, US Email: drjonwebber@gmail.com.

Dr. Gregory Goussak is an Assistant Professor at Ashford University He can be contacted
gregory.goussak@faculty.ashford.edu

Dr. Elliot Ser is a Professor at Florida Atlantic University. He can be contacted at: 4150 N.W. 73rd Way,
Coral Springs, Florida 33065, US Email: eser@fau.edu.

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CULTURAL PLURALISM: A CRITICAL NEEDS PLAN
FOR GENERAL MOTORS
Gregory W. Goussak, Ashford University
Jon K.Webber, University of Phoenix
Elliot M. Ser, Florida Atlantic University

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to create a critical needs plan for General Motors Corporation in the 21st
century. General Motors (GM), once the most dominant manufacturer in the automotive industry, finds
itself in financial crisis with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a necessary government infusion of capital.
The foundation of this paper applies the Supportive Model as an effective strategy for creating a new
corporate culture and focusing GM as a competitive manufacturer in the global automotive industry. The
basis of this critical needs plan focuses on more than managerial or financial influence, but a cultural
change including corporate ethics, corporate social responsibility and a critical thought approach to
operating in the 21st century.

JEL: M1

KEYWORDS: Leadership, Cultural Pluralism, Organizational Behavior

INTRODUCTION

With the increase in global competitive pressure, it is important for a business organization to understand
the organizational behavior and dynamic changes to its cultural and ethical environment. Economic
globalization has forced many U.S. companies to take a hard look at their competitive environments
focusing on the steps necessary to remain competitive on the world-stage. Engle (2006) observed that
many of the top industrial powerhouses within the past 10 years have realized that past success does not
equate to future gains. Companies must replace complacency with an intense effort to optimize
operational processes by examining the organizational behavioral. This is especially true for companies
facing critical issues. This case study provides a critical needs plan for General Motors Corporation. The
organization’s culture and ethical behavior are two of the many possible subject areas examined as an
overall plan to optimize operations. The recommendations will take a comprehensive approach by
considering leadership, organizational culture, financial ramifications, cross-cultural issues, and potential
ethical conflicts.

A critical needs plan for a global company such as General Motors Corporation includes an assessment of
global culture and global ethics. The structure of the organizational plan for General Motors is to be
adaptive to the global environment and strategically support global markets competitive demands.
According to Hannan and Freeman (1977), any plan focusing on a global company is complex and relies
on a working strategy that supports a relationship between the structure and its environment. Gupta and
Govindarajin (2004) believed that globalizing in today’s business environment necessitates organization’s
recognize four key constructs to globalizing in the 21st century: (a) the organization’s position in the
market; (b) the availability of capital to expand the organization; (c) the availability of supplies for the
organization and (d) a corporate outlook that considers the overall global picture.

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CULTURAL BEHAVIOR

Cultural behavior can vary significantly among different markets. Jung and Avolio (1999) believe that
successful organizations that expand globally understand the differences in foreign cultures and that this
understanding corresponds with the exponential growth of the global economy. Being the world’s biggest
automotive manufacturer prior to 2008, General Motors employed approximately 325,000 employees
worldwide (Webster, 2006). With the diversity of cross-cultural differences, it is critical that General
Motors study each market’s cultural organizational behavior and determine if a common matrix exists.

The Supportive Model is an effective model for use as a base plan for any organizations needs. This
model illustrates leadership by a human resources approach of emphasizing support for the workers as the
most important factor in leading the organization. “[Elton Mayo and F.J. Rothlisberger] concluded that
an organization is a social system and the worker is indeed the most important element in it” (Newstrom
& Davis, 2002, p. 36). When dealing with a sensitive issue such as health-care costs and the expansion of
operations into a foreign environment, it is important to implement a plan that demonstrates the
company’s commitment to its employees and those from the new foreign environment. A change in the
organizational culture would not prevail over the individual priorities of a company’s employees or the
foreign environment. According to Newstrom and Davis (2002), leadership and not managerial authority
is the foundation of the Supportive Model. This type of leadership helps promote employees growth and
motivates them to obtain common goals that are beneficial to the organization.

Utilizing the Supportive Model, General Motors can embrace cultural diversity and pluralism as part of
the globalization strategy. Cultural pluralism relates to the relationship of the internal and external
stakeholders of the group (White, 1978). According to Nagar (2005), global organizations must
understand that the global environment of 21st century organizations is in a state of change. Cultural
pluralism defines the manner in which an organization reacts to the changing cultural paradigms.
Successful organizations find ways to adapt to the changes in beneficial ways while continuing the
involvement and advancement of its internal members (Nagar, 2005). One problem an organization finds
when globalizing concerns that significant differences exist in the market’s organizational culture.
Cultural discomfort among management dealing with markets that they are not familiar with could result
in disruption to business flow. The intent is not to force a change in the organizational culture, but
embrace it and bridge different cultures together. The challenge of managing organizational culture is the
human relation factors. Despite the fact that the company is from the United States, it would not be
appropriate for General Motors to assume that foreign markets share a common vision. The key to
dealing with organizational cultural differences begins with the identification of any commonalities
among the different cultures. The goal is to develop a general plan encompassing components from
existing cultures in order to establish a new global organizational culture. Jung and Avolio (1999) cited
Hofstede [who] “argued that many differences in individual motivation and leadership styles could be
traced to differences in cultural programming. Erez also challenged the appropriateness of simply
assuming that United States-centric leadership theories can be generalized to other cultures” (p. 208).
Recognizing the differences in organizational culture would mitigate the risks of domestic or global cross-
cultural influences to the operational plan.

Although incorporated in 1908, General Motors did not experience success until 1923 with the hiring of
Alfred P. Sloan as Chief Executive Officer. Sloan, an engineer by trade, believed that product
development began with design and must focus on the wants of the buying public. Sloan found that in the
early years, GM’s problems originated with its lack of brand specialization. Prior to Sloan’s employment,

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the company failed to focus a dedicated brand to a specific market segment. Sloan changed GM’s
corporate philosophy by concentrating each GM brand to a dedicated market resulting in overall U.S.
market domination that rose as high as 50% between 1950 and 1965. In addition to being the largest
automaker, GM prided itself on producing automobiles at the lowest cost while remaining the style leader
of the industry (Olson & Thjomoe, 2010).

The domination was so prevailing that in 1955 the United States Congress began anti-trust hearings
threatening to divide the company into smaller segments. Although no action was taken, GM
management realized that a refocus of corporate direction was necessary. Instead of increasing its market
share, GM would need to find ways to increase its profit margin while maintaining is existing control of
the market (Olson & Thjomoe, 2010).

Unfortunately, the decision to change business strategy failed to recognize the materialization of a new
desired market segment for smaller more compact vehicles. Another issue confronting GM originated
with the focus on reducing costs and increasing profits. The increase in profits did not go unnoticed by
the United Auto Workers (UAW). The UAW was astute to the direction of the American automobile
industry and that higher profits provided increased opportunity for union worker wages and benefits
without an equivalent proportion of increased worker productivity (Martin & Schrum, 2010). A New
York Times article in 2009 reported that upwards of $ 1,000 per auto sold represented health care and
pension costs to the company (Martin & Schrum). The issue is magnified when retirees are factored into
the equation as upwards of 450,000 non-working individuals, retirees and surviving spouses, were
covered by GM benefit plans in 2005.

In addition to the issues related to its benefit and pension issues, GM continued to further distance itself
from its successful past by implementing a strategy of “platform sharing across GM division brands”
(Olson & Thjomoe, 2010, p. 105). The strategy to cut costs included a reduction in Sloan’s original plan
of brand specialization sharing similar designs across the GM brand spectrum. Although the strategy did
succeed in reducing overall costs, the long-term affect was a dilution of each brand’s uniqueness. In
1979, GM’s share of the U.S. market was 46%, but because of rising health care and pension costs, a
reduction in worker productivity and a dilution of brand specialization that market share dropped to
22.5% (Olson & Thjomoe, 2010). By 2009, General Motors had declared bankruptcy and was in the
process of eliminating certain brands and closing dealerships and operations (e.g. Saab, Hummer and
Pontiac). Furthermore, the company required an immediate cash infusion of $ 50 billion in capital from
the U.S. Government in order to meet current daily obligations. The price for the involvement of
government money was to force the accelerated sale of GM assets (Lubben, 2009).

The sale of the assets also created a way to reduce existing health and pension costs by creating a
specialized trust called a Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA). The VEBA would be a fully
funded separate entity that would guarantee benefits but required a promise of no union action (e.g.
strikes) for several years (Lubben, 2009). The challenge created by the bankruptcy and government
involvement is for General Motors to recreate the confidence it once experienced by consumers. Key to
regaining consumer confidence begins with a change in an organization’s culture. According to Harbour-
Felax, General Motors is aware of the issues related to its financial downfall, but failed to make the
necessary cultural changes to resolve these issues (Zoia, 2006). General Motors needs to embrace
diversity in global manufacturing facilities and market share. General Motors needs to return to an
organizational culture that embraces product specialization that focuses on the specific wants of its

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consumer base. The changing global environment, increased fuel costs and a desire for environmental
protection creates a different culture that is necessary for success in the 21st century (Svensson, 2004).

ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP

Elmer W. Johnson (1986), a former Vice President of Public Affairs and General Counsel for General
Motors said:

The people of the United States and other industrialized nations of the free world,
through their governments, have rightly come to look upon GM and other large
corporations not simply as business enterprises organized for profit, but also as
institutions with far-reaching responsibilities to protect and enhance various social
interests and goals (p. 174).

Ethics and leadership are synonymous terms that work in conjunction with one another in order to
establish a foundation in which an organization operates. Baron (2006) believed that ethical behavior is a
methodical approach to making decisions based on defined principles.

General Motors recognized that its overwhelming position in both the U.S. economy as well as the global
economy places the company in a unique position of more than a corporate giant. General Motors’
actions affect more than just its internal stakeholders (e.g., employees, management, and shareholders),
but has a direct affect on its nonmarket environment as well. “The nonmarket environment is composed
of the social, political, and legal arrangements that structure interactions outside of, but in conjunction
with, markets and contracts” (Baron, 2006, p. 2). Included in Baron’s (2006) definition of the nonmarket
environment are outside groups, governmental entities and the public. In contrast, Bass (1990) believed
that transformational leaders help to broaden the vision of one’s followers focusing on creating an
atmosphere that considers more than individual needs but considers the needs of the organization.

Managing a business or organization requires careful consideration and balance of the various
components. True leadership is capable of considering a multitude of components that includes both
market and nonmarket issues. The concept of ethics is one of a guiding light or force to assist the leader
in his or her quest to maximize the potential of the organization. The theory of transformational
leadership works in conjunction with the plan utilizing the Supportive Model by considering the needs
and desires of the General Motor’s employees and its new partners in an ever-expanding global
environment.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

General Motors recognized its inherent responsibility in its social performance as well as its corporate
performance. Wood (1991) defined corporation social performance as, “a business organization’s
configuration of principles of social responsibility, process of social responsiveness, and policies,
programs and observable outcomes as they relate to the firm’s societal relationships” (p. 759). General
Motors social responsibility encompasses a wide range of stakeholders including employees,
stockholders, customers, governmental agencies, and the public. General Motors acknowledges this
responsibility by analyzing all legitimate parties to its operations in order to determine the potential
conflicts between corporate responsibility and its social responsibility (Johnson, 1986). In the 1980s,
General Motors experienced a conflict between these different responsibilities because of its former

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policy of “command-and-control” (Johnson, 1869, p. 174) to one of social responsibility. General
Motor’s attempt to implement a new mentality upon its management in a short period placed its managers
in a quandary between a market mentality and a social responsible mentality required of corporate
partners’ intent on a comprehensive plan for interaction and responsibility within its environment.

As a subcomponent of the Supportive Model, the ethical leadership plan incorporates the theory of
utilitarianism into the overall plan. “Utilitarianism is a consequentialist system with two particular
features. First, consequences are to be evaluated in terms of the preferences of individuals, and second,
those preferences are to be aggregated” (Baron, 2006, p. 702). Those following utilitarianism base their
ethical decisions on the interest of the whole and not any individual part of the group. Utilitarianism finds
its foundation in the needs of the General Motors employees in addition to the needs of its corporate
environment. Within the Supportive Model, the theory of utilitarianism provides the General Motors’
management a clear overview of all possible directions in regards to health care coverage and how it will
approach its plan that effectively globalizes the company resulting in reduced costs, increased profits, and
an effective relationship with its hosts in various foreign countries.

MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO ISSUES

Rising health-care costs and a declining market share have significantly affected the financial stability of
General Motors. General Motors is the largest private provider of health care within the United States.
In conjunction with the significant health care liability, the antiquated distribution system that adds at
least 20 percent to the price of every new car enhances the overall problems at General Motors (Levinson,
2006). Kubasek, Brennan and Browne (2003) suggests that a critical thinking approach could help
General Motors identify the company’s strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities and will improve
General Motors overall operations. The critical thinking approach encompasses the following eight steps:
Step 1) the company must know the facts. In a global environment, it is important to be aware of
consumer concerns and competitors position. The Supportive Model will enable General Motors to take a
more proactive approach at focusing on gathering appropriate data necessary for future decisions. Step 2)
the company must identify the critical needs and issues affecting the company. The primary questions or
issues requiring attention are: (a) which factors contribute to General Motors excessive costs and (b) what
are the contributing factors in decline in sales? The problem that all automotive manufacturers face is the
rising costs of manufacturing when the emerging markets have limited resources for the purchase of
automobiles and prefer a basic vehicle in comparison to the loaded varieties commonly found in the
United States (Howell & Hsu, 2002). The answer lies in the creation of partnerships and alliances among
competitors and technology companies.

Technological alliances permit General Motors a strategic advantage by establishing a relationship with a
competitor with a sound base in a specific foreign market while utilizing common technology for the
benefit of both companies. For example, a General Motors alliance with Suzuki opened an opportunity
within the Asian market without the barrier of a new start up operation. In conjunction with Suzuki’s
presence in Asia, this alliance provides General Motors with,

… access to Suzuki’s small car platform and its low-cost manufacturing experience. The tie-up
gives Suzuki access to General Motors advanced technologies, particularly alternative propulsion
and hybrid systems, entry to the growing Latin American market and worldwide component
sourcing (Howell & Hsu, 2002, p. 45).

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The relationship between General Motors and Suzuki provides a focus of the critical needs plan for
General Motors utilizing the Supportive Model. General Motors can no longer operate in the same
manner it did during the 20th century. The future of General Motors depends on strategic alliances like
the one with Suzuki. This provides a unique approach to supporting its employee base, stakeholders, and
its new global alliances in an ever-expanding global environment. Step 3) the company must establish a
set of logical reasons or justifications for supporting the business decisions. Management from the top
and continuing down the chain of command should review all reasons and provide justifications for why
these issues and risks were not identified sooner. The process of critical thinking requires that the
decision be viewed from a different set of lenses. “… Officers and directors are required to exercise their
duties in a manner they reasonably believe to be in the best interests of the corporation” (Kubasek et al.,
2003, p. 433). Critical thinking skills are important for business decisions to comply with emergent law
and as well support of the community ethics (Kubasek et al., 2003). Step 4) once the appropriate facts are
defined, the company must assess the legal and social impact of business decisions. This step is critical to
General Motors’ success in an ever-expanding global environment. The key is a comprehensive
knowledge of the legal environment in the various foreign countries that General Motors chooses to
compete. Step 5) once determined, the plan should be implemented at all levels of the business. It is
important not to discard subjective reasoning without applying critical reasoning. Innovative ideas
require an accurate utilization of critical thinking ability to determine if the information is factual or
subjective with merit. This is critical when it comes to technical discussions, where ambiguous subjective
comments such as it can never be done may have a negative impact on innovation. Step 6) in conjunction
with plan review and implementation, the ethical norms of the business decision should also be
considered. The primary ethical norms that provide direction of the legal environment of business are
freedom, security, justice, and efficiency (Kubasek et al., 2003). The final decisions made by General
Motors consider the ethical impact of its business decisions. What will internal and external stakeholders’
think of the decision? Step 7) business decisions depend on the experience and knowledge of previous
events. In order for General Motors to move ahead, the company must review and analyze previous
events and actions. Step 8) the final step of the critical thinking process is to consider the business
decision in regards to missing information. In a global environment, the dynamics of said environment
change quickly and it is critical for the company to be on the cutting edge of all available information.

SUMMARY

The foundation of this critical needs plan for General Motors centers on the Supportive Model utilizing a
critical thinking approach to globalization. Global expansion is inevitable for all automobile
manufacturing companies. After many years of negative financial results and stratospheric increases in
health-care costs, General Motors is taking a proactive approach in order to lower its manufacturing costs
and expanding its market base into markets that are exponentially growing in the 21st century. The
Suzuki example in Asia demonstrates that implementing the Supportive Model focuses on the strengths of
both partners considering the needs and desires of both the internal and external stakeholders. “Globally
integrated strategies demand it to manage both the uncertainties involved in a highly intricate networking
operation and to develop and implement strategies quickly to parry and riposte the actions of other
companies pursuing a similar strategy” (Lei & Slater, 1990, p 29). The first automobile manufacturing
company to maximize the advantages of a global market including those of reduced costs will set itself up
as the primary manufacturing company in the 21st century.

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Gupta, A. K., & Govindarajan, V. (2004). Global Strategy and organization. New York: John
Wiley & Sons.

Hannan, M. T., & Freeman, J. H. (1977). The population ecology of organizations. American
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Howell, L.J. & Hsu, J.C. (2002). Globalization within the auto industry. Industrial Research
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Jung, D. I., & Avolio, B. J. (1999, April). Effects of leadership style and followers’ cultural
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Kintner, H.J. (1989). Demographic change in a corporate health benefits population, 1983-87.
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Kubasek, B. A., Brennan, B. A., & Browne, M. N. (2003). The legal environment of business
(3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Lei, D. & Slater, B. (1990). The evolution of global strategy. The International Executive, 31(6),
27-31.

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settings. Organizational Development Journal, 23(1).

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White, N.R. (1978). Ethnicity, culture and cultural pluralism. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1(2),
139-153.

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BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Gregory Goussak is an Assistant Professor at Ashford University. He can be contacted at: Email:
gregory.goussak@faculty.ashford.edu

Dr. Jon Webber is a Professor at the University of Phoenix. He can be contacted at: Webber Impact
Management, 5015 Sunset Trail, Cumming, Georgia 30040, US Email: drjonwebber@gmail.com.

Dr. Elliot Ser is a Professor at Florida Atlantic University. He can be contacted at: 4150 N.W. 73rd Way,
Coral Springs, Florida 33065, US Email: eser@fau.edu.

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THE EFFECT OF INVESTOR BIAS AND GENDER ON
PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE AND RISK
Kevin Lee, California State University – Fresno
Scott Miller, Pepperdine University
Nicole Velasquez, Pepperdine University
Christi Wann, University of Tennessee Chattanooga

ABSTRACT

We survey 84 finance and accounting majors to determine the behavioral factors that males and females
exhibit when making investment decisions. The survey results are linked to student performance in the
Stock-Trak Global Portfolio Trading Simulation. We find that males and females exhibit different
behavioral biases and these behavioral biases can ultimately affect investment performance. We also find
evidence to support previous research showing that males are more risk tolerant than females. However,
our findings indicate that this behavior may be due to a difference in the perception of the actual risk
being taken rather than an inherent desire to engage in more risky behavior.

JEL: D03, G02; G14

KEYWORDS: Behavioral Bias, Gender, Risk Aversion, Stock-Trak

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RE-EXAMINING THE CONCEPT OF BOUNDARY
OBJECTS WITHIN COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
W. David Holford, University of Quebec at Montreal

ABSTRACT

Past perspectives on boundary objects have had a tendency to over-emphasize ‘key’ boundary object
attributes, and under-emphasize human-object intra-action dynamics. An alternative framework based
on a boundary construction concept is proposed. Starting from a common onto/epistemological and
cognitive thread deriving from specific forms of constructivism, it is argued that boundary constructions
are in a constant flux of co/re-construction at the hands of intra-acting actors. The active role of
individuals in boundary constructions implies engagement. Such engagement requires management’s
implication in providing a psychological safety net within the workplace.

JEL: M0

KEYWORDS: boundary constructions, constructivism, intra-action, enactment

INTRODUCTION

In the following paper, we first review past literature on boundary objects and its often prescriptive
approach towards ‘effective boundary object’ conditions which fail to place sufficient emphasis on human-
object interaction dynamics. An alternative cognitive, epistemological and ontological thread that allows
us to propose the concept of boundary constructions follows this. An ethnographic case study within a
high tech firm then illustrates how this is validated within a meeting environment. Finally, we
recommend certain managerial practices that may enable effective boundary constructions within the
workplace.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Star and Griesemer (1989) speak of boundary objects as “things” which coordinate the perspectives as
well as serve the information needs of the intersecting social worlds of various actors towards a given
purpose. According to the authors (1989: 410-411), there are four categories of boundary objects: 1)
repositories (e.g. databases or libraries) of objects “indexed in a standardized fashion” which individuals
can borrow for their own purposes without the need for negotiation; 2) ideal types which are locally
adaptable due to their vagueness since they do not “accurately describe the details of any one locality or
thing”; 3) standardized forms which emphasize methods of common communication over long distances
(and are therefore especially applicable to dispersed work groups); and 4) coincident boundaries which
have different internal contents depending on the interests and perspectives of each party yet are still
common objects with the same boundaries.

From an ontological viewpoint, Star and Griesemer’s (1989) concept of boundary object leads to varying
degrees in duality between the object and subject. For example, repositories imply that while on the one
hand the individual who interacts with these will use a certain degree of subjective interpretation, it is
assumed, especially within the field of information technology, that such subjective interpretation is
minimized across the use of codified knowledge (or in other words, a ‘distant objective’ viewpoint is

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attained). As for ideal types and coincident boundaries, there is an explicit acceptance that the subject’s
active interpretation and viewpoints comes into play, yet the object is still viewed as being discretely and
permanently separate from the subject. Here, the object can be seen as being either static, or as a
changing entity in which we focus only on its static end-result. Later interpretations have continued to
imply varying degrees of permanent separation between the actor-individual and the object: “boundary
objects are artifacts, documents, terms, concepts and other forms of reification around which communities
of practice can organize their interconnections” (Wenger, 1998: 107); or “boundary objects are physical
objects that enable to understand other perspectives” (Feldman et al, 2006: 95). Although Bødker (1998)
acknowledges the mediation that occurs around most of these ‘objects’, they are nevertheless viewed as
static representations. This is best summarized by Lutters (2001) who highlights that the “boundary
object…still suffers from an artifact-centric view of knowledge, rather than a process oriented
perspective” (2001: 35-36).

Carlile (2002) identifies three factors for generating useful boundary objects: 1) the boundary object
needs to provide a common language for actors to represent their knowledge (“syntactical approach”); 2)
the boundary object must provide a means for actors to express different interpretations (“semantic
approach”), thereby allowing the possibility for novelty to emerge; and 3) the boundary object must
facilitate processes by allowing the actors to change its contents in order for it to continue to be useful to
all involved participants (“pragmatic approach”). However, Carlile’s level of analysis tends to imply
boundary objects as being independent variables to the subject-actor, while simultaneously implying the
subject-actor to be dependent on the boundary object. In the following sub-section we will draw upon
certain cognitive and epistemological insights from authors such as Glasersfeld (2002) and Weick (1995
and 2009) which will allow us to shift more emphasis on the active and dynamic role the actor has over
boundary objects; and thereby shift our focus as to where and what the most pertinent ‘success factors’
are when speaking of effective boundary ‘objects’.

The mutual shaping of the subject and object as boundary constructions

Glasersfeld’s (2002) radical constructivism makes us re-question the representational notion of a pre-
existent environment (as a collection of pre-existing objects) that is simply there to be discovered by an
objective and separate observer. Glasersfeld (2002) directly addresses the representational claim of
observer objectivity by first explaining, across Jean Piaget’s work on cognitive development, how human
mental operations lead up towards a mental/subjective construction of reality. These operations involve
both the construction of action and symbolic schemes leading (the latter being mostly linguistic in nature,
based on interpretive semantic rather than arbitrary semiotic analysis) leading towards sensorimotor and
conceptual knowledge, respectively (2002: 76). Each of these schemes is constructed based on unique
personal experiences, which may be similar, but never identical to, another person’s constructions
(Glasersfeld, 2002: 158). Furthermore, inductive learning from experimental outcomes is attained by
experimenting and constructing “a repertoire of schemes” that enables one to maintain his or her “sensory
perceptions within an acceptable range of reference values.”

The point here is that humans learn by constructing a viable (as opposed to a true in the positivistic
sense) picture of reality; and that we may on occasion ‘bump’ into our external reality across “failures”
(2002: 156). This rejoins Weick’s (1995) theory of individual and organizational sensemaking, which
seeks plausibility as opposed to what is true in the absolute sense. In other words, “truth is what works”
(James, 1907) in that our external reality is much too complex to comprehend in terms of exact

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correspondence. As Glasersfeld (2002: 156) explains, “the idea of correspondence with reality is replaced
with the idea of fit. Knowledge is good knowledge if it fits within the constraints of experiential reality
and does not collide with them. This fit must be attained not only insofar as a cognitive structure, a
scheme, a theory, has to remain viable in the face of new experience or experiments, but also in that they
prove compatible with other schemes and theories one is using.” Hence, “the requirement that knowledge
be called true knowledge only if it reflects the real world, is relinquished for the requirement that it be
found conducive to the attainment of our goals in the world as we experience it” (2002: 44).

Weick (1979 and 1995) goes one-step further by reiterating Berger and Luckmann’s (1966) construction
of social reality across the process of enactment through which we proactively shape and structure our
realities in an unconscious manner. Morgan (1997: 141) offers a succinct explanation on enactment:
“Although we often see ourselves as living in a reality with objective characteristics, life actually
demands much more of us than this. It requires that we take an active role in bringing our realities into
being through various interpretive schemes, even though these realities may then have a habit of imposing
themselves on us as “the way things are”. Weick (2009: 190) cites Follett (1924) to describe the two way
shaping process that occurs between the environment (in the most general sense) and the subject:
“…the activity of the individual is only in a certain sense caused by the stimulus of the situation
because that activity is itself helping to produce the situation which causes the activity of the
individual…My farmer neighbors know this: we prune and graft and fertilize certain trees, and as
our behaviour becomes increasingly that of behaviour towards apple-bearing trees, these become
increasingly apple-bearing trees. The tree releases energy in me and I in it; it makes me think and
plan and work, and I make it edible fruit. It is a process of freeing on both sides. And this is a
creating process” (Follett, 1924: 118-119).

As an engaged subject, we have a role and partial accountability in shaping our environment. In returning
to boundary objects, we can now propose that actor-subjects shape them, just as they also shape actor-
subjects. Hence, we propose boundary constructions as an alternative term to boundary objects. It is
important to note that this puts heavy emphasis on the process aspect of the term ‘construction’ as
opposed to its end-resultant and static aspect of ‘construct’.

We can now reword the factors identified by Carlile (2002) for effective boundary objects as follows: 1)
the actors must provide a common language for them to effectively represent their respective knowledge
across the help of a co-constructed or co-negotiated boundary construction; 2) the actors must provide a
means to express their different interpretations across the help of a co-negotiated boundary construction;
and 3) the actors must continually co-negotiate and co-transform the boundary construction so as to
maintain an on-going pertinence to all involved participants. This re-wording, changes our research aims
from a linear-causal type of questioning such as ‘Which type of boundary objects could fulfill these
conditions?’ (Figure 1-A) to a more dialectic/holistic question of ‘Which enabling conditions would
encourage the needed interactions between the actors and the boundary construction towards effective
knowledge sharing?’ (Figure 1-B).

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METHODOLOGY

The research site, given the pseudonym, NorAm Aircraft Engines, is an aircraft engine manufacturer
which employs over 4000 people world-wide. Preliminary discussions with a first workgroup (the Engine
Operability Development or EOD group) not only confirmed their interest to participate, but were
involved in bi-weekly meetings with another group that had not been initially identified (the Engine
Component Rig Testing or ECRT group). This second group was also approached and accepted to
participate.

The EOD and ECRT workgroups

The EOD group is responsible for ensuring the development of adequate engine operability envelopes
throughout all phases of engine development programs. The proper establishment of the engine
operability envelope is of critical importance, in that it delimits the boundaries beyond which the aircraft
risks running into critical compressor surges or other types of catastrophic engine failures. EOD group
members have a good general understanding of the various engineering disciplines involved in engine
design and development. A principal objective of the EOD group is to ensure meaningful engine
component test data is generated. Establishing the type of engine test data to be generated is negotiated
between the EOD group, the various engineering specialty groups, and the ECRT group; the latter being
responsible for the generating and integrity of the required engine component test data. In turn, the ECTR
group’s responsibilities include the development and preparation of component test rigs (required for each

Figure 1- A: Linear causal understanding towards effective knowledge sharing
Figure 1- B: Holistic-dialectic understanding towards effective knowledge sharing

(A) (B) (A) (B)
Bounda
Obje

Acto
Subje

Acto
Subje

Knowledge
Sharing
Success Factors?
Bounda
Obje

Acto
Subje

Acto
Subje

Knowledge
Sharing
Success Factors?
Knowledge
Sharing
Enabling Conditions?
Knowledge
Sharing
Enabling Conditions?
Knowledge
Sharing
Subje

Enabling Conditions?
Acto

Acto
Subje

Acto

Acto
Subje

BounObjec
BounConstru
BounObjec
BounConstru

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new engine development program), their subsequent test runs, and the proper collection of the test data.
Both groups interact with each other daily (informal) and also meet bi-weekly.

Data collection and analysis

The interactions, within, as well as between, the two specific work groups at the NorAm Aircraft Engines
Company was used as a case study whereby our aim was to both “test/build theory” as well as to “provide
description” (Eisenhardt, 1989: 535). With a vigilance for ‘emergent’ dimensions, categories or
alternative theory, we based ourselves on Schwartzmann’s (1993:47-72) ethnographic studies in
organisations involving a dialogical inductive-deductive process between empirical evidence and
theoretical elaboration across thick descriptive writing. Hence, for the purpose of our work an
ethnographic case study approach was adopted using direct (non-participant) observations. This was
conducted over a three month period in early 2007. These observations were also coupled with one-on-
one ad hoc conversations/informal interviews in a dialectical fashion. Three embedded units of analysis
within the single case study were chosen, namely: 1) the bi-weekly inter-group meetings between EOD
and ECRT; 2) the EOD group; 3) the ECRT group.

For this paper, we limited ourselves mostly to the first unit of analysis. The primary research design
criterion sought was based on trustworthiness (Lincoln and Guba, 1985), involving the constructivist sub-
criteria of: i) credibility via both the saturation of findings and triangulation of data collection to obtain
complementary perspectives (as opposed to triangulation in the positivistic sense of ‘intersection’ of
findings) of what people say vs. what people do (Schartzmann, 1993); and ii) transferability across thick
description. Also in support of this primary criterion of trustworthiness, was our desire to attain reliability
of data by ensuring that the research was conducted “as if someone were looking over our shoulder” (Yin,
2003: 38); that is, making sure we had rigorous documentation of data (from observations and interviews)
so as to provide an adequate audit trail. For observations, we drew upon Spradley (1980: 63-84) who
recommends: 1) the use of short in vivo condensed notes, which were often complemented with on-site in
vivo digital recordings; 2) to be subsequently elaborated within 24 hours or as soon as possible in a
separate journal of ‘expanded notes’; 3) a reflexive journal on personal emotions and reactions in regards
to recorded experiences; and 4) analytical notes on interpretations on what was observed, as well as
questions or further points that needed to be verified.

Descriptive data from observations and interviews were manually analyzed and interpreted in a separate
journal as per Spradley (1980) against a priori concepts as well as for emerging categories via repeated
identification of comments and actions. The nature of the data that was collected (digital recordings,
hand-written observations and filming) allowed us to analyze for verbal and non-verbal (voice tonality,
facial expressions, body language, etc.) cues thus bringing forth important contextual information.

RESULTS

The first and lasting impression upon assisting the bi-weekly inter-group meetings between EOD and
ECRT was the high degree of camaraderie found within each group as well as between both groups; and
also extended between the two group managers (Gerry and Frank). Members, upon entering the meeting
room a few minutes early, would often discuss non-work related topics (hockey, renovations, car repairs,
etc.). On other occasions, members, prior to the start of the meeting, often discussed specific technical
issues related to joint project activities. This was often accompanied by the act of sketching a particular
view of a rig or engine component that one member was trying to describe, justify or clarify. Throughout

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such conversations sketches were often drawn and modified in successive superimposing steps by each of
the interacting members before finally converging towards a mutually agreed version.

Similar types of exchanges were also observed with the aid of pre-existing 2D drawings. Here, existing
blueprints were modified (with superimposed dialogue) with pen/pencil to either express or explain one’s
own existing perspective (sensegiving), comprehend someone else’s perspective (perspective-taking) or
construct new perspectives (perspective-making). Once the formal meeting began, the EOD manager
(Gerry) usually started by verbally calling out the first item on his agenda/status sheet. This sheet
consisted of one or two-line descriptions identifying the development engine model/test rig combination
in question, the principle tasks being monitored, a completion target date for each of these tasks, and the
current status of the task in question. Most of the members had a copy of this same status sheet. Gerry’s
“QA510 Gas Generator?” would prompt a response by one of the attending members such as “We’ve
finish-machined and installed the second compressor stator and the rotating bullet is now being installed.
The gas gen. rig should be ready for first shake-down by the middle of next week.” Gerry, as well as
certain other members around the table would then jot notes on their status sheet in relation to what had
just been said. Gerry would then either go onto the next engine model/test rig on his list, or ask a further
clarifying question such as:

Gerry: “Are we clear as to what tests Colin needs…do we know which running conditions, and
which points we need to measure?”

Jon: (from the ECRT group): “I spoke to Vincent about this last week, and told him we needed to
do some measurements two degrees above and two degrees below the nominal…”

Gerry :(in a patient tone, starts to provide sensegiving): “Ya, but that’s another thing. What I’m
talking about here is for the same (strong emphasis made on this word) operating point (pauses), in
pressure ratio and in corrected speed…”

Jon: (provides a cue that he’s following Gerry’s explanation i.e. perspective-taking): “Ya…”

Gerry: (continues with sense-giving): “…and then recording the stabilization time needed for the
outlet temperature to reach the ambient temperature.”
Jon: (major learning moment – self-discredits or modifies his own current assumptions): “Ah ok! I
had understood it was…I’d better get back to Vincent on this – it sounds like I’m going to be a day
late after all.”

This prompted Gerry, and other members also involved with the item of concern to further modify their
respective status lists. Each wrote something similar, yet different enough to address their own respective
perspectives.

Members discussed a variety of technical issues they were jointly working on. These conversations were
accompanied by either active sketching from scratch or modification of existing drawings. A vivid
detailed example (March 12th, 2007) involved Frank going up to the drawing board to draw and
(simultaneously) verbally articulate a new test rig arrangement he proposes:

Frank: “Ya, because I think the problem…is that we’ve never run an engine rig with a plenum (gas
containing chamber) like this”

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Frank simultaneously draws the following schematic of a plenum:

Frank then erases the two top extending lines, and adds a “+” and “-” sign in brackets so that it now looks
as follows while at the same time saying:

Frank: “Ok so this is how it’s configured with the large nozzle. We actually used this set-up back on
the QA700…the 700 family; it worked on the 706. They ran the engine on a rig test.”

Mark: “the 706 or 705…”

Frank: “Ya…”

Mark: (agrees but also clarifies Frank’s narration while pointing to Frank’s sketch): “There wasn’t a
real nozzle so to speak…it was really configured like this.”

Frank: “Ya, and they realized that there was some sort of static pressure variation; something low
like right over here (points to – sign) and a high point over there (points to + sign).

Frank now draws an additional lower vertical line to the drawing as he says:

Frank: “They added a baffle, ‘Bing!’ (onomatopoeia) like this which really improved things. We
didn’t go into the intake…the solution was really in the compressor rig – the data showed this. I think
it was because of this engine’s IGV (inlet guide vanes).”

Frank, on his last sentence, simultaneously draws guide vanes on the existing sketch:

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Frank: “We created this pre-swirl’…”

Frank then adds gas flow lines to his sketch and simultaneously says:

Frank: “The air comes in like this, and instead of descending equally on each side, it takes on this
tendency more or less like this …”

Mark: (agrees with Frank’s assessment): “Yep, that’s what it does in reality.”

Frank: (acknowledges Mark’s approval): “That’s it, eh? (then points to lower vertical line
representing the baffle) By closing off this area here, things improved a lot…”

Mark :(again agrees with Frank): “Ya things got better when we did that…”

Frank then points to the top left hand corner of the ‘plenum’ and adds:
Frank: “But we still have a problem on this side (then points to left side of vertical baffle) because
of a dead zone. And that’s where the temperatures got way high over here (then points to top right
hand corner of baffle) and real low over here…I figure…”

Frank then draws a thick vertical line in the top half of the baffle and then says:

Frank: “…I figure, why not put a baffle right over here as well? This way we split the plenum in
two zones…”

Frank then adds more gas flow lines to equilibrate the flux lines on both the left and right side of the
baffle and simultaneously says:

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Frank: “That would make the air feed in more equally on both sides.”

What is important to note in the above example is the step by step or incremental progression of both
verbal and visual aspects of an evolving story, almost like a film or ‘cartoon’. Complementing the actual
action of drawing is the frequent use of hand/arm movement to explain a particular aspect of the gas
plenum arrangement.In a more general sense, members often brought up new points of views which were
accompanied by the active listening of others; but once expressed, responses were quick to follow,
ranging from further questioning prior to acceptance or to further counter-argumentation. Such counter-
arguments also went through the same process, often in parallel to the initial argument’s transformation.
All of this was typically conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust and appreciation of each
others’ contributions. Furthermore, sense-giving conducted by various members, including both
managers, was principally to guide rather than to coerce. Initial sense-giving by one member was often
‘self-discredited’ (in the weickian sense) as a result of another member’s counterpoint or questioning.
Hence, ‘healthy doubt’ as defined by Weick (2001) was often present, and helped ensure a reasonable
balance between the “crediting” and “discrediting” of beliefs and assumptions.

ANALYSIS

Different types of mediums were used in helping to transmit perspectives within individual interactions
such as the use of agenda sheets, active sketching from scratch, sketching to modify existing drawings
and the use of existing schematic drawings or documents themselves. These ‘objects’ were usually
accompanied with some form of visible action on the part of actors, whereby it was during the dynamic
yet transient modifications of these ‘objects’ by these very same actions that perspectives were both given
and taken. For example, agenda sheets were actively modified across handwriting, as discussions advance
from one item and/or topic to the next. And in conjunction to this dynamic re-construction of the ‘object’
were the updating of everyone’s own sense and perspective of the topic at hand. In this sense, we concur
with Suchman (2009) when she speaks of the agenda (as a form of plan) as an evolving artefact emerging
from purposeful action, (which she coins as situated action). Her use of the term action implies not only
physical movement but also more reflexive components such as language and dialogue.

Another example such as the active process of sketching and re-sketching diagrams or representations is
in a similar way much more meaningful across its dynamic construction and re-construction at the hands
of participating actors then simply looking at the end-resultant sketch or construct. For example, Mark, a
senior member of the EOD group, explains:

“It’s as if you’re constructing it – not concretely in mechanical terms, since it’s more in a
‘virtual’ sense, but it’s a lot more than just words. For example when I say ‘We got to change
this’ – if you haven’t seen it then you’re wondering ‘Change what?’…So by making a drawing I
feel it makes the idea in your head come out for everyone to see – and have everyone better

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understand or feel your own experience…And that’s how people can then say to you ‘Ah that’s
what you meant. Well, in that case, no I don’t think that’s feasible…or ya, I think that can be
done.’”

And as Mark further adds, if the same explanatory words were used in the absence of specific motions
and line drawing movements (e.g. the portraying of gas flows within a combustion chamber), one would
have a less clear sense or understanding of the phenomena being articulated.

In all of these cases, we are looking at physical boundary objects being continually constructed and re-
constructed by the subject-actors in a manner similar to Figure 1-B. We are essentially looking at
‘artefacts as phenomena’ as opposed to static pre-existing objects. Hence, we can speak of boundary
constructions as proposed in our a priori framework (Figure 1-B). Even existing drawings without any
visible line markings or modifications added to them, are typically accompanied by some form of finger
or arm movements across various features and physical phenomena an actor wishes to bring a mental
attention to (e.g. gas flows, stress distributions, hole diameters, etc.). This creates new mental bracketings
(Weick, 1995) necessary for constructing new mental representations within the minds of the various
interacting members.

Yet, there is at least one element that was ignored in our initial framework (Figure 1-B) which requires
further examination. A hint of this is provided to us by Latour’s (1993) concept of hybridization of
categories (in this case, the subject vs. the object) – a hybridization involving an interpenetration or
‘alloying’ of one category into another. Is this what happens in ‘real life’? In both the case of the agenda
sheet and the sketching of drawings, there were various degrees of gestures, inscriptions, mapping,
various forms of record keeping and the like that was used. Goodwin (2003: 20) speaks of the “symbiotic”
relationship between gestures and their objects, whereby the gesture’s objects are integral components of
the gesture itself. On the other hand, the actor is also integrally part of the gesture. It becomes somewhat
tricky to define the clear cut boundaries between the bodies involved in the gesturing. Here, we are
reminded of Glasersfeld’s (2002: 90-91) words: “To grasp as a unit what was just presented is to cut it out
of the continuous flow…Focused attention picks a chunk of experience, isolates it from what came before
and from what follows, and treats it as a closed entity.” Not only are the contents of the bodies changing
with time (in terms of the changing form of the artefact as well as the increasing comprehension achieved
by the subject), but the boundaries themselves seem to shift or become blurred.

The integral whole (of gesture, actor and object) becomes more easily understood as a phenomenon.
Along these lines, Barad (2007) proposes an alternative onto-epistemology which she calls agential
realism. Reality is viewed as a collection of phenomena involving the intra-action between agencies of
observation and ‘objects’ (where both involve shifting boundaries or ‘cuts’). These boundaries depend on
context, points of views and observation apparatus configurations at hand. Observation apparatuses in
themselves can involve both human and non-human bodily arrangements, which shift and intra-act with
one another as phenomena. “Whereas the construct of interaction suggests two entities, given in advance,
that come together and engage in some kind of exchange, intra-action underscores the sense in which
subjects and objects emerge through their encounters with each other” (cited in Suchman, 2009: 267).

Required Enabling Conditions

Throughout the complexity of enactment and agency, boundaries between humans and non-humans are
not given but constructed (Barad, 2007). “Boundaries are necessary for the creation of meaning, and are

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therefore never innocent…Responsibility on this view is met neither through control nor abdication but in
ongoing practical, critical, and generative acts of engagement” (Suchman, 2009: 285-286). Such an
engagement involves perspectives to be aired and exchanged across verbal articulation and non-verbal
body-movements (the latter being especially present within dynamic acts of boundary constructions
between interacting individuals), whereby there is a continuous re-visiting and re-adjustments of ideas
and concepts. Yet for this to happen, individuals must first feel secure to interact with one another within
an environment of openness, trust, and respect. This is primordial for truly reciprocal dialogical
interactions to occur whereby individuals feel comfortable in expressing themselves on the one hand, and
to mentally ‘step into another’s shoes’ on the other hand (Enriquez, 1992).

Hence, it becomes important for management to nurture mutual trust and respect which in turn provides a
psychological “safety net”, whereby people feel comfortable in learning and trying new ideas. Frank, the
ECTR manager, spoke of a “parental” approach which requires a judicious balance between encouraging
a gradual transition towards autonomy as members gain confidence and knowledge on the one hand, and
always being present in the background so as to provide needed support when members face particularly
daunting issues and problems on the other hand. The term ‘parental’ should not be misconstrued with the
term ‘paternalistic’ (as referenced by various authors such as Crener and Monteil (1981), etc.) whereby
management does not allow members to take the initiative towards making their own decisions, thereby
severely limiting autonomy. Within Frank’s parental approach, we are reminded of Bateson’s (1978: 498)
words:

“During the period when the acrobat is learning to move his arms in an appropriate way, it is
necessary to have a safety net under him, i.e., precisely to give him the freedom to fall off the wire.
Freedom and flexibility in regards to the most basic variables may be necessary during the process
of learning…”

Within this environment, mistakes or errors are not condemned but rather seen as opportunities to learn,
improve oneself and improve the group collectively across the sharing of ‘lesson’s learned’. Such a
psychological “safety net” provides a shared belief amongst the members that the group “is safe for
interpersonal risk-taking” (Edmonson’s, 1999: 351); and thereby encourages the willingness to learn,
share and create new knowledge (Bogenrieder and Nooteboom, 2004).

CONCLUSIONS

In diverging with past perspectives of boundary objects, this paper first proposes the alternative concept
of boundary constructions. This depicts a more active role on the part of individual actors and taps into
specific elements of both radical and material constructivism: objects are not pre-existent but emerge
from cognitive constructions (Glasersfeld, 2002), enactments (Weick, 2009), agency (Barad, 2007) and
situated action (Suchman, 2009). In turn, these ‘objects as phenomena’ shape the very individuals that
acted upon them. Boundaries between objects and subjects become ever more blurred in a manner similar
to Latour’s (1993) hybridization of categories and Barad’s agential realism. Interactions become intra-
actions.The active role of individuals in boundary constructions implies responsible engagements. Such
engagements require trust and respect between participating parties, which in turn, requires management’s
implication in providing a psychological safety net within the workplace.

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This single case study prevents us from generalising our findings across the entire firm in question; and
by extension, any manner of external validity outside of the firm’s context. Additiona workgroups/teams
both within the existing firm and other high-tech institutions are to be envisaged.

REFERENCES

Barad, K. (2007) Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and
Meaning, Durham NC: Duke University Press.

Bateson, G. (1978) Steps to an Ecology of Mind, London: Paladin.

Berger, P.L. and Luckmann, T. (1966) The Social Construction of Reality, Garden City, NY: Anchor
Books,

Bødker, S. (1998) “Understanding representation in design”, Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 13(2), p.
107-125.

Bogenrieder, I. and Nooteboom, B. (2004) “Learning groups: What types are there? A theoretical analysis
and an empirical study in a consultancy firm”, Organization Studies, vol. 25(2), p. 287-313.

Carlile, P. R. (2002) “A pragmatic view of knowledge and boundaries: Boundary objects in new product
development”, Organization Science, vol. 13(4), p. 442-455.

Crener, M. and Monteil, B. (1981) Principes de Management, Sillery (Québec): Les Presses de
l’Université du Québec.

Edmonson, A. (1999) “Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams”, Administrative
Quarterly, vol. 44(2), p. 350-383.

Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) “Building theory from case study research”, Academy of Management Review,
vol. 14(4), p. 532-550.

Enriquez, E. (1992) L’Organisation en analyse, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Feldman, M.S., Khademian, A.M., Ingram, H. and Schneider, A.S. (2006) “Ways of knowing and
inclusive management practices”, Public Administration Review, vol. 66, Special Issue, p. 89-99.

Follett, M.P. (1924) Creative Experience, New York: Longman, Green.

Glasersfeld, E. von (2002) Radical Constructivism: A Way of Knowing and Learning, London:
RoutledgeFalmer.

Goodwinn, C. (2003) “The body in action”, in J. Coupland and R. Gwyn (eds.), Discourse, the Body and
Identity, p. 19-42, New York: Palmgrave/MacMillan.

James, W. (1955) Pragmatism, Cleveland/New York: Meridian Books (first published in 1907).

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Latour, B. (1993) We Have Never Been Modern, Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press.

Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E.G. (1985), Naturalistic Enquiry, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.

Lutters, W.G. (2001) Supporting reuse: IT and the role of archival boundary objects in collaborative
problem solving, Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Irvine.

Morgan, G. (1997) Images of Organization, 2nd edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Schwartzman, H.B. (1993) Ethnography in Organizations, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Spradley, J.P. (1980) Participant Observation, New York: Rinehart and Winston.

Star, S.L. and Griesemer, J.R. (1989) “Institutional ecology, ‘translations’ and boundary objects:
Amateurs and professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology”, Social Studies of Science,
vol. 19(3), p. 387-420.

Suchman, L.A. (2009) Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Actions, 2nd Edition,
Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

Weick, K.E. (1979) The Social Psychology of Organizing, 2nd Edition, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Publishing Co.

Weick, K.E. (1995) Sensemaking in Organizations, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,

Weick, K.E. (2001) Managing the Unexpected. Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity, San
Franscisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Weick, K.E. (2009) Making Sense of the Organization (Volume 2): The Impermanent Organization, West
Sussex UK: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge, UK.:
Cambridge University Press.

Yin, R.K. (2003), Case Study Research: Design and Method, 3rd Edition, Sage Publications, Thousand
Oaks, CA.

BIOGRAPHY

W. David Holford is Associate Professor of Management at the University of Quebec at Montreal. His
field of interest focuses on organizational sense-making, knowledge sharing and risk creation. He has
authored/co-authored articles on knowledge construction/sharing and risk induction in high-tech
organizations within the aeronautical, automotive and biopharmaceutical sectors. He has also worked 19
years in the aerospace industry.

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MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF
FINANCES IN WATER RESOURCES: LESSONS
LEARNT FROM PRACTICE
Bojan Srdjevic, University of Novi Sad
Zorica Srdjevic, University of Novi Sad
Ratko Bajcetic, Public Water Management Co
Jovana Dragincic, University of Novi Sad
Bosko Blagojevic, University of Novi Sad

ABSTRACT

Water systems involve multiple criteria and measures of performance, or objectives, which should be
optimized simultaneously. However, optimal performance according to one objective often implies low
performance in one or more of the other objectives. This results in an ambiguous definition of the best
solution in a set of candidate ones, since they may reflect the trade-off between the objectives. Thus, the
process of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) consists of two phases: the search for candidate
solutions, and the decision-making to rank them.

This has resulted in the division of MCDM methods into two scientific areas: (1) multi-criteria decision
analysis (MCDA), concerned with the methods for making choices between solutions that represent trade-
off alternatives, and (2) multi-objective optimization (MOO), which focuses on the search for candidate
solutions. MCDA can generally be ‘objective led’ and ‘alternative led’ and a scientific community does
not demonstrate bias amongst them. On the other hand, multi-objective optimization is a search for near
optimal solutions in large spaces of feasible solutions; stochastic search engines such as genetic
algorithms, simulated annealing or taboo search are widely employed to perform MOO. Finances, and
in broader context economic set of decision making elements, related to water resources are pillars in
related MCDA and/or MOO applications. The paper presents experience gained in water resource
planning and management in Serbia and illustrates some challenges and lessons learnt in treating
financial (economic) matters in several case studies.

KEYWORDS: multicriteria analysis, water resources, lessons from practice

BIOGRAPHY

Prof. Dr. Bojan Srdjevic can be contacted at Department of Water Management, Faculty of Agriculture,
Univ. of Novi Sad, Trg D. Obradovica 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia TEL: +381-21-4853-337, +381-63-
8117-364, FAX: +381-455-713, Page http://polj.uns.ac.rs/english/faculty/srdjevic.htm

Zorica Srdjevic, Jovana Dragincic and Bosko Blagojevic can be contacted at Department of Water
Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg D. Obradovica 8, 21000 Novi Sad,
Serbia

Ratko Bajcetic, can be contacted at 2Public Water Management Co. Vode Vojvodine, Bul. Mihajla
Pupina 25, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

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THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL
CAPABILITIES AND EXPORT SALES IN SMALL AND
MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES OF METALWORKING
INDUSTRY IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE STATE
OF COAHUILA, MEXICO
Elvira Velarde López, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Zóchitl Araiza Garza, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Eunice Coronado Rojas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila

ABSTRACT

Trade liberalization in Mexico has caused a large increase in export sales; this activity may be a very
important factor for the acquisition of technological capabilities in firms. Under this perspective, the aim
of this paper is to analyze the association between the change (increase and decrease) in export sales and
the technological capabilities developed in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) of the
metalworking industry in the central region of the state of Coahuila, Mexico. The methodology consisted
in the application of a structured questionnaire to 50 firms of the mentioned industry; the collected
information was processed by the SPSS using the statistical tool Cross Tabs. The data analysis suggests
an association between the change in export sales and the levels of development of investment
capabilities, as well as the levels of importance the employers give to the variables: i) training and
recruiting, and ii) search, evaluation and selection of technology (investment capabilities); iii)
improvements to the plan, program and maintenance (production capabilities); iv) cooperation between
companies in the same industry, and v) cooperation with other companies (linking capabilities); and,
finally vi) purchase of machinery and equipment (manufacturing and adaptation of machinery and
equipment capabilities).

JEL: O32, O33

Key words: technological capabilities, export sales, SME’s, metalworking industry.

INTRODUCTION

In the ambit of economic and technological performance of organizations, regions, developed and
developing countries, the literature highlights two key concepts: competitiveness and innovation (Tapias,
2005); in order to survive, grow and become competitive, firms require to develop their internal
capabilities, which may be organizational and/or technological capabilities (Barney, 1991); acquiring
these technological capabilities enables innovation in firms (Bell y Pavitt, 1995).

The estate of Coahuila, which is located in the north of Mexico along the border with Texas, has had a
great increase in manufacturing production (Díaz, Acevedo and Ramírez, 2008); the SME’s in the region
need to increase their competitiveness through increasing their productivity, supporting the substitution of
imports and increasing their export sales by integrating productive chains. (Simón y Rueda, 2004).

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The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between export sales and technological
capabilities that have developed the metalworking industry SME’s in the central region of the state of
Coahuila. This paper begins with a review of the literature on technological capabilities and export sales
in firms, then the methodology used and the results are presented; finally, the conclusions and limitations
of the study are detailed and the future lines of research defined.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Technological capabilities include information and skills -technical, institutional and managerial- which
allow productive firms to effectively assimilate, use, adapt and change their equipment and technology,
for existing technologies and also to create new technologies and develop new products and processes
(Biggs, et al., 1995; Jonker, 2002), in the same direction, Huq (2002) adds the human experience
and appropriate institutional mechanisms and linkages. According to Bell and Pavitt (1995), technological
capabilities are the resources required to generate and manage the technological change: knowledge, skills
and experience, institutional structures and linkages within firms, between firms and
outside firms. Morrison, Pietrobelli and Rabellotti (2008) mention that technological capabilities are the
skills -technical, administrative and organizational- that companies need to efficiently use equipment and
information technology. According to Carvajal (2010), technological capabilities are the skills or
provisions that have been acquired through technological learning in a social and cultural environment.

The kinds of technological capabilities have been determined under different approaches:
(Lall, 1992; Bell and Pavitt, 1995). The taxonomy developed by Lall (1992) includes investment
capabilities, production and linkage, which are different; and although these capabilities may
be interrelated, partly are overlap and strongly interdependent (Morrison et al. 2008).
Bell and Pavitt (1995) developed an analytical framework of technological and industrial capabilities,
with three types of technological capabilities: investment, production and support. Meanwhile,
Domínguez and Brown (2004) determined 26 variables of the functions of investment, production and
firm links. The functions used in this study are:
• Investment Capabilities: skills and information necessary to identify viable investment projects, to
locate and purchase appropriate technologies for the design and engineering of the plant and for the
direction and execution of the project (Biggs et al. 1995).
• Production capabilities: skills and knowledge necessary for the operation and improvement of the
plant or equipment purchased by the firm (Biggs et al. 1995).
• Linkage Capabilities: knowledge, skills and experience required for the exchange of information,
technology and skills with other companies and institutions (Bell and Pavitt, 1995).
• Manufacturing and adaptation of machinery and equipment capabilities, knowledge, skills and
experience to improve and modify existing technology and the creation of new technology (Bell and
Pavitt, 1995).

There are some differences from the results of the crossing the technological capabilities and the export
sales: first, there is evidence of a significant positive relationship between them (Bhaduri & Ray, 2004;
Rasiah, 2004). Export activity is strongly correlated with the ability to process technology, according to
Rasiah (2004), who obtained a highly significant correlation with an extremely strong and positive
coefficient. Production capabilities increase performance and competitiveness in the export sales process
(Bhaduri & Ray, 2004), which guarantee an increase in export activities in firms. According to Pérez-
Escatel and Perez (2009), the accumulation of technological capabilities is a variable that helps to explain

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the exporter nature of the enterprises, because international competition stimulates technological change
to continue with sales in international markets.

On the other hand, several authors report that the association between export activity and the
accumulation of technological capabilities is not significant (Athukorala, 1995). Some studies present
evidence concerning that, despite trade liberalization, Mexican exporting companies are still heavily
dependent on imports of capital goods. Furthermore, these companies have not been able to strengthen
and stimulate its technological capabilities, despite the demands of the competitive international market
(Cimoli, 2002).

METHODOLOGY
The methodological strategy of this research was based on a quantitative approach by face to face
surveying 50 entrepreneurs, this was the non-probability convenience sample of a population of 153
companies. The data was collected in 2007, using a structured questionnaire designed by the authors
(Velarde and Araiza, 2010);

Subsequently, the questionnaire was elaborated using for the indicators each sub-dimension a Likert
scale, asking if there had been activity related to each of the dimensions and the importance in the firm,
from 1 to 5, where 1 was “not important” and 5 “totally important.” On the other hand, the questionnaire
included a question about the effect of export sales in the firm, during the last five years: if the export
sales decreased, remained stable or increased. To obtain the development levels of technological
capabilities, the authors identified previously three ranges according to the number of activities of
technological capabilities carried out by the firms in this study: high, medium and low, established with
cutoff points at the same numerical distance from each other (Velarde and Araiza, 2010).

RESULTS
Regarding to the crossing between the development level of technological capabilities and the change in
export sales, there was found only significant results of a positive relationship in the investment
capabilities. There was found a significant positive relationship between export sales and the level of
importance of investment capability, and the sub-dimensions: i) training, recruitment and personnel
selection, ii) search, evaluation and selection of technology.There were no statistical significance of
association between the production capabilities and export sales, only for the sub-dimension:
improvements to the plan, program and maintenance.

The level of importance of the linkage capability has a significant positive relationship with the change in
export sales; also with the sub-dimensions: cooperation with companies in the same sector and
cooperation with other companies. There were no significant results for a relationship between
manufacturing and adaptation of machinery and equipment capabilities and the change in export sales of
the enterprises, except for the sub-dimension: acquisition of machinery and equipment.
The contents of this section with respect to the results of analysis of the relationship between
technological capabilities and export sales, confirms the findings in the literature as some authors (Braga
and Willmore, 1991, Lefebvre, 2001; Bhaduri & ray, 2004) report that there is significant relationship
between technological capabilities and export sales. As mentioned above, if the firms want to compete
nationally and internationally, they require a great investment in human resources, physical resources and
time, in activities aimed to the improvement of technology (Dahlman and Westphal, 1981, Ray and
Bhaduri, 2001; Caniëls and Romijn, 2003, Jonker, et al., 2006).

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CONCLUSIONS

The main contribution of this work is to have found a statistically significant positive relationship
between technological capabilities and export sales of SMEs in this study. Theresults shows the interest
of these firms to carry out their production processes with efficiency, with the aim of providing excellent
service and / or product to the customer. Also, the results highlight the relevance of promoting the
acquisition and accumulation of the mentioned capabilities in the firms, so that they can be more
competitive in international markets.

Limitations: this research was conducted exclusively in a region, so the results and conclusions presented
are limited to the population of this study. Future studies examining these variables in other contexts,
using the same data collection instrument for further comparative studies, identifying differences and
similarities.

REFERENCES
Athukorala, P. (1995). Foreig direct investment and manufacturing for export in a new exporting country:
The case of Sri Lanka. World Economy. 18 (4): 543-564.

Bhaduri, S. & Ray, A.S. (2004) Exporting Through Technological Capability: Econometric Evidence
from India’s Pharmaceutical and Electrical/Electronics Firms, Oxford Development Studies, Vol. 32, No.
1.

Barney, J. (1991). “Firms resources and sustainable competitive advantage”, en Journal of Management,
v. 17, 1, p. 99-120.

Bell, M., y Pavitt, K. (1995), “The Development of Technological Capabilities”, in I.u. Haque (ed.),
Trade, Technology and International Competitiveness, Washington, The World Bank, pp. 69-1.

Biggs, T., Shah, M. and Srivastava, P. (1995). Technological Capabilities and Learning in African
Enterprises. World Bank Technical Paper Number 288. Africa Technical Department Series. The World
Bank, Washington: D.C.

Carvajal, A. (2010). Las capacidades tecnológicas como base para el desarrollo. Actualidades
Investigativas en Educación. Revista Electrónica publicada por el Instituto de Investigación en
Educación. Universidad de Costa Rica. Volumen 10, Número 1, pp. 1-19.

Cimoli, M., (2002), “Developing Innovation Systems, México in a global context”, Continuum
International Publishing Group, London, U.K.

Díaz, M., Acevedo, J. y Ramírez, C. (2008). Capacidades Tecnológicas e integración industrial de las
PYMES del sector metal-mecánica con las empresas líderes en Sonora. Mt 6 SinncO 2008.

Domínguez, L. y Brown, F. (2004) Medición de las capacidades tecnológicas en la industria mexicana.
Revista de la CEPAL 83. 135.151. México.

Hadjimanolis, A., Dickson, K. (2004). Innovation Strategies of SMEs in Cyprus, a Small Developing
Country, in International Small Business Journal 18, 4, pp.62-79.

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Huq, M. (ed.) (2002) Building Technological Capability: Issues and Prospects. Dhaks: The University
Press Limited, xxii ¡ 256 pp., ISBN 984 05 1633 7 (hbk), TK 450.

Jonker, M. (2002). Building technological capabilites to improve performance. A case study of the paper
industry in West Java, Indonesia. 464103 M. Sc. Thesis, Eindhoven University of Technology.

Lall, S. (1992). Technological Capabilities and Industrialization. World Development, Vol. 20, No. 2
pp.165-86.

Morrison, A., Pietrobelli, C. y Rabeellotti, R. (2008). Global Value Chains and Technological
Capabilities: A Framework to Study Learning and Innovation in Developing Countries. Oxford
Development Studies. Vol. 36, No. I, March 2008. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Pérez-Escatel, A. y Pérez, O. (2009). Competitividad y acumulación de capacidades tecnológicas en la
industria manufacturera mexicana, Investigación Económica, Vol. LXVIII, 268, abril-junio de 2009. Pp.
159-187.

Rasiah, R. (2004). Exports and Technological Capabilities: A Study of Foreign and Local Firms in the
Electronics Industry in Malaysia, The European Journal of Development Research, Vo. 16,No. 3,
Autumn 2004, pp. 587-623.

Simón, N. y Rueda, I., (2004). Changes in the mexican steel industry alter privatization: The case of Altos
Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA). Mexico and the World Web Journal. Volume 9, Issue 3, Summer 2004,
PROFMEX ISSN 1535-0630. Mexico.

Tapias H. (2005). Capacidades tecnológicas: elemento estratégico de la competitividad. Revista Facultad
de Ingeniería, Universidad de Antioquia Colombia, No. 33 pp. 97-119. Red de Revistas Científicas de
América Latina y el Caribe, España y Portugal.

Velarde, E. y Araiza, Z. (2010). La Industria metalmecánica y sus capacidades tecnológicas. Diagnóstico
de la Región Centro del Estado de Coahuila en Díaz, C. (2010), Sistemas de Innovación, Redes de
Conocimiento y Desarrollo de Capacidades Tecnológicas. Universidad de Guadalajara (en impresión).

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GLOBALIZATION PROCESS AND THE IMPACT OF IT
GROWTH IN ALBANIA
Kozeta Sevrani, University of Tirana
Klodiana Gorica, University of Tirana

The globalization is the philosophy that support establishment of private company (business) without
boundary and in the all word. It is the irreversible process. The ideology of globalization is that the
world is the big market where each company, undistinguished the country, has the access (the right) to
compete without national or local boundary with the others company. The footfalls of changes for some
country are fast. During the human history in the all the world, the human beings has been connected.
But now the process of relationship is so different. The airplane, the mobile, email, computer, the highs
speed transfer of money are making the word more complicated. The multinational corporate produce in
many countries and sell in the all the world. The money, the technology, and the stock have moved fast
between the countries. Together with products and the finances also the ideas and the cultures are moved
freely. The FDI are the most important factor for the development of the country and Albania has more to
do to stimulate the foreign investments. How it will be the process of globalization for Albania? Why so
many multinational corporate are addressed to invest in Albania? How can explain the fast economic
growth of Albania? What are the factors that influence in the low level of FDI?

KEY WORDS: globalization, FDI, risk, development

THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALIZATION UNDER ALBANIAN ECONOMY.

Globalization is an inevitable and irreversible process. To treat globalization so put as to raise the positive
aspects and lower negative ones is maybe the biggest purpose of the millennium. Possibilities for the
globalization to have success are enforced to expel new dangers, mostly to the developed countries.
Albania lately has reached an adoption with the international institutions as BB, MNF, etc., making a step
further into the global trade. Yet Albania needs an economical and political strategy, which will be able to
drive the country on an active position to the global economy. Home-brew business is set upon
globalization elements, which through a long-term strategy must exploit opportunities discovered by this
new are of globalization. Globalization is a continues phenomena, never seized, but what changes is the
utilization from its confederation. Globalization is shown in many ways but first it is seen under
economical and financial terms. On this concept it can be conceived as a large and deep connection with
the national economy under world trade goods, services and especially capital assets. As a result of the
revolution in telecommunication and informational technology, on the last 15 years there have been huge
progress on the trade connection and international exchange of capital as well as radical change on the
form, structure and pace of production.The positive consequences are:

Economical Growth: It is theoretical argued that it will bring an efficient delivery of a country resources
towards the sectors and fields where they have a competitive advantage. Focusing on the Albanian
conditions, this means to high coefficient industries under working utilization force because of the low
cost it has and this helps in the increase of the national economy. The poor layer will profit from this
increase by getting employed from these industries. On the other hand it is essential to be invested on the
human resources (education and training) to increase their working efficiency. There were made many
researches by the World Bank and others, and they show that generally the rapidly increase of the
economy is accompanied by the reduce of the poorness. This is the reason that the World Bank adds the

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pressure on different states (including Albania) to be driven towards free trade and WTO. In fact, there is
no lack of the facts of both success and failures. For the last mentioned, generally the fault remains to the
performance of the national institutions.
Improvement of the Productivity: One of the most positive effects (approved by all) is the improvement
of the productivity. This for the reason of the simplicity it brings on the investments and technology
transfer through different countries. In order to reach this state, a transit period is necessary through which
are needed to be developed and consolidated the country’s structures, to guarantee a law functioning state,
with the terminus to empower the trade’s economy.

Increase of the rivality between companies: Today, more than ever, companies are obliged to oversee the
continuance of the quality of their products, to keep prizes on accepted levels and to present new products
from time to time, and for this is required the constant improvement of the technology and the scientific
researches.

Improvement of the relationships between different countries: through inclining the rate of the conflicts
and through raising the rate of cooperation between them. As a conclusion, the increase of the chances for
survival and success in the era of globalization needs an immediate role of the government and of other
important principals for the Albanian economy reconstruction through specific programs which would
drive the Albanian economy towards the sectors which have higher possibilities of development. Such
are: industries with high coefficient of the usage of manpower, the organic agriculture, tourism, the
medical and aromatic planting industry, the confections industry, etc.

Beside the positive effects, on the other hand globalization could increase the risk for the financial crisis
in the developed countries. According to Stigliz, “Small countries in development are like small boats.
Quick liberalization of the capital trade which IMF aspires, is like sending the bout in a strong sea before
closing the holes, or before training the captain, before taking safe tires. Even on best conditions it stands
the possibility that the boats will drown when hit by an open wave” The confront of the civilization. The
disappearance of the economical boundaries between countries, brings about the mixture of the different
traditions and mentality and this could cause unexpected conflicts. The bankrupting of small companies,
which will be obliged to accept the loss before giant companies, or to be their allies, under conditions
established of course by the strong.

Increase of unemployment in western countries, which have high living-cost, because the companies of
course will employ people from poor countries to apply a lower salary. Difficulty of control which means
that each phenomena enlarging to global sizes, represents a danger, because every moment it can come
out of hand and have unpredictable consequences. While the most known view of the globalization on the
last decade is the rapid integrity of the stock and financial trades; trade and investments are the main
power standing under the curtains of globalization. The discussions coming from the field of FDI are
important part of the whole globalization process. FDI can play an important role raising the capacity of
the hosts country in order to respond the chances offered from the world economy integration, a purpose
known as the main one for the strategic development. FDI in the last two decades were part of the main
elements of globalization and world economy. Companies from different countries are spreading more
than ever taking part in many industries through direct investments. Economies competes virtually
together to get rid of multinational companies. As a result, world investment fluxes have reached higher
levels.

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FDI and affects on the host places

Affects of FDI on the host places are visible. They are shown on the profits and costs.

PROFITS

Technology: According to the economists, multinational companies through FDI help to fill up the gaps
between developed countries and those under development process (hosts) and they ensure smaller
possibilities of increase in the host trades. According to this point of view, producers on developed
countries have full access on productive knowledge not present on host counties. This productive
knowledge could take the role of the technological survey, manger and marketing abilities, export
contracts, coordinated connections between suppliers and customers and the good name. According to
economists, the technological transfer could stimulate the economical growth of the countries under
development. Besides technology, there is also the transfer of capital and manager abilities. So the host
country can, through FDI and through multinational companies have access to the finances whih are
unavailable for the home-brew companies.

Manpower: The transfer of productivity and technology solves the problem that the intrusions from
outside are good or bad for the workers in terms of salary. When the foreign company has untouchable
product knowledge, then the technological transfer and other trainings will be seen in the human capital
of the foreign company in the host country. This expansion of the human capital is seen in the higher
productivity of the people which are paid with higher salaries.

The macro economical growth: The FDI connection as a macro economical growth and the stability of
this connection is very important because the host countries evaluate pro’s and contra’s according to the
foreign intrusions. The largest evidences are found in the studies made to the countries under
development. For example: introductory investments analyzes in Greece, Taiwan, Indonesia and Mexico
show positive contribution on the growth of these countries. The raise and enlargement seem to be
stronger when foreign branches and home-brew firms compete directly with each other as in the case with
the protected industries (Markusen, 1995, he is an advocate of this idea). Borensztein, DeGregorio and
Lee (1998) find almost positive effects between FDI and the growth with the accumulation of the human
capital in the host countries, admitting that they must be abundantly big so that the places can profit from
the positive effects of the foreign fluxes growth.

Business circles: FDI can affect business circle model in the host countries, the transmission of the circles
from outside trades and the crisis escort through trades. When countries under development are separated
into two big groups: well integrated financial economies and non integrated, they both have connections
to the macro economic world aggregates, with this connection not higher last decades compared with that
of 1960-1970 (Kose, Prasad, Terrones 2003). The interdependence role of FDI and specifically
multinational firms under the integration of business circle, is not yet explored totally. The specific
contribution of the FDI under the business circle still remains an issue to be solved.

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COST

Bad effects in the national competition: It happens that the multinational companies take over all the
funds generated somewhere else to fill their cost. This can bring about the monopolization of the trade
and bankrupting of the home-brew companies.

Negative effect on the balance fee: We have decrease of balance fee where the daughter company brings
back into the mother country parts of the income. Also if the stock is imported from outside to the host
countries of FDI then we have decrease of account of the balance fee of host country.

National sovereignty: Many of the times, the decisions for the host countries economy have to be taken
from these multinational companies which show not so much interest for the host countries and most of
the time the government of this countries has no control over them.

FDI growing in the future

The FDI fluxes is rapidly growing the last days. The highest fluxes of FDI in the world shows an
economical environment always improving, this on the presence of reforms and political orientation
towards investments. The growth of FDI has reached record levels. This was brought by/stimulated also
by the extinction and international purchases of the companies. The higher the fluxes of FDI in a country
the more occupation that country could have. FDI create more occupation in productive sectors than in
any other sectors. Throughout the years many countries have created a welcoming environment on their
places with the clear purpose to gain more funds to be invested in the country.

Structural and short-term conditions in favor of the growth of FDI Growth of FDI until 2009 is explained
in 3 main factors:

a. continuance of the long-term inclination which are engrossing for the multi nationalization of the
companies

b. long-term and short-term economical view characterized by stable growth and financial sources
available

c. necessity of new resources and opportunities for investments

Governments of the countries under development perceive the FDI as a source for economical growth,
this is also shown by the growing rivality of the places interested for this investments. FDI play positive
role in the economical development through intrusion of capital, contemporary technology, on the
marketing and management field, on rebuilding the economy, speeding up the denationalize rate, entry of
new job opportunities, raise of exports, improvement of the salary balance, etc. for all these reasons they
hold a special importance, especially for the countries under development and it is necessary the creation
of suitable strategies to attract these investments. Taking a glance at the value that foreign investment
directly hold (FDI) for the economy of a country and the interest that Albania has shown towards it, I
thought it was of a great value making a study of this kind.

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FDI dispersion in Albania

We can say that FDI are settled on main towns like Tirana and Durres. Tirana as the capital of Albania is
more exposed from investors, becoming the mot important economical centre of the country and of
human potentials. Tirana holds 80% of foreign or common capital investments and also branches,
departments or representative offices of many multinational known companies which have invested in
Albania over than 231 million euro. While Durres has the largest Albanian port holding 85% of the
import-export services of the county.As it might be seen, the areas where FDI are centered are places with
higher income rate and more developed infrastructure. The internal central part and the north-east part of
Albania, are the least preferred areas from foreign investors. Beside the non-developed infrastructure of
these areas and the missing marketing, it might have played a serious role also the internal and external
migration, which makes it even harder the possibility of qualified manpower. However, a high percentage
rate was find in terminal cities of Albania and Greece like Korca and Gjirokastra. Investments in industry
have intended sectors of high manpower percentage and not those of capital and technology percentage
leaving small window to the foreign investments role under technology transfer and on the growth of
technological capacity production in Albania, through minimizing positive side-effects of these
investments on other productive sectors.

FDI origin in Albania

From the origin viewpoint, Italy and Greece hold the leading position on foreign investments in Albania.
FDI origin is 48% from Italy, 43% from Greece, 2% from Macedonia and Turkey and the remaining part
belongs to Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, UK, USA, etc. On the contrary of other center and east European
countries, Albanian FDI are connected to near-by countries. On this foreign capital stock viewpoint, at the
end of 2004, almost 82% of this stock was hold by the EU nations, with Greece as the main investor (with
48% of foreign capital stock in the end of 2004) and Italy (with 30%). Greece and Italy have raised
meaningfully their presence on the foreign capital stock in Albania. The geographic connection of
Albania and also the economical powerful cooperation with EU, are some of main reasons that these
places host foreign investors.

Source: Albanian Bank

Italian investments are utilized on the western part of Albania, near Adriatic sea. The largest parts are
hold by small and medium industries, which handle construction works (35%), textile and shoes
production (21%), trade and services (16%) and also with the agro-nutritive industry (8%) mostly coming
from the south Italy. Italian firms profit from the rivalry advantage of working quality with low cost in
Albania. Salaries are ten times lower than those in Italy. Italian investors profit from Italian Government
grants focused to stimulate Italian investments in Albania. Greek investors are centered on south and
south-east part of Albania. They follow trade more and only 2% are hold with other different branches of
FDI from the origin viewpoint
48%
43%
2% 7%
Italy
Greece
Macedonia
Others

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industry, like textile, clothing, production of leather products and tobacco. Over than 60% of Greek FDI
come from grants offered by Greek Government for these firms, with the intension to invest in Albania.

Activity Flux %
1. Trade 67%
2. Industry 17%
3. Agriculture 1.3%
4. Service 6%
5. Building 5%
6. Transport 4.7%
Source: INSTAT

FDI in agriculture: are on low rates, as a result of small and fragmented parcels of ground, limitations to
take assets on rural areas, bad roadway infrastructure and difficult transport with the biggest trades of the
region and area. Sectors which attract more investments in agriculture and other common industries are
fishing, rehashing and conservation of the fish, food rehashing, olive oil refining, production of beverage
and the production of wood.

On the service sector:FDI are focused on the bank service, retails and construction. Construction FDI are
raising referring to the number of the companies and their activities. Many investors in construction come
from Turkey, Italy and Greece. FDI will necessarily be lied on these fields as investments in infrastructure
and habitation (business centers and living houses), based on the source fluxes from donation countries
and also as a response of urban migration.
On the production sector: the largest part of the foreign companies take part on the final re-exportation
and half-final products, most of which are textile, different articles of leather and shoes. They consist of
around 60% of our exports and only in 2006 have reached a raise of 20%.

Factors affecting low level of FDI in Albania

Low levels of IDH in Albania could be attributed partially:

Slow process of the states medium and big companies denationalization under the industrial sectors which
have high capital intensity and of the strategic sector like energy and telecommunication.

Low interest of foreign investors as a result of a political percept risk of the country connected with
social violence on the past and on the other hand the political changes in Albania and the lack of stability
in Balkan and Kosovo.

Image problem that Albania has created to the foreign countries.

Problems and conflicts connected with land ownership, bureaucratic procedures for the register of
ownership rights, for the approval and construction license authorization create barriers to the foreign
investments.

Informality levels of economy, which is a fact that brings about a wrong competition of trade.

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Lack of efficiency and high cost of infrastructure (transport, energy, water) and the missing of industrial
places for the FDI oriented towards export and tourism.

Lack of abundance in financial services, benches or not (low level of credits, low quality of financial
services for the international trade, high rate of interest, high request for collateral, etc.

Low function of public institutions and low application of law.

Elements of a strategy to stimulate investments

FDI role could change from place to place, depending on the governmental and economy nature. There
exists no ideal development of FDI that can be natural to all nations at all times.
This way Albania could attract three types of investors:

Investors based on the sources research: which could be interested in mineral reserves, forests, petrol,
gas. First investment companies could be international companies of refinery or mine. Then it could be
the aim towards production of the minerals.

Investors based on trade research: which could be companies interested to enter the Albanian
consumption trade and the creation of a presence growing with the growth of the trade. On this category it
is important the stimulation politics of FDI on strategic sectors (telecommunication, energy, bank sector,
transport, water) as well as other private investments in infrastructure.

Investors based on the efficiency assumptions: (or FDI oriented towards export). These would be more
outside of strategic sectors and infrastructure, for production of products in export and re-export.

Stimulation and attraction of FDI

The stimulation and attraction of FDI is a high rivalry and a specialized activity, on a growing number of
the countries looking to attract active foreign investors and also from many systematic sponsored
campaigns. Now a considerable experience is present on the strategies and techniques used for the
attraction of FDI and in the part of which could function and which can not. Attraction Investment
Agencies from all over the world use many techniques to attract FDI through:

Creation of image: is the most suitable when investors image over a pace as a destination for investment
is less favorable in reality, and where fore-requests to attract investments are present.

Investments generation: represents the identity of potential investors, which are more interested for a
place, development of a strategy to contact and cooperate with them, with the intension to make them be
involved in investing. Specific used techniques to generate investments include: campaigns through
telephone and post, seminars for the investments, missions run inside and outside boundaries and the
direct marketing.

Service towards investors: could split into two components: fore and after approval services.

Fore approval services : is focused on the investors approach referring to the requirements over which the
decision to invest has already been taken and the project has been approved (if it is necessary)

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Service after the approval: or after taking the decision if no approval is requested, is considered a
necessary activity, including here bank field and industry operations on some fields like: assistance in
having a indispensable infrastructure like telecommunication, energy, water and canalization: ensuring
the main contacts with the government, business and community:

Satisfied investors are the best stimulation for a continuance of investments in the future;

Service towards investors is the element containing the most efficient cost, manageable in all stimulation
activities for investment;

Maximization of the potential investors number which become actual investors enforce the reputation and
image of a country;

Services towards investors are more indispensable in an investment place, where not all the elements are
favorable and could face obstacles to realize investments from the interested firms.
Many of the countries have established success in attracting investments through the usage of these
Agencies for the Investments stimulation (AIS). AIS have many important functions, including
fulfillment of investment needs, maintenance of friendly politics towards business, and the cultivation and
projection of the favorable image of a country as the destination of the investments.

CONCLUSION

The level of FDI in Albania remains on low rates, even though from 1999 it has been drastically grown in
projects and flowing fluxes from investments.

The main causes for these low rates of investments are: the most important is the image of Albania into
the international arena, this acquired from the political instability, economical one, perceptional risk, the
slowing process of the denationalization mostly on strategic sectors, lack of responsibility and
institutional ability, low application of law, lack of efficiency and low cost of infrastructure, lack of
composition in comprehensive strategies of the social and economical development, impotence and
overcharge of administrative taxes, etc.

Low intensity of foreign investors is due to the perception of a high risk connected with the social
violence existing before and the political changes in Albania and also due to the lack of stability in Balkan
and Kosovo.

Albania has some potential sectors and very good possibilities for the attraction of IDH, mainly in tourism
(sector with much of the perspective also for the reason of favored natural conditions), services, transport,
etc.

Agriculture in Albania have much possibility of development starting from the geographic positioning, its
sources, quality and quantity of manpower. The country could become an important exporter of
agricultural products with organic basis pointing at European and world trades.

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Albania has no developed an effective strategy for the investment attraction. It is very important to
mention here the lack of marketing territory. The territory marketing plays a very important role,
especially to create the image of a country, its communication, approaching of investments.

The territorial promotion and attraction of investment agencies play a very small role according to their
original function, this maybe also from the lack of connection with the investors, or low approach from
state authorities, etc.

Foreign investments must help Albania through chances of food elaboration to ensure foreign trades. The
strategy for investment attraction in the agriculture field of Albania must decide the main perfumers and
retailers in Europe and USA.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Albania must work to improve the environment where FDI are active, in order to acquire attract on higher
and diverse levels.

Albania must attract FDI for products that the country is considered to have high international advantages
at (actual or potential ones). Its important mainly that part of production which identifies the export
products, for which the country have made possible a response to the growth of world trade (cotton
trousers, shirts and cotton suits, rough tobacco, etc.). also it must utilize its potential on the field of
tourism, agriculture, etc.

Albania must focus its energies on the service of actual and possible investors. The investors gratification
is the best advertisement for the country and is considered as the most faithful source for other investors.
The actual investors can stay longer and could raise their investments.

It is very important that Albania develops the territory marketing. Several efforts must be made through
this marketing to improve its image.

The government must stimulate such politics to attract investors, it must speed up and finish the program
for the return of the land. The land must be registered as soon as possible, mainly the urban land and
attractive areas which serve to the trade development. To improve the efficiency of s solution to the
disagreement of land and also to raise its administrative efficiency.

The government must utilize a strategic vision, which would decide for a number of long-term, medium-
term and short-term efforts which give priority to the acceleration and finalization of program for the
return of the land. to finalize the registration of urban land and trade development areas.

Main agent which could pay the role of a contact, sustainer and promoter of the territory for the foreign
investors are the Teritorial development agents.

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AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON BRAND PERSONALITY
IN MEXICO
María de la Paz Toldos Romero, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Guadalajara

ABSTRACT

The principal objective of this study was to develop an exploratory investigation of the dimensions of
brand personality in Mexico. An estimated 400 undergraduate students participated. They were given a
questionnaire to measure brand personality divided into two sessions (six brands of think products in one
session and six brands of feel products in another session). However, not all the students attended class
on both days, so some completed only one of the two sessions. In the end, 313 participants completed the
questionnaire on the six brands of think products (48.6% women; 51.4% men; M= 20.44, SD= 1.76), and
320 completed the questionnaire on the six brands of feel products (47.8% women; 52.2% men; M=
20.60 years, SD = 1.83). A total of seven factors were extracted from the brand personality scale:
Success, Hipness/Vivacity, Sophistication, Sincerity, Domesticity/Emotionality, Ruggedness, and
Professionalism. The author discusses the implications of the research for marketing practice and the
meaning of these brand personality dimensions in the Mexican cultural context.

KEYWORDS: Brand personality; personality traits; gender

INTRODUCTION

Brand personality is defined as “the set of human characteristics associated with a brand” (Aaker, 1997, p.
347). Similar to human personality, brand personality is distinctive and enduring (Aaker, 1996, p. 141-
142). Customers associate human personality traits with brands because they relate to brands as they
would to partners or friends (Fournier, 1998), because they perceive brands as extensions of themselves
(Belk, 1988), or because marketers suggest that brands have certain characteristics. The attribution of
human personality characteristics to brands is of great interest among marketing researchers and
practitioners, since understanding how consumers perceive products and brands can be useful for the
elaboration and implementation of marketing actions. A brand personality can be used as a basis of
differentiation from other brands and help to differentiate the brand from competitors in a particular
product category.

Measurement of Brand Personality

Similar to the “Big Five” model of human personality (Goldberg, 1990; McCrae and John, 1992), brand
personality is measured along five dimensions that uniquely apply to consumers’ characterization of
brands (Aaker, 1997). It was with Aaker’s research (1997) that a generalizable (reliable and valid) scale
was developed to assess brand personality (Koebel and Ladwein, 1999). Jennifer Aaker (1997) developed
a theoretical framework of the brand personality construct by determining the number and nature of
dimensions of brand personality traits. Aaker (1997) developed a measurement scale called the Brand
Personality Scale, which consisted of 42 traits. Even when the sample was divided by age or sex, or when
subgroupings of brands were used, five personality dimensions emerged. These five brand personality
dimensions and 15 facets desired by many companies for their products are Sincerity; Excitement;
Competence; Sophistication; and Ruggedness. The impact of this model has been so profound that since
1997 most of the academic publications about brand personality are based on Aaker’s methodology

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(1997). With the aim of determining the adaptability of Aaker’s original model (1997) to other cultures,
the model has been used in other countries, such as France (Koebel and Ladwein, 1999), Japan and Spain
(Aaker et al., 2001), Mexico (Alvarez-Ortiz and Harris, 2002), Russia (Supphellen and Grohaug 2003),
Korea (Lee and Oh, 2006), and Venezuela (Barrios and Massa, 1999; Pirela et al., 2004). The studies
conducted in these countries differed in three aspects: the use of Aaker’s methodology (1997), the
dimensions found, and the conclusions. In the study conducted in Mexico, Alvarez-Ortiz and Harris
(2002) found a dimension called Gender, which was more representative than that of Ruggedness and
contained only feminine and masculine traits. From this it appeared that Mexican consumers perceived
brands with masculine and feminine traits, a perception that represented a bipolar dimension rather than
the dimension Ruggedness. So in Mexico, the model consisted of Sincerity, Enthusiasm, Competence,
Sophistication, and Gender.

This study aims to develop an exploratory investigation of the dimensions of brand personality in Mexico
using the theoretical basis established in Aaker’s study (1997) of personality traits, since we found only
one study about brand personality in Mexico. Given that different brand personality dimensions have
been found in other countries, in the case of Mexico it was not expected to find exactly the same
dimensions as Aaker (1997) did in the United States and Alvarez-Ortiz and Harris (2202) did in Mexico,
because this study differs from the study conducted in Mexico in the methodology, brand selection,
sampling used, and characteristics of participants. It was expected to find more coincidence with the
dimensions originally proposed by Aaker than with those found in other countries because of the
geographic proximity of Mexico to the United States, the influence the United States has on Mexico, and
the characteristics of the sample (students with an upper-middle socioeconomic level who are accustomed
to buying U.S. products when they spend vacations in the United States). In addition, in Mexican culture
masculinity and femininity are still prominent characteristics and sex roles are still markedly accentuated
in some sectors. As Alvarez-Ortiz and Harris (2002) found in the study of brand personality in Mexico, in
this study it was expected that a dimension related to gender would also be found in this study as a result
of the macho culture in Mexico.

Thus, the following hypotheses were made:

H1: Brand personality in Mexico will be identified by at least five dimensions similar to those established
in other cultures. Moreover, the brand personality dimensions will be more similar to those that Aaker
originally proposed, compared with those found in other countries.

H2: At least one brand personality dimension will be related to gender (masculine and feminine traits).

METHODOLOGY

Brand Selection: Following the FCB Grid by Ratchford (1987) and Vaughn (1986), which allows
products to be classified as feel or think and as having high or low involvement, four product categories
were selected: (a) laptops as think products with high involvement; (b) shampoos as think products with
low involvement; (c) perfumes as feel products with high involvement; and (d) soft drinks as feel
products with low involvement. A total of 90 students completed a survey in which they were asked to
write the first three top-of-mind brands for these four product categories. Finally, using a combination of
top of mind and top of share, the 12 brands selected were the following: a) Laptops: Dell, HP, Apple; b)
Shampoos: Pantene, Herbal Essences, Sedal; c) Perfumes: Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Chanel; and d) Soft
drinks: Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite.

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Participants and Procedure

The research adopted a nonprobability convenience sampling. Participants were recruited from the
Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara, Mexico. An estimated 400 undergraduate students
participated from the classes that were selected as part of the study. They were given a questionnaire
during class time divided into two sessions: In the first session, half of the sample was given the section
of the personality scale for the six brands of think products, and in the second session, after the week of
rest, they completed the six brands of feel products. The other half of the sample began with the six
brands of feel products, followed by the week of rest and then the six brands of think products. However,
not all the students attended class on both days, so some only completed one of the two sessions. In the
end, 313 participants completed the questionnaire on the six brands of think products (48.6% women;
51.4% men; ages between 17 and 25, M= 20.44, SD= 1.76), and 320 completed the questionnaire on the
six brands of feel products (47.8% women; 52.2% men; M= 20.60 years, SD = 1.83).

Measures: Even though Aaker (1997) provides a brand personality scale, and there is a Spanish
(Castillian) brand personality scale (Aaker et al., 2001), these could not be assimilated into the Mexican
culture and language. Therefore, a rigorous scale-adjustment process was necessary. Consequently, the
original Brand Personality Index (BPI), which includes 42 items of brand personality traits developed by
Aaker (1997), was translated to the Spanish language, with modifications to some items for the Mexican
culture and language. A pilot study with 85 students was conducted to validate the Spanish version of the
Brand Personality Index created especially for this study. The questionnaire had 42 items of brand
personality traits and respondents had to assign a value from 1 (very unlikely) to 5 (very likely) to each
attribute. A principal component factor analysis with Varimax rotation procedures was used to modify or
rewrite the items, as necessary, before applying the scale to the definitive sample. After the statistical
analysis with the pretest study, 10 items were changed and the other 32 items remained the same.

RESULTS

Brand Personality Dimensions

For the validation of the brand personality scale, it was designed that each participant evaluated the
personality of the 12 brands in each of the 42 items that composed the questionnaire. This way the total of
the sample for the validation of this scale was made up of 3798 evaluations, which were used for the rest
of the statistical analyses. To extract the underlying brand personality dimensions, it was used exploratory
factor analysis (Principal component) with Varimax rotation. Without forcing the number of factors, a
factorial solution of seven factors was obtained: Success, Hipness/Vivacity, Sophistication, Sincerity,
Domesticity/Emotionality, Ruggedness, and Professionalism. As can be seen in Table 1, the indices for
all of the dimensions were quite high, with the exception of Ruggedness and Professionalism, which had
more moderate coefficients due to the fact that these dimensions consisted of only three items each.
Nevertheless, the alpha coefficients that were presented in the first five dimensions demonstrate that the
scale had a satisfactory internal consistency whose values oscillated between .75 and .91. The internal
consistency of the seven factors, evaluated by the alpha coefficient, was .95. The amount of variance of
the data explained by this solution was 60.3%.

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DISCUSSION

The principal objective of this study was to develop an exploratory investigation of the dimensions of
brand personality in Mexico. In function of these objectives, two hypotheses were made that were
reviewed and corroborated with the results found in this study. Hypotheses H1 and H2 were partially
confirmed. In hypothesis H1 it was hypothesized that brand personality in Mexico would be identified by
at least five dimensions similar to those established in other cultures, and that those would be more
similar to those that Aaker (1997) originally proposed, compared with those found in other countries.
Seven dimensions of brand personality were extracted in this study. Although the factor loading of the
brand personality traits in this sample differed from other samples and in particular from Aaker’s study
(1997) due to differences in culture and language, three of the brand personality dimensions were very
similar to Aaker’s findings (1997): Sincerity, Sophistication, and Ruggedness. Nevertheless, other
dimensions that were found in this study, such as Success, Hipness/Vivacity, Domesticity/Emotionality,
and Professionalism, were found to carry more specific cultural meanings. Although the dimension
Competence remained constant in all of the countries investigated, in this study three of the personality
traits (hardworking, technical, and corporate) that made up Competence in Aaker’s study (1997) formed a
new dimension that it was called Professionalism. Additionally, the personality traits that made up the
dimension Success in this study coincided with personality traits that were part of the dimensions
Excitement and Competence in Aaker’s study (1997). For Hipness/Vivacity, personality traits were found
that coincided with four of the traits that made up the dimension Excitement in Aaker’s study (1997).
Thus the dimensions Success and Hipness/Vivacity could correspond with Aaker’s dimension
Excitement. Finally, the dimension Domesticity/Emotionality was made up of three personality traits that
correspond with Aaker’s Sincerity dimension and one trait each from Aaker’s Sophistication and
Ruggedness dimensions. These results imply that the brand personality dimensions that were found in this
study were more similar to those that Aaker originally proposed, compared with the dimensions found in
other countries. With respect to hypothesis H2 it was expected that at least one brand personality
dimension would be related to gender (masculine and feminine traits) as was true for the study conducted
in Mexico (Alvarez-Ortiz and Harris, 2002), in which they found a dimension with masculine and
feminine traits, which they called Gender. However, contrary to expectations, in this study the feminine
and masculine traits were not as accentuated in the personality dimensions.

The results showed that the brands were not perceived only as traditionally masculine or feminine, but
instead I intuit that there are different types of masculinity and femininity. The consumers in this study
did not perceive the brands as simply feminine, but instead perceived two different types of femininity.
One type is the woman who represents elegance and glamour, and is upper-class, Western, and feminine.
On the other hand, they perceived some brands with a different type of femininity: the woman who is
affectionate, friendly, provincial, emotional, and family-oriented, or in other words, the woman who in
Mexico is called a ranchera (small-town, country bumpkin) and who is represented by a large part of the
population, perhaps the type of woman who represents a socioeconomic class that is uneducated or from
past generations such as those of their mothers or grandmothers. As for masculinity, it was perceived as
rugged and strong, represented by the personality dimension Ruggedness. And perhaps in this dimension
we can glimpse another type of man, the man who is professional, corporate, and hardworking, and who
has technical knowledge. Without a doubt, although gender will always form part of the personalities of
brands, and especially in Latin American cultures, in which gender roles are still very traditional, the
meaning associated with brands differs depending on the samples used, the types of products, and the
historical moment.

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Table 1: Results of factor analysis: Brand personality

Factor Name Items
Factor
Loading M (SD)
Eigen-
value % of variation
Cronbach’s
Alpha
1. Success
Leader
Successful
Original
Up-to-date
Imaginative
Secure
Unique
Trendy
Real
Daring
Independent
Exciting
.672
.654
.606
.584
.578
.513
.494
.474
.44
.437
.43
.422
3.69 (1.15)
3.97 (1.04)
3.68 (1.15)
3.86 (1.09)
3.66 (1.12)
3.69 (1.13)
3.50 (1.21)
3.79 (1.13)
3.73 (1.11)
3.51 (1.19)
3.56 (1.18)
3.36 (1.17)
15.43 36.73 .91
2. Hipness/Vivacity
Young
Spirited
Cool
Cheerful
Charming
.755
.645
.626
.576
.494
3.77 (1.16)
3.71 1.10)
3.77 (1.13)
3.67 (1.13)
3.68 (1.14)
2.76 6.56 .85
Confident
Contemporary
.478
.446
3.97 (1.04)
3.67 (1.10)
3. Sophistication
Good looking
Glamorous
Upper-class
Western
Feminine
.773
.747
.721
.513
.477
3.47 (1.27)
3.40 (1.29)
3.49 (1.27)
3.77 (1.16)
3.29 (1.36)
2.15 5.12 .80
4. Sincerity
Honest
Sincere
Reliable
Wholesome
Down-to-earth
Intelligent
.696
.658
.627
.596
.548
.513
3.47 (1.18)
3.47 (1.12)
3.68 (1.15)
3.35 (1.30)
3.48 (1.15)
3.71 (1.10)
1.65 3.92 .85
5. Domesticity/
Emotionality
Family-oriented
Smooth
Friendly
Small-town
Sentimental
Outdoorsy
.665
.643
.547
.536
.493
.438
3.03 (1.33)
3.32 (1.18)
3.55 (1.14)
2.50 (1.26)
3.43 (1.17)
3.15 (1.35)
1.20 2.86 .75
6. Ruggedness
Masculine
Rugged
Tough
.76
.746
.456
2.89 (1.37)
2.60 (1.28)
3.51 (1.18)
1.14 2.71 .63
7. Professionalism
Technical
Corporate
Hardworking
.69
.672
.561
3.13 (1.23)
3.43 (1.30)
3.35 (1.20)
1.03 2.46 .55

Theoretical Contributions And Managerial Implications

Although the “Big Five” model of human personality (Goldberg, 1990; McCrae and John, 1992) has been
advocated as a basic paradigm for personality description and assessment, the utility and
comprehensiveness of the “Big Five” has recently been challenged (see Benet and Waller, 1995; Block,
1995). Recent research has established the structural robustness of the “Big Seven” model of human
personality across samples and targets (Benet and Waller, 1997) and demonstrated that the “Big Seven”
were cross-culturally and cross-linguistically robust personality dimensions that are were subsumable by
the “Big Five.” This further evidence for the “Big Seven” factor model suggests that we probably need to

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reinterpret the “Big Five” brand dimensions toward a “Big Seven” model. The five dimensions of
Aaker’s (1997) original model cannot be generalized to other cultures, as Aaker et al. (2001) had already
proposed, since the different brand personality dimensions reflect the meaning that us given to them
through marketing strategies that may be different from the values of each culture. However, the scale
created to measure brand personality is sufficiently reliable, valid, and robust to be used to obtain
consistent results for each type of target population and to select different products and brands. The
results found in this study also represent important implications in the areas of marketing and
management, since they permit us to conclude that it is valid to use a more direct approximation of the
original methodology of Aaker (1997) by using a scale that measures brand personality.

Limitations And Future Research

This study has limitations; the first concerns the sample. Mexico is a country with many public and
private universities, and thus future research should compare these findings with personality taxonomies
from other institutions or Mexican states. Moreover, future research is needed to determine whether brand
personality is different in various geographical and cultural contexts. As a final point, it would be
important to study the process by which a brand personality is built, the most important factors in forming
a personality impression, and the factors that allow the stability over time of that personality.
In conclusion, the results of the study suggest that a Mexican taxonomy of personality trait terms should
include at least seven higher-order personality dimensions, and that future research is needed to verify the
stability of brand personality dimensions for different brands and with other Mexican samples. Also, the
possibility of using local Mexican brands and product categories could be helpful in improving the
generalizability of results.

REFERENCES

Aaker, David A. (1996). Building Strong Brands. New York, USA: The Free Press.
Aaker, Jennifer L (1997) “Dimensions of Brand Personality,” Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 34(3),
August, p. 347-356.

Aaker, J.L., Benet-Martínez V. & Garolera, J (2001) “Consumption Symbols as Carriers of Culture: A
Study of Japanese and Spanish Brand Personality Constructs,” Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, vol. 81(3), September, p. 492-508.

Alvarez-Ortiz, C. & Harris, J (2002) “Assessing the Structure of Brand Personality among Global and
Local Mexican Brands,” proceedings of the American Marketing Association Summer Educators’
Conference, American Marketing Association, San Diego, CA, USA.

Barrios, M. & Massa, C (1999) “Dimensiones de la Personalidad de la Marca en Venezuela,” Trabajo de
Grado, sin publicar, IESA.

Belk, Russell (1988) “Possessions and the Extended Self,” The Journal of Consumer Research, vol.
15(2), September, p. 139-168.

Benet, V. & Waller, N (1997) “Further Evidence for the Cross-cultural Generality of the Big Seven
Factor Model: Indigenous and Imported Spanish Personality Constructs,” Journal of Personality, vol.
65(3), September, p. 567-598.

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Benet, V. & Waller, N (1995) “The Big Seven Factor Model of Personality Description: Evidence for Its
Cross-cultural Generality in a Spanish Sample,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 69(4),
October, p. 701-718.

Block, Jack (1995) “A Contrarian View of the Five-factor Approach to Personality Description,”
Psychological Bulletin, vol. 117(2), March, p. 187-215.

Fournier, Susan (1998) “Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer
Research,” The Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 24(4), March, p. 343-373.
Goldberg, Lewis (1990) “An Alternative “Description of Personality”: The Big-Five Factor Structure,”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 59(6), December, p. 1216-1229.

Koebel, M. & Ladwein, R (1999) “L’échelle de Personalité de la Marque de Jennifer Aaker: Adaptation
au Contexte Français,” Décisions Marketing, 18, p. 81-88.

Lee, M.Y. & Oh, K.Y (2006) “An exploratory study on brand personality: the case of a traditional casual
brand in Korea,” Journal of Fashion Business, vol. 10(6), December, p. 79-90.

McCrae, R. & John, O (1992) “Introduction to the Five-factor Model and its Applications,” Journal of
Personality, vol. 60(2), June, p. 175-215.

Pirela, J.L, Villavicencio, H. & Saavedra, J.L (2004) “Dimensiones de Personalidad de Marca. Estudio
Exploratorio en Venezuela,” Revista de Ciencias Sociales, vol. 10(3), September/December, p. 430-440.
Ratchford, Brian (1987) “New Insights About FCB Grid,” Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 27(4),
August/September, p. 24-38.

Supphellen, M. & Gronhaug, K (2003) “Building Foreign Brand Personalities in Russia: The Moderating
Effect of Consumer Ethnocentrism,” International Journal of Advertising, vol. 22(2), May, p. 203-226.

Vaughn, Richard (1986) “How Advertising Works: A Planning Model Revisited,” Journal of Advertising,
vol. 26(1), February/March, p. 57-66.

BIOGRAPHY

María de la Paz Toldos Romero earned a Doctorate of Psychology from the Complutense University of
Madrid (Spain) in 2002, and in 2009 completed a Post Doctorate degree in Marketing at Tulane
University in New Orleans (USA). She has worked as a professor and researcher at the University of
Valencia and the University of Alcalá de Henares (Spain). Currently professor at the Tecnológico de
Monterrey and Level 1 of the National System of Researchers of the National Council of Science and
Technology. She can be reached at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara, Av. General Ramón
Corona 2514, Col. Nuevo Mexico, 45201 Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, mariadelapaz.toldos@itesm.mx

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THE CRISIS OF TEACHER TURNOVER. A THREAT TO
PUBLIC SERVICE STABILITY
PM Mampane, Tshwane University of Technology

ABSTRACT
In spite of numerous strategic interventions by the department of basic education to retain educators in
the profession, the department continues to bleed with a significantly high number of educators leaving
the profession. This attrition of skilled personnel has had an attendant adverse effect on the capacity of
the state to realize its millennium development goals which amongst others is to achieve universal
primary education by 2014. A key focus of the South African government strategic objective is to ensure
that the country has skilled expertise in various fields i.e. commerce, education, industry, science and
technology etc. This can only be possible in an environment of sustained investment in the area of human
capital development by the government.

In the arena of education which is the main focus and thrust of this article, a significant contribution of
the country’s fiscus has been directed to the area of teacher development. Despite these gargantuan
efforts on the part of government, there continues to be a brain drain with a high turnover of educators
leaving the profession. A tacit indication of this massive investment in education is the fact that of the of
the total of R165 billion budgeted for education, R2.7 billion has been earmarked for teacher
development which clearly points out to the strategic importance of leadership and human capital
development as critical areas of the broad human resource development goals of the state.

KEYWORDS: Crisis, South Africa, Teacher Turnover, Training.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The following research objectives will be explored in the study
 To provide a theoretical overview of management and leadership in education.
 To undertake a scientific analysis of the reasons behind the high turnover of educators from the
profession.
 To provide recommendations with a view to arresting the malaise and making the profession an
attractive one to young people.
INTRODUCTION

Research has revealed that institutions in South Africa periodically assess their employee’s needs and
levels of needs satisfaction. They follow a “one size fits all” approach (Robbins, Odendaal, Roodt,
2003:131). The attendant effect of this approach has had the invariable effect of demotivating and
demoralizing employees to an extent that productivity levels are negatively affected. One of the famed
points of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory refers to the inextricable relationship between high and low
order needs. This means that as much as employees can achieve self actualization, it is equally pertinent
that low order needs pertaining to remuneration, job satisfaction be satisfactorily addressed.
The existing literature on leadership, power and influence processes; and provides a theoretical basis for
understanding the leadership process in formal organizations (Jacobs, 1970:1). Literature supporting
leadership and effective leadership in particular is ever increasing. This implies that the success of any
institution or of any group within an institution depends largely on the quality of its leadership. In general

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therefore, it is critically important that individuals are positively influenced towards the achievement of
goals for the success of the institution. The relevance of this statement lies in the fact that to achieve the
goals of quality education in South Africa, it is a sine qua non that educators be treated as professionals,
with dignity and respect, which is hardly the norm currently.

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION

In the South African context formal education consist of a total of 12 years of schooling divided into 7
years of primary schooling and five years of secondary schooling. The national department of Basic
Education is charged with the legislative responsibility to manage education at this level. The department
is led by the minister flanked by her deputy, the director general and his deputies and is replicated almost
the same in the nine provinces of the Republic of South Africa.

Provinces are themselves divided into districts of education which like Gauteng province can manage up
to 2424 ordinary schools. Districts can in turn be divided into 12 like in the case of Gauteng province.
However this number will vary based on the unique demographics of each province. The districts are
given the responsibility to manage the number of schools in their respective area of jurisdiction
(Department of Education, 2011). A cluster of about 5 schools will be led by an academic support officer
referred to as Institutional Development Support Officer (IDSO) whose responsibility is to provide both
strategic leadership and management support to the principal and his/her School Management Team
(SMT).
Teachers teach and work in schools that are usually administered by managers, who are known as
principals or headmasters. The conditions of teachers’ working life is influenced to a greater extent by
the administration and leadership provided by principals, and it is widely assumed that school leadership
directly influences the effectiveness of teachers and the achievement of outcomes of learners (Harlinger
and Murphy, 1986) in (OECD, 2001:1). Principals are supposed to be dynamic and organic individuals
able to motivate teachers to ensure that the goal of quality education and leadership is provided to learners
and their immediate communities. The objective conditions however demonstrate that a number of these
managers are found wanting in so far as the provision of dynamic leadership is concerned.

The Mathew Goniwe School of Leadership has been made available for principals to undertake
leadership and management training. This institution provides strategic management training to school
managers. Strategic management and planning requires a radical shift for schools that previously focused
on short term tasks and adopted a culture of dependency. The reality is that despite these interventions,
there is limited evidence of a strategic approach to school management (Moloi, 2008: 466).

The overview outlined in the preceding paragraphs is meant to provide a contextual analysis of the
situation prevalent in the schools and its attendant contribution to the problem of teachers leaving the
profession in droves. Hall, Altman, Nkomo et al (2005) postulate that the process to change one’s job is
preceded by a process of job evaluation and determining alternative employment opportunities.
Dissatisfaction with the workplace can be a very strong incentive to seek alternative employment
opportunities elsewhere. This implies therefore that leaving one’s place of employment is not a decision
to be taken lightly particularly in the context of the tough economic conditions in South Africa and
globally especially in the past two years of the global economic meltdown. However as will be outlined
below South Africa continues to experience a situation where teachers are resigning from the profession.
The following factors although not exhaustive are amongst some of the fundamental reasons behind the
high turnover rate of teachers from the profession.

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EDUCATOR WORKLOAD

The advent of the new curriculum of education the Outcomes Based Education and the National
Curriculum Statement (NSC) has meant largely the erosion of instructional time into the programmes of
teachers and schools (Chisholm, Hoadley, Kivulu et al. 2005). Teachers are now burdened with additional
administrative responsibilities that were in the past the preserve of clerks employed by schools. These
administrative responsibilities amongst others include the capturing of learner marks (Continuous
Assessment /CASS), filling of learner portfolios without the attendant provision of office space, preparing
learner reports, compiling data on learners progress on a quarterly basis which form the basis of the
progress reports, preparing reports on learners social and family background, pastoral duties, professional
duties like meetings, workshops, seminars, conferences and countless other responsibilities as enshrined
in Chapter 3. 3.1 (b) of the Employment of Educators Act (Act 76 of 1998).

Over and above this, teachers are supposed to provide leadership in number of committees which in
certain schools can number up to 15. This committees, range from Learners-Teacher Support Material,
Sports, Fundraising, Exam etc. These committees take an inordinate amount of the time teachers are
supposed to spend in the classroom. For instance the declaration by government that a majority of schools
in the townships and rural areas to become “no fee schools” as reflected in the Education Laws
Amendment Act (Act 24 of 2005) has placed the management of these schools with an additional
responsibility to source their own funds for other activities other than those that have to do with teaching
and learning. This is because the Act only makes provision for the funding of activities related to teaching
and learning i.e. learner teacher support material and infrastructural development. This then requires
teachers, parents and learners to utilize precious teaching time to organize activities like beauty pageants
in order to supplement the meager funds the school has in its kitty.

The amount of time that teachers also spent on planning for lessons is disproportionate to the actual
period that they should have in presenting lessons in class. Heads of department occasionally check
teachers files with the main focus being whether the teachers has daily, weekly and quarterly lesson
preparation forms for his/her subjects. On average teachers spent 43-46% of their time in the classroom
teaching whilst national policy expect teachers to spend between 64% -79% of the 35 hour weekly
schooling period, on actual teaching ( Employment of Educators Act, 1998). Mention must also be made
that in some schools hardly any teaching takes place after lunch on Fridays and this trend is also reflected
on pay days when educators receive their salaries. The situation is much more acute in rural areas where
banks are situated far from places of work, forcing educators to leave work early on month end, navigate
treacherous roads in an effort to be the first access financial institutions like banks.

Most educators end up feeling stressed because of their inability to cope with this workload and studies
have revealed that a significant number of teachers are absent from work as a result of psychological
factors, fatigue, physical illness necessitated by being overworked. Yet despite research from previous
research studies (Buwalda & Kok, 1991; Mwamwenda, Monyooe & Glencross, 1997) in Milner and
Khoza (2008, 4) reveal that teachers stress levels in South Africa is extremely high and little appears to be
done in the education sector to combat or ameliorate the high levels of stress that teachers experience.
This coupled with the fact that there is still a significant number of vacant posts in the profession which
clearly points out to the need for the hiring of more teachers means the problem of heavy workload will
continue unabated in the foreseeable future. It is within this context that a lot of educators are resigning
from the profession for other perceived greener pastures.

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TEACHER-PUPIL RATIO

One of the critical factors leading to increased workload is the historical inequality in pupil teacher ratios.
At one stage it was reported that Kwazulu Natal Provincial Department of Education had the highest
teacher-pupil ration at 38:1(Jarvis.1999). Personal experience has been that in certain classes a teacher
would have up to 51 learners in class. International comparative studies were able to reveal that the trend
in some countries like the UK is 18:1 with countries in North Africa standing at an average of 19:1
(Huebler, 2008: 1). School Governing Bodies (SGB’s) at historically advantaged institutions are able to
use their massive budgets to employ additional teachers to alleviate the problem of high teacher-pupil
ratios. Sadly the same privilege cannot be enjoyed by schools in historically disadvantaged area owing to
lack of resources.
The goal of universal education for all young people is regrettably being pursued at the expense of
teachers whose labour is being exploited with little regard to their well being. The end result is teacher’s
inability to provide individual attention to slow learners with the consequent effect of adversely affecting
the provision of quality education, which is needed if South Africa is to be a competitive player in the
global world of commerce, technology culture, international political institutions and the economy.

LOST PRESTIGE

Most studies undertaken by researchers, casual glance at matters of education and just general observation
reveals that the prestige that the teaching profession had in the period before 1990 has largely
degenerated. Kayuni and Tambulasi (2007: 91) in one of their papers point out that in the 1940’s-70s
teachers were seen as bringers of progress, modernity and development and were rewarded and respected
accordingly. The profession which produced educators of note like the esteemed Zephania Mothopeng,
Khambule et al has now become the last resort amongst students when they enroll at institutions of higher
learning. Teachers were the considered the crème de la crème of society. Unfortunately the professional
prestige associated with teaching has been declining at an alarming rate. If you can randomly enter any
classroom in a South African school and ask learners their careers of choice, the likelihood of finding a
learner interested in pursuing teaching as a profession is minimal

In an effort to arrest this malaise, The Department of Basic Education has made available the Funza
Lushaka Bursary Scheme to entice students to enroll for the teaching program at universities in South
Africa. Recipients of the bursary are required to teach at a school for the same number of years that they
receive the bursary (Department of Basic Education, 2008). Preliminary studies are able to reveal that a
number of students apply for the bursary scheme not because of the attraction to teaching as a profession
but rather as a result of the broader socio economic situation in South Africa. This implies to avoid the
likelihood of sitting at home without any prospects of employment “enrolling for teaching is better than
nothing”; “At least you are guaranteed that you will find work after completion of your studies “ which is
a popular mantra amongst young South Africans. The same cannot be said about millions of young South
African who are unemployed and with no foreseeable prospects of getting money to enroll at institutions
of learning. Extensive studies are however yet to be conducted to ascertain as to what extent has this
intervention assisted in restoring the attractiveness of the profession to young people.

The general decay in the moral fiber of society has to a larger extent also contributed to the degeneration
of the teaching profession invariably contributing to many educators leaving the profession. The
profession is generally perceived to have gone to the dogs. Learners at schools are generally disobedient,

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ill disciplined and have no regard for authority. Bullying is only regarded as a Grade 2 offence in the
Code of Conduct (2007:16) drafted by the Department of Education. This means that unlike Grade 4
offences which can be reported to the SAPS, bullying is largely considered a minor offence even though
it’s effect in the main have also contributed to lady teachers fearing for their safety at schools. The
promulgation of legislation outlawing corporal punishment has left teachers powerless to deal
authoritatively with growing acts of intimidation associated with bullies in schools. The principle of in
loco parentis is no longer the cornerstone of teacher-learner relations in schools owing to the fact that
learners have all the rights and power to determine the school agenda as they deem it fit.

Nonexistent security in schools has left teachers vulnerable to gun toting learners and their friends in
surrounding communities who are able to enter school yards at will and terrorize teachers. Instances of
learners’ physically attacking teachers have been widely reported in the media that they are no longer
newsworthy. Teachers have become numb and are used to these phenomena. The South African Police
Service conducts regular searches at schools and illegal weapons ranging from guns, dagga, knifes and
other drugs have been found on learners (Looklocal newspaper, 2011).

TEACHER REMUNERATION

Beardwell and Holden (2001:514) explained that the salary of a particular job reflected beliefs about the
worth of jobs based on scope, level of responsibility, skill requirements, objectionableness of duties,
commercial worth and strategic relevance. Over and above that Bull (2005,22) in Begley & Czaika, 1993;
Chiu, 2000;Tharenou,1993) postulate that job satisfaction is an important area of research because it is
correlated to enhanced job performance, positive work values, high levels of employee motivation and
lower levels of absenteeism, turnover and burnout. As a result of the trifle remuneration enjoyed by
teachers in the public sector, organizational performance has been seriously compromised. This goes
against the grain of the provisions of the White Paper on the Transformation of Public Service Delivery
(1997) (Batho Pele) in particular section3 (8) value for money which require public servants to provide
services economically, effectively and efficiently. This principle cannot be achieved on the kind of
salaries teachers receive.

The Cape Professional Teachers Association an employee body that looks after the conditions of service
of educators argued that up to twenty thousand teachers leave the profession every year (IOL News,
2008). In a reply to a parliamentary question, the Minister of Basic Education indicated that “between
2005 and 2008 24 750 teachers left the profession”. She further said that “South Africa is only producing
8000 teachers annually when about 20 000 teacher graduates are needed” (IOL News, 2010). A
significant number of these teachers are poached by overseas countries with promises of better conditions
of service and in particular better salaries. Of concern is the fact that South Africa is losing the best
teachers in scarce skills areas like mathematics, science, technology and languages. One teacher Dudley
Stuurman who is qualified to teach mathematics up to Grade 12 pointed out that he is leaving the country
to go and teach in Bahrain in view of the fact that “the R6500.00 I get after tax is not enough for me to
pay for a bond and a car “. Teachers complain bitterly that on the salary that they receive it is extremely
difficult for them to qualify for bonded houses neither do they qualify to get the free RDP houses
government provides to the needy.

Recruitment agencies have reported that they receive up to 250 calls a month from teachers interested in
being placed on their waiting list for possible opportunities to teach abroad where they are likely to
receive up to three times the salary they receive in South Africa (Footsprint Recruiting, 2009). The

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Department of Basic Education is now recruiting educators at countries such as Zimbabwe and Cuba
particularly in areas such as mathematics, science and technology. This practice defeats the country’s
skills development agenda given the fact that after the contracted period of work the expatriate teachers
will simply pack their bags and leave for their homelands without having transferred the requisite skills to
local teachers. It is therefore not surprising to see a significant number of educators leaving the profession
for better job avenues elsewhere.

The Department of Basic Education has introduced a performance based reward system called the
Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) in an effort to enhance quality assurance in the teaching
fraternity. The public was informed that “IQMS signals a new approach to performance evaluation in the
South African school system” (Report on the IQMS, 2006). Teachers were to be remunerated in
accordance with their performance in and outside of the classroom. However for teachers to be adequately
rewarded for their performance there is a need for the evaluation process to be conducted by properly
trained managers.

The reality in South Africa is that the Development Support Groups (DSG’s) consisting of the teachers’
immediate supervisor the Head of Department (HoD) and a peer educator have been found wanting with
regard to capacity in implementing the basic principles of the IQMS (SADTU-The Voice, 2009). The end
result has been that almost all educators in the system have been receiving the 1% once off annual amount
based on “performance” irrespective of whether the teachers has been providing a quality service or not.
The fact is matric results in South Africa have been progressively declining in quality over the years
coupled with the poor performance of learners in mathematics and science, and in international literacy
assessments ( compared with their peers internationally ( City Press, 3 July 2011). This is indicative of
amongst others the general discontent of educators with their condition of service and in particular the
poor salaries they receive.

LABOUR DISPUTES

One of the fundamental reasons behind the massive migratory movement of teachers from the professions
has been demonstrated over the years by the high number of teacher’s strikes in particular over poor
salaries. Haffajee and Bisseker (2002; 30-32) point out that teacher’s widespread demonstrations,
picketing and strikes has been the order the order of the day in South Africa. Almost every year teachers
in the public service engage in organized and wildcat strikes over the conditions that they find themselves
in. More often than not the strikes end not because teachers are happy with the outcome of salary
negotiations, but rather because they feel the pinch of the salary deductions that are to be effected on their
salaries in line with the principle of no work, no pay as enshrined in the Labour Relation Act (Act 66 of
1995).
The teacher’s strikes have become an annual ritual with the issue of salaries always at the centre of the
dispute between the employer and the employees. In an effort to provide their kids with quality education,
many parents are taking their children out of the public schooling system and enrolling them in private
schools despite the exorbitant monies they have to pay. This signals a motion of no confidence in the
public schooling sector largely as a result of the unending teachers strikes bedeviling this sector.
Bernstein (2010) argues that “these strikes have highlighted the government’s failure to improve
apartheid era education levels that have South Africa as one of the most unequal societies in the world. A
doubling of the education budget to R165.1 billion ($22.4 billion) in the last five years has failed to
reverse a decline in the number of educators leaving the profession.

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DEPLOYMENT & REDEPLOYMENT

In allocating staff to classes, account should be taken of the qualities, experience and expertise of teachers
and matching these to curricular objectives. Where applicable, the redeployment of teachers should be
carefully planned and regularly reviewed to good effect (IIEP, 2009). With the advent of democracy it
was hoped that teachers in historically advantaged schools would be willing to contribute to the
democratic project by offering to be redeployed to historically disadvantaged schools with high intake of
learners and a poor resource base. The intention was also to achieve a reasonable ratio of one teacher to
30-35 learners. However only a negligible number of teachers took up this offer. This has left a bitter taste
for predominantly African (black) teachers who have not seen the fruits of integration as envisaged by the
democratic project.

Many disillusioned teachers left the profession and opted to take severance packages. Included in this
group were some of the most experienced members of the profession. With the subsequent exodus of
teachers from the profession, government was compelled to rehire the retired teachers and to lure them
back meant the negotiation of compromises which included offering these teachers senior management
positions in the schools (Chudnovsky, 1998:1). This move generated a great deal of bitterness amongst
teachers left in the profession and led to subsequent resignations owing to the perception that they were
not taken seriously as working professionals.

Teacher disillusionment has also been caused by what is referred to as cadre deployment, where members
of the ruling party get preference over promotional posts. While other teachers with the requisite skills,
experience and qualification may spend their entire career as Post level one educators (entry level),
members and leaders of the South African Democratic Union (SADTU) which is an alliance partner to the
ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) get preferential treatment when it comes to
promotional posts in the public sector. This occurs irrespective of whether these members are qualified or
not (News24.2011) A lot of teachers and, civil society and members of the public have bemoaned this
practice as part of the spoils system the ruling party is renowned for. The practice has had an attendant
effect of demoralizing and demotivating committed and competent teachers who are ultimately lost to the
profession because they cannot stomach this blatant system of patronage and being overlooked despite
their competency.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The legacy of apartheid has left the profession in dire straits. Hopes that the advent of democracy will tilt
the scale in favour of the professionalization of the teaching profession have not materialized as expected.
The massive financial injection in education has not been met with the concomitant investment in the
teacher as one of the most fundamental constituent part of the education milieu. In order to halt the high
teacher turnover, the following recommendations can arrest this negative trend:

 Decisive well thought measures over and above the Fundza Lushaka bursary scheme need to be
commissioned to market the attraction of teaching as a profession.
 Competitive remuneration packages have to be offered to teachers almost equal to those offered
by independent schools to halt this migration.
 The professionalization of teaching not as a theory but rather in practical terms.

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 Incentives for teachers who continuously produce good results is necessary in order to motivate
and inspire them to remain in the profession.
 Massive investment in infrastructure development seeing that one of the causal factors of high
pupil-teacher ratio is the shortage of schools particularly in rural areas.
 Enforcement of strict disciplinary measures on learners will restore the confidence of teachers in
the profession and make them buoyant to go an extra mile in providing quality education to
learners.
 To seriously invest in the area of teacher training and development unlike the current trend where
teachers are trained in the implementation of a new curriculum in 5 days and be expected to be
competent.
 Reopening of teacher training colleges to cope with the increased demand for teachers.
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City Press, 3 July 2011. Better off than Education, Report on results of Annual National Assessment Test.
Chisolm L, Hoadley U, wa Kivulu M, Brookes H, Prinsloo C, Kgobe A, Mosia D, Narsee H and Rule S.
2005. Educator Workload in South Africa. Pretoria: HSRC Press.

Chudnocsky, D. 1998. The big bungle, Teacher Redeployment in South Africa, Africa Files:Vol 13 (2).
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2011].

Department of Education, 2008. Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme, Pretoria: Government Printers.
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Haffajee, F. and Bisseker , C. (2002:31). Teachers give revised version the Star of approval, Financial
Mail, 2009.

Hall, E, Altman, M, Nkomo N, Peltzer K, and Zuma K, 2005. The Potential Attrition in Education: The
Impact of Job Satisfaction, Morale, Workload and HIV & AIDS. Pretoria: HSRC Press.

Huebler, F. 2008. Pupil Teacher in Secondary Schools, International Education Statistics.
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2011].

IOL News, 2008. Teacher Exodus, [Web:] www.iol.co.za/south-africa/teacher-exodus-1.411686 [Date of
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IOL News, 2010. Crisis looms as teachers quit in droves. [Web:] www.iol.co.za/news/…crisis-looms-as-
teachers-quit-in-droves-1.468… [Date of Access: 16 October 2011].

Jacobs, T.O. 1970. Leadership and Exchange in Formal Organizations, Virginia: HumRRO.

Jarvis, M. 1999. Teacher- Pupil Ratios, Report to Kwazulu Natal Portfolio Committee on Education.

Kayuni, H. & Tambulasi, R. 2007. Teacher Turnover in Malawi’s Ministry of Education: Reality and
Challenges, International Education Journal. Vol 8 (1) 89-99.

Look Local Newspaper. 22 August 2011 [Web:] www.looklocal.co.za/…/en/…/lenasia-news-
general?…school… [Date of Access: 10 November 2011].

Milner, K. and Khoza, H. 2008.A comparison of teachers stress and school climate across schools South
African Journal of Education, Vol 28:155-173.

Moloi, K. 2008. An overview of Education Management in South Africa, South African Journal of
Educatio, Vol 27(3) 463-476.

News24, 2011. Mantashe defends ANC cadre deployment, [Web:] www.news24.com/Tag/Copanies/sadtu
[Date of Access: 17 November 2011].

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2008. Improving School Leadership,
Edited by Point, B, Nusche, D and Hopkins D (eds).

Robbins, S.P, Odendaal, A. and Roodt, G. 2003. Organizational Behaviour: Global and Southern African
Perspectives, Pretoria: Maskew Miller Longman.

South Africa, 2007. Educators Laws Amendment Act, Act 31 of 2007. Pretoria: Government Printers.

South Africa, 1998. Employment of Educators Act, Act 76 of 1998. Pretoria: Government Printers.

South Africa, 1998. General Notice, Notice776 of 1998, Pretoria: Government Printers.
South Africa, 1995. Labour Relations Act, Act 66 of 1995, Pretoria: Government Printers.

South Africa, 1997. White Paper on Public Service Delivery, General Notice, Notice 1459 of 1997,
Pretoria: Government Printers.

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Pretoria: Government Printer.

The Voice -South African Democratic Teachers Union, (SADTU). 2009. August. [Newsletter].

BIOGRAPHY

PM Mampane is Lecturer: Department of Public Management, Tshwane University of Technology,
Prvate Bag X680, Pretoria 0001

http://www.iol.co.za/news/…crisis-looms-as-teachers-quit-in-droves-1.468

http://www.iol.co.za/news/…crisis-looms-as-teachers-quit-in-droves-1.468

http://www.looklocal.co.za/…/en/…/lenasia-news-general?…school

http://www.looklocal.co.za/…/en/…/lenasia-news-general?…school

http://www.news24.com/Tag/Copanies/sadtu

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Tel (012) 382 9162 Fax: (012) 382 9042 Email: MampanePM@tut.ac.za

THE IMPACT OF MECHANICAL GUIDANCE AND
JUSTIFICATION REQUIREMENT ON JUDGMENT OF
AUDITORS OF DIFFERENT RANKS IN MATERIALITY
DETERMINATION
Juthathip Audsabumrungrat, Chulalongkorn University
Sompong Pornupatham, Chulalongkorn University

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the impact of providing mechanical guidance and justification requirement on
decision making of audit managers and audit seniors of Big N firms in planning materiality
determination. This paper fills the gap by examining materiality decision in the planning stage as
previous research papers have focused mostly either on materiality decision at later auditing stages or on
materiality decision on accounting issue and accounting restatement. Using an experimental
methodology, we find that first the mechanical guidance could limit attention of auditors of both ranks
and thus weaken their risk awareness. Second, justification requirement could increase cognitive effort of
audit managers but could not significantly influence audit seniors. Finally, we do not find the interaction
effect of mechanical guidance and justification on both audit managers and audit seniors. This paper
provides useful implications for standard setters, regulators as well as financial practitioners by shedding
light on the limitation of providing mechanical guidance in planning materiality determination and
emphasizing the benefits of justification requirement, which likely depend upon either the familiarity with
the justification task or auditors’ roles or both.

KEYWORDS: guidance for materiality, justification requirement, audit planning

INTRODUCTION

Following the collapse of Enron, a greater number of public users of audited financial statements have
questioned the audit materiality of the financial reports, which in turn erodes the creditability of the
financial statements. Materiality is viewed as an excuse for auditors to avoid litigation. Determining
overall materiality or materiality for planning is important for auditors because it affects the whole
auditing process. Big audit firms have provided guidance for setting materiality levels, such as certain
percentages of earnings before taxes, which we call mechanical guidance hereafter. But one large audit
firm in Thailand ceases providing mechanical guidance for materiality determination this year. Since
types of decision aids or guidelines have differing impacts on judgment performance (Asare and Wright,
2004), this paper investigates the impact of providing mechanical guidance on auditors’ judgment on
planning materiality determination. Justification is found to increase auditors’ judgment performance
(Ashton, 1992; Wheeler and Arunachalam, 2008). This paper examines the main effect of justification
requirement on auditors’ planning of materiality determination. Besides the environmental factors, this
paper also studies a personal factor captured by professional rank.

This paper would fill the gap by examining materiality decision in the planning stage as previous research
papers have focused mostly either on materiality decision at later auditing stages, such as recording or

mailto:MampanePM@tut.ac.za

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waiving audit differences (Hermanson, 1997; Braun, 2001; Esters and Reames, 1988; Morris and Nichols,
1988; Carpenter et al., 1994; Ng and Tan, 2007) or on materiality decision on accounting issue (Carpenter
and Dirsmith, 1992) and accounting restatement (Chen et al., 2008). In addition, this paper would provide
some insights for standards setting bodies and practitioners what types of materiality guidance should be
provided to auditors as it presents the direct effects of both provided mechanical rule and justification.
The next section discusses hypotheses development followed by the research methodology. The
experimental result section discusses the impact of mechanical guidance and justification requirement on
auditors’ judgment. The last section concludes this research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Even though the materiality has become increasingly important for auditors, it is difficult to find the
optimum materiality level which might be at different levels for different persons. The standard setters
and regulators have put more effort into issuing the materiality guidance to accommodate auditors’
decision making. Some large audit firms have internally developed mechanic guidance and imparted it to
their audit staff members to assist the latter when planning materiality so as to raise internal consistency
in audit firms. But one big audit firm in Thailand starts using only materiality framework instead of
providing mechanical guidance this year. This practice indicates that the mechanical guidance could
present both advantages and disadvantages to an auditor when making a decision. Studies have shown
benefits of mechanical guidance in raising efficiency (McDaniel, 1990), accuracy, consistency, and
consensus (Ashton, 1992). On the contrary, some studies show the drawbacks, such as limiting thinking
efforts (Todd and Benbasat, 1992; Asare and Wright, 2004; Wheeler and Arunachalam, 2008), especially
when used with ill-structured tasks, and lowering thinking efforts toward preferential decision called
confirmation bias (Bedard and Biggs, 1991). Based on the anchoring effect (Joyce and Biddle, 1981), the
given mechanical guidance which suggests basis and percentage range for planning materiality
determination is expected to limit auditors’ attention and induce auditors to ignore relevant risk factors.
Specifically, we posit that auditors with the provided mechanical guidance would set higher planning
materiality amount than those without the mechanical guidance.

H1: In determining the planning materiality, auditors will set higher (lower) materiality amount when
they are provided (not provided) the mechanical guidance.

Justification is another technique that has been used to motivate people to increase cognitive and physical
efforts to do the tasks, but this does not necessarily leads to performance improvement due mainly to the
task complexity (Chang et al., 1997). When an individual is required to write down the evidence or reason
to support his decision, it would require more cognitive effort and more deep thinking. Justification is
found to increase accuracy and consistency of judgment (Ashton, 1992). On the contrary, when an
individual is not required to provide justification, he could make a decision quickly and might not deeply
and carefully think about relevant information. Auditors who are required to justify their planning
materiality determination would think more thoroughly about relevant risks and be more aware of their
decision. Thus, we hypothesize that auditors with justification requirement would concern more with
relevant risks, which leads to lower materiality amount for planning.

H2: In determining the planning materiality, auditors will set lower (higher) materiality amount when
they are required (not required) to make justification.

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Even though the guidance and justification requirement were found to increase the accuracy of auditors’
judgment on classification of bond ratings, the interaction effect between these two factors has not been
examined (Ashton, 1992). The justification requirement was found to remedy confirmation bias by
forcing participants to deeply assess reasons to support their answers, whereas the factor evaluation
checklist (structured checklist) could not reduce the confirmation bias occurring during information
search strategies of tax professionals (Wheeler and Arunachalam, 2008). Explicitly, this paper posits that
auditors who are required to justify their decisions would set lower materiality amount than those without
justification requirement when auditors are provided the mechanical guidance.

H3.a: Under the availability of mechanical guidance, auditors with justification requirement will set
lower materiality amount than those without justification requirement.

When auditors are not provided with the mechanical guidance, they are not limited in their scope of
thinking. Justification requirement is an incentive tool to encourage auditors to think more deeply and
thoroughly through relevant risk information. As a consequence, without mechanical guidance, auditors
who are required to justify their decisions would think more deeply and carefully of all relevant
information. Specifically, this paper posits that without mechanical guidance, auditors with justification
requirement would set lower materiality amount than those without justification requirement.

H3.b: Without the mechanical guidance, auditors with justification requirement will set lower materiality
amount than those without justification requirement.

Besides the environmental factors, guidance, as well as justification, personal factors are found to affect
auditors’ judgment performance (Tan and Kao, 1999; Tan et al., 2002; Chang et al., 1997; Rose, 2007;
Agoglia et al., 2009). Since different auditor levels performs different task demands, the importance of
each attribute of each auditor level in performing assigned tasks successfully would be different (Emby
and Etherington, 1996; Tan and Libby, 1997; Tan, 1999). During the planning stage, auditors must
understand their client’s business and assess engagement and inherent risks. Audit managers are likely to
perform less structured tasks, such as evaluating client plan, assessing management attitude or
aggregating risk assessment, while audit seniors perform more structured tasks, such as determining
ownership of entity or determining unusual accounting policies (Abdolmohammdi, 1999). Since
managers encounter various pressures, both outside and inside audit firms, they manage and balance
pressures in order to succeed in their career. Their tacit managerial skills become one of the most
important attributes for their success (Tan and Libby, 1997). In addition, experience with the task will
enable auditors to develop their knowledge which leads to higher performance. Hence, this paper posits
that a higher professional rank auditor (manager level) can better judge on planning materiality by
incorporating more relevant risks in comparison with a lower rank auditor (senior level).

H4: Regardless of the effect of guidance or justification requirement, audit managers could incorporate
more related risk factors or set lower planning materiality amount than audit seniors.

METHODOLOGY

Participants and procedure

We engaged 85 audit managers (mean audit tenure = 10 years) and 123 audit seniors (mean audit tenure =
4 years) from Big N firms in Thailand but excluded one audit manager and three audit seniors as they

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failed to answer the experimental case completely. Almost all of the participants have audited
manufacturing companies and ninety-one percent of the participants reported their familiarity with their
firms’ mechanical guidance. We separately conducted our experiment during in-house training sessions
run by each audit firm. The different experiment sessions did not significantly impact planning materiality
determination (p = 0.09). We did not put a constraint on time in our experiment as it could impact
participants’ decision (Ordonez and Benson, 1997; Glover, 1997; McDaniel, 1990). Each session took
approximately 30 minutes. The combination of the mechanical guidance and the justification requirement
yielded four case types. Participants were randomly assigned to each case.

Table 1: Case material based on mechanical guidance and justification requirement

With
Mechanical guidance
Without
Mechanical guidance
With Justification requirement Case 1 Case 3
Without justification requirement Case 2 Case 4
This table shows the combination of two environmental factors in constructing the experimental cases

All participants received a package of case comprising client’s background information, the two-year
consecutive financial statements, and distinctive answer sheet for determining planning materiality
amount. After completing the materiality task, they provided demographic information.

Independent variables

Our research design is a 2 x 2 x 2 between subject variables, with mechanical guidance (provided versus
not provided), justification requirement (required versus not required), and auditor level (manager versus
senior) identified by each audit firm. Under the provided mechanical guidance, the following instructions
adopted from the Audit and Accounting Manual (2005) of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountant (AICPA) are shown step by step in the case material:
Step 1: Use 5% – 10% of earnings before income taxes
Step 2: Use 1% – 1.5% of total assets or total revenues, whichever is higher
Step 3: Take the higher amount of (1) or (2) as planning materiality

In the absence of mechanical guidance, we provide only materiality definition as “The planning
materiality level will be used to determine the audit procedures in order to get sufficient evidence for
issuing an audit opinion and to assure that financial statements have no material misstatement or errors
that could impact the decision of financial statement users”.

The justification condition requires participants to write down their reasons to support their determination
of materiality. We did not manipulate in such a way that their reasons will be reviewed by their
supervisors. Thus, the justification condition in this paper could be a weak form of justification
requirement. Under no justification requirement, participants are not required to write any reasons to
support their decision.

Dependent variable

Participants are required to provide the basis and percentage used for calculating the materiality amount.
Then, the final amount of materiality will be calculated and used as dependent variable.

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Case Materials

We initially used material events as indicated by Pinsker et al. (2009) because they included both
quantitative and qualitative material events that auditors should be concerned with in materiality
judgment. Some inherent risks and control risks of inventories and fixed assets were added to the case
materials. The client for this case is a manufacturer of steel assemblies. We selected manufacturing
industry because specific industry knowledge, such as that of financial institution industry, is not
required. The overall information of client (“ABC public company”) and summary of comparative
financial information for two years were given. The current year in the case presented a profit from
selling obsolete machines for about 3.48 million Baht, which was recognized as “other income”. The
current machinery was expected to be in use for the next seven years. This implies that gain from selling
obsolete machines in the current year was a non-recurring item which should be excluded before
calculating materiality for planning. In addition, the company invested in one associated company four
years ago, but this year it has just received dividend for the first time in the amount of 4.4 million Baht.
This dividend income was expected to be excluded before calculating materiality for planning. The case
materials were reviewed and commented by one senior manager and two audit partners from two big
audit firms.

We manipulated the financial statement by showing high total assets (192.72 million Baht) while having
earnings before taxes of only 17.24 million Baht. If the participants followed the guidance, they would set
the materiality amount 1%-1.5% of the total assets. If participants took into account the nature of business
and concerned more relevant risks, they would use earnings before taxes as the initial base for materiality
determination. Since the case states that the company has just received dividend from an associated
company invested four years ago and this year the company has gains by selling fixed assets, which is
not expected to recur for another seven years, participants would adjust for these two one-time items
before calculating materiality for planning.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Hypothesis 1 expects that the materiality amount determined by auditors with the existence of mechanical
guidance will be higher than that set by auditors without guidance. As predicted, Table 2 shows that the
main effect of mechanical guidance is statistically significant (p = 0.0011) and Table 3A also reveals that
the natural logarithm of materiality amount under guidance provision is higher than that under no
guidance condition (6.67 versus 6.40; p = 0.0008).

Table 2: ANOVA results of natural logarithm of materiality amount determined by auditors

Source of variation Sum of Squares df Mean Square F P
Between-Subjects
Guidance 3.498 1 3.498 10.98 0.0011***
Justify 0.975 1 0.975 3.06 0.0819*
Level 0.072 1 0.072 0.23 0.6343
Guidance x Justify 0.005 1 0.005 0.02 0.8997
Guidance x Level 0.027 1 0.027 0.08 0.7730
Justify x Level 0.832 1 0.832 2.61 0.1077
Guidance x Justify x Level 0.076 1 0.076 0.24 0.6255
Error (Total) 59.904 195 0.319
This table shows main significant effect of guidance and marginal impact of justification requirement. ***, ** and * indicate significance at 1, 5,
and 10 percent levels, respectively

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Table 3A: Main effect and Two-way interaction of Mechanical guidance and Justification requirement:
Natural logarithm of Materiality Amount (standard deviation) for all participants

Mechanical
guidance
Justify No Justify Main effect of
guidance
Compare contrast
Present 6.61 6.73 6.67 GJ – GNJ = -0.12
(0.37) (0.50) (0.44) (p = 0.31)
Cell GJ = 49 Cell GNJ = 49 Cell G = 98
Absent 6.33 6.46 6.40 NGJ – NGNJ = -0.13
(0.59) (0.73) (0.66)
Cell NGJ = 50 Cell NGNJ = 48 Cell NG = 98 (p = 0.26)

Main effect of 6.47 6.60
Justification (0.51) (0.64)
Cell J = 99 Cell NJ = 97
This table presents the natural logarithm of materiality amount rather than materiality amount for each combination of guidance and
justification requirement. This transformation is done to comply with homogeneity of variance and normality assumptions.

The second hypothesis expects that justification requirement could increase thinking effort of auditors.
The results in Table 2 reveal that justification requirement marginally affects materiality determination of
auditors (p = 0.0819). Table 3B shows the marginal impact of justification requirement (6.47 for
justification versus 6.60 for no justification; p = 0.1).

Table 3B: Main effect and Two-way interaction of Justification requirement and Auditor ranks: Natural
logarithm of Materiality Amount (standard deviation) for all participants

Justification
requirement
Managers Seniors Main effect of
Justification
Compare contrast
Justify 6.37 6.55 6.47 JM – JS = -0.18
(0.56) (0.47) (0.51) (p = 0.15)
Cell JM = 41 Cell JS = 58 Cell J = 99
No justify 6.65 6.56 6.60 NJM – NJS = 0.09
(0.46) (0.75) (0.64)
Cell NJM= 50 Cell NJS = 56 Cell NJ = 97 (p = 0.42)

Main effect of 6.51 6.55
Auditor ranks (0.53) (0.62)
Cell M = 82 Cell S = 114
This table presents the natural logarithm of materiality amount rather than materiality amount for each combination of justification requirement
and auditor ranks. This transformation is done to comply with homogeneity of variance and normality assumptions.

Table 2 illustrates that the interaction effect of guidance and justification insignificantly impacts
materiality determination, while the main effect of mechanical guidance significantly influences the
materiality determination and the main effect of justification marginally affects the materiality
determination (p value of interaction effect = 0.8997; p value of main effect of guidance = 0.0011; p value
of main effect of justification = 0.0819). This suggests that there would not be interaction effect between
mechanical guidance and justification requirement.

Hypotheses 3a and 3b predict that justification requirement could increase thinking efforts and lead to
assessing relevant information more deeply and thoroughly both in the presence and absence of
mechanical guidance. Specifically, hypothesis 3a posits that under the availability of mechanical
guidance, auditors with justification requirement determine lower materiality amount than those without
justification requirement. We compare mean of natural logarithm of materiality amount of Cell GJ in
Table 3A (6.61) with mean of natural logarithm of materiality amount of Cell GNJ in Table 3A (6.73).
The result in compare contrast column of Table 3A does not statistically support our hypothesis 3a (p =

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0.31). In the absence of mechanical guidance, the natural logarithm of materiality amount under
justification requirement is insignificantly lower than that under no justification requirement (6.33 vs.
6.46, respectively, p = 0.26), inadequately supporting hypothesis 3b. These results indicate that
justification requirement could not significantly reduce the cognition bias of the existence of mechanical
guidance

Hypothesis 4 expects that audit managers will perform better than audit seniors as the former will use
their tacit managerial knowledge and their experience to incorporate and assess relevant risks. The
planning materiality of audit managers is expected to be lower than that of audit seniors. Unexpectedly,
Table 2 disproves our expectation as the main effect of professional level is insignificant (p = 0.6343).
When we provide mechanical guidance to both professional ranks, audit managers set insignificantly
lower materiality than audit seniors (6.64 vs. 6.70, respectively, p = 0.59 see Table 3C). Both audit
managers and audit seniors set almost the same materiality level when they are not provided the
mechanical guidance (6.39 vs. 6.40, respectively, p = 0.93 see Table 3C). Under justification requirement,
audit managers set insignificantly lower materiality than audit seniors (6.37 vs. 6.55, respectively, p =
0.15 see Table 3B). When they are not required to justify their answers, audit managers insignificantly
underperform audit seniors. The materiality level of audit managers is unnoticeably higher than that of
audit seniors (6.65 vs. 6.56, respectively, p = 0.42 see Table 3B). Although the difference in materiality
level between audit managers and audit seniors under each condition of guidance and justification is
insignificant, the impact of justification requirement on audit managers might be different from that on
audit seniors. We will further investigate this in the next section.

Table 3C: Main effect and Two-way interaction of Mechanical guidance and Auditor ranks: Natural
logarithm of Materiality Amount (standard deviation) for all participants

Mechanical
guidance
Managers Seniors Main effect of
Guidance
Compare contrast
Present 6.64 6.70 6.67 GM – GS = -0.06
(0.48) (0.42) (0.44) (p = 0.59)
Cell GM = 40 Cell GS = 58 Cell G = 98
Absent 6.39 6.40 6.40 NGM – NGS = -0.01
(0.55) (0.74) (0.66)
Cell NGM= 42 Cell NGS = 56 Cell NG = 98 (p = 0.93)

Main effect of 6.51 6.55
Auditor ranks (0.53) (0.62)
Cell M = 82 Cell S = 114
This table presents the natural logarithm of materiality amount rather than materiality amount for each combination of mechanical guidance and
auditor ranks. This transformation is done to comply with homogeneity of variance and normality assumptions.

Additional analysis

We divided the samples into audit manager group and audit senior group; and separately tested the impact
of mechanical guidance and justification on both groups. Audit managers are significantly affected by
both mechanical guidance and justification requirement (p of main effect of guidance = 0.028, p of main
effect of justification = 0.0149, Table 4), while audit seniors are significantly affected only by mechanical
guidance (p-value of main effect of guidance = 0.0108, p-value of main effect of justification = 0.9202,
see Table 5). There is no interaction effect between guidance and justification factors for both audit
managers and audit seniors (see Table 4 and Table 5).

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Table 4: ANOVA Results of natural logarithm of materiality amount determined by Audit managers

Source of variation
Sum of
Squares

df
Mean
Square

F

p
Between-Subjects
Guidance 1.253 1 1.253 5.01 0.0280**
Justify 1.551 1 1.551 6.20 0.0149**
Guidance x Justify 0.052 1 0.052 0.21 0.6502
Error (Total) 19.507 78 0.250
This table presents the ANOVA results and shows main significant effect of guidance and marginal impact of justification requirement on audit
managers. ***, ** and * indicate significance at 1, 5, and 10 percent levels, respectively

Table 5: ANOVA Results of natural logarithm of materiality amount determined by Audit seniors

Source of variation
Sum of
Squares

df
Mean
Square

F

p
Between-Subjects
Guidance 2.470 1 2.470 6.73 0.0108**
Justify 0.003 1 0.003 0.01 0.9202
Guidance x Justify 0.025 1 0.025 0.07 0.7944
Error (Total) 40.398 110 0.367
This table presents the ANOVA results and shows main significant effect of guidance and marginal impact of justification requirement on audit
seniors. ***, ** and * indicate significance at 1, 5, and 10 percent levels, respectively

According to contrast comparison for audit manager group in Table 6, justification requirement could
induce audit managers to think more carefully when not being provided with mechanical guidance than
when being provided with mechanical guidance (difference of natural logarithms of materiality amount
between in the presence and absence of justification under no guidance condition = -0.32, p = 0.04, while
that under guidance condition = -0.23, p = 0.16). Even though audit managers are required to justify their
answers, they are likely to limit their attention to the provided guidance. This is supported by the natural
logarithm of materiality amount determined by audit managers with mechanical guidance of 6.52, while
that without mechanical guidance is 6.23 under justification condition (p = 0.06, see Table 6).

Table 6: Main effect and Two-way interaction of Mechanical guidance and Justification requirement on
Determination of materiality amount of Audit managers

Mechanical Justify No Justify Main effect of Compare contrast
guidance Guidance
Present 6.52 6.75 6.64 GJM – GNJM = -0.23
(0.39) (0.54) (0.48) (p = 0.16)
Cell GJM = 20 Cell GNJM = 20 Cell GM = 40
Absent 6.23 6.55 6.39 NGJM – NGNJM = -0.32
(0.65) (0.35) (0.55) (p = 0.04)
Cell NGJM = 21 Cell NGNJM =21 Cell NGM = 42

Main effect of 6.37 6.65
Justification (0.56) (0.46)
Cell NJM = 41 Cell NJM = 41

Compare contrast GJM – NGJM
= 0.29
GNJM – NGNJM
= 0.20

(p = 0.06) (p = 0.21)
This table presents the natural logarithm of materiality amount rather than materiality amount for each combination of mechanical guidance and
justification requirement for audit managers. This transformation is done to comply with homogeneity of variance and normality assumptions.

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Table 7: Main effect and Two-way interaction of Mechanical guidance and Justification requirement on
Determination of materiality amount of Audit seniors

Mechanical Justify No Justify Main effect of Compare contrast
guidance Guidance
Present 6.68 6.72 6.70 GJS – GNJS = -0.04
(0.34) (0.48) (0.42) (p = 0.80)
Cell GJS = 29 Cell GNJS = 29 Cell GS = 58
Absent 6.41 6.39 6.40 NGJM – NGNJM = 0.02
(0.53) (0.93) (0.74) (p = 0.91)
Cell NGJS = 29 Cell NGNJS =27 Cell NGS = 56

Main effect of 6.55 6.56
Justification (0.47) (0.75)
Cell NJS = 58 Cell NJS = 56

Compare contrast GJS – NGJS
= 0.27
GNJS – NGNJS
= 0.33

(p = 0.10) (p = 0.05)
This table presents the natural logarithm of materiality amount rather than materiality amount for each combination of mechanical guidance and
justification requirement for audit seniors. This transformation is done to comply with homogeneity of variance and normality assumptions.

According to contrast comparison for audit senior group in Table 7, justification requirement could not
significantly impact audit seniors when performing the planning materiality determination task. Under
both conditions of with and without mechanical guidance, the natural logarithm of materiality amount
determined by audit seniors who justified and those who did not justify is not significantly different (6.68
vs. 6.72 for auditors who justified and not justified, respectively in the presence of mechanical guidance,
6.41 vs. 6.39 for auditors who justified and not justified, respectively in the absence of mechanical
guidance). However, it could not be concluded that justification requirement would not induce more deep
thinking from audit seniors. Audit seniors are usually engaged in justification process during audit review
either in the form of writing or oral communication. Furthermore, audit seniors are normally required to
write justification to support audit evidence, and the practice would be beneficial for them in justifying
their decisions. On the other hand, audit managers’ main responsibility is to review the audit results and
they infrequently write a justification. The unfamiliarity with the justification task necessitates the
managers to devote more cognitive efforts to writing the reasons, which also leads to better materiality
determination.

One might argue that the materiality determination task might be so complex that the audit seniors’
judgments could not be improved by justification requirement because justification effect depends on task
complexity (Chang et al., 1997). However, in this case almost all of the participants reported that they had
task experience in materiality determination (i.e., mean task experience is two years and only three
seniors reported that they did not have task experience). Furthermore, forty-five percent of the audit
seniors who were not required to justify provided their reasons in the answer sheet, whereas merely
twenty-four percent of the audit managers whose justifications were not required gave the reasons in the
answer sheet. Another possible explanation is that justification level manipulated in this paper might be
too low to encourage audit seniors to seriously put in their thinking efforts because their answers would
not be reviewed by their audit firms and their answers would remain undisclosed. According to the above
additional analysis, audit managers are affected by both the mechanical guidance and justification factors.
Specifically, the presence of mechanical guidance could limit attention of audit managers solely to the
guidance and could lead the managers to concern less with relevant risks. The justification could induce
audit managers to think more deeply and concern more with relevant risks. On the contrary, justification
could not affect audit seniors in this task of planning materiality determination. However, the presence of

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mechanical guidance could also limit attention of audit seniors. These results give rise to an implication
that the impact of justification on judgment of auditors might depend on either the familiarity with
justification task or auditors’ roles or both.

CONCLUSION

This paper investigates the question of whether the availability of mechanical guidance limits auditors’
attention to relevant risks when determining materiality for planning. Justification requirement is further
examined to determine whether it increases thinking effort and can remedy the cognition bias arising from
the existence of mechanical guidance. We also consider whether professional rank has an impact on
materiality determination.

Consistent with our expectation, our experimental results suggest that the mechanical guidance could
limit attention of auditors. Specifically, we find that the materiality determination of auditors with the
existence of mechanical guidance is significant higher than that of auditors without mechanical guidance.
This indicates that auditors with mechanical guidance concern less with relevant information in the case.
Although one might consider justification requirement in this paper a weak form of justification as
participants wrote their thinking reason to the experimenter, our result shows that justification
requirement could induce audit managers to deeply contemplate relevant risk information in the case, but
justification requirement could not influence judgment of audit seniors. This might be explained by the
fact that audit seniors are normally required to provide justifications and have familiarity with the task
and that their answers are not reviewed by their superiors and their names remain undisclosed.

The results of this research study will contribute a new insight to the knowledge pool of existing auditing
literature. While most prior research focuses on materiality decision in later stages of auditing, this study
fills the gap in materiality literature by studying at the planning stage of audit. This would offer some
thoughts for standard setters, regulators, and practitioners to exercise greater caution when implementing
mechanical guidance through auditors. Justification requirement provides opportunities for improving the
quality of auditors’ judgment but its effect likely depends on either the familiarity with the justification
task or auditors’ roles or both.

The experimental study described in this paper has some limitations. First, this paper includes not only
ten material events selected from Pinsker (2009), which subsequently are assigned as either low or high
risks, but also some inherent risks and control risks. However, these material events do not necessarily
reflect a realistic decision environment. Second, the experimental instrument is in the form of paper-based
case while auditors normally use computer aids in practice. This could limit the auditors’ ability to search
for more information as they do in real practice. Third, the experimental procedure asks individual auditor
to set planning materiality, while in practice there would be a discussion among engagement team before
determining planning materiality. Fourth, only two types of guidance are examined in this paper. There
might be other decision aids that could be used with greater success. Finally, we only compare
justification requirement to no justification requirement. Other forms or types of justification requirement
that could impact auditors’ judgment (Agoglia et al., 2003) are not investigated in this paper.

Since the reviewer’s preference was found to influence auditors’ evaluation of evidence and cognitive
effort (Peecher, 1996; Tan et al., 1997) and supervisor preference could influence subordinate to bias his
decision toward supervisor preference (Piercey, 2009) as supervisor was found to give higher
performance rating to subordinate who had goal-congruence and had strong justification (Tan and

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Shankar, 2010), future research might investigate how the preference of reviewer or supervisor impacts
auditors’ materiality determination and how it influences written justification. In addition, types of
justification, such as supporting, balance, and component justification memos, could be examined for
planning materiality decision.

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BIOGRAPHY

Juthathip Audsabumrungrat is a doctoral student at Chulalongkorn University. She can be reached at
Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok Thailand. 10330,
juthathip@acc.chula.ac.th

Sompong Pornupatham is Assistant Professor of Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce, at
Chulalongkorn University. He can be reached at Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road,
Pathumwan, Bangkok Thailand, 10330, sompong@acc.chula.ac.th

mailto:juthathip@acc.chula.ac.th

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TIMED CORE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: THE
ROAD TO THE COMPANY’S
OPTIMALPERFORMANCE
Bernard Morard, University of Geneva (UNIGE)
Alexandru Stancu, University of Geneva (UNIGE)
Jeannette Christophe, University of Geneva (UNIGE)

ABSTRACT

This paper studies the relationship between structural equation modeling and Balanced Scorecard in a
Swiss non-profit establishment. Using financial and non-financial performance indicators collected
directly from the organization, the paper proposes a rational construction and analysis of Balanced
Scorecard by selecting the factual metrics for the right strategic areas. This choice is made by applying a
sequence of Partial Least Squares in the proposed model. Furthermore, the approach establishes the
cause-and-effect sequence originally defined by Kaplan and Norton as: the measures of organizational
learning and growth will influence the measures of internal business processes which sequentially will
impact the measures of the customer perspective which, lastly, will affect the financial indicators. It will
be noted that the Kaplan and Norton model of Balanced Scorecard is different from the findings in this
study, a case somehow too general to handle today’s complex market environment. Following this, the
paper puts forward a time-managed approach to identify the evolution of the main contributors to the
current company’s strategy as well as their behavior in the future organizational performance. The
suggested approach will be applied and demonstrated in a detailed real case of a Swiss non-profit
organization.

INTRODUCTION

An innovative approach of strategic management was introduced in the early 1990s by Robert Kaplan
from Harvard Business School and David Norton, co-founder and president of Balanced Scorecard
Collaborative Inc., based in Boston, USA. They named this approach the Balanced Scorecard (BSC).
Pinpointing some of the drawbacks and ambiguity of previous management systems, the BSC method
proposes a coherent guidance as to what companies should measure in order to “balance” the financial
perspective.The BSC summarizes a series of performance indicators that offers executives a quick but
comprehensive representation of their business. The BSC includes financial indicators that illustrate the
outcomes of actions already taken and it complements the financial measures with operational indicators
on customer satisfaction, internal processes, and the company’s innovation and development activities –
“operational measures that are the drivers of future financial performance” (Kaplan & Norton, 1992).

However, one of the limitations of the BSC lies in its structure. Despite the fact that the authors provide
us with some key points and describe the steps for building the BSC, the concepts are rather ambiguous
and can be difficult to apply in an organizational environment.There are three main goals in this study.
The first goal is to merge the above concepts and try to advance several statements for a representative
construction of a BSC using the Partial Least Square (PLS) technique. The objective is to generate a
realistic model that can be applied in any organization environment, thus modeling the concept of BSC.
The second goal is to validate the assumptions with a nonprofit organization case where performance
indicators selected will outline the different strategic perspectives, and a rational explanation for this
selection is established. A cause-and-effect structure will be generated and clarifications made as to which

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strategic perspectives (latent variables) are impacting and which are to be influenced. One of the main
conclusions of this example is that the Kaplan and Norton’s model of BSC is nothing more but a
particular case of our conclusions. The final aim is to closely monitor on a timely basis the upmost
indicators that impacted the organizational performance, indicators that will shape the future company’s
strategy.The paper is structured as follows. In the next section, the main BSC concepts will be presented.
The “idealistic” process of 4-axes construction is then highlighted followed by a logical structure-
allowing for the identification of the number of strategic perspectives as well as the performance
indicators connected to each perspective. A tentative modeling of BSC that can be implemented in any
organization environment is put forward. This is pursued by a real example of a nonprofit establishment
in which the PLS method is applied in order to build a coherent BSC. Finally, the key performance
indicators are analyzed on a regular time basis in order to identify the ones that contributed most and
shaped the current organizational strategy. Using this information, one is able better predict the future
company trends and take enhanced corrective measures to quickly adapt in a challenging and complex
organizational environment.

The Need for A New Validation Approach

According to Kaplan and Norton, the BSC is a management tool (not only a measurement model) that
enables companies to acknowledge their vision and strategy and convert into action. Consequently the
BSC allows top management a thorough compilation that translates the organizational strategic goals into
a coherent set of performance measures. It provides response across the internal company processes as
well as external results in order to constantly advance strategic performance and outcomes. When
completely set up, the BSC converts strategic planning from an abstract task into the fundamental point of
an organization. As mentioned by Fielden’s (1999), companies worldwide start on influencing the ability
of BSC for translating vision and strategy into measurable objectives.
The BSC can manage the base of the organization’s efforts in indentifying and communicating the crucial
key interests to managers, employees, investors and even customers (Kaplan & Norton, 1993). With
four strategic perspectives, the BSC reduce information excess by controlling the number of measures
used and compels executives to concentrate on the handful of performance indicators that are most
essential. Accordingly, it enables companies to contour financial results while simultaneously monitoring
the resources and obtaining the intangible assets they would need for future development (Kaplan &
Norton, 1996). The BSC poses managers with the facility to identify performance indicators that could
accurately predict the wealth and health of an organization. By allowing the capacity to decode strategy in
rapid and quantifiable actions, a BSC manages strategy in an organizational environmental and unveil
hidden assets and information. Furthermore, by connecting both internal and external people with these
strategies, recurrent learning and development can be achieved (Pineno, 2002).

However, the BSC has drawbacks with some of its key assumptions and relations. Firstly, there is not a
causal but rather a sound connection between the strategic areas analyzed. Nørreklit (2000) contends that
customer satisfaction does not automatically create superior financial outcomes. Measuring the financial
consequences of enhanced customer satisfaction or quality improvements involves a financial calculation.
Sequences of action that produce a high ratio of customer value at low costs lead to good financial results.
But this is not an issue of causality; it is commonsense since it is integrated in the concepts.
Consequently, the BSC makes illogical suppositions, which may conduct to the anticipation of measures
which are incoherent, causing sub-optimal performance. In addition, the BSC is not a representative
strategic management tool mainly because it does not certify any rapport between organizational and

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environmental reality (e.g. competition). As a result, a discrepancy must be accepted between the strategy
formulated in the actions actually undertaken, and the assumed strategy (Nørreklit, 2000).

Within this broad-spectrum environment of ambiguity and criticism, some authors (Shields, 1997; Shields
& Shields, 1998) have called on management accounting researchers to make better use of Structural
Equation Modeling (SEM). Structural Equation Modeling is a statistical technique comprising a family of
different methods (path analysis, Partial Least Squares models and latent variable SEM) that allows the
simultaneous analysis of a series of structural equations. However, there appears to be some consensus
that all SEM involve two characteristics: first, the estimation of multiple interrelated dependent relations
between variables, and second the ability to represent latent variables in these equations while accounting
for estimated measurement error connected to the unsatisfactory measurement of variables. These
methods are particularly helpful when a dependent variable in one equation turn into an independent
variable in another equation (Hair et al., 1998).

An essential concern to log is the need of a significant sample size for the majority of SEM models. A
suggested rule of thumb for latent variable SEM is a minimum sample size of 100 (Medsker et al., 1994).
Furthermore, it has been advised that a sample volume of 200 may be required to produce valid fit
measures and to prevent making inaccurate conclusions (Marsh, Balla, & McDonald, 1988; James &
James, 1989; Boomsma, 1982; Medsker et al., 1994). In spite of these concerns, Smith and Langfield-
Smith (2004) conclude in one of their management studies that eleven of the 20 surveys (55%) had
sample volumes beneath the accepted threshold of 200. Even if the recommended sample size of 100 is
considered the lowest bound of tolerability, three of the 20 researches (Magner, Welker, & Campbell,
1996, Chalos & Poon, 2000, Abernethy & Lillis, 2001) fall underneath this level, denoting that the
conclusions drawn from these studies could be questioned.

As a result of that, management accounting researchers may be restrained from using covariance based
methods caused by the significant sample size requirements, and puts forward the statement that the
technique is only appropriate in areas where theory is relatively robust. Despite the fact that these
shortcomings are true for latent variable SEM techniques, Partial Least Squares (PLS) modeling presents
an alternative.Compared to others, PLS regression is a fairly recent technique that generalizes and merges
features from principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple regressions. It is specifically useful when
require predicting a series of dependent variables from a (very) large sequence of independent variables
(i.e., predictors). It was employed in the social sciences (specifically economics, Herman Wold 1966) but
became popular first in chemometrics (i.e., computational chemistry) due in part to Herman’s son Svante,
(Geladi & Kowalski, 1986) and in sensory evaluation (Martens & Naes, 1989). But PLS regression is also
becoming an alternative in the social sciences as a multivariate method for non-experimental and
experimental data alike (neuroimaging, see Mcintosh, Bookstein, Haxby, & Grady, 1996). It was first
pioneered as an algorithm similar to the power method (used for calculating eigenvectors) but was rapidly
retained in statistical milieu (Hervé, 2003).

The usage of PLS, despite of its intrinsic limitations (specifically that it is a limited-information method,
aimed to maximize prediction, rather than fit), figures out to be a way in which statistical modeling in
management accounting research can move forward without the requirement to obtain large samples,
something which management accounting researchers have usually found problematic. Another benefit of
PLS is the method’s ability to accommodate non-normal data, triggered by less demanding assumptions
behind the technique (Smith & Langfield-Smith, 2004).Nevertheless, there is some misunderstanding in
the terminology utilized in the PLS field. Herman Wold first introduced the notion of Partial Least

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Squares in his study about principal component analysis (Wold, 1966) where the NILES (nonlinear
iterative least squares) algorithm was developed. This algorithm (and its extension to canonical
correlation analysis and to specific situations with three or more blocks) was afterwards called NIPALS
(nonlinear iterative partial least squares) (Wold, 1973; Wold, 1975).

The notion of “PLS approach” is somewhat too broad and combines PLS for path models on one side and
PLS regression on the other. Following a suggestion by Martens (1989), this study exploits the term PLS
for Structural Equation Modeling to designate the use of “PLS Path Modeling” as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Example of PLS Path Modeling

Any PLS model is described by two key relations, the first named the outer model, illustrating the
connection between the latent variable and its manifest variables and a second one called the inner model
defining the relationships among the latent variables themselves.

Relationships between the observed variables and the latent variables (outer model)
Each latent variable jξ is implicitly explained by a group of observed variables jhx . Each observed
variable is related to its latent variable by a simple regression:
jhjjhjhjhx εξππ ++= 0

Relation between the latent variables (inner model)
The causality model leads to linear equations connecting the latent variables:
1
2
Ind 1
Ind 2
Ind 3
w11 = Corr (Ind 1, Z1)
.
.
.
w13 = Corr (Ind 3, Z1) Ind 8
Ind 9
Ind 4
Ind 5
Ind 6
Ind 7
ξ1
η1
η2
w31 = Corr (Ind 8, Z3)

w32 = Corr (Ind 9, Z3)
w21 = Corr (Ind 4, Z2)
.
.
.
w24 = Corr (Ind 7, Z2)
Variables are normalized after each step
Iterate until convergence
β22 = RegCoeffZ (Z1,Z2 on Z3)
β 1
=
c
or
r(
Y 1
,Y
2)
β21 = RegCoeffZ (Z1,Z2 on Z3)
Y1 = Xw1
Z1 = β1Y2+ β21Y3
Y2 = Xw2
Z2 = β1Y1 + β22 Y3
Y3 = Xw3
Z3 = β21 Y1 + β22Y2
External estimation
Internal estimation

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∑ ++=
i
jijijj vξββξ 0
The latent variables related to jξ are divided into two categories: the precursors of jξ which are latent
variables affecting jξ and the successors which are latent variables affected by jξ .

For any precursor iξ of the latent variable jξ , the inner weight jie is equivalent to the regression
coefficient of Yi in the multiple regression of Yj on all the Yi’s connected to the precursors of jξ . If iξ is
a successor of jξ then the inner weights jie is equivalent to the correlation between Yi and Yj (Tenenhaus
& Vinzi, 2004). The available software has been for many years LVPLS 1.8 developed by Lohmöller
(1987, last existing version). Lohmöller has broadened the basic PLS algorithm in numerous ways and
published all his research outcomes in 1989. More recently, an updated software has been elaborated by
Chin (2001, for the last version, left still in beta test) entitled PLS-Graph 3.0. It included a Windows user-
friendly graphical interface to PLSX, which is actually the initial engine for PLS path modeling existing
in LVPLS 1.8. The only addition is a cross-validation of the path model parameters by jack-knife and
bootstrap. Bootstrapping is the technique of gauging components of an estimator (for example its
variance) by measuring those aspects when sampling from an estimating distribution. One typical option
for computing distribution is the observed distribution of the empirical dataset.

In the situation where a group of observed variables are assumed to be from an identically and
independent distributed population, this can be solved by creating a number of resamples of the
observations (and of same size of the observations), each of which is achieved by random sampling with
replacement from the initial set of data. The benefit of bootstrapping compared to analytical techniques is
its high simplicity – it is significantly easy to use the bootstrap in order to find estimates of standard errors
and confidence intervals for complex estimators of the distribution, such as percentile points, proportions,
correlation coefficients and odds ratios. Even if more, newer and more complex PLS programs are
available today (e.g. SmartPLS), a greater examination of the PLS Path Modeling permitted us to develop
our software from scratch with the aim of computing the path weighting scheme and the bootstrap
validation procedure.

Bonding Balanced Scorecard with Partial Least Squares

Ittner and Larckner concluded in 1998 that “(…) decisions using multicriteria performance measurement
systems should be computed using explicit, objective formula that prescribes the weights to be attached to
each measure, or should be based on subjective evaluations where the weights to be attached to each
measure is implicitly or explicitly chosen by the decision maker”. This should be always considered when
building, checking and validating assumptions of causality relationships between the performance
indicators within the context of the BSC implementation in a company. While this might seem difficult
from a practical perspective, the PLS technique offers a valid solution.

As shown in Figure 2, the initial statements of causality relationships between the four strategic
perspectives of the Kaplan and Norton’s BSC remain subjective. The use of a structural equations model
is recommended to establish, in a more objective way, the intensity of the relations between the latent
variables defined by groups of observed or measurable indicators. Indubitably, whereas the choice of the
perspectives and the hypotheses that link them remain biased in the case of Kaplan and Norton, the model

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of structural equations aims “to provide a meaningful and parsimonious explanation for observed
relationships within a set of measured variables” (MacCallum, 1995).

Figure 2: Generic Relationship Map (Kaplan and Norton 1996)

In a structural equations approach the latent variables cannot be assessed in a direct and precise way.
Consequently, these latent variables require measurable variables, which are described through
performance indicators that can be directly observed and evaluated. The structural equations method is
derived from the principal component analysis of the data (confirmatory or exploratory, in line with each
specific case) to distinguish and validate the model of the causal relationships which represent the focal
point of BSC. It is essential to highlight that one of the restrictions intrinsic in the application of a system
of structural equations in the BSC milieu, are the statistics requirement expected for the data validation,
which compels a significant quantity of observations in order so as to boldly validate the results achieved.
The gathering of a large series of data is not easy, particularly in small and medium-sized firms. This is
why the use of PLS presents a huge benefit in this particular case or in any case where large datasets are
not available.

A Pragmatic Case: Example Of A Non-Profit Organization

The suggested method of this study, although universally applicable to any kind of organization, is
presented using an example of a non-governmental and non-profit institution. Based in Geneva,
Switzerland, this international governmental organization has associative statute active at multinational
levels in the field of human rights protection. Devoted to the primacy, the coherence and the application
of the international law and the principles which make progress the human rights, the association is
joining together the national and international lawyers, offering their competences in regards to legal
expertise for promotion and defense of the aforesaid rights. The organization has branches in regional
offices of Thailand, Nepal, Guatemala and South Africa and is employing a total of around 40 people.

When fully implemented, the proposed method for BSC construction using PLS approach will allow the
following:

• Identification of the vision and strategy by highlighting the crucial performance indicators. The
stress is laid on the fact that financial measurements must be “balanced” with non-financial
measurements, coming from other strategic perspectives.

Financial
Customer
Process
Learning & Growth

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• While seeking to define the sequences of actions which ultimately create the success of an
organization, the process helps retaining only the key performance indicators dependent on the
objectives of the strategic perspectives.

• Once the strategy and key actions are seized, the organization must then identify its crucial
competences, essential to the development and the improvement of the processes relative to its
strategic success

• Finally the construction of a BSC adapted to the various hierarchical levels, communication and
fixing of short and long-term targets for the various key indicators.

In a nutshell, there are five chronological main steps in the suggested methodology of this study
that will allow the construction and implementation of a rational and optimal BSC: (1) gather
historical data from the organization, (2) organize and prepare the final database, (3) ascertain
and define the numbers of strategic perspectives and performance indicators connected to those,
(4) assemble the cause and effect link between all strategic perspectives and, lastly, (5) employ
and operate this management tool for long-term vision.

As showed in Figure 3, the first step is associated with the collection of all historic key performance
measures throughout the organization. Even though this seems a simple assignment, it actually entails a
massive time gathering the metrics employed in the institution, particularly building a valid historic
database. This exercise is crucial and will directly influence all of the following steps. Applying this step
in the selected organization resulted in a total of 54 variables summarizing their evolution over 12 periods
on a quarterly basis (3 years).

Figure 3:Identifying and gathering company’s performance measures

Taking into account the sizeable database of indicators, the second step is related to the final cleaning of
the database (Figure 4). As stated previously, the collected measures could contain errors and will

Department 4
Department 5
Department 1
Department 2
Department 3
ORGANIZATION
Indicator 2.1
Indicator 2.2
Indicator 2.3
Indicator 2.4
…
Indicator 1.1
Indicator 1.2
Indicator 1.3
Indicator 1.4
…
Indicator 3.1
Indicator 3.2
Indicator 3.3
Indicator 3.4
…
Indicator 4.1
Indicator 4.2
Indicator 4.3
Indicator 4.4
…
Indicator 5.1
Indicator 5.2
Indicator 5.3
Indicator 5.4
…

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potentially pollute the findings. Consequently, the variables should be characterized by (a) reliability and
consistency, (b) same occurrence in time, (c) ability to capture a fraction of the organizational current
strategy, (d) information singularity and (e) clarity and straightforwardness. This step is achieved through
consistent analysis and intense top management consultations and will ensure that the retained
performance indicators are the key drivers of the organization. After this step only 48 variables from the
non-profit organization have finally been kept.

Figure 4: Example of cleaning and setting up the final database

However, albeit this rational managerial selection has been employed, the company still has a large
database which is quite challenging to administer for the BSC construction. As illustrated in Figure 5, the
third main step is to filter and congregate the variables within specific axes (or strategic perspectives) able
to encapsulate a part of the organization’s performance.

There are three main attainments in performing this step: first is to generate the number of strategic axes
summarizing an acceptable level of the total company’s performance, second is to filter each axis and
retain only the performance indicators that are highly correlated, disregarding any unnecessary and
irrelevant information and third is to label these assemblies of indicators by studying the nature of
information that gravitates each strategic perspective or axis.

There are several existing statistical methods that are able to accomplish this classification. Both factor
analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) can be applied for this step. Although different, the two
techniques are often mixed up, though factor analysis becomes equivalent to PCA if the “errors” in the
factor analysis model are supposed to all have the same variance. Principal component analysis can be
used for dimensionality reduction in a dataset by preserving those characteristics of the data that influence
most its variance and by keeping lower-order principal components and disregarding higher-order ones.
Such low-order components regularly summarize the “most important” features of the dataset. Factor
analysis on the other hand, is a statistical technique employed to describe variability among analyzed
variables in terms of fewer unobserved variables called factors. Factor analysis assists in identifying
“factors” that explain a diversity of results on distinct tests.
As such, the PCA fits better this study requirement as it is appropriate for a non-predefined experimental
model, while factor analysis is righter for models that have already a standard. As the statistical technique
Ind 5.10
x
x
x
x
xxxMonth 30
yx…
xxxMonth 3
xxxMonth 2
xxxMonth 1
…Ind 1.3Ind 1.2Ind 1.1
Strategic performance indicator database
Missing variable
Missing variable
Unreliable
variable

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applied (PCA) is handling historical data, the outcome of the actual research will subsequently be
contingent on the data obtainable at the time of collection. Nevertheless, the purpose of this model is not
to build the best indicators, which sometimes could lead to subjectivity and personal preference, but to
actually emphasize the significance of the variables available.

Figure 5: Filtering the performance measures per strategic perspectives
3r
d ax
is
2n
d a
xis
1st axis
Ind 1.1
Ind 1.2
Ind 1.4
Ind 1.3
Ind 2.1
Ind 2.4
Ind 2.3
Ind 2.2
Ind 3.3
Ind 3.4
Ind 3.2
Ind 3.1
Ind 4.3
Ind 4.1
Ind 4.2
Ind 4.4
Ind 5.3
Ind 5.1
Ind 5.2
Ind 5.4

The software applied for the PCA calculation was SPSS. In the presented example, when this step is
conducted over the whole variables, one can clearly observe that with 4 components, approximately 93%
of the total organizational variance is explained (Table 1). This percentage can be interpreted as the
influence of the axes on the total performance: the higher this percentage, the more explanation it
provides on the company’s performance.

Table 1: Extract of Total Variance Explained

Component % of Variance Cumulative %
1 24.26 50.53
2 11.97 75.46
3 5.78 87.51
4 2.76 93.26
5 1.37 96.12
6 0.80 97.79

The same PCA technique also provides the influence of the variables (indicators) against each of these 4
axes with the assistance of the component matrix establishing the correlation of all variables with each of
these axes. Table 2 illustrates the correlation of the first 10 variables with each axis. The nearer a
correlation is to 0, the less the corresponding variable impacts the axis. Finally, the variables will be
ranked and filtered with respect to the correlation is has upon the axes.
The first 10-15 indicators per axis are favored for selection, ranked by their correlation with the axis.
First, these metrics offers a good outlook on the information clustered and second, because the indicators

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are sorted by correlation, their explanatory value will decrease when moving further in the ordered list.
One may note that this straightforward selection will congregate the performance measures that are
particular to one area of the company. To be precise, a simple mathematical clustering will distinguish the
actual areas specific to the institution. The ranking and grouping of variables by axis will permit to label
and define them strategically.

Table 2: Extract of the First 10 Indicators from Component Matrix

VAR no. VAR name 1st axis 2nd axis 3rd axis 4th axis
VAR001 persofindetr 0.886 -0.259 0.324 -0.182
VAR002 persoju 0.765 -0.310 0.454 -0.257
VAR003 persoadmin 0.968 -0.153 0.092 -0.050
VAR004 arrivé -0.021 -0.280 -0.098 -0.750
VAR005 départ -0.192 0.134 -0.678 0.632
VAR006 agemoy 0.649 0.586 -0.109 0.288
VAR007 ho 0.902 -0.285 0.270 -0.073
VAR008 fe 0.799 -0.199 0.390 -0.348
VAR009 expeant -0.221 0.273 -0.460 0.666
VAR010 formation 0.318 -0.521 0.567 -0.392

Statistically speaking, the top ranked indicators are highly correlated to the respective axis. However,
after the PCA analysis, one still needs to do a small cleaning of the data by eliminating those measures
which would not adequately explain the definition of the perspective. While this procedure it is not
mathematically validated, it is primarily aimed to clear out certain metrics that are not rigorously accurate
and would violate the definition of the axis. The rejection of any indicator must be well justified in front
of the strategy for defining the strategic axes. In any economic environment (which by definition is
uncertain) it is improper to consider that all indicators correlated to the perspective in cause are also
representative from a strategic viewpoint. Those indicators that do not describe the definition of the axis
should not be selected in the final model as these might potentially corrupt the final result.

With the intention of better controlling and comprehending the final model and in order to maintain
certain accuracy on the strategic perspectives, the final number of indicators per axis should rarely exceed
10. At the end of this third step, the organizational strategy from the presented example was
acknowledged to gravitate along 4 perspectives: Regional Representation, Financial Perspective, Quality
Perspective and International Law and Protection each of them containing 6 to 10 explanatory variables
as described in the next step. As exemplified in Figure 6, the fourth major step in ascertaining the actual
strategy of the company is to employ a PLS Path Modeling regression on the final strategic perspectives.
To determine the most viable cause-and-effect chain between the perspectives, all possible valid
connections between these axes should be studied. The most stable PLS model from all possible
combinations is regarded as the closed to the organization’s current strategy. The stability of the PLS
model could be assessed applying a bootstrap technique on each possible graph.

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1st axis
3rd axis
2nd axis
Ind 1
Ind 2
Ind 3
Ind 4
Ind 5
Ind 6
Ind 9
Ind 10
Ind 7
Ind 8
Ind 7
Ind 8
Figure 6: Exemplification of a cause-and-effect chain using PLS Path Modeling

Applying this step to the specific example of this study, all possible valid connections between the 4 axes,
that is to say a total number of 52’720 possibilities were examined with the in-house created software and
the most stable PLS graph was chosen from all valid combinations represented in Figure 7. This assembly
is the optimal structure of connection between the four axes and turns out to be more realistic than any
other model – the closest to the actual organizational strategic vision.

This representation shows that the angular stone of the strategy is characterized by the Regional Programs
which, in turn, influence the financial health of the organization. The financial perspective affects at the
same time the general quality of work as well as the whole of the “International Law & Protection”
Program. In order to seize what these three bonds contain, we will study successively the causes
suggested by the graph above. The objective is to briefly try to foresee what comes out from these causals
connections. The diagram emphasizes a capital element by spotlighting the Regional Programs. Indeed,
we find among the variables which define this axis the nongovernmental funds under all its aspects:
nongovernmental funds, nongovernmental restrictive funds (earmarked), total restrictive financing
(earmarked), as well as the funds specifically intended for Asia, Africa and MENA. Consequently, we
tend to believe that these programs are at the origin of the financial performance of the organization. And
since the causal links are one-way, activities of the regional programs can only be the subject of auto-
financing and therefore the activities are not covered by any formed of organizational reserve.

Since the contributions for the Regional Programs are higher than the expenditure needed within the
framework of their activities, it is perfectly obvious that are actually contributing to reserves of the
organization. The reason why the Europe is attached to the Financial Perspective and not to the Regional
Representation where one would see fit is that the principal activities as well as the headquarters are
based in Geneva. This region is mainly seen as a support area rather than a “fundraiser” one.

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Figure 7: BSC’s cause-and-effect chain using PLS approach (with 12 quarterly time periods)

0

.944
-.426
.538 -.077
.988
.842
.920 -.953 .995
.546
-.465
.483
.885
.782
.976
-.989
.903
.455
.987
-.992
.964
.945
.960
-.181
.862 .833
Regional Representation
Non-governmental total
funds
“Earmarked” funds Asia
“Earmarked” funds
GSRL
Non-governmental
“earmarked” funds
“Earmarked” funds
Africa
“Earmarked” funds
MENA
Consultancy
costs Activity ratio
# of
employees
“Earmarked”
total funds
# of admin
employee
“Earmarked” funds
Europe
Depreciation
Travel and training
costs
Total contributions
# of current ICS
procedures
Governmental funds
ratio
Non-governmental
funds ratio
Financial Perspective
International Law
and Protection
# of financial reports
after ddline
# of juridical reports
after ddline
# of new arrivals / new
employees
Average age of
personnel
# of dismissals /
positions abolished Gender ratio
Quality Perspective
Average formation of
personnel
Governmental funds
# of juridical personnel
Employee past
experience
Annual expense for
IER program
Annual expense for
GSRL program
Annual expenditure
ILP
Annual expense for
CIJL program
0.878
0.763 0.811
-.127
.236
.442
.442 .442
.442

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Applying the logic further, the accumulated reserves can fund and support the International Program
“ILP” as well as the Quality area. This is explained by the fact that the organization is characterized by a
very high reputation and quality of the work. The education level of the personnel coupled with related
expenditure is therefore essential. Contrary to the initial model of Kaplan and Norton (1992), the quality
perspective does not influence the customer satisfaction which, in fine, affects the financial area of the
organization. This is indeed true as funds raised from various regional projects are not dependent on the
overall outcomes of the organization. Or, in other words, the International Program “ILP” is financed in
an organic way (bond between the financial health and the International Program), in order to provide a
form of results which do not produce any “return on investment” (bond between the financial health and
quality). This can be explained by two factors: 1) the quality of the work provided by the organization is
already over and above the required standard and/or 2) the quality of the work is not important in the
stakeholders’ eyes (contributors). Whatever the cause, this last conclusion needs further investigation
from the management side, especially that the current strategy is considered as problematic. It should be
also noted that any management tool is usually needed to be implemented in a period of transition and
important changes within the organization.

When it comes to model validation from a statistical point of view (Table 3), the overall figures are
assessing in a good way both measurement (outer) and structural (inner) model. As a general rule of
thumb, in order to validate the outer model (measurement model), the Average Variance Explained
(AVE) should be above 0.5 (Chin, 1998) and Composite reliability greater than 0.6 (Werts, Linn, and
Jöreskog, 1974). Although all figures are exceeding the required threshold, one should note the borderline
for Quality Perspective. While this perspective is perfectly validated, the low value will demand for a
closer investigation together with the business of the measures that are building this block.

Table 3: PLS model validation criteria

AVE Composite reliability R-square
Redundancy
index
Regional Representation 0.728 0.939
Financial Perspective 0.834 0.821 0.770 0.641
Intl. Law and Protection 0.656 0.844 0.582 0.464
Quality Perspective 0.540 0.785 0.656 0.333

As for structural (inner) model validation, the best gauge to use is the R-square level. Values of 0.67, 0.33
and 0.19 are considered to be strong, moderate and respectively weak for the inner model valuation (Chin,
1998). The R-square have acceptable values for ILP Program as well as for the Quality Perspective, even
very close to the highest acceptance threshold. Furthermore, for the Financial Perspective one can remark
a strong significance, materializing the conclusion that all values are validating in a satisfactory way our
model. As stated in the beginning of this study, the inner and outer relations are based on structural
equations. Hence, behind each PLS Path model lies equations that supports the relations between
indicators and the corresponding axis (outer model equations) and between the axes or strategic
perspectives themselves (inner model equations). The fifth major step is consequently based on applying
these equations in order to study and forecast the relations for the long term. From a practical point of
view, there are substantial advantages in doing that:

a) analyze the variance impact of one (or several) indicators to the whole model;

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b) forecast the strategic changes by looking at the relationships between the axes;

c) visualize and manage both direct and indirect changes needed for an important change in the
company‘s strategy;

d) simulate the impact of resources allocation decisions on the future performance, thus
complementing the traditional budget approach;

However, one should keep in mind that an organization takes time in order to recalibrate to any change or
crisis situation. Any change in the company’s strategy should be done in a pondered and controlled way.
Moreover, it should be noted that a non-profit organization cannot be revolutionized or radically
transformed as a commercially-driven company might be.

FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND REMARKS

The crucial part in the proposed methodology is the selection of the number of axes and of the
corresponding performance indicators. It is essential that the key performance indicators describe to a
certain extent the strategy of the organization. This hints to the decision to filter out the main components
for outlining the strategy with the desired depth of analysis. Unquestionably, the strategy metrics differ
among organization, especially among different sectors (e.g. profit vs. non-profit). The research aim of
this paper was to elaborate and empirically validate an inclusive framework that channels Balanced
Scorecard model with Structural Equation Modeling approach and endorses a modern comprehension of
factors underlying the current strategy, in order to better manage and control the corporate performance.

The first essential step towards this goal was the development of a general frame of reference that
harmonized previously conflicting theoretical assumptions related to Balanced Scorecard as well as its
ease of implementation. On this basis, the proposed framework is embracing several major concepts:
1. addresses the issues of strategic vision of any organization and translates the actual
strategy into an easy-to-use model for better integration, communication and long-term management;

2. underlines the key performance indicators that have the ability to seize the most relevant
information from the company, information that is strongly connected to the current objectives the
organization is aiming for;

3. compiles distinctive strategic perspectives that summarizes company information in a
suitable way, in order to create a comprehensive illustration driving organizations in their road to
success;

4. determines the relationships between strategic perspectives in a cause-and-effect chain
that highlights the interactions taking place at a strategic level, helping in spotlighting the company’s
advantages and weaknesses;

5. overcomes the static feature of previous models revealing the dynamic evolution over
time by employing mathematical PLS equations, refining the planning and control of the main
constituents within an organization.

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The main objective of this study was to put in debate the Kaplan and Norton BSC theory compared to a
more pragmatic approach. Having founded the strategic research framework, we attempted to empirically
validate the proposed model by developing a strategic map in the context of a Swiss nonprofit
organization. The stability of this model has been validated through the application of the bootstrap
technique. For this purpose, the SPSS software was used along with a PLS software we specifically built
for this kind of analysis. The results obtained indicated that the BSC problems can be formalized in a
rigorous manner. It is thus possible to reassess the remarks progressed by Kaplan and Norton as exposed
in the analysis of this case. However, it should be stressed that the necessary prerequisites are relatively
constraining. Therefore it is essential to have an adequate number of indicators together with a consistent
historical sample of data. Furthermore, the noted real value of BSC lies more in the diffusion and the
comprehension of the strategy on all the levels within the company. Thus this requires strong
communication, interpretation and analytical skills.

The application of PLS Path Modeling translates the actual strategy into a cause-and-effect model that can
be monitored and controlled using a handful of essential performance indicators. One might debate that
by treating historical data, the model summarizes and obsolete information by illustrating a picture that
cannot be employed to influence the future planning. While the deduction is appropriate, the model is
actually identifying the actual strategy applied by the organization. Only by fully acknowledgement of the
current situation one can plan ahead for the period to come. As suggested in this paper, as the PLS
regression is more suited for maximizing prediction, the model is also capable of portraying the forecast
strategy of the company. Furthermore, this approach allows the simulation of the resource allocation
impact on the company’s overall performance. Lastly, it should be noted that these management tools are
applied in a moment of a significant need for strategic change in the organization. The use of this
approach allows not only understanding the chain of causality between different strategic areas of the
company’s performance, but also reinforces the intuition with “a measure of the measures”.

To conclude, we believe that it is relevant to develop a more formal methodology in order to validate the
company’s strategy in a rational way, while using a simplified model. Indeed the PLS method suffers
from a deficiency of theoretical foundation. But similarly, Kaplan and Norton’s approach was strongly
criticized in the specialized literature from this point of view as well. The difficulty with which future
researchers will be challenged lies in the compromise between the pragmatism sought by the
organizations and the need for the theoretical framework required by scholars

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Chin, W.W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern Methods
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Fielden, T. (1999). Pilot Refines Decision Support. InfoWorld, November 29, pp. 77-78.

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BIOGRAPHY

Bernard Morard, is a double PhD in both Finance and Accounting and currently a full professor in
Management Accounting at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is the author of numerous
publications in Management Accounting and various financial studies in the specialized literature.

Alexandru Stancu is a PhD in Management Accounting at University of Geneva and is currently working
in IATA (International Air Transport Association) in Planning and Control department. His PhD thesis
focuses on the Balanced Scorecard concept and identifies new ways in building a rational management
tool, closer to today’s organizational environment and demands, by implementing statistical methods like

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principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS). He is the author of several
publications in the field of Management Accounting.

Christophe Jeannette is currently a Teaching and Research Assistant in Management Accounting. He is in
process of finalizing his PhD thesis identifying and establishing patterns for company’s failure and
bankruptcy processes. He is also the full developer of PLS software that enabled many in-house studies
and researches to be analyzed and finalized.

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EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF THE LABOR
DISPLACEMENT ON THE HOUSING MARKETS
Meihua Liao, Asia University

ABSTRACT

There are few studies of the labor displacement for the housing markets. The average house price in
Taipei has increased by 20 percent from last year. Housing prices have a reached record high, which
drew complaints from the public. Due to the inclined-policies, and the participations of Taiwan
businesses and Mainland investors, property prices keep climbing up, despite the recent financial crisis.
According to Taiwan RDEC’s (The Research, Development and Evaluation Commission) internet poll,
the top public discontent is the “Over-priced housings in metropolitan area”. “Housing” is an important
demand among people. There sure will be serious public discontents, if the governments do not have
clear objectives and regulations in terms of policies and legislations. But at the same time, we can see the
increasing “added worker effect,” which is an increase in married women’s labor supply in response to
their husbands’ unemployment spells.

JEL: R21, R23

KEYWORDS: Education distribution, Marriage distribution, Housing markets, Labor displacement

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A CO-OPETITIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ACCOUNTING
HARMONIZATION: THE CASE OF THE FASB AND
IASB CONVERGENCE AGREEMENT
Anne-Sophie Fernandez, University of Montpellier France
Francoise Pierrot, University of Montpellier France

ABSTRACT

This paper aims at analyzing the evolution of the relationships between two major accounting standards
setter bodies (FASB and IASB – Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting
Standards Board) through a strategic theoretical framework. This study shows that the interactions
between those institutions can be defined as coopetition. Scholars’ attention to coopetition defined as a
simultaneous pursuit of cooperation and competition by firms (Bengtsson and Kock, 2000; Gnyawali et
al. 2008) has been increasing over the years with increased managerial significance. A case-based
exploratory method is used to highlight this paradoxical relation. These results are particularly
interesting because they deal with a case of institutional coopetition, a topic that has been two less
investigated by scholars.

INTRODUCTION

The current global economic crisis highlights the impact of the accounting standards on the evaluation of
firm performance. In such a context, the type of standards companies use becomes increasingly critical.
Both, FASB and IASB, are two of the most important standards setter bodies responsible for accounting
standardization in the world, each one developing its own set of standards: the US GAAP and the IFRS
(United-States General Accepted Accounting Principles – International Financial Reporting Standards).
The economic and financial globalization pointed out the need for global accounting standards. As an
answer to this question, those institutions, previously acting as competitors, began to collaborate. From a
strategic point of view, this evolution is analyzed as coopetition.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Coopetition: A New Dyadic Strategy

In strategic management, competition and cooperation have often been presented as two opposing forces.
Bresser and Harl (1986) show that sequences between cooperative and competitive strategies creates
many dysfunctions. Several authors consider that it may be beneficial for the companies to combine
competition and cooperation, two strategies that were previously thought to be a priori contradictory
(Bengtsson and Kock, 1999, 2000; Brandenburger and Nalebuff, 1995, 1996). The creation of the
neologism ‘coopetition’, a contraction of cooperation and competition, gives rise to a new research field,
which analyzes relationships that are simultaneously cooperative and competitive. Brandenburger and
Nalebuff (1995, 1996) are the first authors to propose a framework of coopetition. They use game theory
to define the coopetition as “a bringing together of interests between complementors when cooperation
and competition occur simultaneously” (Dagnino et al., 2007, p. 88). More recently, Bengtsson and Kock
(1999, 2000) develop a theory of coopetition based mainly on the social network analysis and the
resource based view (RBV). The authors define coopetition as a “dyadic and paradoxical relationship
which emerges when two companies cooperate in some activities, and are at the same time in competition

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one with the other on other activities” (Bengtsson and Kock, 2000, p. 412). This definition of the concept
is the most relevant. Coopetitive strategies have been growing over the years with increased managerial
significance. The diffusion of coopetition goes beyond multinational firms. Indeed, coopetition becomes a
real strategic standard between SME’s (Morris et al., 2007; Gnyawali and Park, 2009), between
subsidiaries (Luo, 2007) but also between institutions. Too less attention has been paid to coopetition
between institutions, creating a gap on the literature about this topic. This research is focused on the
strategic decision-making process of institutions. The objective is to understand why competing
institutions are involved in such paradoxical relationships. In order to do so, we explore the literature
about the macro drivers of coopetition.

The Macro Drivers of Coopetition

Actors don’t have the same propensity to develop coopetition (Bengtsson and Kock, 1999, 2000;
Gnyawali and Park, 2009). Some of them focus their attention on coopetition while others deliberately
refuse to work with their competitors (Gnyawali and Park, 2009). The reasons for this choice are not well
understood. Scholars tried to explain the adoption of coopetitive strategies by examining several levels of
drivers: industry, dyadic, organization and intra-organization. But, the complexity of coopetition can’t be
summarized at one level of analysis. In order to understand why institutions adopt coopetition, we try to
develop a framework about macro drivers of coopetition.

Coopetition is more likely to emerge in dynamic and complex environments in which knowledge is the
core of firm’s competitiveness (Carayannais and Alexander, 1999). Though, coopetition appears mostly
in hi-tech industries (Gnyawali et al., 2008). Three characteristics of hi-tech industries explain why
coopetition become a strategic standard: The short life-product cycle, the technological convergence and
the importance of R&D costs (Gnyawali and Park, 2009).

Michael Porter (1980) considers that the structure and the environment influence inter-organizational
competitive behaviours. The same logic can be applied to coopetition: the structure and the environment
influence inter-organizational coopetitive behaviours. Okura (2007) show that coopetition emerges
because a specific structure exists to allow the actors to achieve common objectives on some activities
and private objectives on others. Moreover, the markets’ structures can encourage cooperation or
competition. They also pressure the way in which both strategies combine one with the other. The edition
of formal rules, like the Sherman Act in 1980, drives the strategic choices of the actors. Institutions have
the power to influence the structure of the market and thus to induce coopetition (Bonel and Rocco,
2007).
The structure of a network is also powerful to stimulate collaboration between competitors (Ring and Van
de Ven, 1992; Easton and Araujo, 1992; Gomes-Casseres, 1994). In clusters, collaboration between
competitors is critical for the innovation process (Bengtsson and Solvell, 2004). The Silicon Valley is a
good example of potential coopetitive structure (Ferrarry, 2003).

The dyadic relationship could be direct (without being mediated by a 3rd party such as client, consultant,
government, institution) or mediated by such a third party (Jacobides and Billinger, 2006). Previous
researches show that the presence of a third actor, who is not a competitor, provides interesting dynamics
coopetition. Depeyre and Dumez (2010) compared the role of a third actor to an architect in terms of
designing and driving coopetition. Castaldo et al. (2010) point out that the intermediary impacts not only
the emergence of coopetition but also the management of the relationship.Globalization increases

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hypercompetition (D’Aveni, 1995) and created new collaborative opportunities (Contractor and Lorange,
1998). In spite of being competitors, actors have to face the same environmental constraints. In such a
context, pooling their forces appears as a good opportunity to survive maintaining their market shares
(Tidstrom and Ahman, 2006; Bonel and Rocco, 2007). Two competitors can also decide to cooperate in
order to win against a third common competitor (Bengtsson and Kock, 1999).

The diffusion of coopetition like a strategic standard is surprising. The neo-institutional theory explains
the phenomenon by the presence of a common institutional environment (Meyer and Rowan, 1977). This
perspective offers interesting insights to understand the emergence of coopetition (Oliver, 1991).
Coopetition can result from three types of isomorphic institutional pressures (Di Maggio and Powell,
1983; Scott, 1995). First, coercive isomorphism comes from political influence. An actor can formally or
informally pressure actors to fit with cultural standards of the society. These pressures can be seen as
incentives by the actors to join the collusion. In that sense, coercive isomorphism influences coopetition.
Second, mimetic isomorphism explains the diffusion of coopetitive practices within an industry (Luo,
2004) or in hi-tech industries (Gnyawali and al., 2008). The adoption of coopetitive strategies results from
the actors’ will to be consistent with environmental norms and standards. Third, normative isomorphism
that is related to the professionalization of the labour force has less power to explain the emergence of
coopetition than the two other types of isomorphism.

The literature review presented above offers interesting insights to understand macro drivers of
coopetition. Based on the different drivers identified, we propose the following integrated framework
(figure 1). This framework will be discussed further with the results of our case study.

Figure 1: an integrated framework of coopetition’s macro drivers

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METHOD

A Qualitative In-Depth Case Study

Case-based exploratory methods seem very appropriate to understand a phenomenon that is poorly
understood (Eisenhardt, 1989), has multiple and complex elements (Dodgson et al. 2008) that evolve over
time (Langley, 1999). In-depth study exploring details of a multi-faceted and paradoxical phenomenon as
coopetition is the best way to understand the difficulties associated with the design of coopetitive strategy
(Gnyawali and Park, 2011). Accordingly, we conducted in-depth studies of one exemplar case in order to
develop insights about the macro drivers of the phenomenon (Yin, 1994). Indeed, the relationships
between the FASB and the IASB are unique and offer us an exemplar case of investigation. The data
gathering is carried out starting from analysis of secondary data: internal data (internal reports, reports of
meeting, etc.) and external data (general and specialized press review). The mode of reasoning is based on
abductive logic, since the results of the case study and the academic insights have been simultaneously
processed.

Accounting Standardization

Werner Sombart has famously defended the idea of a link between economy and the double entry
accounting evolution (Lemarchand and Nikitin, 2000). During the last century, the main industrial
countries develop their own accounting standards in order to help companies to report their financial
information in priority whether to investors or to the tax authorities and creditors, depending on the
accounting model they refer to: the Anglo-Saxon or the Continental one (Nobes, 1983). At this time, this
latter dissociated the “Macro-Uniform Government-driven Tax-dominated” from the “Micro-fair-
judgmental commercially-driven” approach. Depending on the country, accounting regulation is assumed
by the State or some inter State organization (the case of the European Union – EU), or by an independent
entity like the FASB (the case of the USA: although considered as independent, the FASB is controlled
by the Security Exchange Commission) or a totally private independent organization like the IASB. The
form of accounting regulation is contingent to each country, depending on historical, social, economic,
legal and political specificities (Colasse, 2005).

These contingencies lead to the elaboration of different accounting languages almost in every country.
These differences interferes with the intelligibility and comparability of financial information beyond
borders and consequently with the access of companies to foreign financial markets. Accounting
standards become an important actor of the development of International companies. From the late 70’s to
nowadays, the relationships between the main accounting standards setters have evolved as described
hereafter.

The Case Study

At a European level, the EU decides to enter into a harmonization process by developing the 4th, the 7th
and the 8th directives (1978, 1983, 1984) to deal with this situation. At an International level, the IASC
develops a set of International accounting standards, the IAS. At the same time, the US GAAP are
considered as the best accounting system. Consequently, most companies use them in order to achieve
understandability and comparability of their financial statements among International investors. The
supremacy of the US GAAP decreased since the adoption of the IAS/IFRS by the European Union.Since
the creation of the IASC by Henri Benson in 1973, the need for accounting standards harmonization lead

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the FASB and the IASB to cooperate in order to reach a consensus on some specific themes (Street and
Shaughnessy, 1998). In 1993, the FASB was one of the four Anglo-Saxon standards setters (the
Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), FASB
and UK Accounting Standards Board (ASB)) the IASC began to work with in order to achieve accounting
compatibility between their standards. At the same time, the accounting standards of the FASB and the
IASC were in competition in the harmonization process conducted in Europe (Colasse, 2004).

In the 90’s, the European Union did not succeed in harmonizing the accounting practices throughout its
territory, and European companies began to use the US or the International accounting standards to reach
information comparability on financial markets. At that point, the question of the choice of one of those
sets of standards emerged; in 2002 the UE chose the IAS/IFRS to avoid the USA hegemony.

Relationships between FASB and IASB have evolved since then and ended up at a common project of
accounting standards convergence. The Norwalk agreement (2002) leads to interdependencies between
them. Initially competitors, they have to collaborate to develop a single accounting standards set. Since
then, these institutions have been at the same time partners and competitors. The framework of the drivers
of co-opetition is relevant to understand the definition of firms’ strategies. Since institutions like the
FASB and the IASB strategically behave as global companies, we ask whether this framework is also
relevant to explain the evolution of their relationships.

RESULTS

The results provide insights regarding three macro drivers of coopetitive strategy emerging between the
FASB and the IASB. First, following Jacobides and Billinger (2006), our results confirm the influence of
a third actor called « architect » in the emergence of coopetitive relationships. The European Union is
identified as the architect of coopetition as its choices constraints the FASB and the IASB to collaborate.
Since the EU chose international standards, the US GAAP have been less used by multinational firms.
Thus, influent developed countries have started to make their own accounting standards converged with
the IFRS. Consequently, the SEC finally accepted financial statements based on IFRS standards on US
financial markets. Second, in the perspective of the neo-institutional theory (Di Maggio and Powell, 1983;
Scott, 1995), the results of the case study points out the critical role of coercive isomorphism in the
emergence of coopetitive strategy. Indeed, after scandals such as the Enron case, the US GAAP are
considered less reliable. The context benefits the IFRS. Since then, a growing number of Americans
started to be seduced by the IFRS (Veron, 2007). Besides, the Sarbanes-Oxley act (July 2002) mandated
the SEC to evaluate if a principles-based accounting system set could be introduced in the US. As the
IFRS are a principles-based accounting system, the Norwalk Agreement, enables the FASB to revise its
own accounting standards.

Third, considering the strategic intent in the collaboration between two accounting standards setter
bodies, the results of our case study show a yet non-investigated macro driver. Whereas coopetition
between global companies is driven by technological standardization (Gnyawali and Park, 2009), this
case of institutional coopetition is driven by normative harmonization.Accounting standard development
is presented as a kind of economic policy that offers to the concerned standard setter organization a sort of
political power (Veron, 2007). The question of the power of standard setter organization appears to be the
core of the subject, whereas the institutions point out the interest of stakeholders and more specifically the
one of investors as the main goal of their action (“efficient allocation of capital by investors everywhere
in the world” (Shapiro, 2011)).

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CONCLUSION

This study contributes to both coopetition and strategic management literature. We highlight the macro
drivers of coopetition. Institutional drivers have been two less investigated by scholars. Our study
provides interesting insights to fulfill the gap regarding this topic in coopetition literature. In that sense,
relationships between the FASB and the IASB can be seen as an exemplar case of institutional
coopetition.
The case study also contributes to accounting literature providing a strategic framework to analyze the
relationships between two accounting standards setter bodies. Such a framework is actually relevant to
understand the decision-making process of these two actors. Our study is presenting some limitations that
offer opportunities for future research. First, this study is based on secondary data that could be completed
with semi-structured interviews conducted with key actors. A quantitative study could enable the
confirmation of our results. Second, we made a longitudinal study on a short period. Relationships
between the FASB and the IASB are still evolving. Further study could analyze the next strategic steps.

REFERENCES

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Bengtsson M. and O. Solvell (2004), “Climate of competition, clusters and innovative performance”,
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BIOGRAPHY

Anne-Sophie Fernandez is doctor in management and teaching strategic management and strategic
marketing at the University of Montpellier (France). She is interested in complex inter-organizational
dynamics such as coopetitive strategies in hi-tech industries, more specifically in the aerospace industry.
She can be reached at University of Montpellier – ISEM, rue Vendémiaire Espace Richter Bât. B, CS
19519 – 34960 MONTPELLIER Cedex France, anne-sophie.fernandez@univ-montp1.fr.

Francoise Pierrot is associate professor of accounting at the University of Montpellier (France). She is
interested in accounting standardization and more particularly in the impact of the IFRS adoption on
financial reporting of French listed companies. She can be reached at University of Montpellier – ISEM,
rue Vendémiaire Espace Richter Bât. B, CS 19519 – 34960 MONTPELLIER Cedex France,
francoise.pierrot@univ-montp1.fr.

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ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF SOLAR
ENERGY IN KUWAIT
Mohamed A. Hadi, Tech. Dept., Council of Ministers, Kuwait.
Refaat H. Abdel-Razek, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain.
Walid M. Chakroun, Kuwait University, Kuwait.

ABSTRACT

In Kuwait, the current method of generating electricity using conventional power plants cannot provide
the beneficiaries with adequate service unless more plants are constructed. In addition to their high cost,
these plants cause environmental damage, creating the need to investigate an alternative source of clean
energy. The objective of this study is to assess the technical and economic feasibility of implementing
Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy in residential houses in Kuwait. First, data and information were
collected and the appropriate PV system was selected according to cost and PV specifications. Second,
the equivalent annual costs of the PV system with various discount rates were estimated together with the
cost per kWh both for new and existing houses. Third, the annual reduction of CO2 emissions resulting
from implementing grid-tied PV systems was calculated. Taking into consideration the financial savings
from CO2 reduction, the cost per kWh was estimated and compared with the current cost. The purported
discount rate adopted by the Kuwaiti government’s long term plan is 6.7%. However, a range of discount
rates from 0% to 20% was applied and results obtained. The results showed that with a 6.7% discount
rate the annual savings on energy costs for a new house and a previously constructed one were KD 745
and KD 653 respectively. The results also revealed that the payback periods for the PV system for these
houses are 15 and 15.5 years respectively. It is concluded that building integrated PV (BIPV) solar
energy is economically and technically feasible in Kuwait when the discount rate is equal to, or less than,
the break-even point of 10.36% discount rate.

KEYWORDS: BIPV, Equivalent Annual Cost, Pay-back Period, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy.

INTRODUCTION

The energy consumption in Kuwait is increasing at a rate of 8% annually (Alotaibi, 2011). The
accelerating growth of both the population and new cities, and the need for new infrastructure, especially
in forms of electricity and water, has doubled the loads of electrical power plants, and constitutes
challenges to find alternative sources of electrical power. Residential buildings consume a high
percentage of electricity and can reach 70% of total production during the summer (MEW, 2010). The
current method used to generate electricity cannot effectively provide the beneficiaries with adequate
service all through the year, unless more new conventional power plants are constructed (Al-Faris, 2002).
Conventional power plants are major oil consumers; the consumption in these plants alone would reach
26.5% of the total Kuwaiti oil production by 2020. With the oil production rate of 2008, all of the oil
produced would be consumed locally by 2027 (Alotaibi, 2011).

Kuwait is considered one of the highest carbon dioxide emitters per capita in the world (30.2 ton/person),
mostly due to gases emitted from conventional electricity plants (UN data, 2010). Emissions of toxic gas
from traditional power generators, which run on fossil fuels, are harmful to the environment and humans
alike. In these circumstances, there is a growing interest in renewable and eco-friendly energy sources
such as solar energy, to be used as auxiliary sources of energy. Solar energy is one of the renewable

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energy sources that can be a partial substitute for fossil fuel, to avoid most of the negative impact of fossil
fuels (Kumar and Tiwari, 2009). Photovoltaic (PV) technology is proven and easy to use and the global
PV market is predicted to increase substantially in the future. (Hoffmann, 2006).
KUWAIT GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING

Kuwait is a desert country with a clean, hot and dry climate. From the NASA clearness index, KT, the
average yearly reading for Kuwait over a twenty-year period is 0.59, which is considered almost clear sky
all year long. For values above 0.5, the location is considered to have clear skies most days of the year
(Islam, et al., 2009). The maximum yearly total global solar radiation corresponds to a tilt angle of 30°,
which is equal to Kuwait’s latitude. The PV arrays for a proposed system should have the same
orientation, 30° angle facing south (Al-Hasan, et al., 2004). The average annual sun hours for Kuwait are
9.2 hours daily. With average peak hours of 7.5 daily, average solar radiation of 5.5 kW/m2 and diffused
radiation of 1.6 kW/m2, only 1 kW/m2 would normally be needed to activate the solar cell to its
maximum power output (Alnaser et al., 2004).

Al-Mumin and Al-Mohaisen (2008) showed that the average roof area of a typical Kuwaiti house is 308.3
m2, as shown in Fig.1. The average Kuwaiti house consists of two and a half floors, and consumes an
average of 166.25 MW/yr (MEW, 2009). The latest MEW report (2010) stated that there are 375529
houses or consumers in the residential sector. The actual cost of producing electricity in Kuwait is
34 Fils/kWh ($0.12/kWh) (Ramadhan and Nasseeb, 2011).

Figure1: First Column Represents the Average Roof Surface Area of Kuwaiti Houses
(Source: Al-Mumin and Al-Mohaisen, 2008).

PARAMETERS OF THE SELECTED BIPV SYSTEM

Pv Modules

Selecting the proper module depends on a number of factors, for example: maximum efficiency,
minimum area modules occupy, highest output power a system can give and cost of the PV module. The
specification data of four different types of PV modules were collected (Samsung, 2011, DMSOLAR,

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2011, SinoSolar 2011 and BestSun 2011). Hadi (2011) analyzed these data and concluded that the
BestSun156P300-72 module is the most appropriate module to be installed in Kuwait. Table 1 presents
the main comparison features between the four modules, some specific data for each module and the
comparison results.

The Inverter

Electricity supply in Kuwaiti uses 3-phase power, which leads to the selection of a model TLS-ZB 40kW
inverter unit. The cost per inverter is $8810, with a twenty-year manufacturer’s warranty (Tresstech,
2011).

Table 1: Comparison of Four Different PV Modules

Features Samsung LPC241SM DmSolar DM-280M2-3 SinoSolar SA260-96 BestSun156P300-72
Cell type mono-crystalline poly-crystalline mono-crystalline poly-crystalline
Effeciency 15.06% 14.40% NA 15.6%
Module’s output wattage 241 280 260 300
Module Price $ 582 518 429 465
Price/Watt $ 2.41 1.85 1.65 1.55
NOCT 46 +-2C 47 +-2C NA 46 +-2C
Weight 18.6 Kg 23.2 Kg NA 23Kg
Temp. Cycling (-)40 t0 +85 C (-) 40 to +90 C NA (-) 40 to +85 C
Roof Area m2 308.3 308.3 308.3 308.3
Occupied area (ms) 1.60066 1.940352 1.659 1.940352
Total AAPM plus shade 2 m2 2.3 m2 2 m2 2.3 m2
No. of Modules 154 134 154 134
System power watt 37114 37520 40040 40200
Cost of Modules $ 89444.74 69412 66066 62310

The Balance of the System (BOS)

BOS of a PV system consists of all the system or engineering components. It primarily consists of an
inverter to transform the direct current (DC) output from the PV array into a form of alternating current
(AC) electricity that can be synchronized with, and connected to, the electric utility grid. It also involves
support structures and the cost of labor in the system installation. The BOS accounts for 30% to 40% of
the cost of the PV system. In some studies, 35% was chosen as the average BOS cost factor of the PV
system, taking into account that none of the other components are added to the cost of the modules. In
most cases, the cost of the inverter, which is the second most expensive component of the system, is
added to the module cost, thus decreasing the BOS cost from 35% to 25% (Ayompe, et al., 2010).

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ESTIMATING THE PV SYSTEM INITIAL COST

Modules And Inverter Initial Costs

The roof area of the average residential house is 308.3m2. Each module of the selected model
BestSun156 P300-72 occupies 2.3m2 including the shaded area between module panels.

Number of modules per PV system = total roof area / area of a single module
= 308.3m2 / 2.3m2 = 134 modules per house

Initial cost of one module with 300-watt peak output power = $ 465 (Table 1)
Initial cost of all modules = $465 * 134 = $62,310
Initial cost of the inverter = $8,810/system (Tresstech, 2011).

BOS Initial Cost And Total PV System Initial Costs Per House

System initial cost = modules initial cost + inverter initial cost + BOS initial cost …..(1)

It is assumed that the cost of BOS = 25% of the system cost (Rigter and Vidican, 2010).

Let x = the initial cost per system in equation (1)

x = $62,310 + $8,810+ 0.25x

BOS initial cost = $94,827 * 0.25 = $23,707 per house

Total PV system initial costs = $94,827 / house

ESTIMATING THE EQUIVALENT ANNUAL COST (EAC) OF THE PV SYSTEM

Cost of Operations and Maintenance (O&M)

Using the following equation (Park, 2009):
AAOM = P*(1+ƒ)n ……………………..………………………….…..…….……(2)

Where: AAOM is the average annual cost of operation and maintenance, P is the present O&M cost

(System data manual) = $500, ƒ is the annual inflation rate expected = 3.24% (InflationData.com, 2011),
and n is the system estimated useful life =20 years. Then, AAOM = $688.40

Total Equivalent Annual Costs (Eac)

EAC = Ai + AAOM ……………………………..………………………..……..……(3)
Where:

EAC is total system equivalent annual cost, Ai is the equivalent annual cost of the system initial cost at
certain discount rate (i) and is derived from the following equation:

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Ai = P * CRF ……………………………………………………….……….……….(4)
Where: P is the system initial cost, CRF is the capital recovery factor and is obtained from the following
equation:

𝑪𝑹𝑭 = �𝒊×(𝟏+𝒊)
𝒏
(𝟏+𝒊)𝒏−𝟏
� …………………….………………………….………..………(5)

Where: 𝒊 is the discount rate and 𝒏 is the system useful life, assumed to be 20 years.

The purported discount rate adopted by the Kuwaiti government’s long term plan is 6.7%. However, a
range of discount rates from 0% to 20% was applied. The resulting EACs in US$ and Kuwaiti Dinars
(KD) are given in Table (2).

Table 2: EAC of BIPV System with Different Discount Rates

Discount rate Initial cost ($)
Initial cost per/year
($)
O&M/year

($)
System EAC
($) (KD)
0% 94,827 4741.3 688.4 5432.0 1,514.4
5% 94,827 7609.1 688.4 8297.6 2,313.4
6% 94,827 8267.4 688.4 8,961.2 2,496.9
6.7% 94,827 8743.3 688.4 9431.8 2,629.6
10% 94,827 11138.3 688.4 11826.7 3,297.3
15% 94,827 15149.7 688.4 15838.1 4,415.7
20% 94,827 19473.3 688.4 20161.7 5,621.1

SYSTEM ANNUAL OUTPUT POWER (AOP) AND COST PER kWh

AOP in Kuwait = average insolation /m2/yr * module efficiency * modules area …..(6)

(Ramadhan and Nasseeb, 2011) The average annual solar insolation for Kuwait = 2080 kWh/m2/yr
(Ramadhan and Nasseeb, 2011 & Alnaser, et al., 2004),

Module efficiency = 15.6% (BestSun, 2011)

Area occupied by 134 modules = 134 * 1.94 m2 (Table 1) = 259.96 m2

AOP in Kuwait = 2080 kWh/m2/year * 0.156 * 259.96 m2 = 84351.8 kWh/yr

Cost of electricity per kWh = EAC/AOP ………………………………………..…….(7)

Cost of electricity per kWh (at 0% discount rate) = 𝟏,𝟓𝟏𝟒.𝟒 𝑲𝑫
𝟖𝟒,𝟑𝟓𝟐𝑲𝑾/𝒚𝒓
= 18 KF/kWh
1KD=1000 Kuwaiti Fils (KF)

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Table (3) shows the cost/kWh at several discount rates in US cents and KF

Table 3: Cost per kWh for the BIPV system at different discount rates

Discount rate 0% 5% 6% 6.7% 10% 15% 20%
System EAC
US $ 5432 8298 8956 9432 11827 15838 20161
KD 1514 2313 2497 2630 3297 4416 5621
System AOP (kWh/house) 84352 84352 84352 84352 84352 84352 84352
Cost/kWh
US Cent 6.4 9.8 10.6 11.2 14.0 18.8 23.9
KF 18.0 27.4 29.6 31.2 39.1 52.3 66.6
* 1US dollar = 0.2788 Kuwaiti Dinar (KD) ** 1 Kuwaiti Dinar (KD)= 3.586 US dollars

SYSTEM NET COST AFTER DEDUCTING THE CO2 COST/kWh

CO2 emission has a cost; this cost however ranges widely, depending on several factors (Roberto, 2010).
In this study the average cost of CO2 emission is taken as $30/ton (Ramadhan and Nasseeb, 2011; Chel,
et al.; 2009; Johnson and Keith, 2004). The amount of CO2-e prevented by the use of solar energy, i.e. the
equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere by conventional energy sources, is given
(EPA, 2011) as:
Annual amount saved of CO2 per kWh = 7.18*10-4 metric tons CO2/kWh ……….…(8)

= (7.18 × 10−4) metric tons CO2 per kWh × 84351.8 kW = 60.6 metric tons/house/year

Cost of CO2 saved by the PV system = 60.6 * $30 =$1818/house (KD 507/house)

Cost of CO2 saved per kWh = Annual cost of CO2 / PV system annual output power
= $1818 / 84351.8 kWh = $0.022/kWh (KF 6.1/kWh)

Net cost per kWh (at zero interest rate) = EAC per kWh – CO2 cost per kWh
= 18 – 6.1 = KF 11.9 /kWh

Table 4 shows the net system cost per kWh at several discount rates.

COST COMPARISONS BETWEEN PV AND CURRENT SYSTEMS

The current electricity cost in Kuwait is 34 KF/kWh (Ramadhan and Nasseeb, 2011). The discount rate
adopted by the Kuwaiti government’s long term plan is 6.7%.

Cost per house at 6.7% discount rate using PV system = 2123.5 KD/house

Current annual cost = Cost/kWh * Annual PV system output

= 34 * 84351.8 = 2868 KD/year

Annual saving per house = 2,868 – 2123.5 =744.5 KD/house

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Table (5) shows the cost comparisons between the PV system and current system per kWh and per house
per year for several discount rates. Figure 2 shows the cost differences per kWh between PV system and
conventional system at different discount rates. Fig.3 shows the annual cost differences per house at
different discount rates. It is shown that the PV system is economically feasible when the discount rate is
≤ the break-even point of 10.36% discount rate.

Table 4: Cost Comparisons between PV & Current Cost for a New House

Discount
rate
PV system cost
/kWh
PV System annual
cost
/ house
Current
cost/kWh
Cost
Differences
KF/kWh
Current annual
cost/house
Annual Cost
differences
KD/house
0% 11.9 1007.7 34 22.1 2868 1860.3
5% 21.4 1807.3 34 12.6 2868 1060.7
6% 23.6 1990.8 34 10.4 2868 877.2
6.7% 25.2 2123.5 34 8.8 2868 744.5
10% 33.1 2791.2 34 0.9 2868 76.8
10.36% 34.0 2868.0 34 0.0 2868 0.0
15% 46.3 3909.6 34 -12.3 2868 -1041.6
20% 60.6 5115.0 34 -26.6 2868 -2247.0

Figure 2: Cost Differences per kWh between PV and Conventional Systems

SYSTEM PAY-BACK PERIOD FOR NEWLY CONSTRUCTED HOUSES

The estimated payback period (PBP) is given as (Chel and Tiwari, 2011):

The system PBP = (system total annual cost per house at certain discount rate * system lifespan in years) /
current annual cost of electricity per house

Where: system annual cost at 0% discount rate is 1007.7 KD, system lifespan is 20 years and current
annual cost of electricity per house is 2868 KD/house/yr.

PBP at 0% discount rate = 𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟕.𝟕𝐊𝐃×𝟐𝟎
𝟐,𝟖𝟔𝟖𝐊𝐃
= 7 years

PBP at several discount rates is given in Figure (4). It is shown that at 6.7% discount rate the PBP is 14.8
years, and at the break-even discount rate of 10.36% it is 20 years.

0% 5% 6% 6.70% 10%
15% 20%
22.1
12.6 10.4 8.8
0.9
-12.3
-26.6
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
C
os
t d
iff
er
nc
es
p
er
k
W
h
in
F
ils

Discount rate The difference
Break-even point =

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Figure 3: Annual Cost Differences per House at Different Discount Rates

Figure 4: PBP of PV System for Newly Constructed Houses

PV SYSTEM FOR PREVIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED HOUSES

The only difference between implementing a BIPV system on a newly constructed and a previously
constructed house is the cost of the BOS component. The infrastructure of previously constructed houses
does not accommodate the PV system directly. Some adaptations are required to the main utility box and
the installation of the wiring conduits. To cover all additional costs, the estimated BOS initial cost of the
previously constructed house is estimated to be15% more than the BOS cost of a new house. The same
methodology used for estimating the cost for newly constructed houses was used. The net cost/kWh was
calculated for several discount rates. The results showed that the net cost is 12.5 and 24.6 KF/kWh for
0.0% and 6% discount rates respectively. The results also revealed that with a 6.7% discount rate, annual
saving for a previously constructed house is KD 653. The PV system is economically feasible when the
discount rate is ≤ the break-even point of 9.82% discount rate and the payback period is 15.5 years.

0% 5% 6% 6.70% 10%
10.3607%
15% 20%
1,860
1,061
877 744
77
0
-1,042
-2,247 -KWD 2,500
-KWD 2,000
-KWD 1,500
-KWD 1,000
-KWD 500
KWD 0
KWD 500
KWD 1,000
KWD 1,500
KWD 2,000
KWD 2,500
An
nu
al
c
os
t d
iff
er
en
ce
s
pe
r h
ou
se

Discount rates Cost differences in Kuwaiti Dinars
0
10
20
30
40
7.0
12.6 13.9 14.8
19.5 20.0
27.3
35.7
N
um
be
r o
f y
ea
rs

Discount Rates

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CONCLUSIONS

Due to the extensive use of conventional power plants, Kuwait is considered one of the highest carbon
dioxide emitters per capita in the world, 30.2 ton/person/year. The PV system would reduce the country’s
emissions by almost twenty three million tons per year. The sunny climate of Kuwait creates excellent
conditions for increasing the peak hour output of the PV system, which in turn lowers the cost of the
BIPV system. Taking into consideration the financial saving of the CO2 reduction resulting from using the
new system, the EAC of the BIPV system is lower than the EAC of the current conventional source of
energy. At 6.7% discount rate, the estimated cost/kWh of the BIPV system for a new house is 25.2 KF,
while for a previously constructed house it is 26.3 KF. The current conventional electricity cost is 34
KF/kWh. The annual savings, therefore, of BIPV for newly and previously constructed houses are 744
and 635KD/house respectively.

The estimated payback periods of the BIPV system, with 6.7% discount rate, for newly and previously
constructed houses are 14.8 and 15.4 years respectively. These are shorter than the twenty-year lifespan of
the BIPV system. BIPV solar energy is economically and technically feasible in Kuwait when the
discount rate is equal to, or less than, the break-even point of 10.36% for new houses and 9.82% for
existing houses.

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IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE FOR STRATEGIC
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Koichiro Kato, Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Megumi Sako, Kanazawa Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT

Recently, the concept of CIPO (Chief Intellectual Property Officer) is attracting attention as a leader in
enterprise management to promote strategic Intellectual Property management. CIPO is a key player to
link and achieve Business, Research and Development, and Intellectual Property strategy with CEO and
CTO. However, there are no training courses focused on CIPO education in companies or outside
institutes like graduate schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate important knowledge for
CIPOs to develop an ideal CIPO training course for CIPO candidates. The results showed a clear
demand for CIPO training course at graduate schools, and the important knowledge for strategic
intellectual property management were related to “Business” and “Human” skills, rather than “Legal”
and “Legal practice”. The overall results suggested that CIPO training course at graduate schools
should apply “business school” approach rather than “law school” approach which is more legal
focused.

INTRODUCTION

Intellectual Property (IP) is recognized as one of the company’s most important assets. As Technology
management is having a dramatic impact on IP Management, the concept of CIPO is attracting attention
as a leader in enterprise management to promote strategic IP management. CIPO is a kind of CxO, and a
key player to link and achieve Business, Research and Development, and IP strategy with CEO and CTO.
Under such circumstance, there is an increasing demand for educational institutions like graduate schools
to take more serious action for IP education and training. In Japan, a standard called “Intellectual Property
Skill Standards (IPSS)” was developed for IP professionals by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry (2007). IP management specialists’ education has been started at universities around the world.
However, there is no training course focused on CIPO education in graduate schools in the world. The
purpose of this study was to investigate the important knowledge of CIPOs to develop ideal CIPO
training courses.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Kato investigated the carriers and experiences of CIPOs in Japanese companies (Kato, 2010). Phelps and
Kline explained the roll of CIPO in major IT companies in detail (Phelps and Kline, 2009). The
necessities of the training for intellectual property managers, training methods and programs, etc. have
been discussed in several studies (ex. Nagata, 2004). Marushima, the former CIPO of major
manufacturers in Japan introduced CIPOs’ responsibilities of the position (Marushima, 2008). Despite the
numerous studies related to this issue, there has been no conclusive answer to the program of CIPO
Education in companies or outside institutes like graduate schools.

METHODOLOGY

We provided questionnaire surveys to various CIPOs in Japan (domestic) and Overseas (international).
The surveys were sent to companies that submitted a high volume of patent applications which based on
the ratio analysis of previous questionnaires classified by the volume of submitted patent applications per
year. The survey was also sent to IP businesses sectors that were keen to have a CIPO.

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In this study, the definition of CIPO was

1) Leader in enterprise management to promote strategic IP management; or
2) A Key player to link and achieve Business strategy, Research and Development strategy; and

3) Develop IP strategy with CEO and CTO.

The questionnaire forms were sent to the 168 Japanese companies (based on JPO survey in 2008),
between March-April 2009 and 137 international companies (Top 150 USPTO Applicants in 2008 and
Top 100 PCT Applicants in 2009, excluding Japanese companies), in May 2010, also, to the 51
international companies based on Intellectual Property Business Congress 2010 (IPBC) attendees’ list, in
Oct 2010. Responses were obtained from 59 domestic companies (35.1%) and 13 international companies
(6.91%).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Categories, Sub-Categories and Knowledge Items

We used a five-point Likert scale to investigate the important knowledge necessary for CIPOs. The most
important attribute was ranked 5 by the respondents and the least important was ranked 1. 25 items were
selected from the IPSS categories. Graduate school’s IP and business course subjects were also used as a
reference. There were 4 big categories related to “Performance Evaluation” such as (1) Business, (2) Law,
(3) Legal practice and (4) Other. Each big category had sub-categories related to “Practice”. In (1)
Business, there were 3 sub-categories (Management, IP management, Standardization). Table 1 shows
sub-category and items in (1) Business.

Table 1: Items in Category (1) Business

sub-category: items: name of items
management corporate strategy/ management strategy knowledge 1
management of technology knowledge 2
marketing knowledge 3
accounting/financial affairs knowledge 4
ip management ip management/ strategy planning knowledge 5
ip licensing knowledge 6
ip evaluation knowledge 7
standardization international standardization strategy knowledge 8
in (2) “law”, there were 2 sub-categories (domestic ip law and international ip law). table 2 shows sub-category and items in (2) law.

Table 2: Items in Category (2) Law

sub-category: items: name of items
domestic ip law patent law knowledge 9
design patent law knowledge 10
trademark law knowledge 11
precedents of ip law knowledge 12
copyright law knowledge 13
unfair competition prevention law knowledge 14
civil law knowledge 15
international ip law ip related treaty knowledge 16
foreign patent law knowledge 17
In (3) “Legal practice”, there were 2 sub-categories (Domestic, International). Table 3 shows sub-category and items in (3) Legal practice.

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Table 3: Items in Category (3) Legal practice

Sub-Category: ITEMS: Name of ITEMS
Domestic Patent application practice Knowledge 18
IP litigation practice Knowledge 19
International International patent application practice Knowledge 20
Foreign patent application practice Knowledge 21
In (4) “Other”, there were 3 sub-categories (Technology, Foreign language, Human skills). Table 4 shows sub-category and items in (4) Other.

Table 4: Items in Category (4) Other

Sub-Category: ITEMS: Name of ITEMS
Technology Technology Knowledge 22
Language Foreign language Knowledge 23
Human Skills Human resource management/leadership Knowledge 24
Negotiation Knowledge 25

Result of Important Knowledge for CIPOS

Table 5 shows the average scores of Knowledge 1-25. Items scored larger than 4 point were considered to
be important knowledge for CIPOs. As a result, 8 items were scored larger than 4 points by domestic
CIPOs. BUSINESS: Corporate strategy/ management strategy (Knowledge 1), Management of
technology (Knowledge 2), IP management / strategy planning (Knowledge 5), IP licensing (Knowledge
6) , LAW: Patent law (Knowledge 9) , OTHER: Foreign language (Knowledge 23), Human resource
management/leadership (Knowledge 24) , Negotiation (Knowledge 25) .

6 items were scored larger than 4 points by international CIPOs. BUSINESS: Corporate strategy/
management strategy (Knowledge 1), Management of technology (Knowledge 2), IP management/
strategy planning (Knowledge 5), IP licensing (Knowledge 6) OTHER: Human resource
management/leadership (Knowledge 24), Negotiation (Knowledge 25).

There were similarities between the domestic and international CIPOs. Such as knowledge from (1)
“Business” and (4) “Other” category were highly valued. It would be thought more attention should be
given to those fields. Accordingly, CIPO training course at graduate schools should apply “business
school” approach to develop the ability of management skills and human skills rather than “law school”
approach which is more legal focused. The main difference seen between both groups was that
international CIPOs did not value “law” and “language” as important knowledge.

Needs for the educational course for CIPOs in Graduate schools

We asked the necessity of CIPO training program in graduate schools, adequate course (Doctors, Masters,
Certificate, etc.) and desirable course period. From the results of these questions, more than half domestic
and 70% of international CIPOs surveyed recognized the needs of CIPO educational course. More than
60% of both domestic and international CIPOs responded that the course should be Master Degree Course
for a period of between 1 or 2 years.

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Table 5: Result of average scores of Knowledge 1-25

Name of ITEMS Domestic International
Knowledge 1 4.43 4.73
Knowledge 2 4.27 3.91
Knowledge 3 3.79 3.45
Knowledge 4 3.64 3.73
Knowledge 5 4.41 4.82
Knowledge 6 4.09 4.64
Knowledge 7 3.88 4.27
Knowledge 8 3.59 3.09
Knowledge 9 4.05 3.91
Knowledge 10 3.66 3.18
Knowledge 11 3.80 3.27
Knowledge 12 3.70 3.45
Knowledge 13 3.50 3.09
Knowledge 14 3.77 3.00
Knowledge 15 3.55 3.09
Knowledge 16 3.63 3.36
Knowledge 17 3.77 3.45
Knowledge 18 3.88 3.64
Knowledge 19 3.68 3.45
Knowledge 20 3.21 3.36
Knowledge 21 3.39 3.36
Knowledge 22 3.52 3.64
Knowledge 23 4.14 3.36
Knowledge 24 4.43 4.64
Knowledge 25 4.25 4.64

Interview surveys

Interview surveys were conducted to determine whether the findings of this research were applicable to
CIPO education course in graduate schools, and to obtain opinions about industry-university cooperation.
Interview surveys were conducted on the basis of a loose structure consisting of open ended questions.
Interviews took place mid-August 2011. Participants were Dr. Kazunari Sugimitsu (Developer of the
“Intellectual Property Skill Standards (IPSS)”, Professor, Ph.D., Patent Attorney), Mr. Tsutomu Kigoshi
(Director, Patent, Thomson Engineering Lab. (Technicolor), JD, Patent Attorney) and Mr. Giichi
Marushima (Corporate Advisor, The former CIPO of Canon Inc., Patent Attorney).

All the Participants mostly agreed to our conclusion drawn from data collection and analyses undertaken
through this study. They strongly agreed to the importance of established collaboration between
companies and outside educational institutions specialized in CIPO education. Some impressive
comments were as follows. “Most subjects could be adapted from MBA courses and converted as IP
courses by adding subjects valued as important experience in this survey.” (Kazunari Sugimitsu). “OJT is
one of the best ways to educate CIPO and its candidates. It even works for developing skills to drive the
business. However, since CIPO is one of the top executives, lectures should not be given in the workplace
by junior staff. Therefore, it is Graduate School’s responsibility to contribute CIPO education.” (Tsutomu
Kigoshi). “Collaboration between company and the outside institute is hard to achieve. Educating CIPOs
would not be easy whether if it’s done in the work place or the outside institute. The success of the course

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is depending on how many practical curriculums could be included. Universities should consider giving
lecture on IP at the undergraduate schools, too.” (Giichi Marushima ).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed a clear demand for CIPO training course at graduate schools.
Master’s degree on the competition basis for 1 or 2 years thought to be sufficient for CIPO course in
graduate schools. The important knowledge for strategic intellectual property management was related to
Business and Human skills, rather than Legal or Legal practice. Needless to say, IP law and practice
related knowledge will be needed for CIPOs; however the basic legal education was desired to be offered.
This means, CIPOs do not have to be legal-professionals. The overall results suggested that the CIPO
training courses at graduate school should apply “business school” approach rather than “law school”
approach which is more legal focused.

While very few universities internationally offer a special course for IP management, Kanazawa Institute
of Technology (K.I.T.) Toranomon Graduate School has been equipping oneself for 2012. This will be
first of its kind in the world as a CIPO training course. The course is a Master degree program for
working people, along with programs in CIPO education based on the results. K.I.T will be continually
attempt to drive themselves to find better approach for CIPO education to respond the social needs. In the
end, it is necessary to establish collaboration between companies and outside educational institutions
specialized in CIPO education, and undertake the re-surveys for a certain period of time, to improve the
programs in effective means.

REFERENCES

Koichiro Kato (2010) “An Analysis Of CIPOs (Chief Intellectual Property Officers) In Japanese
Companies”, Journal of Academy of Business and Economics, Vol.10, No.3, pp.1-6

Marshall Phelps and David Kline (2009) “Burning The Ships, Intellectual Property And The
Transformation Of Microsot”, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey

Akiya Nagata,” Managing Intellectual Property”, Chuokeizaisya, 2004 (Japanese)

Giichi Marushima,” Chizai konohito ni kiku” Vol. 1, Hatsumeikyoukai, 2008 (Japanese)

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (2007) “Intellectual Property Skill Standards (IPSS)”, METI
web site, http://www.meti.go.jp/policy/economy/chizai/ipss/index.html (Japanese)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This work was supported by KAKENHI 20607006 (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (c)).

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Koichiro Kato earned his Ph.D. in Technology Management at Tohoku University, Japan. Currently
he is a professor of Kanazawa Institute of Technology (Toranomon Graduate School), examiner of the
Test of Certified Skilled Worker of Intellectual Property Management, and patent attorney. Before joining
academia, he worked for IBM-Japan.

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Megumi Sako is a visiting researcher of Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan. She received her
Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts from the University of Sydney, Australia. She earned two Master’s
degrees, one in Global Information and Telecommunications Studies from Waseda University, Japan and
another in Technology from Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Japan.

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HOUSING FINANCE BY THE COMMERCIAL BANKS
IN INDIA : GROWTH, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
Jagpal Singh Benipal, Mata Ganga Khalsa College For Girls,Kottan (Ludhiana)

ABSTRACT

According to the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, the shortage in housing in the
country’s urban areas numbered 24.71 million in 2007. India will face shortage of over 26 million
houses by 2012. Demand for residential houses is rising sharply because of growing young working
population, increasing urbanization, declining household size resulting in more nuclear families with
growing household income and improved availability of loans. The allocation of funds for housing at all
India level by the commercial banks was Rs. 723.78 crore in 1994-95 and it rose to 8389.10 crore into
2003-04.As against allocation, the achievement of housing finance by commercial in 1994-95 was Rs.
748.61 crore and it rose to 45378.20 crore in 2003-04. The recent growth of Indian Private Banks proves
that these banks have the role to play in this field in the coming years. There are some challenges for the
housing finance sector in the form of some problems. The major portion of the houseless population is in
low and lower middle income segments. The poor repayment capacity of the borrowers is a major
problem for this sector.

INTRODUCTION

Housing Finance is one of the constituent of the services sector in India. Now, the services sector
accounts for more than half of India’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP). Its contribution in India’s GDP
is 56.4 per cent in 2008-09. At present, India emerged as one of the fastest growing economies of the
world and the services sector played a significant role in this remarkable performance of the Indian
Economy. Housing Finance is an important constituent of the services sector. Against this background the
present paper throw some light on the Housing Finance in India.

As far as the shortage of houses are concerned, it is a global problem. Although the problem is very
chronic in the developing countries, most of the advanced countries also face this problem though in
varying degrees. The problem of housing has not been solved in India since its independence. Inspite of a
continuous effort in the country, the problem has become more serious especially in the urban sector of
the economy. The problem of housing shortage is likely to grow at a very fast rate in the years to come.
So, it is very clear that the housing finance needs to be stimulated so that the supply of housing could be
increased at a faster rate so as to fill the gap between demand and supply of housing. Against this
background the present paper has the following objectives :

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The specific objectives of the study are as follows :

(i) To review the magnitude of the problem of housing shortage in India;

(ii) To evaluate the growth of housing finance by the commercial banks in India;

(iii) To find out the various challenges ahead in this sector ;

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(iv) To find out the various prospects for the growth in this sector ;

METHODOLOGY

To examine the objectives, the study is based on the secondary data, collected from the various Financial
Institutions like Annual Reports of National Housing Bank (NHB), Census of India, Various Five Year
Plans of India and reports of various commercial banks etc. For the purpose of the analysis of the data,
various statistical tools like averages, percentages and growth rate have been used. The rest of the paper is
structured as follows : Section II reviews the Magnitude of the problem of housing in India. Section III
evaluates the growth of housing finance by the Commercial Banks in India for the period of 1993-94 to
2003-04. Section IV discusses the various challenges ahead in this sector. Section V explains the various
prospects for the growth of this sector. Finally, section VI concludes the major findings and suggestions.

Magnitude Of The Problem Of Housing In India

The First Five Year Plan estimated the shortage as 18.4 lakhs houses in urban areas in addition to 10 lakh
houses for displaced persons from Pakistan. The Second Five Year Plan estimated that the shortage of
houses in urban areas might increase by 1961 to about 5 millions as compared to 2.5 million houses in
1951. Based upon the census, the National Building Organisation has assessed the housing inadequacy in
the country during 1985 of the order of 247 lakh dwelling units (188 lakhs in rural areas and 59 lakhs in
urban areas). The Working Group on Housing has estimated the urban housing shortage at the beginning
of Tenth Plan at 8.89 million units and the total number of houses required cumulatively during the Tenth
Plan period is assessed at 22.44 million. According to the report of the Technical Group on estimation of
Housing shortage constituted in the context of preparing Eleventh Five Year Plan document, housing
shortage during the plan period (2007-12) including the backlog was estimated as 26.53 million. Most of
the housing shortage is for the Lower Income Group sections which does not seem to be getting translated
into economic demand due to lower affordability by the poor.

A survey by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2007 also showed that one out of every
seven urban households in the country lived in slums. That would mean that about 8 million people live in
slums and it is 2 million more than a decade ago.

Growth Of Housing Finance By Commercial Banks In India

Indian Housing Finance market is mainly dominated by multiple sources of finance. Most of the
households resort to more than one source of housing finance because of their inability to secure
sufficient housing finance from a single source. The housing finance market can be conveniently divided
into Formal Housing Finance Market and Informal Housing Finance Market. The housing credit from
institutional sources is termed as formal housing finance. Formal Housing Finance market constitutes-
Commercial Banks, Employers supplying housing loan facilities against employee’s provident fund
contribution, specialize housing finance institutions such as HUDCO, HDFC and LIC etc. and private
housing finance institutes. Among the formal institutions, the commercial banks are playing a dominant
role in the housing finance market of India.

Till late seventies, the commercial banks were not exposed to any type of housing finance. Although the
commercial banks are the late entrants in the field of housing finance yet they have surpassed the total
lendings done by the Housing Finance Companies over the past few years. The information relating to
housing finance as provided by various scheduled commercial banks in India during 1994-95 to 2003-04
has been given in Table 1. This information pertains to the allocation and achievement of housing finance

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by commercial banks. The percentage increase in allocation and percentage increase in achievement for
each year has also been computed.

Table 1 : Housing Finance by Commercial Banks in India (Rs. Crore)

Year Allocation %age Increase
in Allocation
Achievement %age Increase in
Achievement
Per cent of
Achieved Loan
to Allocated
Loan
1994-95 723.78 30.99 748.61 76.03 100.27
1995-96 927.03 28.08 842.03 12.48 90.83
1996-97 1071.45 15.58 1805.62 114.44 168.52
1997-98 1295.19 20.88 1284.00 -28.87 99.14
1998-99 1480.831 14.33 3951.992 207.78 158.49
1999-2000 3051.52 106.06 9911.35 150.79 324.80
2000-2001 3405.95 11.61 9787.24 -1.25 287.35
2001-2002 5159.22 51.48 14744.85 50.65 285.79
2002-2003 8574.10 66.19 33840.53 129.50 394.68
2003-2004 8389.10 -2.15 45378.20 34.09 540.91
Compound
Growth Rate
27.7 _____ 50.8 _____ _____
Source : Report on Trend and Progress of Housing in India, 1999, 2003 and 2004.

The allocation of funds for housing at all India level was 723.78 crore in 1994-95. This amount rose to
8389.10 crore in 2003-04, showing that in money terms the amount for housing during 1994-95 to
2003-04 increased by 914.298 per cent per annum. As against allocation, the achievement of housing
finance by commercial banks in 1994-95 was 748.61 crore. It rose to 45378.20 crore in 2003-04.
The amount of achievement in housing finance during the same period increased by 2189.44 per cent per
annum. The growth rate of achievement is much higher than the growth rate of allocation from 1994-95 to
2003-04. Achievement as percentage of the amount of allocation is more than 100 per cent in most of the
years except 1995-96 and 1997-98. The compound growth rate for achievement (50.8) is more than the
compound growth rate for allocation (27.7). The information relating to Bank group wise direct
disbursement of housing finance during 1999-2000 to 2003-04 has been shown in Table 2.

Table 2 : Bank Group wise Direct Housing Finance Disbursal (Rs. Crore)

Banks 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 Compound
Growth Rate
SBI & Associates 1205.06
(33.5)
1950.09
(35.1)
2636.34
(30.8)
4782.88
(20.3)
6478.80
(19.7)
40
Nationalised Banks 1710.10
(47.5)
2800.90
(50.4)
4963.62
(57.9)
9129.47
(38.8)
13722.91
(41.8)
51.6
Indian Private Banks 522.30
(14.5)
645.06
(11.6)
696.79
(8.1)
8864.03
(37.6)
11102.52
(33.8)
84.3
Foreign Banks 159.94
(4.4)
157.06
(2.8)
269.66
(3.1)
776.99
(3.3)
1512.16
(4.6)
56.9

Total 3597.40
(100.0)
5553.11
(100.0)
8566.41
(100.0)
23553.41
(100.0)
32816.39
(100.0)
55.7
Figures in parenthesis indicate percentage to total. Source : Report on Trend and Progress of Housing in India-June 2003 and 2004.

It is clear from the data that the share of SBI & Associates in total direct housing finance disbursement
has declined from 33.5 per cent in 1999-2000 to 19.7 per cent in 2003-04. The share of Nationalised
Banks has also decreased from 47.5 per cent in 1999-2000 to 41.8 per cent in 2003-04. Although the
share of Nationalised Banks in total direct housing finance has declined yet it has the dominant role in
providing the direct housing finance among the Commercial Banks. Nationalised Banks has the highest
j
j
j j

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share in total direct housing finance for each year from 1999-2000 to 2003-04. In 2003-04 it had provided
41.8 per cent of direct housing finance. The role of Indian Private Banks has been increasing since 1999-
2000 in the field of direct housing finance in India. Indian Private Banks has only 14.5 per cent share in
the disbursement of total direct housing finance in India while it rose to 33.8 per cent in 2003-04, thereby,
surpassing the SBI and Associates. Indian Private Banks have the second highest share only after
Nationalised Banks in 2002-03 and 2003-04. The Foreign Banks have a meager share in providing direct
housing finance in India. Foreign Banks have increased a little share from 4.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to
4.6 per cent in 2003-04. It seems that no doubt the Nationalised Banks are dominating the housing finance
market in India yet the recent growth of Indian Private Banks particularly in 2002-03 and 2003-04 proves
that these banks have the role to play in this filed in the coming years.

Challenges Ahead in This Sector

The large population base, the massive housing backlog, the fast expanding urban population,
mushrooming slums and squatter settlements are becoming a major socio-economic challenge for India.
The working Group on Housing for the Tenth Plan has observed that 90 per cent of housing shortage
pertains to the weaker sections. So, most of the housing shortage is for the Lower Income Group sections
which does not seem to be getting translated into economic demand due to lower affordability by the
poor.The liberlisation and the active entry of commercial banks into housing finance market, deregulation
of interest rate increased the competition in the housing finance market and affected the volume of
housing companies in the recent years.

Prospects for the Growth of this Sector

The Economic Times dated September 16, 2010 stated that India will face shortage of over 26 million
houses by 2012, which would lead to spurt in housing prices as demand-supply gap widens and rising
purchasing power of the middle class people. With India back on a high trajectory demand for
commercial and residential space is likely to witness an upward trend. Demand for residential property is
rising sharply because of growing young working population, increasing urbanization, declining
household size resulting in more nuclear families with growing household income and improved
availability of loans. Co-chairman of FICCI Real Estate Committee Pranay Vakil said over $ 1.2 trillion
investment was needed to meet the rising demand for urban development. Urban population in India
would nearly double to 600 million in the next 15 years from nearly 350 million now and this would put
massive pressure on urban infrastructure including housing. In the present paper, the analysis of growth
rate of housing finance by the commercial banks from 1994-95 to 2003-04 also proves that there is a great
opportunity for the financial institutions in the housing sector of India. Moreover, housing activity would
be an engine for substantial generation of employment in the country.

Major Findings and Suggestions

(i) The housing shortage is rising in India at a faster rate. It was 18.4 lakh houses in the First Five
Year Plan and it rose to about 26.53 million in the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

(ii) Around 90 per cent of housing shortage pertains to the weaker sections and most of them have no
access to housing finance.

(iii) The compound growth rate of achievement is much higher (50.8) than the growth rate of
allocation of funds for housing of the commercial banks from 1994-95 to 2003-04.

(iv) The Nationalised Banks are dominating the housing finance market in India.

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(v) The growth of Indian Private Banks in housing finance after 2001-02 proves that these banks
have the role to play in this field in the coming years.

(vi) The Foreign Banks have a meager share in providing direct housing finance in India. These
Banks have increased a little share from 4.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to 4.6 per cent in 2003-04.

SUGGESTIONS

Housing activity can make various contributions to the financial sector, insurance business, capital
market, construction material industry and employment etc., thus ensuring more Gross Domestic
Production (GDP) growth. This potential needs to be channelised and realized by promoting housing
supply and the mortgage industry. The facilitating role of the Government and financial institutions along
with private intervention to address the housing needs of the society should be recognized. Efforts should
be made to identify the legal and administrative constraints in the housing finance market and these
should be addressed suitably. There should be a strong public-private partnership for tackling the housing
and habitat issues in India. There is a strong need for more reforms in the banking sector in India.

REFERENCES

Government of India, Various Census Reports.

Government of India, Various Five Year Plans.

National Housing Bank, Annual Reports.

National Housing Bank, Various Reports on Trend and Progress of Housing in India.

Sharma K.S.R.N., “Housing Finance in India”, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi.
Various Newspapers.

Verghese K.V., “Housing Problem in India : Economic and Social Aspects”, Eureke Publications, New
Delhi, 1980.

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ASSESSING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE ON
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: A NEW
COMPETING MODEL
Diah Hari Suryaningrum, University of Brawijaya

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to propose a new model in assessing individual performance on information technology
adoption. The new model to assess individual performance was derived from two different theories:
decomposed theory of planned behaviour and task-technology fit theory. Although many researchers have
tried to expand these theories, some of their efforts might lack of theoretical assumptions. To overcome
this problem and enhance the coherence of the integration, I used a theory from social science literature,
particularly from Blumer’s theory of symbolic interactionism. This theory indicates, as Blumer himself
noted, that “the symbolic interactionist approach rests upon the premise that human action takes place
always in a situation that confronts the actor and that the actor acts on the basis on defining this situation
that confronts him.” Symbolic interactionism may have theoretical strengths on the basis that reality is
understood as a social production; interaction is symbolic; humans have the capacity to engage in self-
reflexive behaviour; interactionism regards society as ongoing process; and social and physical
environments set limits on behaviour, but do not determine behaviour. In this essence, normally, humans
use technologies not for the sake of technologies but for supporting their primary tasks, being job related
or entertainment oriented. Thus, there is an interaction between human and his/her technology. In this
paper, I suggest some propositions that can be tested later using experimental research design or
longitudinal survey research.

JEL: M15

KEYWORDS: individual performance, human-technology interaction, decomposed theory of planned
behaviour, task-technology fit theory

INTRODUCTION

The interaction between information technology and individual performance has been an ongoing concern
in Information System (IS) research. Since information technology adoption is related with human,
researchers use psychology theory to predict human behaviour on that regard: Theory of Reasoned
Action/TRA (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975), Theory of Planned Behaviour/TPB (Ajzen 1985, 1991),
Technology Acceptance Model/TAM (Davis, 1989), and recently, Decomposed Theory of Planned
Behaviour/DTPB (Taylor and Todd 1995, Hsu and Chiu 2004, Koeder et al. 2011). As to predict
individual performance, IS researcher uses the concept of “fit” to investigate the interaction of task and
system characteristics and their effects on information system usage and task performance: Task-
Technology-Fit/TTF theory (Goodhue and Thompson 1995, Dishaw et al. 2002, Klopping and McKinney
2004, McGill and Hobbs 2006, Usoro et al. 2010).

This paper proposes a new model of the relationship between the adoption of information technology and
individual performance by taking on insight from these two research streams (user behaviour as predictors
of system usage and task-technology-fit as predictors of performance). The core content of this new
model, called Human-Task-Technology Interaction and Performance Model (HTTIP), is the contention

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that in order for information technology has a positive impact on individual performance, then the
technology was not only be accepted and used, but also the technology must be a good fit or match with
the task it supports.

To develop a new model, I focus on the DTBP (Taylor and Todd 1995) and TTF (Goodhue and
Thompson 1995). The DTBP has advantages over other acceptance models in that it identifies specific
prominent beliefs that may influence information technology usage. The model was found to have better
predictive power compared to the initial TPB and TAM. Likewise, the TTF theory defines a model that
has been used to explain information system utilization. Goodhue and Thompson’s (1995) research
describes the relationship between the task requirements of the user and the functionality of the system
and their impact on utilization. Performance impacts will occur when the technology meets the users’
needs and provides features that support the fit of the requirements of the task. In their research, Goodhue
and Thompson suggest that utilization ideally be measured as the proportion of times users choose to
utilize or use system. Hence, to enhance the coherence of integration of these two models (DTPB and
TTF), I employ a theory from social science literature, particularly Blummer’s theory of symbolic
interactisonism.

UNDERPINNING THEORY OF ACCEPTANCE

Researchers and practitioners have a strong interest in understanding why human accept information
technology so that better methods for designing, evaluating, and predicting how users will respond to new
technology can be constructed. Lack of user acceptance is a significant obstacle to the success of new IS.
Some facts indicate that users are often unwilling to use information system when if it used, it will
troublesome or the outcome will not reached his/her expectation. Therefore, user acceptance has viewed
as the important factor in determining the success or failure of any information system project (Davis
1993).

Several underpinning theories have been developed to examine and understand the factors effecting
acceptance of information technology application in organisation. Although each model has a different
insight towards the acceptance process and each theory has different construct, there are some similarities
in them. For example, while TRA includes usage behaviour, behaviour intention, attitude, and subjective
norms; TPB uses the same construct as TRA with additional construct of perceived behaviour control.
Meanwhile, TAM includes different antecedent of behaviour intention, such as external variables,
perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude. DTPB as an extension of TPB, includes some
construct from Diffusion of Innovative theory (DOI): usage behaviour, behaviour intention, attitude,
subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude,
compatibility, peers influence, superior influence, self-efficacy, resource facilitating conditions, and
technology facilitating conditions.

Theory of Reasoned Action

TRA was proposed by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) and is a well established model in social psychology
research that can explain nearly any human behaviour. This theory suggests that person’s performance of
specific behaviour (eg. Use of technology) is determined by his/her intention to perform the behaviour
and behavioural intention is jointly influenced by his/her attitude and subjective norm with relative
weights that estimated by regression (Figure 1). Attitude is equated by the salient belief about the
consequences of performing the behaviour and the affective evaluation of those consequences. Beliefs are

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defined by the person’s subjective view that performing a given behaviour will result to a given
consequences. Subjective norms are determined by normative beliefs and motivation to comply with
perceived norms.

Figure 1: Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975)

This figure shows the construct of TRA and explains that actual usage influenced by behavioural intention and behavioural intention both
influenced by attitude and subjective norm, the antecedent of attitude is attitudinal belief, while subjective norm is normative belief.

A meta-analysis of TRA, performed by Sheppard et al. (1988), showed that TRA carried out well in the
predictions of human behaviour and intention towards information technology. TRA also offered strong
predictive utility in a situations such as non-voluntary behaviour and even when used to investigate
intentions even before the individual had all the information necessary to form a completely confident
intention (Dillon and Morris 1996). Besides that, Sheppard et al. (1988) pointed out three problems of
TRA. First, one must differentiate between behaviour and intention. This could be a problem because
avidity factors in addition to one, that is intention, determined how the behaviour is performed. Second,
there is no provision in the model for considering whether the probability of failing to perform is due to
ones behaviour or due to ones intention. Third, irrational decision, habitual actions or any behaviour that
is not consciously considered cannot be explained.

Theory of Planned Behaviour

TPB was developed from the TRA by adding an additional construct, namely perceived behavioural
control (PBC) to consider situations where an individual control or lack of the necessary resources to
perform the target behaviour (Ajzen 1991) as seen in figure 2. PBC is determined by the availability of
skills, resources, and opportunities. Since TPB consider the behavioural control, TPB assumed to be more
general than the TRA.

Attitudinal
Belief
Normative
Belief
Attitude
Subjective
Norm
Behaviour
al

Actual
Usage

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Figure 2: Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991)

This figure shows the construct of TPB and explains that actual usage influenced by behavioural intention and behavioural intention not only
influenced by both attitude and subjective norm, but also influenced by perceived behavioural control, and the antecedent each constrcts are
attitudinal belief, normative belief, and control belief, respectively.

Taylor and Todd (1995) pointed out that TPB is not without criticism. The relationship between the belief
structure and the determinant of intention: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behaviour control are
not essentially well understood. Although TPB introduced one variable, perceived behaviour control, as
an answer to all uncontrollable elements of behaviour, the beliefs set and construct may be difficult to
operationalise the TPB and may not be consistently related to attitude, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioural control. Furthermore, Taylor and Todd (1995) suggest that TPB model still requires
individuals to be motivated to perform certain behaviour.

Technology Acceptance Model

TAM (Davis 1989) shared with the TRA on the general explanation that links attitude to behavioural
intention but differ in drafting TAM attitude and behavioural intention. According to TAM, behavioural
intention is jointly determined by attitude and perceived usefulness and together with the perceived ease
of use explains the attitude. Broadly, the TAM indicates the general determinants of individual acceptance
of technology and can therefore be used and has been applied to explain and predict individual behaviour
across a broad range of technologies, end user computing and user groups (Davis et al. 1989). Because of
its focus on technology, TAM appropriately used to observe the technology acceptance by individual
professionals, but may still require theories or other models, because of its general and simple model.

Figure 3: Theory of Acceptance Model (TAM)

This figure shows the construct of TAM and explains that actual usage influenced by behavioural intention and behavioural intention is jointly
influenced by attitude and perceived ease of use, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness reflect the beliefs about the value and user’s
friendliness of information system, respectively.

Attitudinal
Belief
Normative
Belief
Attitude
Subjective
Norm
Behaviour
al

Actual
Usage
Control
Belief
Perceived
Behavioural
Control
Perceived
Ease of

Perceived
Usefulness
Attitude Behaviour
al

Actual
Usage

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Some studies indicate that TAM represents a parsimonious model because it has been proven by many
researchers in a different context and diverse technologies, such as in education (Teo et al. 2011,
Sheikhshoaei and Oloumi 2011), public service organization (Bouwman and Winjgaert 2009), internet
banking (Suh and Han 2002). Some researchers have also integrates TAM with TTF to obtain a more
comprehensive explanation of human behaviour associated with the use of information systems (Dishaw
et al. 2002, Klopping and McKinney 2004, Usoro et al. 2010, Schrier et al. 2010). Although there have
been considerable amount of studies to support TAM model, TAM still need to be investigated for its
inconsistent pattern; in some studies the relations were statistically significant, while other studies showed
the opposite. Legris et al. (2003) found that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are not the
only predictors of technology acceptance and lack of many significant factors that influence adoption.
TAM provides only limited guidance on technology usage (Lin 2007) and substantially ignores external
and situational influences particular to a given circumstance, such as mandatory or non-mandatory
(voluntary) usage (Taylor and Todd 1995).

Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour

DTBP is an extension of TPB, was proposed by Taylor and Todd (1995) to overcome some of the
limitation of TPB. Taylor and Todd (1995) extended TPB by decomposing the attitudinal belief,
normative belief, and control belief into several dimensional constructs to provide higher descriptive
power and a more accurate understanding of the antecedents of behaviour (Figure 4a). They claimed that
DTBP provides some advantages: first, by decomposing belief, the relationship between belief and the
antecedents of intention should become clearer and more readily understood. Second, decomposition can
provide a stable set of beliefs which can be applied across a variety of settings, and third, by focusing on
specific beliefs, DTPB more managerially relevant. Because of the larger number of factors that may
influence adoption and usage, DTPB should provide a more complete understanding of IT usage.

Several researchers have examined the validity of DTPB in understanding behavioural intentions (Taylor
and Todd 1995, Hsu and Chiu 2004, Koeder et al. 2011). Hsu and Chiu (2004) studied electronic service
continuance using DTPB. They indicated that even though DTPB provides better diagnostic value than
original TPB model, it is still more complex because it introduced numbers of factors that may influence
usage. Koeder et al. (2011) developed their model to identify the factors that encourage consumer to
purchase e-book reader in Japan, with the focus on normative factors. They found that attitude towards
connected e-book readers were the most important factor contributing to purchase behaviour. Koeder et
al. (2011) study was differ from Taylor and Todd (1995) and Hsu and Chiu (2004) because they
developed new constructs in decomposing attitude with relevance advantage and decomposing subjective
norm with normative influences.

TASK-TECHNOLOGY FIT THEORY

TTF theory is seen as an important development in information system theory. TTF theory assumed that
information technology is more likely to have a positive effect on individual performance and be used if
the capabilities of information technology match the task that the user must perform (Goodhue and
Thompson 1995) as seen in Figure 4b. To explain the linkage between information technology utilisation
and individual performance, they developed a conceptual model of technology-to-performance chain.
This conceptual framework was based on two separate research streams: first, the utilisation of
information technology with its antecedent of attitude and behaviour, and second, the “fit focus” evident
in research investigating the performance of individual information technology user.

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The concept of “fit” assessment in strategy research has been discussed comprehensively by Venkatraman
(1989) with six alternative perspective and approach of fit. 1) Fit as moderation perspective; effect of fit
as a moderating variable of an independent variable (predictor variable) on dependent variable (criterion
variable). 2) Fit as mediation perspective; an existence of intervening (indirect) effects between an
antecedent variable and its consequent (criterion) variable. 3) Fit as matching perspective; fit is a
theoretically defined match between two related variable. 4) Fit as gestalts; gestalts could be defined as
the degree of internal coherence among a set of theoretical attributes (fit as on the identification of
different group). 5) Fit as profile deviation; the degree of adherence to a specified profile. 6) Fit as
covariation; a pattern of covariation or internal consistency among a set of theoretically related variables.

The first two perspectives are more commonly used than the remaining four perspectives (McGill and
Hobbs 2006, Teo and Men 2008). Goodhue and Thompson (1995) use the concept of fit as moderating
variable, as they proposed: “information system (systems, policies, staff of IS, etc) have a positive impact
on performance only when there is a correspondence between their functionality and the task
requirements of users.” Their study found moderately supportive evidence of TTF as a function of system
characteristics and task characteristic, and strong evidence of performance in which TTF and utilisation
must be included.

Even if TTF has some supporting evidences, some researchers have extended TTF with TAM in varying
areas; conceptualization perspective (Dishaw et al. 2002), consumer of e-commerce (Klopping and
McKinney 2004), education (Strong et al. 2006), e-Tourism (Usoro et al. 2010), hotel industry (Schrier et
al. 2010) to obtain a more comprehensive explanation of human behaviour associated with the use of
information systems. This new model of individual performance is trying to integrate TTF with DTPB,
because even though TAM has a robust model, but TAM is a simple model, while DTPB assumed to
provide more complete understanding of IT usage. To enhance the coherence of the two models, I use the
sociology theory of symbolic interactionism.

SOCIOLOGY THEORY OF SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

Social theory has a substantial part to play in the development of the discipline of IS, particularly in
helping to understand and interact with the societal, organizational and personal contexts without which
the technology is meaningless. Blumer has made a substantial contribution to that theory, and his theory
of symbolic interactionism has been taken up by a number of IS researchers (Tan et al., 2003).

Blumer (1969) invented the term symbolic interactionism. He sees human action toward social objects as
individual terms in describing the object, rather than the characteristics of the object. Blumer divided
symbolic interaction into three premises of: a) People behave according to their understanding of objects
and events that happen to them; b) An understanding of the individual objects and events rooted in the
individual’s interactions with others; and c) Understanding more about interpretation than just a mere
literal sense that has been standardized.

He defined interpretation in two ways, first is the identification of the actor on an object in a situation that
has meaning. The second is the internal communication within the actor’s self and decide which objects
that have meaning to the situation. Blumer (1969) identified interactions as an interpretation of language
and symbolic gestures, and the determination of the understanding or the meaning of the actions
performed by others. Humans should be able to understand one another, because social life is a “flow and

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process” of negotiation. Reasonable for individuals to try to adjust their actions and behaviours with those
in which the individual interacts.

Symbolic interactionism theory refers to the character that goes between people. Actor does not merely
react to other actions, but he interprets and defines those actions. Human interaction is bridged by the use
of symbols to find a meaning. Actor will select, examine, think, organize and transform meaning in
relation to the circumstances in which and toward which his actions. Blumer (1969) says that the
individual is not surrounded by an environment of potential objects, but it was he who formed objects.
Individuals designing different objects, giving meaning, assessing compliance with the act, and making
decisions based on those assessments. Thus, humans are actors who are aware and reflective, which unites
the objects known through what is Blumer referred to as self-indication. Self-indication is the ongoing
process of communication where individual know something, evaluate it, give it a meaning, and decided
to act on that meaning. Human excellence is if he understood where he was going, what is his obstacles,
and what he would earn.

Thus, this theory indicates that “the symbolic interactionist approach rests upon the premise that human
action takes place always in a situation that confronts the actor and that the actor acts on the basis on
defining this situation that confronts him.” Symbolic interactionism may have theoretical strengths on the
basis that reality is understood as a social production; interaction is symbolic; humans have the capacity
to engage in self-reflexive behaviour; interactionism regards society as ongoing process; and social and
physical environments set limits on behaviour, but do not determine behaviour (Tan et al. 2003). In this
essence, normally, humans use technologies not for the sake of technologies but for supporting their
primary tasks, being job related or entertainment oriented. Thus, there is an interaction between human
and his/her task-technology.

Dillon and Morris (1996) pointed out that interaction between human-technology has been addressed by
human-computer interaction (HCI) researches. They explained that HCI research has moved from its
original concern with hardware ergonomics and screen design to user issues of interest. They also
indicated that even if HCI is not equivalent with the concept of acceptance, most HCI researchers assume
that the more usable a technology is made, the greater it chances in proving the acceptable to users. Zang
and Li (2004), in their assessment of HCI research in management information system (MIS), casted light
upon the research studies that HCI concerned with the ways human interact with information,
technologies, and task, especially in business, managerial, organisational, and cultural contexts. They
synthesized a frame work indicating a board HCI issues and concerns. They concluded that the interaction
of human and technology alone is still incomplete, since nothing happens in a vacuum. The interaction
experience is relevant and important only when humans use technologies to support their primary tasks
within certain contexts, being organizational, social or societal.

A NEW MODEL: HUMAN-TASK-TECHNOLOGY INTERACTION AND PERFORMANCE

The new model is an integration of DTPB and TTF. DTPB is selected in this new model because it
provides fuller understanding of the determinant of behavioural intentions (Taylor and Todd 1995, Lin
2007). Both researchers compared three theories and model of usage behaviour: TAM, TPB, and DTPB.
They examined the trade-off between parsimony and understanding associated with decomposition and
showed that even if DTPB is more complex than the pure TPB because of its additional construct, by
decomposing the belief structure of TPB increases the explanatory power and a better, more precise
understanding of the model for behavioural intentions. Particularly they emphasized that the

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unidimensional belief constructs of DTPB provides better understanding of behavioural antecedents
(figure 4a). Thus DTPB is selected for its capability to understand human behaviour and a good predictor
for system usage.

Likewise, TTF is chosen because of its theoretical assumption that information technology is more likely
to have a positive effect on individual performance and be used if the capabilities of information
technology match the task that the user must perform (Goodhue and Thompson 1995) as seen in Figure
4b.

Symbolic interaction occurs not only among subjects, but could also occur between subject and object.
An example is the interaction between people and objects in the form of information and technology. The
rapid developments in information and communication technology have driven the development study of
the interaction between people and technology. Eason (1991) model divides human interaction with
computers (technology) at three levels: level one related to human-computer interaction; expanded by a
factor of two levels of users, tasks, and environments that may affect job performance, and level three, IT
and between human-computer interaction impact on social life in the changed of nature of work, the way
how the organization operates, and how humans interact with one another.
In HTTIP model, the main components are human. Although there are many ways to understand human
beings and their interactions with technology, eg in terms of demographics, physical skills and
ergonomics, cognitive and effective, but in this model is focused on human behaviour intentions
(cognitive aspects). For that I use DTPB model because of its comprehensiveness in predicting human
behaviour.

Decomposing Attitudinal Belief

Ajzen (1985) revealed two kinds of differences in attitudes which are attitude toward object and attitude
toward behaviour. Attitude toward the behaviour is degree in which a person has pleasant or unpleasant
evaluation. Ajzen further stated that attitudes are related to the behaviour intention has a direct effect on
behaviour, while attitudes toward object has an indirect relationship. Thus, there are many factors that
affect the consumer interest to use and adopt information technology. In HTTIP model, attitude is
decomposed to three constructs: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived risk.
Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness was originated from TAM model (Davis 1989). Teo, et al.
(2011) provided evidence to support TAM as a viable and efficient model to explain the intention to use
technology. Fisbein and Ajzen (1975) extended TAM model and proved that the differences in attitudes,
perceived usability, perceived risk, and perceived playfulness is an attitude associated with the usage that
are categorized as attitudes on behaviour.

Proposition #1 : Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived risk will have a significant
influence on attitude towards technology use.

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igure 4: The Decomposed Theory of Planed Behaviour, Task-Technology Fit Theory, and Human-Task-
Technology Interaction and Performance.

a) Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour Model
a) Task – Technology Fit Model
Perceived
Usefulnes

Perceived
Ease of

Compatib
i-lity
Peer
Influence
Superior
Influence
Self-
Efficacy
Resource

Technolo

Attitude
Subjectiv
e Norm
Perceived
Behaviou
r Control
Behaviou
r

Usage
Behaviou

Task Characteristics
Technology Characteristics
Individual Characteristics
Technology Characteristics Performance Impact

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This figure shows the construct of DTPB, TTF, and HTTIP. Figure 4a explains that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control
will influence the behavioural intention towards usage behaviour. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control are decomposed
into multi-dimensional belief constructs. Figure 4b indicates task, technology, and individual characteristic that effects task-technology fit
towards individual performance. Figure 4c, as a new model, integrated DTPB and TTF as a more comprehensive model to explain the relation
between human-technology and performance.

Decomposing Subjective Norm

In the TPB, subjective norm is the perceived social pressure to perform or not perform the behaviour or
belief a person that someone or something important will be approved or not approved if it performs the
behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). Relative interests of subjective norm in predicting the expected interest varies
according to the behaviour and situation. Hsu and Chiu (2004) found the influence of subjective norm on
behavioural intentions, contrary Tan and Theo (2000) found no significant effect of subjective norms on
individual intention to adopt internet banking. Bhattacherjee (2000) stated that subjective norm is an
important predictor of interest to use an electronic brokerage service. In his research, Bhattacherjee
(2000) showed that subjective norm include two forms of interpersonal influence and external influences.
Therefore, in this study, subjective norm decomposed into two components, namely interpersonal
influences and external influences.

Proposition #2 : Interpersonal and external influence will have a significant influence on subjective norm
towards technology use.
c) A New Model: Human-Task-Technology Interaction and Performance

Human

Theory of Symbolic
Interactionism

Task-Technology-Fit
Perceived
Usefulnes

Perceived
Ease of

Perceived
Risk
Interpersona
l Influence
External
Influence
Self-
Efficacy
Perceived
Resource
Perceived
Controllabili

Attitude
Subjectiv
e Norm
Perceived
Behaviou
r Control
Behaviou
r

Actual
Usage

Task Characteristics
Technology Characteristics
Technology Characteristics
Individual
Performance

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Decomposing Perceived Behaviour Control

Perceived Behaviour Control (PBC) tend to be a means as the individual’s perception of ease or difficulty
in performing the behaviour and it is assumed to be a reflection of past experience such as the availability
of resources and opportunities (Ajzen, 1991). In his subsequent study in 2002, Ajzen suggested two-level
hierarchical model in which the PBC is the holding of the construct of self-confidence (self efficacy) and
controllability. Several studies applying the TPB to predict the behaviour of interest and prove that the
self-confidence (self efficacy) and controllability significantly associated with intentions.

Self-efficacy is the ease or difficulty to perform the behaviour, or beliefs of individuals to perform the
behaviour, whereas controllability is control of the behaviour or beliefs about how far do the behaviour is
a will of its own behaviour (Ajzen, 2002). Associated with self efficacy, individuals will feel more
satisfied with the behaviour that they feel able to do so, or vice versa (Bandura, 1998).

One component of PBC is a condition that facilitates (facilitating condition) which reflects the availability
of the necessary resources to perform a behaviour, such as money, time and other resources. Zang and
Guttierez (2007) states that perception resources (perceived resources) have a significant influence on
persepsian behavioural control (PBC). Thus, in this study Perceived Behaviour Control (PBC)
decomposed into three components, namely the self-assurance (self-efficacy), perceived controllability
and perceived resources

Proposition #3 : Self efficacy, perceived resources, and perceived controllability will have significant
influence on perceived behaviour control toward technology use.

Proposition #4 : Attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behaviour control towards technology use
will have significant influence on behaviour intention to use technology.

Proposition #5 : Behaviour intention to use technology will have a significant influence on actual use of
technology.

The second component of the HTTIP model is task-technology fit which include task, technology, and a
fit between both. Goodhue and Thompson (1995) define tasks as “action carried out that turn inputs into
outputs.” Gebauer and Shaw (2002) differentiate three different tasks within the organization, namely
operational tasks, management tasks, and information tasks. Meanwhile, technology is the making, usage,
knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, systems of method in order to solve a problem or perform a
specific function. Includes in technology are hardware, software, applications, data, knowledge, and
supporting procedures.

Goodhue and Thompson (1995) indicate that the fit between task characteristics and features of
information systems provide a conceptual basis for testing the quality of individual decision-making.
System information helps users by providing information that can be used individually to carry out their
duties. Therefore, the strong relationship between information technology and individual performance
(McGill and Hobbs 2006, Teo and Men 2008) or utilization (Strong et al. 2006) is the fit between
information technology that provides information to users and information needed to the task that must be

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done. This TTF theory proposes that a better fit between technology and task will lead to better
performance.

Proposition #6 : Task characteristic and technology characteristic will have a significant influence on
task-technology fit towards individual performance

The TTF model, as a fit between task and technology, has been used as moderating variable within TAM
model. Usoro et al. (2010) argued that “TAM and TTF model are individually effective in their
explanation of the different factors affecting user acceptance and utilization of IT systems and the impact
of their adoption on individual performance from two different perspectives – TAM focuses on user
attitude while TTF focuses on the correspondence between the user’s task and the functionalities of the
system.” Thus, integration of both TAM and TTF will be more effective than the individual models in its
explanation and prediction of the adoption and utilization process for an IT system by the user (Klopping
and McKinney, 2004). In this new model, I integrated DTPB with TTF, since DTPB is more
comprehensive than TAM in predicting human behaviour of information technology usage. Theory of
symbolic interactionsm indicates that reality is understood as a social production; interaction is symbolic;
humans have the capacity to engage in self-reflexive behaviour; interactionism regards society as ongoing
process; and social and physical environments set limits on behaviour, but do not determine behaviour. In
this essence, normally, humans use technologies to support their primary tasks with purpose in enhancing
his/her performance.

Proposition #7 : The integration of DTPB and TTF predicts the actual use of information technology and
individual performance.

This paper is an early attempt to provide a comprehensive model in assessing individual performance
within information technology adoption. Some subsequent studies, using experimental research design or
longitudinal survey research, must be employed to test the validity of the model and propositions.

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BIOGRAPHY

Diah Hari Suryaningrum is currently a doctoral student of accounting program at University of
Brawijaya, Malang – Indonesia. Her research interest includes information system, ethics, and accounting
behaviour. She can be reached at Universitas Pembangunan Nasional “Veteran” Jawa Timur – Surabaya,
Indonesia; email: diahharisuryaningrum@gmail.com.

mailto:diahharisuryaningrum@gmail.com

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A CLOSER LOOK AT CURBING FRAUD AMONG TAX
RETURN PREPARERS
Richard Lai, St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York
Maria Pirrone, St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York

ABSTRACT

Unethical tax preparers have been caught and convicted of criminal acts that have cost the cash strapped
Federal and state governments millions of lost tax revenue. In order to further regulate this troubling
industry, the Internal Revenue Service and some states now require paid tax return preparers to formally
register with them and many may be required to pass tests that would establish minimal competency.
Since taxpayers are ultimately responsible for their tax returns that are signed and filed by them, caution
is advised in carefully selecting their tax return preparer. When choosing a tax return preparer: be
cautious of tax preparers who claim that they can obtain large or larger refunds; avoid preparers who
base their fees on a percentage of the refund; consider whether an individual or firm will be available to
answer questions after the current tax season and in subsequent years; check tax preparers’ credentials;
and never sign a blank return.

INTRODUCTION

A recent US Department of Justice release declares: “Former Dallas Tax Preparer Sentenced to 15 years
in Federal Prison on Conspiracy and Obstruction of Justice Convictions”, re: Herbert Jena, September 16,
2010. Unfortunately, this has been a recent and recurring scenario where unethical tax preparers have
been caught and convicted of criminal acts that have cost the cash strapped Federal and state governments
millions of lost tax revenue.

Other Current Cases

Other recent cases of criminal acts by tax return preparers throughout the country include: A state
certified tax preparer of California was convicted of tax fraud, identity theft, and financial fraud, and
ordered to pay close to $363,000 in restitution. She was sentenced to 42 months in prison and 3 years of
supervised release. Re: Willena Stargell – September 19, 2011. A Flint, Michigan woman, operator of a
tax return preparation center, was found guilty of 37 counts of preparing and filing false tax returns. She
was sentenced to 33 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,700 in fines.
The estimated tax loss was over $110,000. Re: Chandra Hicks – September 14, 2011. A Manhattan, New
York tax return preparer was found guilty of 12 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false
and fraudulent individual tax returns. She was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in prison. The
estimated tax revenue loss was between $80,000 and $200,000. Re: Gloria Gaviria – September 14,
2011.

Abuses

Under Section 7701(a)(36), tax return preparers include one or more compensated persons who prepare
and sign tax returns as well as those who may not actually sign as preparer but advise on an income tax
position or entry. Among the many abuses that tax return preparers have been convicted include:

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-Claiming false business, rental, and itemized deductions
-Claiming false exemptions
-Claiming false credits such as the earned income credit
-Failing to report all required income
-Failing to remit payroll tax deposits and withholdings
-Filing false returns and seeking illegal refunds
-Redirecting refunds to their own accounts
-Guaranteeing large refunds and/or basing their preparations fees on refunds claimed

CIVIL PENALTIES

In addition to facing criminal charges and possible injunctions from further practice as tax return
preparers, there are numerous civil penalties that may be assessed against tax preparers in this
relatively unregulated business. These include the following penalties:

1. Under Section 6695 of the Internal Revenue Code (Other Assessable Penalties with Respect to
the Preparation of Tax Returns for Other Person), a $50 penalty per failure may be imposed
against preparers for:

-Failure to furnish taxpayers with a copy of their tax return
-Failure to sign a return
-Failure to furnish preparer’s identification number
-Failure to retain a copy or list of returns
-Failure to file a current information return

However, the total penalty per failure may not exceed $25,000 and will be imposed only if the failure is
without reasonable cause and is due to willful neglect.

2. Under Section 6695(f), a $500 penalty per check may be imposed against any preparer who endorses or
negotiates an income tax refund check made payable to another.

3. Under Section 6695(g), a $500 penalty may be assessed for failure by a preparer to comply with
required due diligence requirements relating to the eligibility or correct amount on returns claiming the
earned income credit.

4. Under Section 6694 (Understatement of Taxpayer’s Liability by Tax Return Preparer), a penalty equal
to the higher of $1,000 or 50% of the fee derived from a filed return may be assessed where a non-
disclosed, unreasonable (no substantial authority) position is taken on a filed return. (Section 6694(a))

5. Under Section 6694(b), a penalty equal to the higher of $5,000 or 50% of the fee derived from a filed
return may be assessed for any understatement of tax resulting from the preparer’s willful or reckless
conduct or from any reckless or intentional disregard of the tax rules or regulations.

6. Under Section 6701 (Penalties for Aiding and Abetting Understatement of Tax Liability), a penalty of
$1,000 per individual return ($10,000 per corporate return) may be assessed against anyone who aids in a
return that they know would result in an underpayment of a tax liability.

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DEFENSIVE ACTIONS

The IRS encourages people who suspect fraud by abusive and unscrupulous return preparers to report
them to their nearest IRS office by phone or by writing. Form 3949-A is available for this purpose and
whistle blowers may be entitled to a reward.In order to further regulate this troubling industry, the
Internal Revenue Service and some states such as New York and California now require paid tax return
preparers to formally register with them and obtain a preparer tax identification number (PTIN).
Additionally, under IRS guidelines, registered tax return preparers (RTRP) may be required to pass a 2.5
to 3 hour test that would establish minimal competency. However, more importantly, these regulated tax
return preparers must adhere to ethical standards in their preparation of tax returns and may be required to
complete 15 hours per year of continuing education which include tax ethics, recent tax law updates, and
other relating topics. Finally, the Treasury Department plans to apply Circular 230, which regulates the
practice of licensed attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents before the Internal Revenue Service, to
registered tax return preparers.

CONCLUSION

What To Look For When Choosing A Tax Preparer

When choosing a tax return preparer, the following points should be noted:

-Be cautious of tax preparers who claim that they can obtain large or larger refunds
-Avoid preparers who base their fees on a percentage of the refund
-Consider whether an individual or firm will be available to answer questions after the current tax season
and in subsequent years
-Check tax preparers’ credentials
-Never sign a blank return

Remember – the Taxpayer is ultimately responsible for their tax return that is signed and filed by him or
her. Caution is advised in carefully selecting your tax return preparer and a reputable preparer should
always be used.

BIOGRAPHY

Richard T. Lai holds a LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law and a J.D. from
Boston College Law School. He is a licensed Attorney and CPA in New York State and currently
provides extensive tax consulting and planning for various business entities. In addition, he has delivered
numerous presentations to Internal Revenue Service auditors and examiners in their Continuing
Professional Education Program. Email: Lair@stjohns.edu

Maria Pirrone is an assistant professor at St. John’s University. She holds a J.D. from St. John’s
University School of Law and a LL.M. from New York Law School. She is a licensed Attorney and CPA
in New York State. Email: Pirronem@stjohns.edu

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BEAUTY IN THE AGE OF MARKETING
Bingqing Yin, Washburn University
Susie Pryor, Washburn University

Abstract

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that beauty is positively related to a number of important
outcomes including social and personal power, self-esteem, and preferential treatment from others (Bloch
and Richins, 1992; cf. Adams, 1977; Goldman and Lewis, 1977). Moreover, studies consistently suggest
that the use of physically attractive models results in positive effects (Berscheid and Walster, 1974;
Bower, 2011; Buunk and Dijkstra, 2011; Landy and Sigall, 1974). Accordingly, advertisers utilize
attractive models to promote a wide array of products ranging from cosmetics to electronics. Despite the
emergence of physical attractiveness as a major component of consumer marketing, there is little
cohesive theoretical development in this area. This oversight ignores a marketplace dominated by global
marketing initiatives which cross nation-state and cultural boundaries. We have no coherent language
system for the study of beauty, nor has there been a systematic attempt to develop a theory of beauty that
is robust enough to be useful to marketing and advertising practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to
contribute to that theoretical development. First, we refine terminology. Second, we review the marketing
literature related to the subject area. Finally, we tentatively suggest how socio-cultural factors may affect
consumer perceptions of beauty.

JEL: M31

KEYWORDS: marketing, beauty, consumer behavior, cross-cultural research

INTRODUCTION

Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder. It is, accordingly, subjective and presumably both socially
and culturally influenced. From a marketer’s perspective, this is a less than useful perspective, for beauty
sells. A body of research suggests, for example, that physically attractive models used in advertising
produce consumer expectations of accountability, dynamism and trustworthiness; therefore, marketers
tend to use these models to enhance and strengthen the appeal of their advertisements and products
(Kamins and Gupta 1994). Physically attractive people are known to be perceived by consumers as
friendly, warm, dominant, sociable, outgoing, responsive, and possessing both self-esteem and
intelligence (Bloch and Richins, 1992). Individuals favor and are favorably disposed towards physically
attractive people (Caballero, Lumpkin and Madden, 1989). More broadly, research in other fields finds
physical attractiveness both a determinant and moderator of various processes including heterosexual
liking (Berscheid, Dion, Walster, and Walster, 1971), individuals’ perception and evaluation (Sigall and
Landy, 1973;), persuasion effectiveness (Mills and Aronson, 1965) and attributions of personal
characteristics and future success (Clifford and Walster, in press). It is therefore not surprising that
physical attractiveness has become a major component of consumer marketing, Beauty is power.

What is surprising is the lack of theoretical development in the field, and that becomes apparent when
beauty is conceptualized not as an independent variable but as a marketing construct. Understanding
consumers’ perceptions of beauty, particularly in a complex, global marketplace, has become increasingly
strategically important.

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The pursuit of beauty is apparent throughout centuries and across cultures. Consumers, especially female
consumers, use cosmetics, adornments, clothes, and even plastic surgery to increase and enhance their
physical attractiveness (Bloch and Richins, 1992). In daily life, consumers are confronted with
advertisements in which products — varying from cosmetics and clothes to cars and television sets — are
promoted by attractive models and studies provide empirical support for the validity of this marketing
approach (Buunk and Dijkstra, 2011).

Taken as a whole, the literature offers substantial evidence that beauty is an important construct. The
literature also suggests areas of general consensus. One, beauty is usefully employed in the promotion of
products, both in mass advertising and at point of purchase. Two, consumer attributions related to beauty
are multidimensional and favorable. Three, these two axioms hold true across the globe. From a
theoretical viewpoint, the literature has made several key contributions. It has developed a set of outcome
variables and has tested relationships in a variety of contexts and through a variety of methodological
approaches and effectively established nomological validity that allows us to accept these results as
robust. Some work has explored cultural differences in consumer perceptions of beauty, laying the
foundations for research. Other work has established the features which contribute to human physical
beauty.

However, there is a relative paucity of work which sets out to provide a coherent theory of beauty. We
lack, for example, a common language with which to work. The proliferation of inexact and variable
usage of terms such as beauty, physical attractiveness, aesthetics, and other similar words confounds our
task. The purpose of this paper is to begin to examine beauty as a complex marketing construct in order to
provide the basis for theoretical development in this area. The paper is organized as follows. We begin the
process of defining terms, each of which may present its own avenue for future theoretical development.
These include beauty, attractiveness, and aesthetics. We then focus more narrowly on physical attractive
and review findings in the literature, in order to suggest how the extant research might be assimilated to
begin the process of construct development. Finally, we suggest how research may wish to undertake the
task of exploring beauty in the age of marketing.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Beauty is commonly considered a characteristic of individuals, objects, and places that is perceived
pleasurably. It is studied in diverse fields such as sociology and anthropology (people and animals), art
and aesthetics (objects), and tourism studies (places). It is a term which is unique and independent from
other related terms, such as attractiveness and aesthetic.
Beauty is colloquially defined as “attractiveness” in advertising and marketing research, and has been
measured on a continuum from attractive to unattractive (Langmeyer and Shank, 1994). Arguably,
beauty is, however, more than a simple judgment of attractiveness. Beauty is psychologically complex
and reflects multiple dimensions which provide for the inclusion of facets of beauty that are described by
consumers in varied terms, such as cute, elegant, sexy, etc. (Solomon, Ashmore and Longo, 1992). This
multiplex conceptualization makes the continuum approach problematic. Physical attractiveness generally
includes the individual’s analysis of specific characteristics including facial image, body proportion and
shape and skin tone (Langmeyer and Shank 1994). For practical purposes, a common categorization in the
field of advertising assessing physical attractives across six interrelated psycho-logical distinctions or
differentiations including (1) Classic Beauty/ Feminine, (2) Sensual/Exotic, (3) Sex-Kitten, (4) Trendy,
(5) Cute, and (6) Girl-Next-Door” (Solomon, Ashmore and Longo 1992).Physical attractiveness, then, is
a term related to, but unique from, beauty.

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The term aesthetics concerns the nature of beauty, creation, and appreciation of beauty. Parsing the term
aesthetics from that of beauty may be particularly theoretically important in marketing from a global
perspective. It is common to allude to, for example, the Western aesthetic, the Islamic aesthetic, or the
post-modern aesthetic.

Throughout centuries and across cultures, people have used adornments in their pursuit of beauty (Bloch
and Richins, 1992) and people adorn their bodies in various ways by covering fashionable or desirable
parts graciously to achieve beauty or for aesthetic effect ( Scott, n.d. ). Empirical studies have shown that
adornment usage, which is positively related to physical beauty, enhances attractiveness and perceptions
of femininity (Cash, 1988; Guthrie, Kim and Jung, 2006). Moreover, adornment usage affects self –
esteem and social power (Adams and Read, 1983). Adornments such as nail items, tattoos, hair styles,
jewels, shoes and other grooming and beauty enhancing products have flooded the beauty market.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent every year by companies to persuade customers to remain
fashionable in order to fulfill their desire of both of material level of self-satisfaction and physical level of
attractiveness. In addition to financial expenditures, consumers – particularly women — are willing to
suffer physical pain to fit a certain type of social expectation of beauty (Bloch and Richins, 1992). For
example, women wear uncomfortable high heels to fit the social standard of beauty and enhance feelings
of confidence and attractiveness (Solmon and Schopler, 1982).

As one of the major components in the pursuit of beauty, clothing presents an individual’s image. Fashion
appeal is a non-verbal communication (Vanderholf 1988), through which the observer can assume the
wearer’s emotional, educational, moral, economic and social status (Faiola and Pullen, 1982).

Consumers use cosmetic products to enhance their appearance and create a “positive declaration of the
self,” and “ inscribe attributes to [one’s] personality” (Craik, 1993) and promote self-esteem (Creekmore,
1974). The application of make-up allows consumers to quickly and temporarily change their appearance.
Commonly used cosmetics serve as a quick, easy and means to improve facial attractiveness and hence
strengthen self-confidence (Miller and Cox, 1982). Improving physical attractiveness is one of the main
reasons women apply cosmetics (Guthrie, Kim and Jung, 2006). Women wearing make-up express a
more positive body and self-image and show more confidence than women not wearing make-up (Cash
and Cash, 1982). Certain cultural and social standards of beauty and the perceived rewards for being
physical attractive have pressured more and more women to apply cosmetics to change their appearance
in order to conform to idealized social and cultural beauty standards and expectations (Kelson, Kearney-
Cooke, and Lansky, 1990). Researchers have found out that women who identify with more traditional
roles are more likely to apply cosmetics to achieve beauty (Forbes, Jung and Haas, n.d.), cosmetic usage
is positively correlated with facial satisfaction (Cash and Cash, 1982), and that females who wear make-
up have more overall appearance satisfaction, believe that they receive more attention than they would
otherwise receive, and are also more likely to overestimate their attractiveness when wearing make-up
and underestimate their attractiveness when they do not apply make-up (Cash, Dawson, Davis and
Bowen, 1989).

Cosmetic brands adopt commonly understood and culturally embedded beauty standard to express to
targeted groups’ desirable images of beauty (Guthrie, Kim and Jung, 2006.). The influence of these
brands and their advertising has been felt globally. For example, before 1910, women in Japan presented
a traditional image of covering their face with lead-based white powder, but after 1910, western style
transparent white and skin-toned powder become more commonly used (Peiss, 2002). . Increasingly,

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consumers choose brands in order to reflect social status as well as desired facial image (Wood, 2004).
Accordingly, brand managers are advised to relate brand personality to women’s’ cosmetic purchase
behaviors and perceptions of facial image to identify different marketing strategies (Jamal and Goode ,
2001).

Perception of facial beauty are affected by generic, social, cultural and environments factors (Naini, Moss
and Gill, 2005). Culturally, socially, and historically subjective, issues related to facial beauty have
fascinated scholars for centuries (Gunes and Piccardi, 2006). Facial beauty may be viewed as a
combination of certain qualities which generate a sense of pleasure (Naini, Moss and Gill, 2005).
Overall, facial symmetry, facial proportion and facial expression are the significant characteristics in the
determination of facial beauty.

Regardless of variables such as race, age and sex, a universal standard of human physical beauty is
thought exist, which can be simply expressed as ideal facial proportion (Gunes and Piccardi, 2006;
Larrabee, 1997). The Divine Proportion (Jefferson, 2004), Golden Proportions (Borissavlievitch, 1985;
Huntley, 1970) or the Facial Thirds (Farkas, 1994) have been widely accepted as ideal facial proportion
measurements. Faces with the ideal facial proportions are not just physically attractive but also
biologically healthy (; Rhodes etc. 2001; Simposon, 1999).

Researchers have noted that the level of symmetry is one of the fundamental factors that affect human
face attractiveness (Gangestad, Thornhill and Yeo, 1994). Evolutionary biologists have proposed
symmetry as a sign of health and high genetic quality that may be adaptive (Thornhill and Moller, 1997;
Watson and Thornhill, 1994). Moreover, facial symmetry is theorized to be a signal of mate quality
(Swaddle and Cuthill, 1995; Watson and Thornhill, 1994). Studies by Rhodes et al. (1998) report that by
increasing the symmetric level of individual faces, the attractiveness of these faces can be increased and
that by reducing the symmetric level, facial attractiveness can be decreased. However, some other related
studies have shown that normal levels of asymmetric faces are more attractive than perfectly symmetric
versions of the same faces (Kowner, 1996; Langlois, 1994). For example, research by Knowner and
Langlois suggests that the average face is more attractive than the perfectly symmetric one, which comes
to the conclusion that people prefer symmetric faces ( perfectly symmetric excluded) than average faces.
Facial symmetry is only one factor important to facial attractiveness (Rhodes et al. 1998). Psychologists
and medical sciences have proposed that there is a timeless, ideal beauty based on facial proportion
(Naini, Moss and Gill, 2005). In addition, different cultures hold their own perception of attractive facial
image. For example, the ideal face image of beauty in Asian women’s perception is a tiny face with large
eyes and prominent nose (Kaw 1991). An eyelid without cease and a flat nose indicate “sleepiness,”
“dullness,” and “passivity” (Kaw 1991 p79).

A number of researches have showed that Asian women tend to change their facial features through
cosmetic surgery (Rosenthal 1991) in order to acquire “symbolic capital” (Bourdieu 1984; Kaw 1991).
More and more Asian women seek cosmetic surgery for double eyelids to get wider and larger eyes and
nose bridges for higher noses to avoid the stereotype oriental look and negative traits in their culture in
order to be exotic and outstanding (McCurdy 1990; Kaw 1991). Many Asian women seek cosmetic
surgeries to avoid the racial prejudice that correlates with Asian stereotyped facial beauty (Kaw 1991).

In Asia, fair skin is central to understandings of physical beauty and is correlated with a woman’s social
status, job prospects, and earnings potential (Leslie 2004; Li, Min, Belk, Kimura and Bahl 2008). White
skin, especially in south Asia, is considered both noble and aristocratic (Bray, 2002). Skin whitening,

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which can be traced back to colonialism (Li, Min, Belk, Kimura and Bahl 2008) and views regarding
western beauty and nobility (Wagatsum 1967) fuses traditional Asian cultural values with Western
aesthetics (Li, Min, Belk, Kimura and Bahl 2008). The ideal of white skin is the interaction of western-
centrism and Asian ideologies represented by Confucianism (Russell 1996). Since whiteness remains as a
significant element, women in Asia use various methods to brighten, whiten and lighten their yellow-
toned or dark skin such as skin whitening or skin bleach cream, pearl powder, or skin whitening drugs
(Bray, 2002; Jeon 1987).

Skin color bias, especially within the African American community, reflects the difficulty, disadvantage
and pain of dark-skinned women (Thurman, 1929; Thomas and Keith, 2001). In African American
communities, skin color plays a significant role in class and social status determinations (Thurman, 1929).
Research suggests that dark-skinned women are considered on the bottom rungs of the social ladder, least
marriageable, with the least education and career opportunities (Parrish, 1994; Warner, Junker and
Adams, 1941). The physical attractiveness stereotype “what is beautiful is good” (Dion, Bersheid and
Walster, 1972) creates a “Halo” effect to light-skinned women (Thomas and Keith, 2001). Attractive
women are perceived to have lighter skin tones than unattractive women, and a darker-skinned woman
may feel herself unattractive and think herself unsuccessful no matter how intelligent and inventive she is
(Russell, Wilson and Hall, 1992). African Americans have been conditioned to believe in conformity to a
beauty standard that equates light skin with an easier and more rewarding life (Bond and Cash, 1992;
Gatewood, 1998). Interestingly, western Caucasians may seek darker skin tones. While suntanned skin
was once the hallmark of the working-class, farmers and outdoor laborers, and a tanned skin viewed as
unattractive and undesirable (Mahler, Beckerley and Vogel, 2010), this aesthetic was entirely reversed
due to the efforts of the French designer, CoCo Chanel. American culture quickly adopted Chanel’s
portrayal of tanned skin as not merely aesthetically pleasing and trendy (Berkeley, Wellness Letter, 1998)
but also come to equate it with good health, wealth, and prestige (Bellafante, 2001).

Studies show that individuals compare their own level of attractiveness with that of fashion models
(Richins, 1991). Stereotypes indicate that women’s values are judged by their physical attractiveness and
the ideal image of attractiveness is considered as a “creditable source” (D’Alessandro and Chitty, 2011)
for women. Several researchers report that attractive body image, which can generally be represented by
body shape, body proportion and weight, is a significant variable when comes to the general standards
and judgment of beauty and effectiveness of advertisements (D’Alessandro and Chitty, 2011). Attractive
body image is seen as an indicator of interpersonal, material, and career success (Sullivan, 1993).

Singh (1993a) suggests that body fat distribution may be presented by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR.). An
indicator of health, youth and fertility usually lies between 0.67 and 0.80 for healthy and reproductively
capable women and is correlated with women’s physical attractiveness (Streeter and McBurney, 2002).
Singh (1993a) contends that the smaller the WHR ratio is, the more attractive the woman will be
considered. Further studies have found that both men and women find women with 0.7 WHR as most
attractive (Furnham, Lavancy, and McClelland, 2001).

Highly attractive underweight model images are pervasive (Westover and Randle, 2009). Both in western
and eastern cultures, thinness as the ideal woman beauty standard has been stressed in media
representations of beauty (Wifley and Rodin, 1995). Dalley and Gomez (1980) note that slimness has
been found to relate to elegance, self-control, social attractiveness, and youth (Dailey and Gomez 1980).
Media pressure, socio-cultural pressure, self- dissatisfaction pressure and male preference pressure have
delivered the clear message to woman that being thin is perceived more attractive than average weight or

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overweight (Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, Westover and Randle, 2009). (Exceptions exist. In Uganda, for
example, heavier body shapes are overwhelmingly preferred.) Large numbers of women reify standards
of beauty established via media images, striving for reductions in body mass (Monteath and McCabe,
1997). Eating disorders, cosmetic surgery and depression caused by self- dissatisfaction reported negative
results of these consumer responses to media presentations of beauty (Singh, 1994b).

CONCLUSION

This paper is by no means a comprehensive examination of the construct of beauty, nor is it intended to
be a critique or presentation of media representations. Rather, it is designed to be suggestive of the
breadth and depth of knowledge needed in the field of marketing to developing a theory of beauty useful
to practitioners. It suggests, for example, the types of variables that interplay with the construct of beauty.
It also suggests the variable nature of the construct. It acknowledges that social and cultural factors
contribute to perceptions and beliefs about beauty. Finally, it hints at the magnitude of importance of
understanding beauty. Such an understanding will contribute to the field, assisting advertisers, consumers,
and consumer advocates.

REFERENCES

Available upon request from the authors

BIOGRAPHY

Bingqing Yin is a graduate student at Washburn University. Her research interests include cross-cultural
perceptions of beauty and consumer behavior. Susie Pryor is an assistant professor of marketing. Her
research interests include social capital and co-production.

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“INTRAPORTFOLIO CORRELATION”: AN
APPLICATION FOR INVESTMENTS STUDENTS
Lynda S. Livingston, University of Puget Sound

ABSTRACT

“Intraportfolio correlation,” a measure of portfolio diversification, is becoming increasingly popular
among investment practitioners. However, far from providing the “free lunch” its adherents assert, the
intraportfolio correlation is a simplistic and flawed measure that ignores material information about the
relationships among portfolio assets. Deconstructing the intraportfolio correlation therefore can be a
productive and educational exercise (and a cautionary tale) for students of portfolio theory. In this
paper, we describe the measure and offer suggestions for incorporating it into an introductory
investments course.

JEL: G11, G14

KEYWORDS: Portfolio Theory, Diversification, Finance Pedagogy

INTRODUCTION

Students of investments are certain to learn the portfolio concepts of Markowitz (1952) and the Capital
Asset Pricing Model of Sharpe (1964). However, classroom models do not always transfer easily to the
“real world,” and practitioners constantly search for new ways to make difficult theoretical constructs
operational. Students therefore must be prepared to evaluate applied metrics, and to ensure that nothing
critical is lost in their translation from the academic ideal.

In this paper, we consider a relatively new metric meant to assess portfolio diversification: “intraportfolio
correlation” (IPC, or “Q”). The bold claims made for this measure (for example, that it is diversification,
all by itself), its various definitions, and its drastically simplified inputs beg for critical examination by
investments students. Q fits neatly into discussions of two- and three-asset portfolios, the standard
approach in undergraduate courses. A thorough examination of this new metric should ensure that
students—unlike the purveyors of Q—clearly understand the difference between correlation and
covariance.

DEFINING THE INTRAPORTFOLIO CORRELATION

According to adherents, intraportfolio correlation defines diversification. However, there are competing
definitions for IPC, which complicates evaluation. One definition that comes up frequently is:

Q = ∑∑
i j
ijjiww ρ , (1)

i≠ j, where wi is the fraction of the portfolio invested in asset i, wj is the fraction of the portfolio invested
in asset j, and ρij is the correlation between assets i and j. (See, for example, Gravity Investment, 2011
and Economic Expert, 2011.) Q, the intraportfolio correlation, then feeds into a calculation for the
“percent of diversifiable risk removed”:

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% of diversifiable risk removed =
2
)1( Q−
(2)

For example, if Q = 1 (its highest possible value), diversification is zero, while if Q = -1 (its lowest
possible value), diversification is perfect.

However, there is a problem with this definition. Consider an equally weighted portfolio of two assets i
and j, where σi2 = σj2. If assets i and j are perfectly negatively correlated, this portfolio would have a Q of
2*(.5)2*(-1) = -.5, implying that the percent diversified is (1+.5)/2 = .75, or 75%. However, in fact, this
equally weighted portfolio would actually eliminate risk. Therefore, we will use an alternative definition
(found, for example, at Hedge Fund Consistency Index, 2011 and WordIQ, 2011) of intrapoprtfolio
correlation:

Q =
∑∑
∑∑
i j
ji
i j
ijji
ww
ww ρ
, (3)

Using (3), Q equals -1 for the equally weighted equal-variance portfolio, so that the percent diversified is
100%, as it should be.

Unfortunately for Q adherents, defining the metric to be consistent with (2) does not mean that Q is
actually helpful. For our two-asset, perfectly negatively correlated portfolio, for example, Q will always
equal -1, even though portfolio variance, σp2, is zero only when the assets are weighted equally. Q always
sends the same signal; it is not providing an adequate measure of true diversification. We continue to
examine these sorts of problems with Q for two- and three-asset portfolios in the next section.

Q AND BASIC PORTFOLIOS

Two-asset portfolios are unique in that all two-asset portfolios are minimum-variance—they all offer the
lowest-variance way to deliver a given expected return. As with all portfolios, the variance of a two-asset
portfolio depends upon the weighting scheme chosen. However, the dependence of σp2 on wi is obscured
by the intraportfolio correlation expression:

Q =
ji
ijji
ww
ww
2
2 ρ
= ρij. (4)

All Q tells us is the correlation coefficient—which we already knew—not the amount of realized
diversification in a specific portfolio.

The problem with Q is that it abstracts from the variances of the underlying assets. Figure 1 gives us one
way to think about this problem. In the figure, we show the portfolio parabolas (possible portfolios,
plotted in [σp, E(R p) space]) for two sets of assets A and B. The assets A and B used to create the two
parabolas have the same expected returns in each case. (Asset A is depicted with circles; asset B by
diamonds.) The correlation between the assets is also the same in both cases: 0.2. In neither case is A or

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B dominated when held in isolation. However, asset A has a higher standard deviation in parabola #2
than in parabola #1, while asset B has a lower standard deviation. Consider the upper point at which the
two parabolas cross, which is marked by a star. At this point, both the portfolio on parabola #1 and the
portfolio on parabola #2 have the same weighting schemes for A and B, the same expected return, and the
same standard deviation. Given the common correlation coefficient, these two portfolios also have the
same value for intraportfolio correlation, Q. However, an investor clearly would not be indifferent
between the two portfolios—despite the common Q, E(Rp), and σp—since the portfolio, while not
dominated on parabola #2, is dominated on parabola #1. Again, these parabolas were constructed using
assets differing only on standard deviation, the information Q ignores; they share the same weighting
scheme, ρ, and expected returns. Intraportfolio correlation cannot distinguish between them since it
abstracts from critical information concerning their relative risk. Yet Q purports to be a risk measure!

Figure 1: Comparison of Two Pairs of Assets

This figure shows two portfolio curves made up of two assets A and B. For both curves, E(RA) = 25% and E(RB) = 10%. In parabola #1, the
assets’ standard deviations are 24% and 23%, respectively; in parabola #2, they are 55% and 10%. Consider the crossover point marked by a
star: this portfolio has the same Q on both parabolas, but is dominated on parabola #1. Q cannot distinguish between acceptable and
unacceptable (dominated) cases.

Figure 2 shows that Q’s problems are not limited to the two-asset case. This figure plots an isovariance
ellipse and two isomean lines (following Markowitz, 1952), using portfolios of three assets. Consider the
point at the tangency of the isovariance ellipse and the upper isomean line (this point is boxed in the
graph). The portfolio represented by this tangency point delivers the expected return with the lowest
possible variance, and is therefore efficient. However, this is not the portfolio that would be chosen using
Q as the criterion. The diamonds show the values of Q that correspond to the portfolios on the isomean
line. The Q value associated with the efficient portfolio (which is also boxed) is not the lowest;
minimizing Q therefore cannot be an optimal strategy.

-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
ex
pe
ct
ed
re
tu
rn
o
f p
or
tfo
lio
standard deviation of portfolio
parabola #1
parabola #2
E(RA)
E(RB)
minimum-
variance
portfolio for
parabola #1

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Figure 2: Q and Three-Asset Portfolios

The ellipse is one of a series of concentric isovariance ellipses. The lines are isomean lines; expected return rises as these lines move to the
northeast. Investors choose points on the efficient set, which is determined by the tangencies between isovariance curves and isomean lines. One
such point is highlighted. However, the Q value (diamond) for this efficient portfolio is not the lowest Q value possible for this level of expected
return. Minimizing Q cannot therefore be an appropriate decision rule for a risk-averse investor.

APPLICATIONS TO INVESTMENTS COURSES

The most straightforward theoretical application of Q to investments courses relates to the discussion of
the Capital Asset Pricing Model. After introducing the Capital Market Line (CML), the instructor could
ask students to consider the intraportfolio correlation for a portfolio of n assets lying on the Capital
Market Line. Since all assets on the CML are perfectly positively correlated, the Q value would be 1,
implying that there was no diversification whatsoever. However, since all assets on the CML are already
perfectly diversified—they have no systematic risk, by definition—this is clearly a nonsensical
implication.

A second theoretical link occurs when considering naïve diversification. Studying the portfolio variance
effects of setting all weights to (1/n), where n is the number of included securities, gives students an early
appreciation for the relative inconsequence of individual asset variances and the importance of
covariances. Bodie, Kane, and Marcus (2011) provide an example in which they assume that all
correlations and variances are the same (var(i) = σ2 for all i; corr(i,j) = ρ, i≠j). In this case, portfolio
variance equals:

σp
2 = 22
)1(1 ρσσ
n
n
n
−
+ (5)

As n increases, it is easy to see that the first term—the contribution of the individual asset variances—
goes to zero, while the second term approaches ρσ2. Portfolio variance therefore approaches the common
covariance. However, since all pairs of assets have the same correlation, Q becomes simply ρ, as it does
for the two-asset case. Again, the measure degenerates into something we already knew, and we miss the
point of the example—that even naïve diversification diminishes the influence of unique risk.

Moving beyond these theoretical evaluations of Q, investments professors may also introduce IPC in
more applied topic areas. For example, it is common for investments courses to incorporate spreadsheet
projects based on real data. Ammar, Kim, and Wright (2008) add a simulation exercise focused on
correlation. Using an equally weighted two-stock portfolio, they demonstrate the power of low
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
-0.3 -0.1 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9
in
tra
po
rtf
ol
io
c
or
re
la
tio
n
we
ig
ht
in
a
ss
et
C
weight in asset B
direction of
increasing E(R)

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correlations to reduce portfolio risk. They suggest—but do not perform—extensions, such as allowing
rebalancing. This type of extension could provide an opportunity for students to explore intraportfolio
correlation. Discussing Q would highlight the importance of a portfolio’s weighting scheme, which is
currently missing from Ammar, Kim, and Wright’s simulation.

More interesting evaluations of Q are possible when students actually set out to find the efficient set.
Since identifying mean-variance efficient portfolios is straightforward with Excel, students who learn the
process should be easily convinced that a simplistic metric like Q is unnecessary. Carter, Dare, and
Elliott (2002) provide a template for finding mean-variance efficient portfolios using Excel’s Solver tool.
With Solver, students can generate efficient frontiers for n-asset portfolios, which they can then compare
to reference portfolios. Using a plot of portfolios in (standard deviation, expected return) space, students
can easily compare efficient and dominated portfolios, and their Qs. As we showed in Figure 2 above,
they will learn that Q does not identify efficient portfolios.

Students who wish to go further with Excel can follow Arnold’s (2002) application of the program’s
matrix multiplication functions. Arnold advocates for introducing students to efficient set mathematics
using linear algebra, both to enhance their appreciation for the meaning of efficiency in the n-asset case
and to link portfolio theory solutions to regression analysis. Given the generality of the templates he
provides, he asserts that, “[p]articularly with the aid of a spreadsheet program, multiple asset portfolios
are not beyond the comprehension of undergraduate students.” Why then, would they need Q?

CONCLUSIONS

Intraportfolio correlation is a relatively new metric being advanced by some practitioners as a valuable
measure of portfolio diversification. However, it does not appear to live up to its hype. Markowitz
(1952) notes that his expected value/variance hypothesis implies the “‘right kind’ of diversification for the
‘right reason’.” It is not the number of securities in a portfolio that generates efficient diversification—it
is the relationships among those securities. This is undoubtedly the insight driving the advocates of
intraportfolio correlation. However, by focusing only on correlation, the standardized measure of
comovement, Q ignores the rest of covariance: the standard deviations.

In this paper, we evaluated Q using the two- and three-asset cases. These cases are part of the basic
investments curriculum, so should be easily accessible to undergraduate students. Nonetheless, they are
sufficient to demonstrate some of the problems with Q: students will be able to determine that Q is not
able to identify optimal portfolios—which is its job.

REFERENCES

Ammar, S., Kim, C.,& Wright, R. (2008) “Understanding Portfolio Risk Analysis Using Monte Carlo
Simulation,” Journal of Financial Education, vol. 34, p. 40-58

Arnold, T. (2002) “Advanced Portfolio Theory: Why Understanding the Math Matters,” Journal of
Financial Education, vol. 28(3), p. 79-96

Bodie, Z., Kane, A., & Marcus, A.J. (2011) Investments, 9th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

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Carter, D.A., Dare, W.H., & Elliott, W.B. (2002) “Determination of Mean-Variance Efficient Portfolios
Using an Electronic Spreadsheet,” Journal of Financial Education, vol. 28(3), p. 63-78

Economic Expert (2011). Diversification. Retrieved January 23, 2011 from Economic Expert Web site:
www.economicexpert.com/a/Diversification.htm

Gravity Investments (2011). GSphere: Diversification Meter. Retrieved January 23, 2011 from Gravity
Investments Web site: www.mydiversification.com/DiversificationMeter.aspx

Hedge Fund Consistency Index (2011). Diversification. Retrieved January 23, 2011 from Hedge Fund
Consistency Web site: www.hedgefund-index.com/d_diversification.asp

Markowitz, H. (1952) “Portfolio Selection,” The Journal of Finance, vol. VII(1), p. 77-91

Sharpe, W.F. (1964) “Capital Asset Prices: A Theory of Market Equilibrium Under Risk,” Journal of
Finance, vol. XIX(3), p. 425-442

WordiQ (2011). Diversification: Definition. Retrieved January 24, 2011 from WordIQ Web site:
www.wordiq.com/definition/Diversification

BIOGRAPHY

Lynda S. Livingston teaches investments at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. She is also
the founder of 4 Horsemen Investments, a not-for-profit financial education company. She can be
reached at llivingston@pugetsound.edu.

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CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING
OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN MALAYSIA
MohammadReza Aghaei, Management and Science University
Amin Moazami, Management and Science University
Mehrdad Salehi, Management and Science University
Amir Hossein Vazirifar, Management and Science University
Marzieh Djadidi, Management and Science University
Mojtaba Saeidinia, Management and Science University

ABSTRACT

In this article, we discuss the problems faced in implementing environment law in Malaysia. Firstly, we
brought some real cases that Malaysian government had dealt with before, according to their weak
management. As basis for environmental law and regulations, policies have been originated to manage
and mitigate possible environmental issues in future. However, economic policies that formulated by
government always mentioned as the most important reason for the current environmental problems.
Initiation of various environmental policies and regulations has not been able to protect upcoming
environmental damages. Regardless of all efforts to prevent environment by passing of laws and
regulations, Malaysia still face with increasing of demands for developing to greater urban that cause
high damage to environment. The misunderstood concept that says preserving environment means
limitation for developing makes much harder the implementing and enforcing of environmental laws.
This discussion tries to find a solution to improve implementing of laws and regulation to attain a
sustainable development in Malaysia.

KEY WORDS: Environmental law, Implementation, Regulation, misunderstood concept

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, environmental is an emphasis issue in whole of the world, and NGOs are worried about
environment in future. One of the most important discusses in the international societies is
Environmental concern. It is recognized now increasingly that many issues relating to the environment
have a global dimension. For instance, global activities contribute to the emission of green house gases as
well as global warming and climate change. Disasters cause incredible damage within jurisdictions
witness the recent earthquakes in Pakistan, Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, and the Tsunami now cross
boundaries is an order hardly ever seen before. The result of statistics makes all this clear, but there are
variety reasons, more governments neglect in implementation environmental law. Nowadays, Main
problem is implementation in this division, because of existence of steady laws in these countries in order
to protect of the environment. In fact, environmental laws are international matters, so the government
cannot ignore environmental laws. Decisions of government may have an environmental impact, among
other things that are more and more being made outside of the national sovereign sphere.

LITERTURE REVIEW

In contrast, some of the issues will influence the environmental such as being able to develop stronger
business relationships with suppliers, attracting ethical investors and even penetrating new markets due to
better environmental performance. Global capitalism creates pressures and tendencies for corporations to

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act and adopt strategic environmental practices. Furthermore, ISO 14001certification (environmental
management standards) might be one of the most appropriate examples for this case. In reality, The ISO
14000 exists to help organizations (a) reduce how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the
environment (i.e. cause unfavourable changes to air, water or land). (b) Conform to applicable laws,
regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements and (c) continually get better in the above.

ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 quality management as both of them be appropriate to the process of
how a product is produced, rather than to the product itself. According to ISO 9000, certification is
performed by third-party organizations rather than being awarded by ISO directly. Furthermore, The ISO
19011 audit standard applies when auditing for both 9000 and 14000 compliance at once. Concerning
can consider about the relationships between groups, individuals, organizations, and the rights to
information that such relationships entail (Gray R, Dey, 1997). Environmental responsibility values can
be developed throughout discourses of accounting with transparency and completeness indicating the
collective meanings of the disclosures, self-respect and closeness of relationships (Lehman, 1995).
Inevitably, corporate environmental reporting acts as the vehicle for providing environmental data that
designed to satisfy the accountability relationships in order to designate corporate consciousness through
a moral discourse on environmental issues. It justifies an environmental accountability level in creating a
just society amongst business corporations (Shearer T, 2002).

ISO 14001 certification provides evidence and confidence to external parties that the companies have
control over the significant aspects of their operations and activities. They are committed to conform to
all relevant environmental legislation, regulations and that they are continuously improving their
environmental performance. On the other hand, some companies chose to set up environmental
management systems (including environmental disclosure practices) with no seeking a certificate. The
reasons maybe the costs of implementing the procedures, investments towards controlling measures,
auditing costs, training costs and many more. Certification to international environmental standards
creates significant trade and investment relationships and in the Asia-Pacific region, ISO 14001 has been
seen as an important indicator of voluntary business commitment towards environmental improvement for
Singapore and Malaysia case (Sumiani, 2006).The countries should accept ISO 14001 due to international
laws and it is criteria for certified by environmental NGOs.

One of the Asian countries that are rapidly developing is Malaysia that may increasingly face the tension
between the economic incentives and the claim for ethical consciousness with regard to accounting for the
environment. Thus, there is increase in tendency to know the local environmental position and its
economic dependency in interpreting Malaysian motivational factors for environmental accounting and
reporting (Sumiani, 2006).Malaysia plans in order to reach the status of a developed country in the year
2020 and the construction industry is seen as a most important catalyst to attain this vision. On the other
hand, this industry has a dark side.

Regardless of the findings on the improvements of the engagement of the corporations on strategic
environmental movements, environmental reporting is still very low and general, and descriptive in nature
(Harte G, Lewis, 2000). Unfortunately, many countries approved some of the laws in their society as well
as perform in implementation very weak. The environmental dilemma in Malaysia cannot be overstated.
The indifferent attitude of the Malaysian policy makers towards a long-term development in fondness to
short-term fast economic gains has contributed hugely to the environmental affliction of the country.
They failed to learn from history that has clearly shown because of the main reasons for societies’
collapse is conscious destruction of their natural resources. A society seeking rapid development could

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achieve its aspirations with no necessarily having to compromise its environment. It is essential for any
society to make sure that it develops without necessarily compromising its environmental needs so as not
to undermine the present achievements (Maidin, 2005).

In Malaysia there are so many environmental laws that just we talk about some of them in the following:

1. Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) – www.doe.gov.my
2. Fisheries Act 1985 – www.moa.gov.my

3. Land Conservation Act 1960 – www.jkptg.gov.my

4. Local Government Act 1979 – www.jkt.gov.my

5. Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1994

6. National Forestry Act 1984 – www.forestry.gov.my

7. National Park Act 1980 – www.wildlife.gov.my

8. Plant Quarantine Act 1976 – www.moa.gov.my

9. Pesticides Act 1974 – www.moa.gov.my

10. Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 – www.wildlife.gov.my

11. Radioactive Substance Act 1968 – www.mosti.gov.my

12. Sewerage Services Act 1993 – www.jpp.gov.my

13. Town and Country Planning Act 1976 – www.jpbd.gov.my

14. Water Enactment 1920 (-Revised) Act 1979 – www.ktak.gov.my

15. Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Ordinance 1997

16. Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000

17. Sarawak Natural Resources and Environment (Amendment) Ordinance 2001

18. Sabah Environment Protection Enactment 2002

19. Sabah Forest Enactment 1968

20. Sarawak Forest Ordinance 1954

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There are so many real environmental cases in Malaysia and other countries relevant to this issue, we
mention in the present article to two real cases as example:

1- Mitigating the palm oil effluent problem in Malaysia:

It can be traced back to 1960s when (a) the prices of the competing crop rubber began to fall; and (b) the
Malaysian government embarked on a huge program of agricultural diversification. By the early 1970s,
in order to provide the processing needs of the agricultural estate, a large number of moderately sized
mills scattered around the plantations were established. Between 1965 and 1975, the output of Crude
Palm Oil (CPO) grew six times lead to more water use for processing and eventually more discharge of
(untreated) wastewater into water bodies. The estimates suggest that for every ton of CPO produced, the
mills generate 2.5 tons of effluent (Ma et al., 1982 as referred in Vincent et al., 1997: 328).

The extent of pollution is reflected, in the fact that by mid1977, 42 rivers in Malaysia were so
considerably polluted freshwater fish could not survive in them. This had wide ramification because
freshwater fish were a major source of protein for countryside Malays. Unfortunately, the palm oil mill
effluent (POME) problem was exceptional to Malaysia and no confirmed treatment technology existed at
that time. However, the pollution situation improved within 6–7 years from 1978 to 1985 due to the
acceptance of different policies. The data shows that in 1975, the BOD load discharged by 131 CPO
mills was equal to the BOD load in the raw sewage of 12 million people, which corresponded to
Malaysia’s entire population during that time. By 1985, however, the population-equivalent BOD load
declined by 99% to only 80,000 people. Respectively, the number of polluted rivers fell to 12 and clean
rivers rose to 81 in 1992.This suggests that some strong policies were in place during this period.

The change occurred despite a important (z72%) increase in the number of CPO mills from 131 mills in
1975 to 225 in 1985 along with the tripling of the industry’s output. Interestingly, the period also marked
the time when POI became the country’s largest foreign exchange earner, Malaysia consolidated its
position as the world’s largest producer of CPO and accounted for 3/4th of world’s exports, and its
contribution to GDP increased from 4.3% in 1980 to 8.4% in 1989.

The three major policy steps to control pollution were the passage of the Environmental Quality Act
(EQA), the establishment of the Department of Environment (DOE) (both in 1974), and the formation of
an expert committee (with representatives from both the government and industry). These measures
convinced the POI that the government was keen on reducing pollution levels. The EQA authorized the
DOE to ‘prescribe’ certain industrial premises i.e., necessitating them to obtain a license as a precondition
to activate besides satisfying conditions related to pollution control On July 7, 1977, the EQ (Prescribed
premises) Regulations were announced by the DOE imposing standards on eight parameters of POME .
The regulations were designed to serve two purposes:

(a) Raising revenue through license; and (b) ensuring a guaranteed reduction in BOD discharge by a
minimum amount through standards. The DOE also announced that it would make the standards
increasingly stringent over the next four years. The warning was intended to induce the mills make an
early investment in treatment facilities. However, the development of the appropriate standards was an
outcome of two years of preliminary work by the expert committee. Since BOD is the key parameter of
the palm oil mills (POMs), it attracted the maximum attention of the authorities. The firms were asked to
reduce BOD attentiveness from 5,000 ppm (parts per million) to 500 ppm in four years 1978 to 1981.
These limits were reduced further to 250 ppm in 1982 and to 100 ppm in 1984 (Table 1). The regulators

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gave an elegance period of one year to the mills to install treatment facilities enabling them to comply
with the regulations. The regulations also required CPO mills to apply for an operating license every year
for a particular fee. The fee consisted of two parts a flat processing fee of M$ 100 and a variable effluent-
related fee. The variable component varied according to: (a) the class of premises; (b) the location of
premises; (c) the quantity of wastes discharged; (d) the pollutants discharged; and (e) the existing level of
pollution to persuade mills reduce pollution levels.

However, the first generation standards did not make different between watercourse discharge and on
land disposal, as effluent-related fees computed for both the mediums were equal. The mills were
required to pay M$ 0.05/ton of BOD for discharges onto land. For any watercourse discharge, the fee
was M$ 10/ton of BOD for concentrations up to the standard, and beyond that, an excess charge was
imposed equivalent to 10 times the license fee. Therefore, the mills had a choice as they could either
arrange of their pollution and pay the fee or invest in a treatment facility and save on the license fee. The
later generations of standards, however, created an enticement for watercourse discharge as the effluent
related fees were considerably lower than those for land disposal.

The results of policy performance appear to be quite encouraging, yet below the expectations. The DOE
had expected that the average daily discharge of BOD per CPO mill would reduce from 220 to 25 tons.
However, it fell to only 125 and many mills opted to pay the excess fee. Of 130 mills, 46% paid a fee of
more than M$ 10,000; 7% paid more than M$ 100,000 and a total of M$ 3.5 million was collected.

The DOE had two choices either to increase the license fee or to make the standards more strict and
binding. The DOE chose for the later and made it plentifully clear to the mills that any violation of the
BOD standard would be dealt with by conclusion. The threat worked as it yielded instant results. The
average daily discharge fell to 60 tons the next year with a total reduction in load discharged of 84.7%,
whereas in terms of the effluent-related fee none of the mills paid more than M$ 10,000 after the 1980s.

The Malaysian experience in waste matter control in the palm oil industry has shown that a set of well-
designed environmental policies can be very efficient in controlling industrial pollution in a developing
country. The CPO regulations with active enforcement by the regulator in Malaysia represent a mixed
system of pollution control instruments. Palm oil industry offers several lessons for pollution control
efforts in other developing countries:

(a) Concurrently, Pollution reduction and industrial expansion can take place. The fact that an industry is
economically important is not a justification for not addressing the pollution problems caused by it.
(b) The environment and industry objectives can be merged only if many products from the waste matter
develop along with an effective and relatively reasonably priced technology. Nevertheless, this can be
possible only with the active support of the State.

(c) A proper support in order to R&D is required if conformity is to be ensured. The enclosure of a clause
by DOE that full or partial waiver of the charges/fee is permitted if any firm was believed to undertake
R&D on effluent disposal or treatment reflects this support.

(d) The last and the most important lesson that can be learnt is that compliance requires a regulator to
complete multiple roles a believable regulator, a facilitator and an enforcer. The reliability of laying
down the standards was established when the industry was also made part of the standards fixation
process, whereas the facilitator role of the regulator became obvious when the DOE decided to give some

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time to the industry to construct a treatment facility and get some experience before implementing new
regulations.

2-Bakun Dam

The Bakun Dam is an embankment dam located in Sarawak, Malaysia on the Balui River, a tributary or
source of the Rajang River and some sixty kilometres west of Belaga. As part of the project, the second
tallest concrete-faced rock fill dam in the world would be built. It is planned to generate 2,400 megawatts
(MW) of electricity once completed.

The purpose for the dam was to meet growing demand for electricity. However, most of this demand said
to lie in Peninsular Malaysia and not East Malaysia, where the dam is located. Even in Peninsular
Malaysia, however, there is an over-supply of electricity, with Tenaga National Berhad being locked into
unfavourable purchasing agreements with Independent Power Producers. The original idea was to have
30% of the generated capacity consumed in East Malaysia and the rest sent to Peninsular Malaysia.
However, about this plan is 730 km of overhead HVDC broadcast lines in East Malaysia, 670 km of
undersea HVDC cable and 300 km of HVDC transmission line in Peninsular Malaysia.

Future, plans for the dam include connecting it to an envisioned Trans-Borneo Power Grid
Interconnection, which would be a grid to supply power to Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei, and Kalimantan
(Indonesia). There have been mentions of this grid made within ASEAN meetings but any party has
taken no actions. Bakun Dam came online on 6 August 2011.Ting Pek Khing’s name again was raised in
connection with the project In May 2004. A Ting-owned company, Global Up line, was supposed to be
awarded a contract to carry out “biomass removal” in the flood basin.

This would allow him to harvest timber in the area without a separate permission. Issuance of timber
permits has come under increased inspection due to political conditions and environmental concerns.
However, as of December 2006 it has not been awarded.Usage of the generated capacity was to have been
by a proposed aluminium smelting plant in Similajau, near Bintulu, just about 180 km inside from the
dam. The project is a joint venture between Dubai Aluminium Co, Ltd (Dubal) and Gulf International
Investment Group (GIIG); make an investment fund jointly set up by Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar,
and Dubai-based international financier Mohamed Ali Alabbar. This plant was expected to consume 50%
of the power generated. The government has agreed in principle that 60% of Sarawak Hidro, the entity
which owns the dam, will be sold to GIIG. Due to delays in dam construction, the plans for the smelter
have since been shelved. Smelter agreement was originally signed in 2003 and some conditions have
lapsed due to delays in construction. Rio Tinto announced in August 2007 that they had signed a deal
with Malaysian corporation Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMSB) to build an aluminium smelter.

The production capacity would be 550,000 tonnes initially with expansion to 1.5 million tonnes possible.
Production of aluminium would start at the end of 2010.At the end of 2004, the minor partners in the
Malaysia-China Hydro JV consortium (Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd, WCT Engineering Bhd and MTD
Capital) will report quarterly losses due to the Bakun project. Discounting this project, they would all be
operating profitably for the quarter. For Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd, this is the first time it will report
losses since 1993. Ahmad Zaki estimates net losses suffered for nine months ending September 30, 2004
at RM4.55 million. WCT has reported a net loss of RM13.08 million for the quarter ending September
30, 2004 due to the Bakun project. MTD Capital reported a RM4.04 million loss in the quarter ending
September 30, 2004 and attributed it to “a major project undertaken by the company in joint venture with

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both local and foreign partners” without particularly naming Bakun.The lead partner in the project, Sime
Engineering reported a profit of RM521, 000 for the same quarter versus a profit of RM4.18 million for
the same quarter in 2003. Declines in profit were attributed to cost overruns and project delays.

In November 2007, Sime Darby, the parent company of the contractor Sime Engineering will be merged
with Golden Hope and Guthrie into a new company with a market capitalization of RM 31 billion (USD 8
billion). Concurrently with the merger, the contractor Sime Engineering will take over the ownership of
the Bakun Dam project. As of February 2007, there are three developments affecting the Bakun project.
The first is the merger of the Sime Darby, Guthrie and Golden Hope into a new entity named Synergy
Drive. The second is the proposed capture of the Bakun project by the contractor, Sime Engineering.
The third is the revival of the submarine HVDC cable under the South China Sea to transport electricity
from Borneo to Peninsular Malaysia.Sime Engineering Sdn Bhd has filed a suit against AZRB over
alleged breaches in the Malaysia-China Hydro joint venture agreement dated June 12, 2002 relating to the
Bakun dam. AZRB was served with a writ summons and statement of claim dated Oct 12 by Sime
Engineering claiming “RM15.24 million for supposed breaches by AZRB of the Malaysia-China Hydro
JVA” relating to Bakun hydroelectric project package CW2 – main civil works

Environmental and social damage: The Bakun dam flooding commenced on 13th October 2010[8] with a
faulty start and will put 700 km² of land under water – equivalent to the size of Singapore. The rainforest
of this part of Southeast Asia has some of the highest rates of plant and animal endemism, species found
there and nowhere else on Earth, and this dam has done irreparable ecological damage to that region.
Construction of the dam required the relocation of more than 9,000 native residents (mainly
Kayan/Kenyah) of the original peoples who lived in the area to be flooded. Many Sarawak natives have
been relocated to a longhouse settlement named Sungai Asap in Bakun. Most of them were survival
farmers. Each family was promised 3 acres of land but many families still have not been compensated.

Concerns were raised also about such things as the relocation of people; amount of virgin tropical
rainforest which had to be cut down (230 km²); possible dam collapse issues; increase in diseases with
water-borne vectors such as schistosomiasis, opisthorchiasis, malaria, and filariasis; and sediment
accumulation shortening the useful natural life of the dam. A 5 part series of Bakun dam documentaries
was filmed by Chou Z Lam. The series highlighted the basic group of people problems faced by displaced
native people such as the lack of land areas for farming and hunting, lack of educational, medical, and
transport facilities and also the promises not being kept by the government. This documentary series was
later banned from Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) on May 2010, forcing the remaining series to
YouTube. Transparency International includes Bakun Dam in its ‘Monuments of corruption’ Global
Corruption Report 2005. The permission to expand the project went to a timber contractor and friend of
Sarawak’s director.

CONCLUDATION & RECOMMENDATION

Regarding to the issues considered in above, significant matters is implementation, despite so many of the
Nongovernmental organization (NGO) attempted to resolve this problems but still variety matters in
implementation. Nongovernmental organization (NGO) should encourage the governments strictly to
implement environmental laws and prove to them who performing laws will not restrict their
developments.

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Our recommendation is use of Environmental Education wide spread. In fact, Environmental Education
(EE) increasingly promoted as a tool in environmental management. The importance of Environmental
Education (EE) is highlighted in the National Policy on the Environment, use of Strategies on “Education
& Awareness.” Malaysia government and other countries should make an investment in Environmental
Education (EE) as a type of formal and non-formal education more than. It will be introduced in schools
as Environmental Education Program (EEP), across curriculum at primary and secondary level. Related
to that, Environmental Education (EE) was found as an important subject who it must be known by the
teachers previous to teach that subject indirectly in the classroom. Problems occurred while implementing
Environmental Education Program (EEP) in schools such as; less knowledge about Environmental
Education (EE) among teachers, thinking Environmental Education Program (EEP) as an extra burden for
them to educate, etc.

It will not be possible unless Environmental Education (EE) support by Malaysia governmental
organizations for instance Ministry of Education (MOE) with collaboration of other government agencies
such as Department of Environment (DOE), Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). The non-
governmental organization (NGOs) for example Environmental Protection Society, the Environmental
Management and Research Association of Malaysia, the Nature Society and Worldwide finance for
Nature plays a significant role too in promoting the significant of consciousness of the environmental.

REFFRENCES

Ashok Swain, A.M.C., Political Structure and ‘Dam’ Conflicts: Comparing Cases in
Southeast Asia. 2004.

Habibah Lateh, Environmental education (EE): current situational and the challenges among trainee
teachers at teachers training institute in Malaysia. 2010.

Abidin, N.Z., Investigating the awareness and application of sustainable construction concept by
Malaysian developers. 2010.

Boyle, J., CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ASSESSMENT: INSIGHTS FROM THAILAND, INDONESIA, AND MALAYSIA. 1998.

G, L., A legitimate concern for environmental accounting. Critical Perspectives on Accounting Journal of
Chemical Health & Safety, 1995, September/October 2010.

Gray R, D.C., Owen D, Evans R, Zadek S., Struggling with the praxis of social accounting: stakeholders,
accountability, audits and procedures. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 1997.

Kathuria, V., Controlling water pollution in developing and transition countries lessons from three
successful cases. 2005.

Nijar, p.g.s., environmental protection the role for a globalising legal profession by Prof gurdial singh
nijar. At: www.malaysianbar.org.my/
9. R. Saidur, H.H.M., Energy and associated greenhouse gas emissions from household appliances
in Malaysia. 2007.

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T, S., Ethics and accountability: from the for-itself to the for the other. Accounting, Organizations and
Society,2002.

Tan, L.P, and Implementing ISO 14001: is it beneficial for firms in newly industrialized Malaysia. 2005.

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BIVARIATE EXTREME DEPENDENCY BETWEEN
STOCK MARKET AND OIL RETURNS
Gözde Ünal, Bogazici University
Derya Korman, Bogazici University

ABSTRACT
This study investigates the dependency structure between Turkish stock market returns and oil price
movements, especially on the extreme observations. The bivariate extreme value methodology is used for
understanding the dependency between oil price movements and stock market index. The residuals of
autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models of stock market index (ISE 100) and Brent oil
returns are examined by using bivariate extreme value analysis over the period between 1988 and 2011.
The overall period studied is analyzed by subdividing the period into two phases. We observe a higher
dependency in the second phase (2000-2011), compared to the first phase (1988-1999). Our results show
that in the second phase the extremes on the negative tails coincide more commonly compared to the
extremes on the positive tails, which is in line with the current literature findings. However, in general
Turkish stock market and oil returns are asymptotically independent in extreme observations, which
suggest diversification opportunities for portfolio managers.
JEL: C46, C51, C53, F4

KEYWORDS: Bivariate EVT, Stock Market Returns, Oil Prices, ISE

INTRODUCTION

Scarce energy sources and world’s growing demand for energy highlight the importance of energy
economics. Oil is still the world’s leading energy input considering nearly 35 percent of the global energy
consumption provided by oil. This percentage is considerably more in the emerging industrialized
nations. As it is explained in Basher and Sardosky (2002), emerging economies tend to be more energy
intensive and are exposed to higher oil prices compared to developed countries that are more energy
efficient in our day. Oil prices fluctuate unprecedentedly during the past decade, especially after 2003.
Growing demand in emerging countries, invasion of Iraq, oil price speculations and global financial crises
are the main reasons for past decade fluctuations. There is an increasing trend in the oil prices after 2003.
Increasing prices have a considerable effect on macroeconomic variables such as growth rate, foreign
trade balance and inflation particularly for emerging countries.

This study investigates dependency relationship between oil prices and Turkish stock market. Turkey, as
an emerging country, supplies more than 40 percent of its energy requirements from crude oil. About 9
percent of Turkey’s total imports consist of crude oil. Considering importance of oil in Turkish economy,
one can say that oil prices have a decisive effect on macroeconomic indicators. Despite various researches
done on macroeconomics of energy matter, there is relatively limited number of researches, which
concentrate on financial markets’ reaction to the energy prices.

During the last decade, considerable amount of extreme price movements for oil and stock markets are
observed. In the volatility of our times, extreme price movements become a familiar phenomenon. Oil and
stock market relationship examined by the current literature mainly focused on analyzing central

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observations. This study concentrated on oil price and Turkish stock market relationship on the extreme
events. This approach may help to understand the behavior of financial markets in volatile conditions and
times of crisis.

The rest of the paper continues as follows: Section 2 presents the literature review, Section 3 identifies the
model and the data used for this study, Section 4 present the empirical results for the study and Section 5
concludes the paper.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Numerous researchers through the last two decades have studied oil price effect on macroeconomic
variables. Hamilton’s (1983) study can be considered as a starting point in the literature of this subject,
followed by other researchers such as; Loungani and Prakash (1986), Gisser and Goodwin (1986), Mork
(1989). Considering the number of researches that have analyzed oil price effect, there is relatively small
number of works that focused on the stock markets.

Going through the literature, many of the findings represent a negative relationship between oil prices and
stock markets. Jones and Kaul’s (1996) study was the first to reveal negative impact of oil prices on stock
exchanges. Sadorsky (1999) and Papapetrou (2001) find a negative relationship between stock markets
and oil prices. Sadorsky (1999) also reports a change in oil price dynamics, that after 1986 oil price
explains a larger fraction of forecast error variance in stock returns. An increased number of researches
can be observed after 2000’s together with more diversified findings on oil and stock market relationship.

In the recent literature, some of the negative oil and stock market relationship findings continue as
follows: Hammoudeh and Li (2005) reveal a negative bidirectional dynamic relationship between oil
future price and Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) global equity index. Park and Ratti (2008)
apply multivariate vector auto regressive (VAR) analysis on US and 13 European countries stock indices
and conclude that oil price shocks have a negative impact on real stock returns except for Norway, which
is an oil exporter country. Bhar and Nikolova (2010) conduct bivariate exponential general autoregressive
conditional heteroskedastic (GARCH) model on weekly data and identify a negative time varying
conditional correlation between Russian equity market and oil price. Filis (2010) observes negative effect
of oil price on Greek stock market by using a VAR approach. Lee and Chiou (2011) find a significant
negative impact of oil prices on US stock returns.

Recent findings also show positive relationship between oil and stock markets. Constantinos et al. (2010)
estimate a VAR model with granger causality tests on daily data and indicate a significant positive
association between Greek stock market and oil prices. Choi and Hammoudeh (2010) employ Markow-
switching GARCH models on oil price and US SP500 index and argue that high volatility regimes have
positive probability correlations. Zhu et al. (2011) investigate on 14 countries and conclude that increased
oil prices have a positive impact on stock prices and increased stocks influence crude oil positively.
Narayan and Narayan (2010) conduct a long-run model on daily data and show that oil price and
exchange rate have a significant positive effect on Vietnamese stock prices. Basher and Sadorsky (2006)
also reveal that oil price risk on 21 emerging stock markets is statistically significant and positive in most
models.

A part of the literature suggests that there is a conditional relationship between oil and stock market or no
relationship at all. Filis et al. (2011) employ dynamic conditional correlation GARCH (DCC-GARCH)

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model on monthly data of three oil importing and three oil exporting countries. They assert that
precautionary demand side oil shocks cause negative correlations whereas aggregate demand side shocks
cause positive correlations. Their findings also show that oil price shocks during global business cycle
fluctuations have a significant effect on oil price relationship regardless of countries oil dependency
status, however oil shocks caused from production cuts do not seem to have an significant impact. Faff
and Brailsford (1999) conduct augmented market model on 24 Australian industry portfolios and oil
price. Their findings indicate a positive sensitivity for diversified industrial resources and oil and gas
portfolios together with a negative sensitivity for transportation and paper and packaging portfolios.
Eryigit (2009) applies Faff and Brailsford’s (1999) augmented market model on 16 sector indices of
Istanbul Stock Exchange and demonstrate that different oil price effects for different indices. Malik and
Hammoudeh (2007) estimate a multivariate GARCH model with BEKK parameterization on daily data
and conclude that Gulf equity markets receive volatility from oil market. Mohanty et al. (2010) and
Laopodis (2011) analyze European stock markets and reveal that there is no relation between equity and
oil prices. Hearn and Man (2010) apply a VAR model on monthly data for China and Hong Kong stock
indices and conclude that there is general lack of long-term price integration between markets and oil
price. Maghyereh (2004) and Al-Fayoumi (2009) investigate on emerging market stock indices and
document that oil price do not affect these stock markets. Hammoudeh and Choi (2006) estimate a VEC
model on 5 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries stock markets and could not found a relationship
between oil price and GCC equities. Huang et al. (1996) investigate US SP500 stock index on different
levels by using a VAR approach. They provide that there is no relationship between oil futures and broad
based stock index but on the firm level they discover a significant relationship.

Contribution of this study to the existing literature will be using bivariate extreme value theory for
analyzing the dependency structure of stock market and oil prices. As it is mentioned in some of the
studies such as: Choi and Hammoudeh (2010) and Lee and Chiou (2011), different volatility regimes have
different oil price effect on stock markets. High volatility environment has many extreme events in term
of oil price and stock market movements, which also illustrates our global market structure in the last
decade. Instead of the normal price behavior of crude oil, this study will focus on extremal events by
using a bivariate extreme value methodology on an emerging market, Turkey.

METHODOLOGY

Data

In this study, daily data is used for crude oil prices and stock market index. The daily data covers the
period from January 1988 to August 2011. Brent oil prices are used as the crude oil prices since Brent oil
index is the main indicator for Turkish oil trade. Oil price data come from U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA). Istanbul Stock Exchange 100 (ISE 100) closing prices are used as the stock market
data. Stock market data is taken from Istanbul Stock Exchange web site (www.ise.org). Both oil and stock
prices are expressed in US dollars. Our data set consists of log returns of spot prices and there is a total of
5732 observation excluding missing days for oil price and stock index. Considering the chorological
events of late 1990s and 2000s such as; (1998) Asian economic crisis, (2001) 9/11 attacks, (2003) Iraq
war and 2007 Subprime crisis, we divide our dataset into two phases. The first phase covers the years
1988-1999 and the second phase covers the years through 2000-2011. The data covers a period of 23
years during which we observe a shift in scale of prices and volatility both in oil and stock market.

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Descriptive statistic results provided in Table 1 demonstrate ISE 100 index returns are more volatile
compared to oil returns. Results of the Jarque-Bera test shows that oil returns and ISE 100 index returns
are not normally distributed at both phases. Skewness and excess kurtosis values also indicate the same
result. Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test shows us that our data set at both phases are stationary. Data
set used in this study is not independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) except for oil returns at the
second phase according to Ljung-Box test statistics. To test data with bivariate extreme value model, data
set needs to be converted into i.i.d. series. We utilized an ARIMA model for data conversion process.
Data set examined according to Akaike information criteria (AIC) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC)
to get the best-fitted model possible. Tools for selecting AIC and BIC values are provided in Hyndman’s
(2011) package ‘forecast’.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics

Statistics Phase 1 Phase 2
Brent ISE 100 Brent ISE 100
Mean 0.00007 0.00024 0.00056 0.00028
Median 0.00000 -0.00024 0.00140 0.00083
Maximum 0.17333 0.17738 0.18130 0.24999
Minimum -0.36121 -0.25376 -1.98907 -0.23666
Std. Dev 0.02376 0.03298 0.02486 0.03131
Skewness -1.11255 -0.39792 -0.35938 0.01687
Kurtosis 27.65269 7.45027 8.31147 10.42053
Jarque-Bera 73167.340 2440.674 3430.635 6575.732
[p-value] [0] [0] [0] [0]
Augmented Dickey-Fuller -12.6856 -12.7272 -12.7561 -11.7945
[p-value] [0.01] [0.01] [0.01] [0.01]
Ljung-Box 6.7137 66.3909 0.7507 16.6621
[p-value] [0.00957] [0] [0.3862] [0.00004]
Observations 2866 2866 2866 2866
This table shows descriptive statistics for Brent oil price returns and ISE 100 index returns for the two phases. Phase 1 and phase 2 cover the
periods from 1988 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2011, respectively.

Table 2. ARIMA Models

Statistics Phase 1 Phase 2
Brent ISE 100 Brent ISE 100
ARIMA Model ARIMA(1,0,4) ARIMA(2,0,2) ARIMA(0,0,0) ARIMA(0,0,1)
Ljung-Box 0.0012 0.001 0.7507 0.0071
[p-value] [0.9718] [0.9742] [0.3862] [0.9329]
This table shows fitted ARIMA models and Ljung-Box statistics for oil price returns and ISE 100 index returns.

Statistical results for Ljung-Box tests and lag order of ARIMA models are represented in Table 2. Ljung-
Box results indicate that data set is i.i.d. after fitting ARIMA models. Since oil returns at the second phase
are already i.i.d. series, it is not necessary to fit the model for this series.

Model

Bivariate extreme value methodology is used in this study to investigate the dependency between stock

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market and oil returns. Extreme value method is used to block extrema or exceedances to a predetermined
threshold. Determining the threshold level is crucial for extreme value analysis. A low threshold level
would cause selecting samples from central part of the distribution, while a high threshold level would
eventuate with insufficient data and inaccurate estimates. Threshold level for our data series is determined
as 10th percentile for the lowest returns and 90th percentile for the highest returns. Threshold levels are
determined visually by using threshold choice plots and mean residual life plots provided in Figure 1 and
Figure 2.
The dependence strength between extreme returns of ISE and oil prices is estimated by fitting joint
exceedances to a bivariate extreme value distribution. Censored likelihood methodology is used for this
procedure, which is described in Ledford and Tawn’s (1996) study.
Dependency structure of extreme returns is computed by using logistic bivariate Generalized Pareto
Distribution (GPD) model. This model is described in Mendes and Moretti (2002), Klüppelberg (2006)
and Onay and Ünal (2011). Tools for computing logistic bivariate GPD model are provided in Ribatet’s
(2009) POT package. Summary of the model is presented below.
Following dependence function defines the logistic model:
,
(1)

where 0 < α ≤ 1. This gives the joint distribution function: (2) for x, y > 0. Complete dependence is obtained when α → 0 and total independence is when α = 1.
Dependency of extreme returns between oil and ISE 100 index is identified by the statistic of Coles et
al. (1999) work.
(3)

Perfect dependence is denoted by -statistic getting closer to 1 and independent variables denoted by
-statistic getting closer to 0.
EMPRICAL RESULT

Threshold levels of 10th and 90th quantiles of oil returns and ISE 100 returns indicates that there are 287
highest and 287 lowest extreme events exceeding selected thresholds out of 2865 daily returns for each
phase. Results of the EVT models are presented in the following tables.

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Table 3. Positive Extreme returns: ISE100 and Brent, Phase 1

Model Estimates:
Model Strength 0.017 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Deviance 331 0.015280 0.140060 0.021210 -0.023840 0.988040
Marginal Number Above 287 Standard Errors:
Joint Number Above 30 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Joint Number Above (3days) 92 0.001278 0.060592 0.001632 0.049885 0.010456
This table shows the result of bivariate EVT from 1988 through 1999 for highest oil and ISE 100 returns at 90th quantile.

Table 4. Negative Extreme returns: ISE100 and Brent, Phase 1

Model Estimates:
Model Strength 0.008 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Deviance 412 0.013100 0.225300 0.024190 0.054790 0.994160
Marginal Number Above 287 Standard Errors:
Joint Number Above 31 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Joint Number Above (3days) 85 0.001111 0.063740 0.001961 0.055734 0.011808
This table shows the result of bivariate EVT from 1988 through 1999 for lowest oil and ISE 100 returns at 10th quantile.

Table 3 and 4 show bivariate EVT model results, which estimates highest and lowest returns dependency
between oil and stock market returns at phase 1. Independence assumption suggests that average 28.6
events would coincide on the same day at 10th and 90th quantiles. Our results show that 30 of the 287
highest returns and 31 of the lowest 287 returns happen on the same day.

Table 5. Positive Extreme returns: ISE100 and Brent, Phase 2

Model Estimates:
Model Strength 0.06 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Deviance 196 0.012270 0.170060 0.015160 0.302630 0.956000
Marginal Number Above 287 Standard Errors:
Joint Number Above 45 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Joint Number Above (3days) 118 0.001073 0.067218 0.001414 0.075473 0.015859
This table shows the result of bivariate EVT from 2000 through 2011 for highest oil and ISE 100 returns at 90th quantile.
Table 6. Negative Extreme returns: ISE100 and Brent, Phase 2
Model Estimates:
Model Strength 0.103 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Deviance 344 0.013970 0.194410 0.020400 0.146180 0.923800
Marginal Number Above 287 Standard Errors:
Joint Number Above 55 scale1 shape1 scale2 shape2 alpha
Joint Number Above (3days) 130 0.001216 0.066207 0.001822 0.068609 0.017352
This table shows the result of bivariate EVT from 2000 through 2011 for lowest oil and ISE 100 returns at 10th quantile.

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Table 5 and 6 show estimates for highest and lowest returns dependency between oil and stock market
returns at phase 2. Compared to the 28.6 expected events under independence assumption, our results
show that 45 of the 287 highest returns and 55 of the lowest 287 returns happen on the same day.

Oil price effect latency to stock markets is considered in extreme dependency analysis by setting a 3-day
margin. This study shows that 85 of the 287 highest returns (30%) and 118 of the lowest 287 returns
(41%) happen within the 3 days at the first phase, while 118 of the 287 highest returns (41%) and 130 of
the lowest 287 returns (45%) happens within the 3 days at the second phase respectively. There is a
considerable increase in joint number of days above the selected threshold level in the 3-day margin. The
numbers in parentheses imply conditional probabilities of having an extreme daily stock market return in
the coming next three days when today is an extreme day for oil returns.

In general, model strength statistics indicate that oil and ISE returns at both phases are asymptotically
independent in extreme observations, which is also confirmed by -statistic and α parameter estimated
in the models. It is not possible to speak of a dependency relationship between oil and ISE index.
Bivariate extreme dependency analysis indicates that oil and ISE 100 returns have a higher dependency at
the second phase, in the years from 2000 to 2011. Joint number of days exceeding selected thresholds at
second phase is increased by 50 percent for the positive tail and by 77 percent for the negative tail
compared to the first phase. Model strength statistics at the second phase is 3.5 times greater for the
positive tail and 12.9 times greater for the negative tail, compared to the first phase. In the light of model
results, increase in the oil and ISE 100 returns extreme dependency during the second phase is clearly
mentioned. Negative returns for oil and ISE 100 index have a higher dependency value compared to the
positive returns at the second phase. It is possible to refer negative oil price movements affect ISE 100
index more commonly compared to positive movements at the second phase.

CONCLUSION

This paper examines extreme dependency between oil prices and Turkish stock index. The data used for
dependency analysis consist of daily log returns on Brent oil prices and ISE 100 index for the period
between 1988 and 2011. Turkey is an emerging country that supplies nearly half of its energy requirement
from crude oil. Oil is one of the major commodities for Turkey’s total imports. Expanding emerging
countries need oil as a source of energy for their growing industries. Their exposure to oil price
fluctuations is more directly compared to developed nations. Main motive of this study is to show oil
price effect in an oil dependent emerging country, such as Turkey. Researches have been done oil price
and stock market relationship in the literature mainly focus on analyzing central observations, studying
extreme events by employing bivariate EVT model is a first.

Results of this study reveal an asymptotic independency relationship between oil prices and ISE 100
index returns in extreme observations. Bivariate extreme dependency analysis applied to the data set by
dividing data into two phases, where phase 1 and phase 2 cover the periods from 1988 to 1999 and from
2000 to 2011. Extreme dependency analysis indicates that oil and ISE 100 returns have a higher
dependency at the second phase. It is also observed that negative oil price movements affect ISE 100
index more commonly compared to positive movements at the second phase. Oil price effect latency to
stock markets is also examined within the study by setting a 3-day margin. Yet, the number of observed
joint exceedances is quite close to the expected values under complete independence assumption.

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Findings of this study, which indicates absence of extreme dependency between oil and stock market,
may help portfolio managers and investors to identify better diversification opportunities. However,
considering higher dependency of stock markets for negative oil price movements, diversification
opportunities must be used with comprehensive thinking in the times crisis.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research is supported by Bogazici University Research Fund (D6300).

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WHAT IS PROPELLING THE AMERICAN WORKER TO
GO THE WAY OF THE HORSE? THE CHANGING
ANATOMY OF U.S. EXPORT INDUSTRY
Tony Mutsune, Iowa Wesleyan College

ABSTRACT

In today’s increasingly dynamic global economy, many industrialized nations are developing
comparative advantages that are derived from human effort rather than natural status in their export
industries. This is evidenced by a global pattern of shifting man-made comparative advantages over time.
Empirical evidence seems to lend support to Wassily Leontief’s findings that would later contradict the
previously accepted predictions of the factor endowment theory, which suggested that nations traded
internationally based on their resource dispensations (Leontief, 1954). This study is a work in progress
that aimed at identifying meaningful factors that propel the development of human-based comparative
advantages, and exploration of a testable theoretical framework that will aid a better understanding of
the disposition of such factors for the U.S. exporting firms.

JEL: F1; L1; E0

KEY WORDS: export industry, innovation, workforce anatomy, transformation

INTRODUCTION

The utility of the horse during earlier times in human history is undeniable. Horses were used in service
for man to ease burdensome tasks such as plowing fields and transportation, among several other practical
uses. As society and economy evolved during the renaissance and industrial revolution periods,
civilization became more advanced. Changes in society’s interests and mechanism became inescapable.
Horsemanship gradually transformed into an art form with the purpose of enhancing the horses’ natural
strength and beauty. Horses increasingly became specialized for artistic purposes as their use for practical
ends was steadily replaced by Man’s own growing usefulness to himself as he developed new
mechanisms of accomplishing his work. Society’s quest for improvement and advancement has been
unrelenting throughout history. Human labor transition patterns that are comparable to those of the horse
are evident around the world. The impact on the comparative advantages that nations hold is both
dramatic and meaningful in international trade.

The findings of Leontief (Leontief, 1953), which are commonly referred to as “The Leontief Paradox”
offer insights into the transformational changes that are unfolding in labor resources and the resulting
influences on patterns of international trading among exporting nations. This study pays particular
attention to U.S. exporting sector. In his study of U.S. export patterns, Leontief recognized that the U.S.
seemed to have been endowed with more capital per worker than any other country in the world then.
Thus, it was accepted that the US exports would have required more capital per worker than US imports
(Ohlin, 1933). However, Leontief’s findings seemed to indicate a different outcome. U.S. imports were
30% more capital-intensive than US exports. Subsequent investigations would reaffirm the findings
(Leontief, 1956 and Robert Baldwin, 1971).

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Leontief himself suggested an explanation for his own paradox. He argued that U.S. workers may be
more efficient than foreign workers. Assuming that Countries around the world have identical
technologies, Leontief attributed the superior efficiency of American labor to superior economic
organization and economic incentives in the U.S. The U.S. workforce anatomy, similar to other
advanced economies around the world, is trending in a steady shift in demand away from a less skilled
toward a more skill-intensive workforce. Remarkable technological advances are shaping the way
production is accomplished. It follows that the level of skill that many jobs now require is technology
based. While full obsolescent is doubtful, human labor independent of skills is becoming less useful in
compared to previous periods. Knowledge and skills are much more important in production today. This
trend has produced dramatic changes in workforce anatomy and consequently comparative advantages
held by nations. United States is among several advanced economies that are abundant in human capital
(highly educated and trained workers) and export human capital intensive products.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A Discussion of Explanatory Factors

If in fact the superiority of the U.S. workforce is the outcome of maturity in economic organization and
growing incentives as suggested by Leontief and several more scholars, then it is granted that such status
could be retained, improved, or lost, over time. Also then, the ability to achieve and retain a superior
status would depend on the ability to affect the required and appropriate measures, and implement the
needed economic policy actions. If the Leontief paradox sustains, it follows that the anatomy of the U.S.
export industry workforce, and consequently export products will adjust to reflect changes in superiority
status. Dr. Nam Pham’s (2010) study on intellectual property-intensive (IP intensive) industries in the
U.S.—such as life sciences, software, and aerospace shows that IP-intensive industries succeed globally,
drive innovation, and invest heavily in research and development.

This, in turn, grows the economy by creating jobs and driving exports in a variety of different careers and
trades, both blue collar and white collar (Pham, 2010). U.S. Census Bureau statistics indicate that over the
period 2000-2008 approximately 60% of jobs in U.S. export industry were in IP-intensive industries,
which are a type of human capital-intensive industry. Nam Pham’s study also pointed out the role of IP-
intensive industries in creation of new tradable products and services for the U.S. IP-intensive industries
made up nearly half of output and sales of all 27 U.S. tradable industries and employed more than 30% of
American workers in these industries. More important, IP-intensive industries accounted for approxi-
mately 60% of total U.S. exports—rising from $665 billion in 2000 to $910 billion in 2007. During this
time period, American firms exported an annual average $405.5 billion of IP-intensive products versus
$278.1 billion of non-IP-intensive products.

The impact of labor market trends on international trade around the world, and certainly for the U.S. is
clear. Most of the overall shift in U.S. labor demand in manufacturing since the early 1980s has more to
do with change in skill demands from less skill-intensive to more skill-intensive. Having made this
recognition, this study seeks develop a conceptual framework that is useful in the understanding and
investigation of organizational and incentive factors that are facilitating the necessary workforce and
consequent product transformations in America’s export industries main purpose of this study .

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THE MODEL DESIGN

The process through which exporting firms respond to national organizational advantages and incentives
to develop dynamism forms part of the general features of the firm’s operational objective. To better
understand the role and nature of the organizational advantages and industry incentives, we need to
examine the composite model of these processes. In this regard, this paper offers a simple model that can
be applied to appropriate data. It is conceived to explore suitable specifications that would be helpful for
determining policies towards a sustainable strong export performance.

Conceptually, two classifications of factors that influence the export industry workforce anatomy and
export product type exist, namely, firm incentives and degree of economic organization. These coincide
with industry specific and economy wide realms respectively. Incentives for exporting firms constitute of
factors that encourage innovative transformation within exporting firms. Examples of these are profit or
compensational gains, increased market share, spill overs and reputational benefits (Davis and Jerome,
2004), strength of copyright and patent legislation, degree of restrictiveness of industrial regulation, level
of inter-industry rivalry (Sastry, 2005), strong industry-government research and development
partnerships, and adaptability of the labor force.

Ezeala-Harrison’s work on macroeconomic factors that influence competitiveness in firms presents a
useful definition of the economy wide factors. He describes these as generally made up of supportive
institutional arrangements and infrastructure facilities. Institutional factors include the variables of
government policy actions. Examples are such as tax policy, labor market policy, exchange rate regime
adopted, and financial sector regulatory or deregulatory policies, and the existence and adequacy of
infrastructure. There also are the availability (or stability) of other institutional parameters such as legal,
educational, health and para-medical, and financial infrastructure. The degree of “economic
liberalization” provided and allowed by the country’s authorities, and existence of adequate institutional
framework in a country are crucial factors that influence innovative transformations in the export
industries. These factors, however, hang largely on the political and (ideological) leaning of the country’s
authorities and policy makers. These policies usually remain fairly unchanged over time. These economy
wide parameters are considered as qualitative in nature, in the sense that they are given (or constant) over
time, and work to provide the ultimate background conditions on which individual firms can respond to
incentives that are specific to the industries they occupy (Ezeala-Harrison, 2010)
.
Ezeala elaborates on the meaning and significance of economic liberalization in trade. It is the package of
measures designed to direct an economy away from restrictive regulatory and central control, toward a
free-market based system which is based on competition, deregulation, and enhanced private-sector.
Among the conceivably several major parameters of economic liberalization, two of the most cogent ones
are the country’s: (i) trade liberalization (or free trade) policy, and (ii) currency exchange rate regime
(stable, flexible, and moderate exchange rate level). Other parameters of economic liberalization such as
degree of privatization, deregulation, and centralization are equally important, and various indices could
be employed to measure their levels to assess the degree of economic liberalization. These two are
selected only on the basis of their being relatively easy to keep track of explicitly.

Formulation of the Conceptual Framework

Again, the determining factors that influence changes in the composition of the labor force and nature of
export products can be broadly categorized as: existing incentives for exporting firms and the degree of

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economic organization of the country. Each category can be further decomposed into definitive variables
that are specific to the export industry and those that involve the conditioning and supportive institutional
arrangements and infrastructure. The basis for a testable formulation of the links between export industry
innovative transformation and these determinant factors is a model that assumes similar capital
endowments across countries (Leontief, 1953) and involves the level of labor utilization, and efficiency of
allocation of resources (labor). Competitive export firms will seek to effectively utilize resources in the
most efficient manner relative to others under conditions of equal capital endowment. Thus, a composite
magnitude of total labor efficiency growth rate and product value changes over time constitutes the
quantitative measure of export strength as it indicates the combined effect of the effectiveness of the firms
resource utilization and resultant (exported) product value (which may also translate to product type
transformation)

The mathematical depiction is as follows:

Comp. {α(K/L)+ Prod. / t} = f( µX + βZ) (1)
where,
α = a multiplicative factor that estimates the degree of relative worker
skill level under the equal capital endowment assumption.

K = Capital endowment measure

L = Measure of Labor quantity

Prod. = product changes

t = change in time

X = firm incentives parameters

Z = organizational parametersqualitative

β, λ = weighting indexes of the degree of respective parameters,

This simplistic model helps to formulate some testable predictions about innovative transformation in
exporting firms. It provides a framework that links innovative transformation to key determinant
variables. With the aid of this model, an empirical framework can be constructed testing the strength of
that linkage.

DISCUSSION OF POLICY IMPLICATION AND SUMMARY

With a more robust understanding of the determinant incentive and organizational factors that influence
the U.S. export industry anatomy, a strategy to improve the potential for sustainable and meaningful
transformation can be shaped. A more accurate identification and measurement of the determinant factors
is crucial milestone in effective policy prescription at the economy wide level and strategic management

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at the firm level as America restructures its exports to in response to the shifting advantages that
necessitate industrial transformation.

It is anticipated that the empirical testing of the proposed model will result in conclusive study design that
can be applied to a carefully selected data for the U.S. export sector, and also lead to insights for policy
prescription.

REFERENCES

Baldwin, R.E. (1971). Determinants of the Commodity Structure of U.S. Trade, American Economic
Review 61(1).

Carsten B., Thorsten L. (2008). Incentives and Innovation? R&D Management in Germany’s High-Tech
Industries During the Second Industrial Revolution, A Max Planck Institute for Research on Collecctive
Goods Report, Bonn, Germany.

Davis L., Davis J. (2004). How Effective are Prizes as Incentives to Innovation? Evidence from Three
20th Century Contests. Presented at the DRUID Summer Conference, Elsinore, Denmark.
Ezeala-Harrison F. (2010). International Competitiveness: An Analysis on the Interaction of Qualitative
and Quantitative Indicators. A working paper presentment at the Institute of Business and Finance
Research Global Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Leontief, W. (1956). Factor Proportions and the Structure of American Trade: Further theoretical and
empirical analysis, Review of Economics and Statistics, 38 (386-40).

Leontief, W. (1953). Studies in the Structure of the American Economy, Oxford University Press.

Linda S. (1961). An Essay on Trade and Transformation, New York, John Wiley.

Ohlin, Bertil. (1933). Interregional and International Trade, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1933.

Pham, Nam. (2010). The Impact of Innovation and the Role of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S.
Productivity, Competitiveness, Jobs, Wages and Exports. NDP Consulting Group Report.

Sastry, B. (2005). Market structures and Incentives for Innovation. International Think-tank on Innovation
and Competition (INTERTIC) policy paper.

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RISK FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SURVIVAL OF
STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AMONG SMALL AND
MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN KENYA: EVIDENCE
FROM KISUMU DISTRICT
Charles M. Rambo, University of Nairobi, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Between a half and two-thirds of strategic alliances formed by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
often fail to realize their purpose due to a gamut of unmitigated risk factors. Most studies on strategic
alliances and associated risks have been conducted in developed economies, leaving Sub-Sahara Africa
(SSA) with a dearth of academic literature. Using the Kenyan case, this study sheds light on risk factors
influencing the survival of SME alliances in the SSA. Primary data was sourced from 120 SMEs involved
in strategic alliances. I applied both quantitative and qualitative techniques to process and analyze the
data. Results indicate that the survival of SME alliances is a function of factors such as proportion of
skilled staff, explaining up to 8.7 percent of variance, transportation cost (8.1%), information sharing
(7.5%), level of trust among partners (6.6%) and integration of computers to support business activities
(5.5%). In conclusion, SME strategic alliances remain risky ventures, requiring a concerted effort of all
stakeholders to initiate appropriate mitigative measures to avert economic losses resulting from alliance
failure. Among other recommendations, the study underscores the need for SSA governments to provide
tax incentives, improve infrastructure and explore cheaper energy alternatives.

JEL: O16

KEYWORDS: Risk, Risk Factors, Small and Medium Enterprises, Alliance Survival, Alliance Failure

INTRODUCTION

The role of SMEs in employment creation, poverty reduction and industrialization has been documented
in economic blue prints and empirical research world over (Abaka & Mayer, 1994; Atieno, 2001).
According to Olutunla and Obamuyi (2008), SMEs provide more employment per unit of capital
investment than large-scale enterprises. In Kenya, recent statistics show that SMEs create employment for
about 70 percent of the national workforce, contributing up to 22 percent of Gross Domestic Products
(GDP) (Mbithi & Mainga, 2006; Atieno, 2009). However, globalization forces, technological
advancement and competition constantly threaten the contribution of SMEs in national development. To
secure their survival, SMEs are increasingly initiating strategic alliances, which enable them to reduce
production costs, acquire knowledge, as well as access new technology, financial resources and labour
(Das & Teng, 2001; Ireland, Hitt & Vaidyanath, 2002; Li & Malin, 2009; Alders, van Liere, Berendsen &
Ineke, 2010).

Even though strategic alliances have been attractive to SMEs, between 50 and 60 percent often, fail to
realize the expectations of their crafters (Reuer, 1999; Das & Teng, 2001; Alders et al., 2010). High
failure rates of SME alliances have been associated with various forms of risk factors, arising from inter-
firm relations, firm capacity and firm-environment interaction (Das & Teng, 1998; 2001; Ireland, et al.,
2002; Chi, 2005; Li & Malin, 2009; Alders et al., 2010; Long & Zhai, 2010).

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LITERATURE REVIEW

In management, a risk is an unanticipated negative variation between set targets and actual achievement
(Kogut, 1988; Das & Teng, 1998; 2001). According to Miller (1992), the concept of risk refers to factors
that are either internal or external to alliance firms, which impede the realization of targets. Influenced by
Miller’s thoughts, Das and Teng (1998) came up with two broad categories of risks within the context of
strategic alliances, viz. relational and performance.

Relational and Performance Risks

Relational risk is concerned with poor or non-adherence of alliance partners to documented regulations
governing their behaviors and relations (Das & Teng, 1999; 2001; Elmuti & Kathawala, 2001).
Perpetuation of opportunistic tendencies such as dishonesty, shirking, distortion of information, as well as
poaching partners’ skills, clients or personnel are manifestations of relational risk (Das & Teng, 1999;
2001; Elmuti & Kathawala, 2001; Alders et al., 2010; Long & Zhai, 2010). Das and Teng (2001) assert
that relational risk is inevitable in strategic alliances, but emphasize the importance of ‘trust’ and ‘control’
for strategic alliances to survive and realize their purpose. Whereas ‘trust’ was considered a means to
reducing perceived risks, control is an active measure taken to reduce such risks. Similarly, Long and
Zhai (2010) contend that trust and commitment form the foundation of strategic alliances, manifested
through information sharing, technology; as well as equitable sharing of costs and profits.

Performance risk is the probability that an alliance may fail to achieve its targets even when partners
commit themselves fully. Performance risk is a function of institutional capacity factors such as staff
competency, capitalization level and integration of ICT; as well as business environmental factors such as
competition, taxation, cost of raw materials, transportation and energy, among others (Das & Teng, 1998;
2001; Li & Malin, 2009; Alders et al., 2010). Strategic alliances can distribute performance risk among
partners, for instance, by sharing expenditure, resources, skills and technology (Das & Teng, 2001). Thus,
the synergy created by strategic alliances is a partial remedy for performance risk. However, not all
strategic alliances have the potential to create synergy, as some partners may be deficient in terms of
institutional capacity, leading to poor performance (Das & Teng, 1998).

Unlike relational risk, performance risk exists in all business enterprises, irrespective of their involvement
in strategic alliances. Besides, the two risk types are independent and have no specific pattern of
correlation. Hence, alliance partners can enjoy good relations despite poor financial performance (Das &
Teng, 1998; 2001; Alders et al., 2010).

Most empirical studies on strategic alliances and inherent risks focus on developed economies of Western
Europe, North America, Australia and South-East Asia. Crotts and Wilson (2005) noted that although
relational and performance risks form a crucial dimension for understanding strategic alliances, risk
considerations are yet to receive adequate attention in academic research, particularly in developing
economies. This study was conducted to determine risk factors significantly associated with the survival
of SME strategic alliances; determine the influence of risk factors on the intention of alliance partners to
stay on or pull out of their alliances; as well as assess mitigative measures initiated by SMEs.

In this study, I measured relational risk in terms of the willingness of partners to share information and
share expenditure, extent of staff bonding and the level of trust between alliance partners. Besides, I
measured performance risk in terms of firm size, ownership structure and integration of computers to

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support business activities; as well as level of demand for alliance products/services, taxation level,
transportation and energy costs. Also captured were intermediate risk factors such as prevalence of
conflict between partners, availability of conflict resolution mechanisms, alliance age, change in revenue,
type of business activities and the location of premises.

Resource-Based View of Strategic Alliances

The Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) postulates that a firm’s competitive advantage is founded on its
internally-available resources, including tangible assets such as premises, machinery, human and financial
resources; as well as intangible assets such as technology, skills, managerial expertise and reputation,
among others (Barney, 1991; Grant, 1995; Das & Teng, 1998). Das and Teng (1998) categorize firm’s
internal resources into four, viz. financial, technological, physical and managerial. Combinations of the
four broad resource types are indispensable for firms to build competitive advantage (Chi, 1994).
However, most firms are not self-sufficient; those experiencing a shortage of any form of strategic
resources are likely to reach out to other firms holding complementary resources to secure their survival
(Barney, 1991; Das & Teng, 1998; 2001). Strategic alliances permit firms to access resources, which they
do not possess, but which are necessary for its performance and survival. However, firms can only realize
synergy when they seek to combine complementary rather that supplementary resources (Harrison, Hitt,
Hoskisson and Ireland, 1991).

METHODOLOGY

Data

I sourced data from 120 SMEs involved in strategic alliances for at least 3 years. Inclusion in the sample
was based on availability of complete accounting records for the immediate trading period; willingness of
managers/owners to avail such financial records; and acceptance to be interviewed.

Model

Bivariate analysis generated cross-tabulations with Chi-square (χ2) statistic, while at the multivariate
level; I applied binary logistic regression to determine the influence of individual risk factors on the
alliance survival. The model is often expressed in the form: –

(1) (1)

Where: Y = the predicted variable (alliance survival); θ(Y) = the probability of an SME staying on; 1-
θ(Y) = the probability of an SME pulling out; α = constant term of the equation; β1, β2…βi = regression co-
efficients associated with independent variables; X1, X2…Xi = independent variables and ε = the error term.

Qualitative data were processed and analyzed following three steps, including listing of responses under
key thematic areas; description to produce a preliminary report; systematic analysis and interpretation.
Publications such as Nachmias and Nachmias (1996), as well as Bryman and Cramer (1997) provide
details of the design and approaches used in this study.

Logit [θ(Y)] = log = α +β1X1+β2X2+β3X3+…+βiXi+ε
θ(Y)
1- θ(Y)

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Strategic alliances were formed with various types of organizations, including competitors (56%),
customers (16%), suppliers (12%), financial institutions (8%), educational institutions (5%) and
government research institutions (3%). In addition, up to 97 (80.8%) SMEs were collaborating with only
one partner, 22 (18.3%) had two partners, while one SME had formed an alliance with more than two
partners. This study focused on the most recently formed strategic alliances, aged at least 3 years.
Furthermore, strategic alliances were created for various reasons, listed in table 1 below.

Table 1: Reasons for Engaging in Strategic Alliances
VALID RESPONSES FREQUENCY PERCENT OF CASES
Improve revenue 71 59.2
Access technology 11 9.2
Raise capital 79 65.8
Share distribution channels 29 24.2
Ensure steady flow of raw materials/supplies 43 35.8
Counter competition from larger firms 54 45.0
Reduce competition 22 18.3
Train staff 17 14.2
Develop more efficient production methods 11 9.2
TOTAL 337 280.8
This table shows the reasons why SMEs in Kisumu District, Kenya engaged in strategic alliances. It is a multiple response table, showing
frequency distribution and corresponding percent of cases, which in this case, was 120 SME managers/owners. The main reasons why SMEs
engaged in strategic alliances included the need to raise capital, improve revenue, counter competition from larger firms, ensure a steady flow of
raw materials or supplies, and share marketing distribution channels.

The longevity of strategic alliances is an important dimension of how well they are likely to achieve the
expectations of collaborating firms. Alliances that fail to live up to the expected duration are less likely to
be successful in realizing the purpose for which they were created. In view of this, 55 percent of the 120
SMEs intended to remain in their alliances for at least 5 years, while 45 percent intended to pull out
within the same duration.

Bivariate Analysis Results

Bivariate analysis was used to determine the presence or lack of a significant relationship between
alliance survival and selected risk factors. The results presented in table 2 below, indicate that the survival
of SME alliances was significantly associated with risk factors such as information sharing, sharing
expenditure, extent of staff bonding and level of trust.

Table 2: Association between Alliance Survival and Risk Factors
RISK TYPE RISK FACTORS SUMMARY OF CHI SQUARE (χ
2) RESULTS
CALCULATED χ2 DF SIG.
Relational
Information sharing 6.742 2 0.034**
Sharing expenditure 24.297 2 0.000***
Extent of staff bonding 7.495 2 0.024**
Level of trust 10.020 2 0.007***
Performance
Firm size 14.123 6 0.028**
Ownership structure 8.243 2 0.016**
Integration of computers 6.810 1 0.009***
Proportion of skilled staff 16.186 5 0.006***
Demand level 10.549 2 0.005***
Taxation level 8.952 2 0.011**
Transportation cost 9.001 2 0.011**
Energy cost 6.059 2 0.048**

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Intermediate
Conflict prevalence 11.870 2 0.003***
Conflict resolution mechanism 7.129 1 0.004***
Alliance age 2.081 3 0.556
Change in revenue 58.204 2 0.000***
Type of business activities 15.982 11 0.142
Location of premises 0.825 1 0.364
This table presents a summary of χ2 results, calculated from cross tabulation analysis between alliance survival and risk factors. The column
labeled CALCULATED χ2 is comparable to table χ2 values. DF stands for degrees of freedom, while SIG. indicates the statistical significance of
association between the risk factors and alliance survival. ***, ** and * shows the level of significance at 1, 5 and 10 percent respectively.

The survival of SME alliances was also significantly associated with performance risk factors such as
firm size, ownership structure, integration of computers, proportion of skilled staff, level of demand,
taxation level, transport cost and energy cost; as well as intermediate factors, such as frequency of
conflict, availability of a conflict resolution mechanisms and revenue change.

Multivariate Analysis Results

Appendix A presents the results on odds ratios or Exp(β) and partial regression co-efficients. The
predictive power of binary logistic regression models is indicated by the -2Log Likelihood (-2LL)
statistic. Each model generates an initial -2LL (chance model); the unit change in the value of -2LL
statistic each time a covariate is added represents the proportion of variance in the dependent variable,
explained by that covariate. Figure 1 shows the covariates included in models 1 and 2, and the proportion
of variance in the survival of SME alliances accounted for by each.

Figure 1: Proportion of Variance in Alliance Survival Explained by Risk Factors
6.0
4.8
1.3
5.8
4.4
2.3
4.5
5.8
3.2
4.6
8.8
2.5
7.5
2.9
4.8
6.6
2.4
2.0
5.5
8.7
1.9
4.8
8.1
1.9
3.2
5.5
2.6
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
Pe
rc
en
t
Covariates
Model 1
Model 2

The proportion of variance accounted for by each risk factor (covariate) was obtained from the unit change in -2LL statistic corresponding with
the addition of each covariate. INFOshare stands for information sharing between partners; EXPshare = expenditure sharing; STAFFbond =
extent to which staff of alliance partners had bonded. TRUSTlev = level of trust among alliance partners; FIRMsize = number of paid workers;
OWNstruc = ownership structure; COMPint = integration of computers; and SKILLstaff = proportion of skilled staff. DEMlevel = demand level
for products offered by an alliance; TAXlevel = taxation level; TRANcost = transportation cost; ENERGcost = energy cost; REVEchange =
change in revenue; CONFprev = prevalence of conflict, and CONFresc = availability of conflict resolution committee.

In model 1, the willingness of partners to share information accounted for up to 6 percent of variance in
alliance survival. However, when the model is adjusted to include intermediate covariates, the proportion
of variance accounted for by the covariate scales-up to 7.5 percent. Improvement in information sharing
reduced the likelihood of partners pulling out, which in turn, increased the odds of alliance survival.
However, most firms would not be free to share their critical information such as product formulae or

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marketing secrets, without guaranteed security of such information. Besides, protectiveness of
information only reinforces distrust, which in turn, may constrain alliance survival.

The willingness of partners to share expenditure accounted for 4.8 percent of variance in alliance survival,
as indicated by model 1. However, the inclusion of intermediate variables reduced the proportion of
variance accounted for by the risk factor to 2.9 percent. An increasing willingness of partners to share
expenditure reduces the likelihood of SMEs pulling out; thus, increases the odds of alliance survival.
Expenditure sharing is particularly important for enhancing commitment and SME managers/owners
should consider it before initiating alliances.

Model 2 shows that the extent of staff bonding explained up to 4.8 percent up from 1.3 percent in model
1. As bonding improves among staff of alliance partners, the likelihood of SMEs pulling out reduces.
Thus, the higher the bonding among staff, the better the survival chance of such alliances, and vice versa.
Poor bonding among staff may be perpetuated by factors such as negative attitudes, gossip, stigmatization
and competition. It must be noted that strategic alliances bring with it sudden changes, which may disrupt
usual work routines. Establishing a strategic alliance is process of change that is associated with anxiety
and uncertainty. Effective management of change is critical for helping staff of alliance partners to bond
and work as a team, where members treat each other with respect and where members feel secure,
respected and trusted. However, starting and sustaining change among staff members requires creative
leadership that is able to inspire people through positive behaviour, ethics and values. Staff bonding may
also be expedited through informal spheres where staff members can interact freely to water down
communication and ideological ‘glass walls’.

The level of trust between alliance partners explained up to 6.6 percent of variance in alliance survival, up
from 5.8 percent in model 1. An increasing level of trust among alliance partners directly corresponded
with the likelihood of SMEs pulling out. In other words, the higher the level of trust, the better the
survival chance for such alliances, and vice versa. The challenge faced by alliance partners is how to
nurture and sustain trust amongst themselves. In this regard, SME managers/owners face the challenge of
balancing between alliance and firm-specific interests, without compromising trust. Opportunistic
behaviors are the most common threats to trust levels between or among alliance partners, which in turn,
reduces the odds of alliance survival.

Firm size, measured in terms of the number of paid workers, accounted for 4.4 percent of variance in
alliance survival. However, when the model is adjusted for intermediate variables, the proportion of
variance accounted for in the survival of alliances reduced marginally to 2.4 percent. An increase in
staffing level resulted to a stronger institutional capacity, which in turn, improved the odds of alliance
survival. Although staffing level is an important risk factor influencing the odds of alliance survival in
Kenya, other key parameters such as performance management, training and welfare remain critical for
enhancing institutional capacity. Moreover, the proportion of skilled staff explained up to 8.7 percent of
variance in alliance survival, up from 5.8 percent in model 1. As the proportion of skilled staff increases,
the level of performance risk reduces and so is the likelihood of SMEs pulling out of their alliances.
Hence, the higher the proportion of skilled staff, the better the odds of alliance survival.

In model 2, ownership structure explained up to 2 percent of variance in alliance survival, down from 2.3
percent in model 1. Alliances crafted by sole proprietors had a lower survival chance than alliances
involving limited companies, the main separating factors being capitalization and staffing level, as well as
systems, structures and physical resource capacity. Hence, SMEs are better-off establishing strategic

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alliances with limited companies than sole proprietorships. Furthermore, SMEs should consider initiating
alliances with firms that have integrated computers in their business activities. Model 2 shows that
integration of computers accounted for 5.5 percent of variance in alliance survival. The initiative reduced
performance risk, and by extension, increased the odds of alliance survival.

Furthermore, the level of demand for alliance products/services accounted for 1.9 percent of variance in
alliance survival. An increasing level of demand inversely corresponds with the likelihood of SMEs
pulling out and directly corresponds with the odds of alliance survival. Sustaining demand for alliance
products/services through diversified marketing channels remains a critical option that SME alliances
should consider to improve their survival chance. In addition, taxation level accounted for 4.8 percent of
variance – a marginal increase from 4.6 percent in model 1. The higher the perceived taxation level the
lower the odds of alliance survival. Nevertheless, the perceived level of taxation depends on the extent to
which products/services have been established in the market. An established product/service is likely to
defray taxation charges more than one that is yet to establish. Although SSA governments bear the
responsibility of tax regulation, SME alliances should focus on establishing their products/services to
improve returns; thus, lighten taxation burden and improve alliance survival chance.

In model 1, transportation cost accounted for 8.8 percent of variance in alliance survival. However, this
scaled down to 8.1 percent in model 2. Increment in transportation cost resulted to a higher level of
performance risk, which in turn, reduced the survival chance for SME alliances. Transportation cost
remains a critical element influencing the survival of SME alliances in Kenya.

Model 2 shows that energy cost accounted for up to 1.9 percent of variance in alliance survival, down
from 2.5 percent. As energy cost escalates, performance risks also increase, which in turn, reduces the
odds of alliance survival.

To determine the explanatory power of the two models, the covariates were plotted on a scatter-gram, as
indicated in figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Distribution of Covariates
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
P
er
ce
n
t
Covariates (risk factors)
Model 1
Model 2
Linear (Model 1)
Linear (Model 2)

This figure shows the distribution of covariates on a scatter-gram, which was also used to generate best-fit lines and co-efficient of determination
R2, representing the predictive power of the model. The linear equation for model 1 is y=0.049x + 4.181, with R2=0.540. For model 2, the
resultant linear equation was y=0.093x + 5.309, with R2= 0.684.

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The scatter-gram also provides best-fit lines and co-efficients of determination (R2). In this regard, model
1 explained up to 54 percent of variance in the survival of SME alliances, while model 2, which
incorporated intermediate factors, predicted up to 68.4 percent of variance. This implies that up to 31.6
percent of variance may be explained by other variables not included in model 2.

Risk Management Practices

Table 3 below, presents the measures initiated by SMEs to manage as well as cope with relational and
performance risks. In this regard, 73 percent of the respondents cited legalization as the most important
mitigative measure. SME strategic alliances were legalized through contracts and memoranda of
understanding; spelling out terms of engagement; responsibility, liability and profit sharing; as well as
frequency of review meetings and follow-up mechanisms. Legalization of alliances was particularly
useful in enhancing commitment among partners as well as regulating opportunistic behaviors. However,
non-adherence to documented agreements by some partners was still a cause for concern. Consequently,
up to 45 percent of the firms intended to pull out of their alliances.

Furthermore, 53 percent mentioned joint planning as the key strategy used to manage risks by watering
down ideological ‘glass walls’, as well as filling up ideological gaps. Joint planning entailed activities
such risk assessment, market surveys as well as analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats (SWOT). Joint planning also included projection of demand levels, market prices, market growth
and revenues. Through joint planning effective financial control and reporting systems were established
and so were exit strategies. Up to 50 percent of the firms initiated regular review meetings to share their
experiences, monitor progress as well as address emerging risks to enhance the odds of alliance survival
and excellence.

Table 3: Risk Management Practices
VALID RESPONSES FREQUENCY PERCENT OF CASES
Diversification 18 15.0
Partner complementarity 27 22.5
Legalization of alliances 88 73.3
Regular review meetings 60 50.0
Cost-sharing 51 42.5
Joint planning 64 53.3
Competition reduction 14 11.7
Special management structures 21 17.5
Conflict resolution mechanisms 37 30.8
TOTAL 380 316.7
This table shows measures initiated by SMEs involved in strategic alliances to mitigate or cope with relational and performance risks. This is a
multiple response table, showing the frequency distribution of responses and corresponding percent of cases. The study involved 120 SME
mangers/owners.

About 31 percent of the alliances established conflict resolution committees to address all forms of
dispute and enforce behavior control. In the opinion of SME managers/owners, conflict resolution
committees were most effective in curbing opportunistic behaviors among errant alliance partners. Partner
complementarity was also identified as a mitigative strategy against risks. In this regard, 23 percent of the
SMEs were keen to select partners who were complementary in terms of resources, skills and technology
to avoid overlaps and gaps. However, when requested to rate their satisfaction with their choice of
partners, up to 67 percent expressed dissatisfaction, the reason being the difficulty of finding
complementary partners among SMEs.

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In addition, 18 percent of the alliances created special management structures run by a team of skilled and
experienced staff selected by both partners. Besides, 15 percent of the SMEs initiated alliances with
multiple partners to diversify risks by sharing the cost of projects, considered to be of high risk. Such
alliances were instrumental in lowering a firm’s risk exposure. Finally, up to 12 percent of the alliances
employed various measures to avoid competition between/amongst partners, including giving away some
market areas, demarcating market boundaries, selling each other’s products and coming up with jointly
branded products.

CONCLUSIONS

The formation of strategic alliances does not necessarily guarantee the success of collaborating firms.
Besides, the failure of such alliances portends far-reaching economic consequences, not only for the firms
involved, but also for SSA economies. Although strategic alliances are critical for the survival of SMEs,
they remain risky ventures that require adequate preparation in terms of appropriate mitigative measures;
thus, avert losses that may occur in the event of alliance failure. In addition, SSA governments bear a big
chunk of responsibility in mitigating risk factors emanating from the business environment, particularly,
taxation, infrastructure and alternative energy sources. Equally important, is the improvement programs
intended to support the development of SMEs.

RECOMMENDATIONS

This section presents recommendations for SMEs as well as key stakeholders such as governments, trade
unions and non-governmental organizations.

Recommendations for SMEs

1. Establish joint secretariats to plan and execute all decisions made by alliance partners. The
secretariat shall also monitor, evaluate and report performance to partners during review meetings.

2. Improve information sharing by identifying and training specific staff to handle shared information;
creating special security facilities to handle classified information and legal restraints for partners
who may abuse shared information.

3. Initiate team-building activities such as games, tree planting and environmental clean up, among
others to o expedite staff bonding and foster teamwork.

4. Recognize and reward staff members who perform exceedingly well in their work, leadership
positions or in terms of behaviour. Small acts of positive behavior among staff should be amplified
for emulation.

Recommendations for Governments and Stakeholders

1. Provide tax incentives through temporary exemptions or abolition of unnecessary taxes for SME
alliances to improve production capacity and survival in hyper-competitive markets.

2. Explore cheaper energy alternatives such as solar, wind and geothermal power to reduce
overdependence on hydro-electricity, which is too expensive and constraining performance.

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3. Improve road network by increasing the coverage of all-weather roads and maintaining rural access
roads to reduce transportation cost; thus improve performance and alliance survival.

4. Establish SME assistance centres at the County level, with key functions such as promoting the
development of SMEs, creating necessary linkages, training, research and dissemination. Such
centres should be modeled after the Small Business Developments Centers of the United States or
Technology Centers in Netherlands.

5. Develop appropriate curriculum on strategic alliances and encourage all tertiary educational
institutions, particularly those accredited to provide Technical, Industrial, Vocational and
Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET) programs to incorporate and implement the curriculum.

LIMITATIONS

At the time of this study, the idea of strategic alliances among SMEs was fairly a new concept in Kisumu
District; hence, the difficulty of finding data on registered SME alliances. This gap constrained the
sample size used in this study. Also limiting the sample size was lack of complete and consistent
accounting records among SMEs. Although the study was conducted nearly a decade ago, this paper
serves as a stimulus for more research on the subject, particularly in the SSA.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am grateful to my supervisors: Prof. L. Simpson and Dr. R. Hinds who gave me invaluable guidance
throughout the research process. I’m indebted to all SME managers/owners who volunteered their time to
provide the information contained in this paper. Finally, I thank my colleagues; Tom Odhiambo and Paul
Odundo for reviewing and validating the contents of this paper.

BIOGRAPHY

Charles M. Rambo is a lecturer at the Department of Extra Mural Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya.
His academic interests include financial management, Small and Medium Enterprises, small-scale
farming and education financing. His previous work appears in journals such as Journal of Continuing,
Open and Distance Education, International Journal of Disaster Management and Risk Reduction and The
Fountain: Journal of Educational Research. He can be reached at the University of Nairobi through
Telephone number, +254 020 318 262; Mobile numbers: +254- 0721 276 663 or +254- 0733 711 255;
email addresses: rambocharles@yahoo.com or crambo@uonbi.ac.ke

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Summary Results of Binary Logistic Regression
COVARIATES MODEL 1 MODEL 2 β S.E. ρ Exp(β) β S.E. ρ Exp(β)
INFOshare
Poor 1.82 0.02 0.00* 6.17 1.83 0.02 0.00* 6.23
Fair 1.57 0.00 0.00* 4.81 1.55 0.01 0.01** 4.70
Good (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
EXPshare
Poor 1.55 0.33 0.02** 4.71 1.53 0.23 0.01** 4.61
Fair 1.32 0.13 0.04** 3.74 1.30 0.12 0.03** 3.66
Good (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
STAFFbond
Poor 1.62 0.34 0.01** 5.05 1.60 0.34 0.01** 4.94
Fair 1.04 0.32 0.03** 2.83 1.02 0.30 0.03** 2.77
Good (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
TRUSTlev
Low 0.61 0.23 0.01** 1.84 0.59 0.22 0.01** 1.80
Fair 0.19 0.41 0.06*** 1.21 0.17 0.41 0.17 1.18
High (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
FIRMsize
No paid workers 2.02 1.80 0.00* 7.51 1.99 1.79 0.00* 7.34
1 to 9 workers 1.49 1.26 0.00* 4.41 1.46 1.27 0.00* 4.32
10 to 19 workers 1.02 0.80 0.01* 2.78 1.00 0.80 0.01** 2.72
20 to 29 workers 0.77 0.55 0.04** 2.17 0.75 0.24 0.03** 2.12
30 to 39 workers 0.01 0.21 0.24 1.01 -0.01 0.21 0.12 0.99
40 workers+ (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
OWNstruc
S/ proprietorship 1.07 0.84 0.01** 2.90 1.04 0.71 0.08*** 2.84
Partnership 0.03 0.19 0.42 1.03 0.01 0.19 0.37 1.01
Ltd company (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
COMPint
Using computers -0.02 0.24 0.03** 0.98 -0.05 0.18 0.03** 0.96
No computers (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
SKILLstaff

mailto:rambocharles@yahoo.com

mailto:crambo@uonbi.ac.ke

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<10% 2.13 1.90 0.00* 8.37 2.10 0.76 0.00* 8.19 10-29% 2.06 1.84 0.00* 7.85 2.04 1.84 0.00* 7.68 30-49% 1.67 1.45 0.00* 5.33 1.65 1.45 0.01** 5.21 50-69% 0.41 0.19 0.07*** 1.51 0.39 1.19 0.04** 1.48 70% + (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx DEMlevel Poor 1.38 0.31 0.01** 3.99 1.36 0.30 0.02** 3.90 Fair 1.06 0.48 0.03** 2.89 1.04 0.47 0.03** 2.82 High (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx TAXlevel Too high 2.02 1.80 0.00* 7.52 2.00 1.82 0.00* 7.36 High 1.61 1.39 0.00* 5.01 1.59 1.39 0.01** 4.90 Fair (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx TRANcost Too high 1.55 1.33 0.00* 4.70 1.53 1.32 0.00* 4.60 High 1.33 1.10 0.03** 3.76 1.30 0.10 0.01** 3.68 Fair (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx ENERGcost Too high 1.15 0.93 0.00* 3.16 1.13 0.78 0.00* 3.09 High 1.00 0.78 0.03** 2.73 0.98 0.78 0.04** 2.67 Fair (RC) xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx This table presents the results of binary logistic regression, through which two models were generated, the first model incorporated relational and performance risk factors only, while model 2 included relational and performance risk factors as well as intermediate risk factors. The column labeled β represents the regression co-efficients, the column labeled S.E. represents the standard error associated with the regression co- efficients, ρ column represents the significance of variation between the co-efficients, while Exp(β) column presents the odds ratios. Furthermore, RC stands for Reference Category, while ***, ** and * shows significance level at 1, 5 and 10 percent, respectively. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 432 FORGIVENESS AS A LEADERSHIP TOOL Ilkka Virolainen Kymenlaakso, University of Applied Sciences, Kouvola, Finland ABSTRACT Forgiveness is a topic that is seldom discussed in organizations. This paper brings to light the kind of role forgiveness can play in organizations. This paper shows the different benefits that forgiveness can bring into an organization and also how forgiveness can be used in practice. Forgiveness brings many benefits at the individual employee level, dyad level, team level and organizational level. Conflicts, misunderstandings, losing trust and crises are all things that happen in companies. Forgiveness can be used as a tool to solve these issues. Therefore forgiveness can be seen as a leadership and employee wellbeing tool. This paper is a literature review. KEY WORDS: forgiveness, forgiveness at work, leadership, employee wellbeing INTRODUCTION Forgiveness is seldom discussed at the work place even though there are lots of situations in which forgiveness could be a very useful tool. As Aquino et al. (2003) point out, once people work together there are endless opportunities to offend or harm others intentionally or unintentionally. The quality of healing harmed and broken relationships within organizations influences the success of a business and the nature of work life (Madsen et al. 2009). According to Aquino et al. (2003) forgiveness should be an important concern for both organizational theorist and practicing managers because it is a way for individuals to repair damaged workplace relationships, and overcome debilitating thoughts and emotions resulting from interpersonal injury. Davidhizar and Laurent (2000) point out that the ability to forgive is important for success in management. Forgiveness can be a motivational transformation that inclines managers to inhibit relationship-destructive responses and to behave constructively towards a person who has in turn acted destructively towards them.The goal of this literature review paper is to show how forgiveness can be used as a leadership tool. Initially it discusses different definitions of forgiveness. The next section explains the benefits of forgiving at different levels of an organization. Also the consequences of failing to forgive at work are discussed. Lastly this paper gives practical models and guidelines for how forgiveness can be implemented in an organization. The final section includes the conclusion summing up the key points of this paper. Definitions of Forgiveness There are several definitions of forgiveness. A possible starting point in forgiving others is for the forgiving person to realize that he/she has been hurt by someone. Table 1 shows different definitions of forgiveness. As it can be seen from table 1, forgiveness can be defined in many different ways. There are some common elements in the definitions as well as some differences. Several definitions point out that forgiveness is a process that includes cognitive, emotional and behavioral elements. The cognitive point of view includes changes in our way of thinking. For example, an employee changes his or her way of thinking so that there is no blaming, negative judgment or ideas of victimhood. At the emotional level a person gives up negative emotions like anger, hostility and resentment. At the behavior level a person doesn’t want to harm the other person. Some definitions go further than that, for example Enright et al.’s (1998, 46-47) point out that a person should foster compassion, generosity and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 433 even love towards the other person. According to McCullough et al. (2003) forgiveness can motivate employees to extend acts of conciliation and goodwill towards the offender and to overcome social estrangements. However, this is not always the case. Tsarenko and Toijib (2011) point out that a forgiving person may not necessarily interact with or receive acknowledgment from the offending party after the event. It is also possible that people move on and don’t have anything to do with each other in the future. For example, they might work in different departments or change the organization they work for. When discussing definitions of forgiveness, it is also useful to mention what forgiveness is not. Forgiveness is not just condoning, forgetting, ignoring or excusing a hurtful action. Forgiveness is not denying the hurt that a person feels. It is neither giving up having feelings. (Luskin 2003, viii; Madsen et al. 2009.) Table 1: Forgiveness definitions Writer Definition Key points Enright et al.’s (1998, 46- 47) Forgiveness is the willingness to abandon resentment, negative judgment and indifferent behavior towards one who has been unjustly injured, while fostering the qualities of compassion, generosity and even love towards him or her. -Willingness to give up resentment, negative judgment, and indifferent behaviour towards the other person. -Foster compassion, generosity and love towards the other person. Scobie & Scobie (1998, 382) Forgiveness includes the conscious decision to set aside one’s legitimate claim for retaliation or restitution for a damaging act committed by a significant other, in order for any, or all, of the following to occur: 1.The relationship, or a modified version of the relationship, to be restored. 2.The negative effects associated with the damaging act for the forgiver and/or the forgiven to be given the opportunity to be reduced. 3.The forgiver to cease playing the role of the victim and the forgiven to be given the opportunity to make amends. 4.The forgiver and the forgiven to gain release from the dominating effect of the damaging act. -Decision to let go of the legitimate claim for retaliation or restitution for damaging act. -Restore the relationship. -Not playing the role of the victim. Cameron and Caza (2002, 39) Organizational forgiveness includes the capacity to foster collective abandonment of justified resentment, bitterness, and blame and instead it is the adoption of positive, forward-looking approaches in response to harm or damage. Forgiveness in organization requires a transformation, and an organization becomes virtuous to the extent to which it encourages, supports and facilitates such transformation. Forgiveness in search of reward is not true forgiveness. -Foster abandonment of resentment, bitterness and blame. -Adopt positive, forward-looking approaches. Stone (2002) Forgiveness means to give up blame and faultfinding. -Giving up blame and faultfinding. Aquino et al. (2003) Interpersonal workplace forgiveness is a process whereby an employee who perceives him or herself to have been the target of a morally injurious offense deliberately attempts to: 1.overcome negative emotions (for example anger, hostility) toward his or her offender 2.refrain from causing the offender harm even when he or she believes it is morally justifiable to do so. -Process where a person attempts to overcome negative emotions and refrain from causing harm to the other person. Tsarenko and Toijib (2011) Forgiveness is a process of emotional and cognitive progressions that requires effort at each stage. Once negative emotions have been relinquished and the intention to punish an offender has been resolved, forgiveness from the process converts into action and it can be said that forgiveness has been granted. -Process of emotional and cognitive progressions. The Benefits of Forgiving “Forgiveness is key to happiness.” Jampolsky (2000, 128) A culture of forgiveness can give several different benefits to an organization. These benefits can be seen at the individual, dyad (two people), team and organizational level. (Stone 2002.) Health benefits Research shows that forgiveness improves mental and physical health. (for example; Butler & Mullis 2001; Luskin 2003, 77; Anderson 2007; Legaree et al. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 434 2007; McCullough et al. 2007; Pettigrove 2007; Madsen et al. 2009). Employee health problems end up costing a lot for organizations. Using forgiveness as an employee wellbeing tool can reduce these costs. Forgiveness lowers blood pressure, improves the immune system response, reduces anxiety and depression, improves sleep, reduces stress, increases energy (Forgiveness and health 2011) and decreases anger (Luskin 2003, 81). Forgiveness has also helped people who have had back pains, high blood pressure, ulcer and cancer (Jampolsky 2000, 21). Studies also show that forgiveness increases hopefulness, optimism, compassion, self-confidence and vitality (Luskin 2003, xv, 78, 81). Epstein (1999) argues that by forgiving you give yourself permission to move on, to be free of baggage and to be able to progress without the burdens of the past. Therefore forgiveness fosters a person’s well being. On the other hand, it can be said that chronic states of not forgiving (holding on to feelings like anger, hostility, resentment and fear) are linked to adverse physical health outcomes (Cameron & Caza 2002; McCullough et al. 2007; Madsen et al. 2009). These feelings influence the body’s physical functions like blood circulation, the immune system, and create stress that influences the heart and other organs (Jampolsky 2000, 21). In general people who are more forgiving report fewer health problems and vice versa (Luskin 2003, xv, 80). Organizational issues People in organizations may face several types of conflict such as disagreements between workers, arguments between departments, fights between workers and managers, disappointments that can be related to promotions, layoffs, hurtful rumors and misunderstandings. It can also be said that employees and managers make mistakes that can cause a lot of harm: whether it is economical, emotional or for example health related. (Madsen et al. 2009.) Especially in these types of situations forgiveness is important. Madsen et al. (2009) points out that unforgiving employees and an unforgiving organizational culture can result in lower levels of performance at all levels. Davidhizar and Laurent (2000, 50) noticed that when managers and leaders failed to forgive employees and superiors, there was a lack of personal and team productivity that led to aggressive and passive-aggressive behavior. Stone (2002) points out that not forgiving can cause big costs for the organization because employees separate themselves leading to ineffective job performance and employees to leave the organization. Employees may tell negative stories related to the organization harming the image of the company. On the other hand Stone (2002) points out that a forgiving culture improves retention, increases a sense of community and improves authentic, courageous and open communication. Stone (2002) points out that if you do not forgive then your ability to appreciate the strengths and admirable qualities in others and in yourselves is reduced, discretionary effort is limited and your ability to be fully present and focused on current issues and projects are greatly diminished. In other words employees do not feel free to contribute their passion, innovation and unique talents in an unforgiving culture. According to Stone (2002) carrying resentment towards others keeps a person in a subtle and constant state of low grade upset. On the other hand, forgiveness gives a person the opportunity to utilize mistakes, failures, flaws and breakdowns as opportunities to awaken greater wisdom, compassion and capability in co-workers and themselves. Forgiveness supports the development of organizational cultures in which people feel free to take risks, use their creativity and demonstrate enthusiastic contribution. Job performance and productivity According to McCullough et al. (2000) forgiveness is associated with higher morale and satisfaction, greater social capital, trust, humanness, and caring relationships. This has been the case especially in situations where an organization has experienced harm or unjust treatment as in cases of downsizing. According to Aquino et al. (2003) forgiveness motivates employees to extend acts of conciliation and goodwill towards the offender and to overcome social estrangement. This makes the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 435 employee relationships more effective and productive (Madsen et al. 2009). Madsen et al. (2009) points out that several organizations have noticed that physically and mentally healthier employees are more productive. Stone (2002) points out that if you have not forgiven it is difficult to be present. It is because you are energetically holding on to something from the past. In other words, you are stuck in the past. In order to do excellent work performance you have to operate in the present. In this state of heightened awareness employees can thrive and contribute their ideas, their passion and their dedication. According to Luskin (2003, 179) forgiveness allows a person to think more clearly, solve problems wisely and have greater access to positive emotions. Fredrickson (2001) points out that positive emotions like joy, hope and happiness help people flourish. Positive emotions also help us to use our creativity (Kauffman 2006, 223) and to work in teams (Losada 1999) both being important factors when developing innovations. It can be said that not forgiving has an impact on several levels of an organization. As we can see from table 2, the lack of forgiveness causes a loss of energy in each of these levels. This can be seen, for example in covering up, playing safe and avoiding painful situations. Instead this energy could be used to learn, grow, connect and in general be more productive. (Stone 2002.) Table 2: Impact of Lack of forgiveness (Stone 2002) Individual Dyad (two people) Team Organization Alienation Self-doubt Righteousness Preoccupation Anger / withdrawal Lack of creativity / innovation Poor health Unhappiness Guilt Fear Depression Suffering Low self-esteem Separation Conflict Blame Avoidance Mistrust Controlling Punishing Frustration Anger Tension Judgmental Disharmony Agitation Disappointment Defensiveness Inauthentic behavior Internal competition Lack of common direction Fault finding Jealousy Negative politics Gossip Manipulation Stress Frustration Denial Score keeping Distance Controlling behavior Secrecy Mistrust High turnover Protective behavior Back stabbing Over-work Out of balance Confusion Political posturing Non-coordinated workforce Low allegiance Not forgiving usually increases separation while decreasing effort, creativity and authenticity. At the same time we can also often see more criticism and doubt. Feeling a sense of belonging is an important aspect in any organization. So there is a risk that if a person feels more and more alienated, that person will leave the organization or become an ineffective member of the organization just waiting to retire. Not forgiving at the dyad level will often cause feelings like anger, blame and resentment. Feelings of victimization often lead to protective behavior. Protective behavior in turn leads to justification, fault- finding, avoiding the other person and malicious gossip. At the team level not forgiving can lead to feelings and behavior of “us against them”. Team separation leads to internal competition, gossip and fault-finding. It can be said that organizational culture that does not promote forgiveness will engage in negative and destructive politics. Employees will be afraid to speak out, hiding their true feelings. This will lower trust and increase stress level. In situations like this, burnout is common resulting in a high turnover rate. (Stone 2002.) When a person does not forgive, we can usually see behavior in the other person that is related to avoidance and revenge (Biswas 2009). Table 3 shows how avoidance and revenge can show up. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 436 Table 3:Signs of Avoidance and Revenge (Biswas 2009) Avoidance Revenge Difficult to act warmly towards the other person. Wish that something bad would happen to the other person. Avoid the other person. Want to see the other person hurt and miserable. Withdraw from the other person. Want to make the other person pay. Cut off the relationship with the other person. Act as if the other person doesn’t exist / is not around. Not trusting the other person. Both avoidance and revenge related behaviors are not positive factors for successful co-operation and employee wellbeing. Instead, avoidance and harm do harm both at the individual level as well as the dyad, team and organizational level. All these can be avoided by forgiving. As we can see from table 4 there are also several other benefits that can be seen once people forgive. Table 4: The influence of forgiveness in organizations (Stone 2002) Individual Dyad (two persons) Team Organization Happiness Presence Creativity/innovation Vibrant health Autonomy Personal responsibility Peace of mind Authenticity Freedom to self-express Choice Self assurance Focused Openness Partnership Collaboration Trust Open /authentic Communication Supportive Acknowledgment Appreciation Gratitude Ownership Interconnection Respectful Growth Nurturing Sharing information Compassion Mutually supportive Feeling of community Joy / fun Playfulness Shared learning Interconnection Action orientation Clarity of roles Direction Sense of belonging Open authentic culture Focus on contribution and service Employee retention Flexible work force Respected in the community Empowerment Pride in organization Meaningful work Values in action Reasons Not To Forgive “Notice that only your own thoughts cause the suffering that you now have. You can choose what you think.” (Jambolsky 2000, 127) As it has been mentioned, forgiveness has an enormous positive impact on different organizational levels. Also, when an organization’s members do not forgive there can be several serious negative impacts. So with these arguments in mind, it should be logical to put extensive efforts in to encouraging forgiveness. However, in practice it does not always happen. There are several reasons why people do not forgive. One reason people don’t forgive at work is that there are only a few role models to teach employees and managers how to forgive. Forgiveness is also seldom spoken of in organizations. In many cases organizational structures create cultural norms that do not support acts of forgiveness, instead it is thought that someone is always to blame. Letting people “off the hook” may be seen to set a bad example for other employees. Furthermore, some managers struggle with fears related to forgiveness. They are afraid that the balance of power would be disrupted resulting in a permissive environment that in turn would lead to chaos and anarchy. (Stone 2002.) One reason people don’t forgive is that they have fears related to loss of face and possession. Loss of face is related to the way of thinking that focuses on “what will others think of us if we fail”. Another fear related to forgiveness is that of being embarrassed or rejected by others. Loss of possession is related to protecting territory: position or property. Related to this is also the fear of being hurt physically or Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 437 emotionally. Yet another reason people don’t forgive is that they fear it sends out the message that they accept the other person’s behavior leading to future reoccurrence of the same behavior. In this case the person fails to realize that holding on to anger or resentment in order to punish the other person is creating a prison of one’s own pain, isolation and alienation. (Stone 2002.) Sometimes people believe forgiving makes them seem weak. A way of thinking that prevents forgiving is: “If I forgive this person, it is the same as saying that he/she was right and I was wrong”. Some people believe that not forgiving is a way to control the other person and to have power over the other person. But in reality all these mentioned beliefs are based on fear, not power. (Jampolsky 2000, 68−69.) Some people say that what happened to them is unforgivable. But in reality it is a question of motivation, a question whether the person wants to forgive or not. It is very likely that other people have managed to forgive similar kinds of events that they have faced. So once people find motivation, forgiving is easier. This can be done, for example, by understanding that it is the person who refuses to forgive that suffers and by forgiving can end the suffering. However, if a person does not have the right tools then forgiving can take a lot of effort. With the right methods forgiving is easier. (Luskin 2003, 106-107.) Several reasons related to not forgiving at work are to do with a person’s own attitude and the organizational culture. From a managerial point of view, building a culture that fosters forgiveness is important. According to Stone (2002, 279) having an in-depth understanding of the value of forgiveness provides managers and employees opportunities to use mistakes, failures and breakdowns as opportunities to awaken greater wisdom, compassion and capability. Organizations that develop a culture of forgiveness will seem to be more authentic, courageous and to facilitate open conversation based on their values and vision as well as the current commitments and strategic objectives. Forgiveness is an essential element of attaining a more nurturing and fulfilling work climate. “Not to forgive is the decision to suffer.” (Jampolsky 2000, 48) Practicing Forgiveness “It is easier to forgive once you decide to let go of being a victim.” (Jampolsky 2000) In order to practice forgiveness a person has to realize that he/she can always choose how to react to any situation. People tend to react in a manner that is similar to their earlier encounters, projecting painful memories of the past on the present situation. So thoughts from the past shape experiences of the present. But by raising one’s awareness of that phenomenon a person can start to choose his/her reaction based on the present situation instead of past beliefs and experiences. It can also be said that a person’s attitude determines the quality of his/her perception. After examining one’s attitude it is easy to realize that there is always a choice. Instead of reacting based on a person’s own history, expectation and past perception, a person can choose to take action based on values and vision. Being present to one’s own thoughts, feelings and sensations helps us make conscious choices. Forgiveness can help a person to be more present. Forgiving sets you free of the fear and anger that have been imposed on your mind by holding on to the past. (Stone 2002) There are several ways to forgive. Borysenko (1990) points out that forgiveness can be seen as a growth process. Davidhizar and Laurent (2000) point out that forgiveness begins with the acceptance that nobody is perfect. Another important factor is empathy. Once a person sees the situation from another’s point of view his/her empathy usually develops. Davidhizar and Laurent’s (2000) forgiveness model for managers includes 6 steps: Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 438 1. Accept the lack of perfection in others. 2. Look at the incident from the other’s point of view. 3. Place self in the offender’s position and empathize with his or her feelings. 4. Surrender the right to get even. 5. Accept an apology when it is offered. 6. Forgive the individual taking administrative action when this is appropriate but leave the ultimate judgment for the behavior to outside forces. Enright et al. (1998, 53) point out that there are several psychological variables related to the forgiveness process. These are shown in table 5. In the uncovering phase, the person denies that he or she has been hurt. Once these defenses break, the person usually feels anger towards the injurer. People might also feel other negative feelings like shame deepening the emotional pain. A person may also notice that he/she is continually replaying the event in his/her mind and also comparing his/her unfortunate state to the relatively comfortable state of injurer. The person may feel that life is unfair. Once the person moves on to the decision phase he/she starts to notice that his/her way of thinking and behaving so far is not healthy. The person starts to consider forgiveness and commits to that. In this phase the person may still have thoughts that are related to revenge. In the work phase the situation is reframed and therefore understood in a different way. Many times a person feels empathy and compassion towards the injurer. Now the person does not want to hurt the other person any more. In the deepened phase, a person may find a deeper meaning of the event and forgiveness process. For example a person may find a new direction in life. The process of forgiving improves one’s psychological wellbeing. Once a person gives others mercy and compassion he himself becomes healed. (Enright et al. 1998, 52-54.) Table 5: Psychological variables related to forgiveness (Enright et al. 1998, 53) Uncovering phase - - - - - Examination of psychological defenses (Kiel 1986) Admittance of shame when this is appropriate (Patton 1985) Insight that the injured party may be comparing self with the injurer (Kiel 1986) Realization that oneself may be permanently and adversely changed by the injury (Close 1970) Insight into possible altered “just world” view (Flanigan 1987) Decision phase - - - A change of heart, conversion, new insights that old resolution strategies are not working (North 1987) Willingness to consider forgiveness as an option Commitment to forgive the offender (Neblett 1974) Work phase - - - Reframing through role taking who the wrongdoer is by viewing him or her in context (Smith 1981) Empathy towards the offender (Cunningham 1985) Acceptance of absorption of the pain (Bergin 1988) Deepening phase Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 439 - - - - - - Finding meaning in the suffering and in the forgiveness process (Frankl 1959) Realization that self has needed the forgiveness of others in the past (Cunningham 1985) Insight that one is not alone (universality, support) Realization that one may have a new purpose in life because of the injury Awareness of decreased negative effect and perhaps increase in positive effect if this begins to emerge towards the injurer, - awareness of internal, emotional release (Smedes 1984) Davidhizar and Laurent (2000) point out several things related to the forgiveness process. 1. The need for personal forgiveness must be recognized. Instead of blaming others it is important that the manager “looks in the mirror” and sees his/her own role in the current crisis or conflict. 2. Forgiveness is facilitated when events are put into perspective. Once a manager forgives he/she can learn and in turn help other in learning from the situation. So the focus is on positive issues related to the case. 3. Forgiveness remembers the past with truth. Forgiveness helps the manager see the event in true colors. This helps the manager see that certain managerial actions might have eliminated the problematic situation. Accepting personal responsibility is part of forgiveness. 4. Forgiveness remembers with new respect for self. A manager who feels victimized by the wrongdoings of an employee may allow the offence to cause him/her to lose respect for that worker. The way to restore self-respect is to forgive. Breaking the grip of a painful memory is an effective way to restore self-respect. By saying for example: “We really messed up with that one. Let’s be glad nothing worse happened. Now let’s plan so that it doesn’t happen again” can allow both the manager and employee to move on with hope. 5. Forgiveness is for people, not institutions. A manager may feel wronged by an organization. However, organizations can’t be forgiven as forgiving is between people. Therefore, the manager needs to forgive a representative of the organization who was related to the situation, for example the CEO or the manager's supervisor. 6. Forgiveness should be given on the basis of what was done, not for who the person is. In many cases people are too complex to be forgiven for who they are. So in several cases it is more productive to focus on the specific wrongdoing. 7. Forgiveness is needed for incidents that can’t be forgotten. It is important to forgive the events that cause big harm. 8. Forgiveness is for people who wrong others and end up wounding them. Wrongdoing can break the trust between two parties. In order to develop that trust it is important to forgive. According to Luskin (2003, xii-xiii) there are certain core components in the creation of long standing hurt and grievance. These are exaggerated taking of personal offence, blaming the offender for how the person feels and creation of a grievance story. Changing these elements helps a person to forgive. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 440 The exaggerated taking of personal offence Luskin (2003,14-20) points out that instead of making the painful event too personal the same situation can be seen from an impersonal point of view by understanding that similar types of events happen to many other people. It is also good to remember that the most offences are committed without the intention of hurting anyone personally. For example an employee can impose negative meaning on the words of his/her superior even when the superior has meant a totally different thing. The blaming of the offender for how the person feels In the blaming stage people blame others for their own feelings and problems. When a person blames others he/she feels the cause of the hurt is outside of him/her and is looking outside to find the reason. In many cases a person who blames others forgets that the other party has not hurt him/her purposefully. In many cases the person does not know why other people have behaved in certain ways towards him/her. When a person blames others it basically means that he/she is stuck in the past. Everyone is responsible for their own feelings, what a person feels now is something that he/she can decide. The person doesn’t have to suffer emotionally now because of something that happened in the past. Once the person focuses on more positive things in life the hurt will diminish in importance. The biggest drawback in telling the hurt-story is that it keeps the person connected in a powerless way with the person who hurt him/her. By reconnecting with positive intentions a person reminds him or herself of personal goals and it also enables him/her to move forward. The story the injured person tells is a personal interpretation of the situation. The interpretation of other people is usually different. Once a person changes his/her way of thinking he/she can look at the situation in a new light and then tell a new story. The story that a person tells him or herself influences how that person feels and what action he/she will take. So by changing the story a person can influence both of these. (Luskin 2003, 21-26, 137-139.) The Creation of a grievance story Once a person tells the same hurt-story again and again feeling hurt each time it is a question of a grievance story. Instead of letting go and moving on a person holds on to the story about how someone hurt them. Telling the story can happen in the person’s own head so that the person thinks about the situation over and over again. Instead the person might tell the story over and over again to other people. Once you tell the same story many times it keeps you in the past instead of helping you to move on. A person can always choose which story to tell. Telling a hurt-story it keeps one stuck. When people tell a hero-story instead of a hurt-story then they can see what they have learned from the experience and how it helps them to grow. In the end it is a question of perspective. (Luskin 2003, 8-10, 36-41.) Luskin (2003, 211-212) has developed 9-step forgiveness process. 1. Know how you feel about the situation and be able to articulate the things that were not fair. Tell a couple of trusted people about your experience. 2. Make a commitment to yourself to do what is necessary to feel better. 3. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation with the person that hurt you or condoning their action. What you are after is finding peace. 4. Get the right perspective on what is happening. Recognize that your primary distress is coming from the hurt feelings, thoughts and physical upset you are suffering now, not what offended you or hurt you two minutes or ten years ago. 5. Practice some stress-management technique to soothe your body’s flight or fight response. 6. Understand that you can control only your own thoughts and actions, not those of others. Give up expecting certain things from other people or life they do not choose to give you. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 441 7. Put your focus from hurt feelings to finding a way to achieve your goals. Instead of mentally replaying your hurt seek out new ways to get what you want. 8. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings and thereby giving the person who caused you pain power over you, learn to look positively at the things around you, for example see love, beauty and kindness. 9. Change the story that you are telling to yourself so that it no longer dwells on victimhood, but focuses instead on your ability to cope and to grow. Remind yourself about the heroic choice to forgive. Based on these different forgiveness processes it can be said that it is important to give up the victim story and look at the situation from another point of view. Once a person understands that everybody makes mistakes and that the same kind of situations have happened to many other people who have then been able to forgive helps the person change his/her story from that of victimhood to growth. It is also important to focus on positive things in order to feel positive emotions. People are responsible for their own thoughts and emotions. Therefore people have the power to influence their feelings and behaviors. Once people forgive they can be present and feel more positive things compared to when they tell a victim story and by doing so end up stuck in the past and letting past events influence the present moment. Having willingness to forgive and putting effort to do so people do a big service firstly to themselves. After that the influence can also be seen in other levels of the organizations. “It is easier to forgive once you decide to give up being a victim.” (Jambolsky 2000, 93) Practical Issues for Managers “The key word to learn how to forgive is willingness to forgive.” (Jampolsky 2000, 57) In order to use forgiveness as a tool in organizations, knowledge and a positive attitude towards forgiveness are needed. According to Stone (2002) many business leaders continue to believe that it is inappropriate to discuss forgiveness in the workplace because it is considered an abstract philosophical or religious principle. The manager’s role in fostering a forgiving culture in an organization is important (Madsen et al. 2009). Cameron and Caza (2002) point out two key roles for managers in fostering forgiveness. 1) When managers provide meaning and vision during challenging times, employees often respond positively. Forgiveness does not mean that errors are totally acceptable, but instead it facilitates excellence and improvement. 2) Managers can provide legitimacy and support. They can value virtuous actions, such as forgiveness by initiating and supporting organizational structures, systems, and resources that are aligned with forgiveness and other important virtues (Cameron & Caza 2002). Kurzynski (1998) points out the importance of forgiveness when employees make mistakes. In these cases managers can be role models by forgiving, accepting occasional mistakes and assisting employees so that mistakes are not repeated. Forgiveness also offers ways for the manager to deal with the negative Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 442 feelings that may result after conflict between the manager and an employee. In the end forgiveness can empower both the manager and the employee. In order to forgive, the manager should realize the responsibility and challenge in accepting others as human beings with faults and learn to live without sustained anger and resentment. Madsen et al. (2009) shows six forgiveness business interventions. 1. Third-party interventionsWorkers can be encouraged to forgive by using third-party interventions. Forgiveness interventions can help repair damaged workplace relationships and assist in building more healthy workplaces. (Struthers et al. 2005) 2. Social interest interventions According to Butler and Mullis (2001) social interest increases forgiveness. Interventions related to team building, third party peacemaking, and survey feedback processes that focus on social interest peacemaking in organizations may also promote the use of forgiveness as a tool to solve workplace conflicts. 3. Writing and journaling Pettigrove (2007) points out that writing and journaling can be used as tools to aid in conflict management, conflict resolution, and personal communication interventions within the workplace. 4. Educational programs Madsen et al. (2009) points out that educational programs related to forgiveness can empower employees by providing knowledge about forgiveness and its benefits. Education can also bring out possible biases and assumptions employees may have that may hinder the forgiveness process. 5. Forgiveness programs In some cases forgiveness programs may be useful. For example, in major downsizing or hostile takeover related cases. (Madsen et al. 2009) 6. Empathy-building and communication interventions According to McCullough et al. (2003) building strong empathy among employees can be helpful in encouraging forgiveness. A manager can strengthen relationships in the workplace by forgiving. Letting go of resentments can create feelings of release, liberate energy and creativity, and decrease avoidance behavior towards the offending person. From a managerial point of view it is important that the manager forgives employees when they make mistakes. However, it is important that forgiveness begins personally with the manager. This means that the manager forgives him or herself. Several managers hold themselves as role models for their employees. So forgiving their own mistakes is crucial. It is difficult to forgive if ones own personal failure is denied. A manager who is able to practice personal forgiveness may have less difficulty forgiving employees when they have made errors. Forgiveness does not mean that the mistakes or unethical behavior of the employees is not discussed and the necessary action taken. Sometimes forgiveness is related to the decisions made by decisions of the manager’s supervisor, for example related to staff reductions and promotions. (Davidhizar & Laurent 2000.) Failing to forgive employees or administration often leads to passive-aggressive behavior and decrease in productivity. Not forgiving personal mistakes can lead to guilt, which can lead to feelings of depression and personal unhappiness. (Davidhizar & Laurent 2000; Borysenko 1990.) Managers also play a key role in the training point of view. As Enright et al. (1998, 52) point out most people need to be taught forgiveness in order to begin forgiveness. As Luskin (2003, 65) points out forgiveness is a skill that can be learned. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 443 “The power of forgiveness can make miracles in your life.” (Jambolsky 2000, 56) CONCLUSION It can be said that forgiveness is a very useful leadership tool. By forgiving you can avoid misunderstandings and mistakes from becoming conflicts. Forgiveness is also an excellent tool in solving conflicts in the workplace. The manager’s role in creating a forgiving organizational culture is essential as the manager shows an example to the employees. Forgiving brings several benefits, for example it improves openness, trust and cooperation. Forgiveness also increases positive emotions that are useful in creative problem solving and innovation. Forgiveness can improve the wellbeing of employees in several ways. Forgiveness can improve mental and physical health. It can improve trust, collaboration and the organizational climate in general. Even though forgiveness presents many benefits, it is rarely discussed and practiced systematically in organizations. In order to change the situation managers need more information about the topic. By understanding that forgiveness can be used as a leadership tool managers can use it on daily basis. When a conflict or crisis happens, instead of feeling angry and avoiding others, employees and managers should focus on positive emotions and face each other with respect. Forgiveness plays a key role in situations like that. Like Luskin (2003, 91) said: “Forgiveness simply works.” Further studies In order to improve the use of forgiveness as leadership tool some further research topics are useful. Here are some research topics that are relevant to study in order to understand more about the role of forgiveness in organizations and how to develop a forgiving organizational culture. a) What kind of forgiveness cultures do different organizations have? b) What ways of forgiveness are used in organizations? c) What kind of experiences people in organizations have about forgiveness? “It is never too soon to forgive. It is never too late to forgive.” (Jampolsky 2000, 133, 139) REFERENCES Aquino, K., Grover, S., Goldman, B. & Folger, R. 2003. When Push Doesn’t Come to Shove. Interpersonal Forgiveness in Workplace Relationships. Journal of Management Inquiry, 12 (3), 209-216. Anderson, J. 2007. Forgiveness – a relational process: Research and Reflections. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counceling, 9 (1), 63-76. Bergin, A. 1988. Three contributions of a spiritual perspective to counseling, psychotherapy, and behavior change. Counceling and values. 33, 21-32. Biswas, M. 2009. Measuring Construct of Workplace Forgiveness: A Confirmatory Assessment Using SAS Proc Calis Procedure. South Asian Journal of Management, 16 (4), 148-162. Borysenko, J. 1990. Guilt Is the Teacher, Love Is the Lesson. Warner Books, New York. Butler, D. & Mullis, F. 2001. Forgiveness: A Conflict Resolution Strategy in the Workplace. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 57 (3), 259-272. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 444 Cameron, K. & Caza, A. 2002. Organizational and Leadership Virtues and the Role of Forgiveness. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9 (1), 33-48. Close, H. 1970. Forgiveness and Responsibility: A Case Study. Pastoral Psychology, 21 (6), 19-25. Cunningham, B. 1985. The Will to Forgive: A Pastoral Theological View of Forgiving. Journal of Pastoral Care 39 (2), 141-149. Davidhizar, R. & Laurent, R. 2000. The Art of Forgiveness. Mospital Materiel Management Quaterly, 21 (3), 48-53. Enright, R., Freedman, S. & Rique, J. 1998. The Psychology of Interpersonal Forgiveness. In R. Enright & J. North (Eds.), Exploring Forgiveness. Madison, The University of Wisconsin Press, 46-62. Epstein, L. 1999. Trusting You Are Loved – Practicies for Parnership, Partnership Foundation, Mill Valley. Flanigan, B. 1987. Shame and Forgiveness in Alcoholism. Alcoholism Treatment Quaterly, 4 (2), 181- 195. Frankl, V. 1959. The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy. New York. World Publishing House. Fredrickson, B. 2001. The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Scope of Attention and Though-Action Repertoires. Cognition and Emotion, 19 (3), 313-332. Jampolsky, G. 2000. Parantava anteeksianto. Juva. WSBookwell Oy. Kaplan, B. 1992. Social Health and the Forgiving Hearth: The Type B Story. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15 (1), 3-14. Kauffman, C. 2006. Positive Psychology: The Science at the Hearth of Coaching. In S. Stober & A. Grant (Eds.). Psychometricss in Coaching, 239-253. Kogan Page, London. Kiel, D. 1986. I Am Learning How to Forgive. Decision (Feb), 12-13. Kurzynski, M. 1998. The Virtue of Forgiveness in the Context of Developmental Guidance: Implementation and Evaluation. British Journal of Guidance & Counceling, 32 (4), 477-492. Legaree, T.-A., Turner, J. & Lollis, S. 2007. Forgiveness and Therapy: A Critical Review of Conceptualizations, Practices, and Values Found in the Literature. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33 (2), 192-213. Losada, M. 1999. The Complex Dynamics of High Performance Teams. Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 30 (9-10), 179-192. Luskin, F. 2002. Forgive for Good. New York. Harper CollinsPublishers. Madsen, S., Gygi, J., Hammond, S. & Plowman, S. 2009. Forgiveness as a Workplace Intervention: The Literature and Proposed Framework. Institute of Behavioral and Applied Management. McCullough, M., Fincham, F. & Tsang, J.-A. 2003. Forgiveness, forbearance, and time: the temporal unfolding of transgression-related interpersonal motivations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (3), 540-557. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 445 Neblett, W. 1974. Forgiveness and Ideals. Mind 83 (330), 269-275. North, J. 1987. Wrongdoing and Forgiveness. Philosophy 62 (242), 499-508. Patton, J. 1985. Is Human Forgiveness Possible? Nashville. Abingdon. Pettigrove, G. 2007. Understanding, Excusing, Forgiving, Philosophy & Pehonemenological Research, 74 (1), 156-175. Scobie, E. & Scobie, G. 1998. Damaging Events: The Perceived Need for Forgiveness. Journal of the Theory of Social Behavior, 28 (4), 373-401. Smedes, L. 1984. Forgive and Forget. Healing the Hurts We Do Not Deserve. New York. Harper and Row. Smith, M. 1981. The Psychology of Forgiveness. The Month, 14, 301-307 Stone, M. 2002. Forgiveness in the workplace. Industrial and Commercial Training, 34 (7), 278-286. Tsarenko, Y. & Toijib, D. 2011. A transactional model of forgiveness in the service failure context: a customer-driven approach. Journal of Services Marketing. INTERNET Forgiveness and health 2011. http://www.forgivenessandhealth.com/ (cited 2.9.2011) ilkka.virolainen@kyamk.fi http://www.forgivenessandhealth.com/ Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 446 CROSS-BORDER EDUCATION: FACTORS INFLUENCING CANADIAN STUDENTS’ CHOICE OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES Erin E. McCarthy, D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York Arup K. Sen, D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York Bonnie Fox Garrity, D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York ABSTRACT This study seeks to explain the factors influencing Canadian students’ motivation for studying in the United States. The United States has continuously been the leader in international students, but is now facing increasing competition from other nations around the world. As one of the top senders of international students to the United States, Canada is of special interest to institutions of higher education in the United States due to the close social, economic, and political ties. International student mobility is influenced by push-pull factors that influence a student’s decision to study abroad, and ultimately pull factors from host nations that student’s find favorable. To understand Canadian students’ motivation for studying in the United States, a study was conducted with a sample of 411 Canadian students at a small private college in Buffalo, New York. The study found statistically significant differences in the the importance placed on reasons for not remaining in Canada for higher education, the factors that influence the selection of the United States as a study destination, and student preferences for institutions of higher education in the United States. The study concluded that there are separate push-pull factors influencing Canadian higher education students on the Canada-U.S. border, and that Canadian students are their own distinct group that are neither truly like international nor domestic students. JEL: 051 U.S.; Canada KEYWORDS: International education, Canadian students, higher education. INTRODUCTION Student mobility trends in the past decades have led to an increased number of students participating in international education. Today, more students are studying abroad than ever and there has been an ever increasing competition for international students. The United States has been leading the way as a destination for international students in higher education with 22% of the international student market (Verbik & Lasanowski, 2007). While the United States has always been a leader in international student enrollment, the nation is now facing increasing competition from other well positioned nations like Australia, Germany, and France. To maintain their competitive advantage educators and administrators in the United States must understand their international student markets and develop appropriate strategies to attract and maintain students. One of the largest segments of international students in the United States comes from Canada. In 2009/2010, the number of international students studying in the United States reached 690,923 students, of which 28,145 students were from Canada (Open Doors, 2010). Canada sends more of their students to the United States than to any other country, and has been continuously one of the United State's top ten source countries for international students. With our close cultural, economic, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 447 and geographical ties, why is the United States a destination for so many Canadian students? The answer to this question has critical implications for educators on both sides of the border. International students, in general, study abroad for a variety of different reasons, these reasons include a home country that cannot meet demand for higher education, students seeking institutions with more prestige or power, or other nations that have institutions that specialize in a desired area of study. Students, especially from developing countries, have found that their country may lack the supply of quality opportunities in higher education that they demand, and they must travel abroad to developed nations for their education. Students from developed nations choose to study abroad due to the increase in globalization and the need for students with a global perspective and experiences (Altbach, 2004). More than 90% of international students are enrolled in countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, who attract approximately 45% of the total amount of foreign students worldwide (Verbik & Lasanowski, 2007). Studying abroad has become more accessible due to decreased transportation costs and innovations in communications technology. Governments have also realized the economic potential of international students, and have allocated more funds to improve higher education in their country and to increase the number of international students (Altbach, 2004). These skilled and educated students also provide a local labor force that can contribute to research and innovation, and also in any skilled labor shortages (Gribble, 2008). International students are also often influenced to study abroad by "push-pull" factors (Altbach, 2004; Li & Bray, 2007; Maringe & Carter, 2007; Mazzarol & Souter, 2002 Students are "pushed" abroad due to factors in their home country, and students are then "pulled" by factors in the host country that make it an attractive place to study. Students can be pushed from their home country due to an inability to study in local universities caused by competition or because another country's institutions specialize in a desired program. Students are pulled to the United States as a destination for international study because of the country's reputation as one of the world's best, and most prestigious, academic systems (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002). Research conducted by Cubillo et al., (2006); Chen, (2008); Soutar & Turner, (2002); Shanka et al., (2005), has found that international student's have an extensive and complex decision making process when deciding to study abroad. The decision making process consists of personal reasons and motivations for studying in a foreign country, encouragement from significant others, country image effect, proximity of host institution, the institution’s image, recommendations from friends and colleagues, and an evaluation of the program. Many studies (Chen, 2008; Cubillo et al., 2006; Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002; Shanlm et al., 2005; Soutar & Turner, 2002) have looked at why international students decide to study abroad, and the factors that influence their choice of institution, but few have looked at the migration of students from one specific country to another. While the United States and Canada share a border, strong economic ties, and cultural similarities, there have been surprisingly few comparative studies in education that center on these two nations. It may have been previously thought that these nations were too similar, that a study between the two would not be useful (Skolnik & Jones, 1992). With the largest percentage of Canadian international students going to the United States, it would be imperative for those on both the American and Canadian sides of the border to understand why this movement occurs. American colleges and universities must identify the factors that contribute to Canadian student movements to the United States and employ this information in their strategic policies to attract and retain such students. Internationalization and the use of international marketing have had great influence on students’ choices of study abroad destinations (Chen, 2008), so by segmenting the market, American universities can tailor their marketing approach to Canadian students more effectively. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 448 Canadian colleges and universities can use such a study to understand how they can retain students. In an effort to understand the factors that influence a Canadian student to specifically select the United States as a study abroad destination this study used a quantitative method to discover the main factors influencing the migration of Canadian students and the specific "push-pull" dynamic between the two nations. Set against this back drop four interlinked questions are addressed in the empirical analysis which follows. First, what are the most important “push” factors influencing the movement of Canadian students out of Canada? Second, what are the most influential factors “pulling” Canadian students specifically to the United States as a host country for their higher education? Third, what factors do Canadian students find the most important when choosing an institution to study at in the United States? And fourth, will the Canadian students’ decision making process in regards to choice of institution resemble that of a domestic student or an international student. RESEARCH CONTEXT Cross border education has become an important mode for globalizing higher education, while knowledge has become an international good that can transcend national boundaries. Higher education has become a service to be traded across borders and attracts a market from all over the world. Demand for cross border education has increased because of globalization and the increasing employment opportunities in multinational corporations and foreign countries (Varghese, 2007). Varghese (2007) notes that institutions of higher education are institutions with dual characteristics; they are both national and international. The content and knowledge shared is universal and international, while the ownership, organization, and culture have always been national. Globalization in education can take many forms. First, there can be a cross-border supply of educational services, like online distance education programs, where students do not even need to leave their country. Another form of globalization is the consumption of educational services abroad, which is what this study focuses on, where students physically cross the border for educational purposes. The commercial presence of a provider in another country, such as in the form of branch campuses, is another aspect of international education. Twinning and franchising arrangements between institutions in the developing and developed world are collaborations that institutions are considering to increase their international impact. Finally, globalization in higher education can be seen in the exchange and mobility of professors and employees from one nation to another through academic partnerships or to teaching opportunities at branch campuses (Varghese, 2007). The international market for higher education has many variables that affect international student mobility. There are strategies employed by home governments to organize this flow of students seeking to study outside their home nation (Bourke, 2000). Some of these strategies include funding arrangements, accreditation and new educational offerings. Since some nations lack the capacity for certain higher education opportunities, governments may select to fund students to study in a specific country. Accreditation is another important aspect of international higher education, since the recognition of the host country's credentials is a vitally important factor when deciding to study abroad. Accreditation is a tool used by home governments to have an influence on student flows. Accreditation and the recognition of education degrees from overseas institutions are blurred by political circumstances and can significantly impact the flow of students from one country to another (Bourke, 2000). Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 449 Currently there are many factors influencing student flows in international education. Some of the most prominent factors include cost of education, academic superiority in host nation, student experience, language proficiency, employment opportunities, and lack of educational opportunities in home country. (Varghese, 2007; Verbik & Lasanowski, 2007; Mpinganjira, 2009) Varghese (2007) found that influential factors for international education include cost of education, since some countries have higher tuition levels applied to international students compared to domestic students. Language proficiency, another important factor, may explain why regional flows may be high, especially in North America and Western Europe. Perceived academic superiority of the institution in the host country is seen as a significant factor since international students traditionally move from less developed countries to more developed countries for their education. Many students also find the acquisition of foreign language and culture an influential factor in deciding to study abroad. The opportunity for employment is a major reason to study abroad; whether because study abroad enhances credentials, or the student plans on staying in the host country after completion of their study. A "push-pull" model has been developed to understand student mobility trends. Push factors are those that operate within a student's home nation and initiate a student's decision making process to study abroad. Pull factors operate in the host country and make the country more attractive to international students (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002). The theory was developed by McMahon (1992) in a study of international student's from 18 developing nations and their movement to develop in the 1960s and 1970s. The push model suggested that student flows were dependent on economic factors and the degree of involvement of the sending nation in the world economy, educational opportunities found in the home nation, and social and cultural factors like the priority the developing country puts on education. The pull model from the study suggests that the student is pulled to a nation due to the size of the host country's economy relative to that of the one in the home nation, economic links between the two nations, and political factors like the host nation's political ties to the home nation. Mazzarol and Soutar (2002) identified six push-pull factors that have an impact on the decision to study abroad. These factors include knowledge and awareness, recommendations from family and friends, cost issues, environment issues, social links, and geographical proximity. Knowledge and awareness was measured by four items that included student's access to information on the host country, level of knowledge student has of the host country, quality of education of host country, and the recognition of host country's qualifications. The decision to study abroad is an involved process that includes the initial reason to study abroad, the choice of host country, and the choice of institution. Cubillo et al. (2006) set forth a theoretical framework that analyzed the different dimensions of the international student's decision making process. The main factors the study identified in the international student choice process included personal reasons, country image effect, institution image, and program evaluation. Country image which includes cultural distance, social reputation, academic reputation, cost of living, immigration procedures, and time to earn a degree, had a direct and positive relationship with the purchase intention of the student. It is clear that there exists a well-defined body of evidence on students’ choice decision and offer insights into the problems of consumer choice models, however, insufficient research exists on the challenges faced by small private institutions in recruiting and attracting foreign students in the United States. The main purpose of this study is to understand the controllable and uncontrollable factors influencing Canadian students choice of a small private institution given the high involvement nature of college choice decisions. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 450 SURVEY METHODOLOGY In light of the foregoing literature, the overall study objective was to determine the key factors in the decision process of selecting a higher education institution in the United States by Canadian students. The research subjects were comprised of Canadian students enrolled at D’Youville College, a small private institution located in Buffalo, New York which is located within half a mile of the border between United States and Canada. Convenience sampling of 411 Canadian students enrolled in the various programs offered at D’Youville College was utilized. The entire population of Canadian students at D'Youville College was invited to participate in the study through campus email. The email contained a link to a landing page with a web survey. Follow up emails were sent one and two weeks after the initial email with the survey invitation to remind potential participants of the survey to obtain an acceptable response rate. The purpose of the study was to understand factors influencing Canadian students' decision to study in institutions of higher education in the United States. The survey was designed to examine the various influences, including any push-pull dynamic. The survey, in three different sections, looked at factors influencing Canadian students' choice not to study in Canada, factors influencing their decision to study in the United States, and factors influencing their choice of institution in the United States. In each section of the survey, participants rated certain factors known to affect student mobility, derived from the literature review, on how important they were in their decision making process. The survey had response categories based on a four-point Likert Scale from 1 (not considered in decision) to 4 (very important to my decision). In each section, the participants were asked to select the most influential factor in their decision, and an open-ended question was employed to discover any additional factors that may have been considered when choosing the study at an institution in the United States rather than one in Canada. DATA ANALYSIS To analyze the data collected from the survey, this study employed the Chi-Square Goodness of Fit test to evaluate whether there were statistically significant differences between the identified factors. Frequency tables were used to illustrate respondents' responses to each question. SPSS was employed to collect, organize, and calculate the data. The survey was started by 104 respondents, with 87 useable complete surveys, which resulted in a 21 % response rate. By academic level, 23% of respondents were undergraduate, 54% were graduate students, 21% of students were in professional programs, and 2% were doctoral students. The mean age of the respondents was 31.4 years of age with 75% of respondents female and 25% of respondents male. Education, Nursing and other Health related majors were the majority of responses (See Table 1). Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 451 Table 1: Majors of Survey Respondents Major Respondents % Education 39.0% Nursing 17.1% Physical Therapy 14.9% Occupational Therapy 6.8% Interdisciplinary Studies 4.5% Dietetics 3.3% Business 2.2% Physician Assistant 2.2% Doctoral 2.2% Biology 2.1% This table shows the major of the survey respondents with education, nursing and health related majors being the majority of the responses. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS From the results of the survey, we can see that Canadian students have their own distinct reasons for leaving Canada, and choosing to come to the United States for educational purposes. The factors that were most important in the Canadian students' decision to study outside Canada revolved around the issue of competitive entry requirements in Canada, broadening personal experience, lack of university places or the inability to get a place in a course the student wanted to study at home (See Table 2). These results are consistent with previous studies including Mazarol and Souter (2002) which found that difficulty finding entry into institutions at home were significant "push" factors in international students' decision to pursue their higher education outside their home country (See Table 2). Like a study conducted by Mpinganjira (2009), the results of the survey indicated that the enhancement of future employment prospects also was an important reason for studying outside of Canada. Regarding the decision to study in the United States, the most important factor reported by Canadian students was that the qualifications were recognized in their home country (See Table 3). This result is consistent with the study conducted by Mpinganjira (2009) where students indicated the most important factor when deciding to study abroad was that students were seeking qualifications with worldwide recognition. The second most important reason for coming to the United States for Canadian students was related to geographical proximity and the ability to commute or easily travel to the United States. This is similar to findings by Wiers-Jenssen (2003) in a study of Norwegian students who studied in linguistically and geographically peripheral European countries, where students indicated that geographical proximity was a significant factor in their choice process. While not one of the most important factors in the selection of the United States as a study destination, knowledge of someone who has studied in the United States was seen as a key factor in students' decision making (See Table 4). The survey also found that a favorable image of the United States was not particularly important in their decision to study in the United States, and only 1 % of respondents indicated that it was the most important factor in their decision. This seems to conflict with the literature that indicates the significance of country image, though when survey takers were asked if they considered any other countries when looking to study outside of Canada, 86% of respondents answered "no". This indicates that while country image was not consciously an important factor, many students did not consider any other country when deciding to study outside of Canada. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 452 Table 2: Factors in Decision to Study Outside Canada Factors Not Considered Not Important Somewhat Important Very Important Unavailability of course at home 32.2% 18.9% 25.6% 23.3% Broaden personal experience 27.8% 24.4% 32.2% 15.6% Competitive entry requirements in home country 11.2% 12,4% 20.2% 56.2% Lack of university places 20.0% 16.7% 32.2% 31.1% Inability to get a place in course one wanted to study at home 21.1% 13.3% 26.7% 38.95% Enhance future employment prospects 19.1% 13.5% 28.1% 39.3% Absence of equivalent domestic Opportunities 35.2% 19.3% 19.3% 26.2% Other 25.0% 15.0% 20.0% 40.0% This table presents the factors that Canadian students either consider to be “very important” to “not considered” in the decision process to study outside Canada. Table 3: Most Important Factors in Decision to Study in the United States Factors Response (%) Qualifications recognized at home 51% Geographical Proximity 14% Ability to commute or travel easily to the United States 13% Vale of degree in economic market 10% Know someone who studied there 5% Intention to migrate to United States after degree completion 5% Favorable image of higher education in the United States 1% Common language 0% Prior connection or historical ties to country 0% Ease of visa formalities 0% Other 1% This table shows the most important factor in the Canadian students’ decision making process to study in the United States. Table 4: Factors in Decision to Study in United States Factors Not Considered Not Important Somewhat Important Very Important Favorable image of higher education in the US 37.5% 20.5% 29.5% 12.5% Common Language 29.1% 12.8% 31.4% 26.7% Geographical Proximity 3.5% 7.0% 27.1% 62.4% Know someone who studied there 17.4% 15.1% 40.8% 26.7% Qualifications recognized in home market 2.3% 2.3% 21.8% 73.6% Value of degree in economic market 11.7% 8.1% 29.1% 51.1% Prior connection or historical ties to the country 64.0% 20.9% 7% 8.1% Intention to migrate to U.S. after degree completion 53.5% 19.8% 17.4% 9.3% Ability to commute or travel easily to U.S. 6.9% 4.6% 25.3% 63.2% Ease of visa formalities 25.6% 9.3% 31.4% 33.7% Other 62.5% 0% 0% 37.5% This table shows the factors Canadian students’ consider to be “very important” to “not considered” as part of their decision to study in the United States. Regarding selection of an institution, the respondents indicated that the institution having the desired program of study was the most important factor, with another significant factor being the quality of education (See Table 5). The second most important factor in choice of institution was location of the institution. While not selected as the most important factor in their selection of a particular institution, a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 453 significant number of respondents indicated that favorable scheduling options and grade requirements were key factors in their decision making process (See Table 6). Table 5: Most Important Factor in Choice of Institution Factors Response (%) Have desired program of study 34% Location 16% Have favorable scheduling options 15% Quality of education 14% Grade requirements 8% Reputation 3% Interaction with faculty and staff 3% Recommendation from family and friends 3% Availability of financial aid 2% Other 0% This table presents the most important factor considered by Canadian students’ consider to be most important in their choice of institution. Table 6: Factors in Decision to Study at D’Youville College Factors Not Considered Not Important Somewhat Important Very Important Have desired program of study 2.3% 1.1% 5,7% 90.1% Reputation 10.3% 5.7% 31.1% 52.9% Have favorable scheduling options 14.9% 8.1% 21.8% 55.2% Availability of financial aid 47.8% 24.2% 14% 14% Interaction with faculty and staff 30.2% 8.2% 30.2% 31.4% Location 4.5% 2.3% 19.3% 73.9% Quality of Education 3.4% 1.2% 26.4% 69% Grade Requirements 9.3% 2.3% 37.2% 51.2% Recommendations from family and friends 20.9% 9.3% 32.6% 37.2% Other 77.8% 0% 11.1% 11.1% This table shows the factors Canadian students consider to be either “very important” to “not considered” in their decision process to study at D’Youville College. INTERNATIONAL OR DOMESTIC? WHERE DO THEY FIT? Canadian students do resemble international students. Canadian students face similar push factors to other international students identified in the literature review. The push factors that are motivating many of the Canadian students are similar push factors to students from other nations studying abroad. These push factors include competition and lack of space in desired program of study. Also, Canadian students are mainly concerned about whether their qualifications obtained in the United States would be recognized in their home market, which is distinctly an international student perspective. On some factors, Canadian students did not resemble international students. Canadian students were not overly concerned with having a common language or the image of higher education in the United States. While these factors were important, they were not selected as most important, where these factors had been identified in the literature review as decisive factors. On other factors, Canadian students took more of a domestic student approach, especially when it came down to choice of institution. The importance placed by the Canadian students on things like location, scheduling options, and grade requirements were all factors more likely to be a main concern for a domestic student. Studies of domestic students choice of institution found that program of study was the most important factor in the choice of institution, which we also found in this study. From the results of this survey we can see that the Canadian students Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 454 studying in the United States resemble both international and domestic students. LIMITATIONS A limitation of this study is the use of convenience sampling employed during data collection. The data collection was limited to one institution located near the border of the United States and Canada. To obtain results it can be generalized on the factors influencing student mobility between the United States and Canada in border areas, a wider survey, with multiple institutions located in bordering regions should be conducted. CONCLUSION The findings of this study can be used to understand the student mobility dynamic between the United States and Canada, especially pertaining to institutions in bordering regions. Furthermore, this study indicates that Canadian students are not like traditional international students, nor do they share the same concerns as domestic students. Canadian students studying in the United States are their own distinct group, with unique concerns and trends. Institutions of higher education looking to market towards Canadian students should understand that traditional marketing materials aimed at international students may not be fully appropriate for the Canadian audience. Materials used in the institution's home market for domestic students would not be suitable either. Students on bordering regions may need their own exclusive set of materials tailored to their specific concerns. The topic of student mobility is one of many possibilities of study. Further study of Canadian students in other bordering regions would add more depth to the subject of student mobility between the countries of the United States and Canada. Other research on student mobility trends between two nations with significant student flows in other parts of the world would greatly add to the literature on globalization in higher education. Student mobility trends differ from country to country and understanding the movement of students from one country to another will give administrators and marketers in higher education more knowledge of how to meet the needs of their unique student populations. REFERENCES Altbach, P. (2004). Higher education crosses borders, Change 36(2), 18-25. Retrieved September 1, 2010 from Professional Development Collection database. Bourke, A. (2000). A model of determinants of international trade in higher education. The Service Industry Journal, 20(1) 110-138. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from Business Source Premier. Chen, L. H. (2008). Internationalization or international marketing? Two frameworks for understanding international students' choice of Canadian universities. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 18(1), 1-33. Retrieved September 1, 2010 from Education Research Complete. Cubillo,I. M., Sanchez, I., & Cervino, I. (2006). International students' decision-making process. The International Journal of Educational Management, 20(2), 101-115. Retrieved September 1, 2010 from ABIIINFORM Complete. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 455 Gribble, C. (2008, February). Policy options for managing international student migration: the sending country's perspective. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 30(1), 25-39. Retrieved September 2, 2010 from Business Source Premier. Li, M., & Bray, M. (2007). Cross-border flows of students for higher education: push-pull Factors and motivations of mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau. Higher Education, 53, 791-818. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from Academic Search Premier. Maringe. F., & Carter, S. (2007). International students' motivation for studying in UK HE. International Journal of Management, 21(6), 459-475. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from ABI/INFORM Complete. Mazzarol, T., & Soutar, G.N. (2002). 'Push-pull' factors influencing international student destination choice. The International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 16 No.2, pp. 82-90. Retrieved September 1, 2010 from ABI/INFORM Complete. McMahon, M.E. (1992). Higher education in a world market. A historical look at the global context of international study. Higher Education, 24(4), 465-482. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from JSTOR.org Mpinganjira, M. (2009). Comparative analysis of factors influencing the decision to study abroad. African Journal of Business Management, 3(8),358-365. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from academicjournal.org Open doors fast facts. (2010). Institute of International Education. Retrieved November 29, 2010 from http://www.opendoors.iienetworkorg. Shanlm, T., Quintal, V., & Taylor, R. (2005). Factors influencing international students' choice of an education destination-a correspondence analysis. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 15(2), 31-46. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from www.haworthpress.com/web/JMHE. Skolnik, M. L., & Jones, G. A. (1992). A comparative analysis of arrangements for state coordination of higher education in Canada and the United States. The Journal of Higher Education, 63(2), 121-142. Retrieved from Research Library. Soutar, G. N., & Turner, J. P. (2002). Students' preferences for university: a conjoint analysis. The International Journal of Educational Management, 16(1), 40-45. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from Pro quest Central. Varghese, N.V. (2008). Globalization of higher education and cross-border student mobility. IIEP- UNESCO Research Paper Series. Paris. Retrieved November 14, 2010 from www.unesco.org/iiep/PDF/pubs/2008/Globalization_HE . Verbik, L., & Lasanowski, V. (2007). International student mobility: Patterns and trends. London: The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. Wiers-Jenssen, J. (2003). Norwegian students abroad: experiences of students from a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 456 linguistically and geographically peripheral European country. Studies in Higher Education, 28(4). Retrieved November 10, 2010 from Academic Search Premier. APPENDIX A Survey The questions below were on a Likert Scale using the following values 1. Not consider in my decision 2. Not an important factor in my decision 3. Somewhat important factor in my decision 4. Very important factor in my decision Factors influencing decision to study outside Canada 1. Unavailability of course at home 2. Broaden personal experience 3. Competitive entry requirements in home country 4. Lack of university places 5. Inability to get a place in course one wanted to study at home 6. Enhance future employment prospects 7. Absence of equivalent domestic opportunities Overall what was the most important factor in your decision to study outside Canada? Were there any other factors that were not included that influenced your decision to study outside of Canada? Factors influencing decision to study in the United States 1. Favorable image of higher education in the United States 2. Common language 3. Geographical proximity 4. Know someone who studied there 5. Qualifications recognized at home 6. Value of degree in economic market 7. Prior connection or historical ties to the country 8. Intention to migrate to the United States after degree completion 9. Ability to commute or travel easily to United States 10. Ease of visa formalities Overall, what was the most important factor in your decision to study in the United States? Were there any other factors that were not included that influenced your decision to study in the United States? Did you look at countries other than the United States when deciding to study outside of Canada? Yes No Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 457 Factors influencing choice of institution 1. Have desired program of study 2. Reputation 3. Have favorable scheduling options 4. Availability of financial aid 5. Interaction with faculty and staff 6. Location 7. Quality of education 8. Grade requirements 9. Recommendations from family and friends Overall, what was the most important factor in your choice of institution in the United States? Were there any other factors that were not included that influenced your choice of institution in the United States? Demographic Data Age Gender Year of Study Country of Origin Field of Study Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 458 COMPETITIVITY OF RURAL TOURISTIC DESTINATIONS: PROPOSAL OF AN EVALUATION MODEL Adalberto Avelar García-Rojas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Ariel Moctezuma Hernández, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California ABSTRACT Tourism has grown all over the world in the last 15 years and it is projected that it will continue growing. Migration of younger generations over the last few years and the decrease of rentability of primary sector activities in the rural areas have pushed inhabitants to search for new ways to potentiate the use of their natural resources. Baja California with its vast extension of rural areas has a potential to be an economic boost to the region trough rural tourism activities. In this Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Outline, it is suggested to create a competitivity evaluation model that meets the needs of Baja California, Mexico. Dimensions will be decided and analyzed thru the scrutiny of the mostly used models in the literature over the years and a documentary research will extensively be done to support the model which will be applied to the managers of Rural Recreation Centers in Baja California. As per the Secretariat of Tourism, there are in Baja California 175 Rural Recreation Centers, which we do not know the if they are running over competitive schemes and what do they need to foster it. A sample of 122 RRCs will be taken for the analysis. INTRODUCTION The so called touristic phenomenon has grown over the last 15 years and all evidence suggests that it will continue growing as primary economic sectors such as agriculture, fishing and mineral extraction in many countries and municipalities have been displaced by the tourism services and as the need of travel and recreation of the world population has increased. A vast variety of touristic destinations are still emerging and it is imperative to analyze the factors that take part in the competitiveness that can lead entities to gain an advantage over the competition. It is also important to note that given their natural resources, some rural areas have the potential and are more susceptible and suitable to be developed as touristic destinations. Unfortunately, in some parts of the world the saturation of touristic destinations have lead overexploitation and decay of natural resources and endemic cultures. Touristic destinations have a wide range of attractors that are of special interest of potential visitors which upon planning their trip consider their travel decisions upon. Some of these factors are the distance they have to travel to get there, the availability and price range of activities and lodging, cultural heritage, hygiene and security amongst others. This has been changing at a fast rate due to what Barroso and Flores (2008) stated as improvements in communication, decrease in costs of transportation, the decline of mature destinations and the appearance of new travel possibilities are important factors in the decision process on where to vacation. Different methodologies have been used to study of touristic destinations since the 1950’s; however, there have not been an agreement on which model best describes the success or predicts the results of their actions. In Mexico as in most of the world, governments have included in their agendas tourism as a way to foster economic development of their countries following the initiatives of the World Tourism Organization. To objectively compare the competitivity of 139 countries, the World Economic Forum uses a competitive Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 459 index developed with the feedback of their Industry Partnership Program participants. They use a 14 pillar composed around 3 main indexes (1- Travel and Tourism regulatory framework 2- Travel and Tourism business environment and 3- Travel and Tourism human, cultural and natural sub indexes). In 2011 Mexico is in 43rd position, rising from 2009’s 51st position. In 2011 is just below China, Bahrain, Thailand and Quatar and above Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Israel. In America, Mexico holds 4th place in competitivity below the United States (6th overall), Canada (9th overall) and Barbados (28th overall). Still in 2009, Mexico held 19th place in the most visited countries ranking. Federal Government stated 2011 as the year of tourism and thru the Tourism Secretariat has planned to raise Mexico to the top 10 most visited countries position in the following ten years. It is a complex task; however it is possible if all actors (from the companies that run touristic destinations attractions to the top level government officials) collaborate together. In the following pages, a Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Outline is presented; it is suggested to create a competitivity evaluation model that meets the needs of Baja California, Mexico. Based on the assumption that knowing the factors that particularly contributes to the competitivity of Baja California and its geographic distribution, vast environment diversity and remoteness, gives the state an opportunity to be developed as a premiere competitive touristic destination.n Dimensions will be decided and analyzed thru the scrutiny and study in depth of the mostly used models in the literature over the years and a documentary research will extensively be done to support the model. This then will be applied to the managers of Rural Recreation Centers in Baja California. LITERATURE REVIEW Competitiveness of touristic destinations can be analyzed considering the supply and/or the demand part of it. As per the supply part, Merinero & Pulido (2009) asserts that literature review over the time insists that touristic destinations capability of growth and development is related to their willingness to work together and establish cooperative relationships with every related actor. On the other hand, considering the demand, the strongest factors behind a person choosing one destination over another is influenced by natural and cultural aspects of the destination Manning (1993) on Toledo et al (1998). He also points out the potential visitor search for safe and clean environment. The term competitivity is one of the most commonly used terms in economic theory studies, although its definition is controversial as Gonzalez et al (2009) points out. They considered that most of the debates are to define its operationalization. It has been defined and studied by many scholars. It is important to note the concept that Esser et al (1994) on Gonzalez et al (2009) established aiming the discussion to the fact that competitivity does not come by itself, it needs to be planned, implemented and monitored. Manning (1993) on Toledo et al (1998) thus defines competitivity to be within the possibility of the developer on keeping the attractions (natural and man-made) clean. If touristic destination want to grow and be competitive, the key development actors need to find alternatives consistent with their context, with the planned projection of the near future and aligned with their costumers needs. As Mazaro (2007) noted, they have to be integrated into creating a value chain within the visitor stay. The Toledo, et al (1998) model is also based on Porter’s diamond of competitivity model and assumes that to achieve competitive levels at a destination level, there must be a cluster aggrupation of companies related to the economic activity. They also mention the case of Costa Rica were they have experienced tourism annual growth rates of 10.5%. one of their success factors beside the aggrupation in cluster is the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 460 environmental conservation policies, common marketing campaigns and the segmentation of the demand in specific sectors (ie adventure, youth, nature). The premier ranked model of Genest & Legg (2002) workbook contains a 3 phase, 7 step methodology to Evaluate, Interpret and Plan strategies for recovering the tourism economy and convert Touristic Destinations into what they named “Premier Ranked” A critique that Dieguez, Gueimonde, Sinde, & Blanco (2011) to the notes the difficulty of Dwer & Kim’s model due to the difficulty of getting the data available for analysis. METHODOLOGY Background As a consequence of the rapid growth around the world of commercial touristic activities in the last decade and according to the projections of the World Tourism Organization on Mazaro (2007); the value of touristic activities will be greater of those of the automobile and oil trades. Due to the socioeconomic restructuration given by the dramatically decrease of agriculture, cattle farming and mining as primary activities in some rural areas around the world; have driven the need of the people to merge into other type of economic activities as Flores & Barroso (2011) noted. In this regards, the available labor have reassigned the economic activity to the service area many of these to touristic activities.On the other hand, as a result of the intensive use of information technologies to market touristic destinations, the ease of long distance transportation and the increasing need of customization on travel packages. It is imperative that touristic destinations are competitive in order to attract the quantity and quality of visitors; enough to leave an economic spill sufficient to increase the quality of living of the residents. The main goal of the National Tourism Secretariat is to lead Mexico into the top 10 touristic destinations of the world (Secretaría de Turismo, 2011) which requires that all touristic destinations to be competitive as they will be competing to attract visitors. According to the Centro de Investigación y Estudios Turísticos del Tecnológico de Monterrey (2010), the state of Baja California ranks number four in the National Tourism Competitiveness Index with 40.4/100 points, however it does not reflect the situation of the rural touristic destinations; given its nature, this methodology cannot be directly applied to evaluate the total touristic destinations as it is. Research Problem: In order to meet the challenge of competitiveness of Baja California as a rural touristic destination, the overall destination has to be scientifically diagnosed. There are many models to evaluate the competitiveness of a touristic destination that could be used in rural areas but there is none specifically proven to work in the needs of rural touristic destination for Baja California. Significance Of The Study: The importance of having a tool to understand the relationships of the factors that lead the competitiveness of the rural touristic destination of the state of Baja California, Mexico is the key to successfully develop competitive enterprises, projects and public policies to support them. Thus, this study will be relevant to managers, entrepreneurs and policy makers to create a framework to build and transform companies to be more competitive and gain the trust and preference of visitors over other places near and far away. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 461 Purpose: The intention of this research is to suggest a model to evaluate the competitiveness of rural tourism destinations. Problem statement What factors influence the competitiveness of Baja California as a rural touristic destination? HYPOTHESES H1: the strategy, structure and rivalry conditions have a positive relation to the competitiveness of Baja California as a touristic destination. H2: the conditions of the demand have a positive relation to the competitiveness of Baja California as a touristic destination. H3: the related and supporting industries have a positive relation to the competitiveness of Baja California as a touristic destination. H4: the factors and conditions of the environment have a positive relation to the competitiveness of Baja California as a touristic destination. H5: the government policies and actions have a positive relation to the competitiveness of Baja California as a touristic destination. Theorical Framework Business competitive advantages at a destination level are determined in part by the macroeconomic efficiency of the units of production within; thus, competitivity at a destination level has to be measured at the company (entrepreneur-manager) level. Per Gonzalez and Mendieta (2009), preliminary results of their study show that the three most important keys to explain local competitivity are: - The diversity of empirical variables used as competitive determinants - The yet to be explored relationship between competitivity and quality of life. - The work of local government agencies promoting competitivity. Human resources capability is a mean to development and a key ingredient in a competitive recipe, as Gonzalez & Mendieta (2009) noted. When talking about rural destination competitiveness it is essential to consider the challenging situation that some of the rural community’s entrepreneurs might hiring and training employees and also their own lack of managerial and planning skills. A model is a graphical representation of the variables that impact a problem. According to Bosch et al (1998) on Mazaro & Varzin (2008), there are two basic types of development models: Continuous Intensive, which is characterized by a urban congestion, densification and environment and landscape spoilage. And the Punctual Extensive, which is based on a equilibrated development and is planned to create a high end image, the landscape spaces once wasted are recovered and planned to conserve. Models are not static and need to be reviewed as the conditions of the economic environment changes. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 462 A total of 19 different models were partially reviewed, finding that most of the models analyzed on this study are different representations and adaptations of Porter’s national competitivity diamond model, one of the most common adaptation is the addition of the sustainability variable, to note the importance of it, Ritchie and Crouch (2000) stated, competitivity being an illusion if sustainability is not accounted for. Mazaro & Varzin (2008) critiques Toledo’s et al (1998) model for not including the sustainability dimension into their model and also pointed on their study that the development of competitivity evaluation models have to be oriented to equally reduce the environmental impact that activity has on the host community and increase the threshold of development. There is a need of the touristic destination actors (public and private) to adapt the management of the destination procedures and metrics with a comprehensible, integrated and qualitatively measurable perspective in order to be able to manage the changes required to be competitive (Mazaro & Vazin, 2008). Limitations: Limitations of the study are the uncertainty of the context given political reasons out of control and the bias that respondents could bring to the study. Delimitation The study will be completed taking as objects of study the managers of the rural tourism companies in the state of Baja California as per the Tourism Secretariat. Definitions Important Concepts Description Destination (main destination) of a trip The main destination of a tourism trip is defined as the place visited that is central to the decision to take the trip. Employment in tourism industries Employment in tourism industries may be measured as a count of the persons employed in tourism industries in any of their jobs, as a count of the persons employed in tourism industries in their main job, as a count of the jobs in tourism industries, or as full-time equivalent figures. International tourism International tourism comprises inbound tourism plus outbound tourism, that is to say, the activities of resident visitors outside the country of reference, either as part of domestic or outbound tourism trips and the activities of non-resident visitors within the country of reference on inbound tourism trips. Purpose of a tourism trip (main) The main purpose of a tourism trip is defined as the purpose in the absence of which the trip would not have taken place. Classification of tourism trips according to the main purpose refers to nine categories: this typology allows the identification of different subsets of visitors (business visitors, transit visitors, etc). Rural tourism It is used when the rural culture of the destination is the key component of the offered product. Tourist (or overnight visitor) A visitor (domestic, inbound or outbound) is classified as a tourist (or overnight visitor), if his/her trip includes an overnight stay. Travel / tourism Travel refers to the activity of travellers. A traveller is someone who moves between different geographic locations, for any purpose and any duration. The visitor is a particular type of traveller and consequently tourism is a subset of travel Trip A trip refers to the travel by a person from the time of departure from his/her usual residence until he/she returns: it thus refers to a round trip. Trips taken by visitors are tourism trips. Visit A trip is made up of visits to different places. The term tourism visit refers to a stay in a place visited during a tourism trip Visitor A visitor is a traveller taking a trip to a main destination outside his/her usual environment, for less than a year, for any main purpose (business, leisure or other personal purpose) other than to be employed by a resident entity in the country or place visited. A visitor (domestic, inbound or outbound) is classified as a tourist (or overnight visitor), if his/her trip includes an overnight stay, or as a same- day visitor (or excursionist) otherwise. per the World Tourism Organization (n.d) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 463 METHODOLOGY The methodology to empirically test the research hypotheses to be used on this dissertation is quantitative using relational statistical tools. METHOD A survey type questionnaire will be designed based upon further research on at least 15 of the reviewed models, also including social and demographical questions for control.Main variables will be measured with a 7 scales Lykert type response, open ended questions will be included to understand the context of the respondents.Tests of Validity and Reliability are to be made to the Measuring Instrument Population definition According to the Rural Route guide published by the State Tourism Secretariat (SECTURE, 2011). In Baja California exists 175 Rural Recreation Centers (RRC). The Guide clearly defines that the Recreation Centers are located within the state as follows. - 9 RRC in Tijuana - 18 RRC in Rosarito - 45 RRC in Tecate - 19 RRC in Mexicali - 18 RRC in San Felipe - 66 RRC in Ensenada N = 175 Sample size calculation Per Israel, 1992 sample size was determined assuming a 95% confidence level and equal proportion of variability p and q to be 50%. 𝑛 = 𝑁 1 + 𝑁(𝑒)2 n= sample size N= population size = 175 e= sampling error = 5% 𝑛 = 175 1 + 175(0.05)2 = 122 Sampling size is 122 RRC in the state of Baja California. Sampling method definition: A Clustered Proportional Random Sampling method is proposed with the following participation: - Tijuana 6 RRC - Rosarito 13 RRC Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 464 - Tecate 31 RRC - Mexicali 13 RRC - San Felipe 13 RRC - Ensenada 46 RRC DISCUSSIONS The environmental decay that have been developing since the Industrial Revolution and the advancements in technologies and transportation means have led to a new dimension and the rising of a new traveler generation with customized needs and detailed specific satisfactory requirements which means that only the most agile and competitive companies will somehow grow and survive the competition. This have forced Global Organizations such as the United Nations to lead and establish conservation goals to unify the fighting for conservancy and against poverty In Mexico, the Federal Tourism Secretariat is the one responsible to coordinate forces along the country to strengthen the tourism sector and lead the way to reach the goal to be on the top 10 touristic destination of the world. This can only be done thru competitive companies that will withhold the needed competitivity of a specific area and create a multiplicative effect along the country. State and local governments also have in their agendas tourism activities and policies as a priority, however an increase of local touristic flow is not the solution without the competitiveness of touristic supply as an important reason of the relevance of this Doctoral Dissertation Proposal. REFERENCES Barroso, M. & Flores, D. (2006). La competitividad internacional de los destinos turísticos: del enfoque macroeconómico al enfoque estratégico. Cuadernos de Turismo, 2006 (17), 7-24. Retreived October 24th 2011 from: http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/398/39801701 Centro de Investigación y Estudios Turísticos del Tecnológico de Monterrey (2010). Indice de competitividad turística de los Estados Mexicanos. Retreived: October 30th 2011 from: http://www.cidetur.uqroo.mx/cds/ESTUDIO-SOBRE-EL-TURISMO-EN-LOS-ESTADOS-DE- MEXICO-ITESM Diéguez, I., Gueimonde, A., Sinde, A. & Blanco, L. (2011). Análisis de los principales modelos explicativos de la competitividad de los destinos turísticos en el marco de la sostenibilidad. Revista de Cultura e Turismo. 05 (02), 101-124. Retreived October 24th 2011 from: http://www.uesc.br/revistas/culturaeturismo/ano5-edicao2/artigo_7 Flores, D. (2009). Competitividad sostenible de los espacios naturales protegidos como destinos turísticos: un análisis comparativo de los parques naturales Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Arcoche y Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas (Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor) España: Universidad de Huelva Flores, D. & Barroso, M. (2011). Desarrollo rural, economía social y turismo rural: Un análisis de casos. Revista de Economía Publica, Social y Cooperativa, 2011 (70), 55-80. Retreived October 26th 2011 from: http://www.ciriec-revistaeconomia.es/banco/7003_Flores_y_Barroso Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 465 González, R. & Mendieta, M. (2009). Reflexiones sobre la conceptualización de la competitividad de Destinos Turísticos. Cuadernos de Turismo, 2009 (23), 111-128. Retreived September 15th 2011 From: http://revistas.um.es/turismo/article/view/70201/67671 Israel, G.D. (1992). Determining Sample Size (Fact Sheet PEOD-6 Program Evaluation and Organizational Development). Florida, EE. UU.: Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Retreived October 27th, 2011 from: http://www.soc.uoc.gr/socmedia/papageo/metaptyxiakoi/sample_size/samplesize1 Mazaro, R.M. (2006). Competitividad de Destinos Turísticos y Sostenibilidad Estratégica. Proposición de un modelo de evaluación de factores y condiciones determinantes. (Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor) Barcelona, España: Universitat de Barcelona Mazaro, R.M. (2007). Factores determinantes de competitividad para destinos turísticos en el marco de la sostenibilidad Observatório de inovação do turismo, Volumen II (1), 1-16. Retreived October 28th from: http://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/ojs/index.php/oit/article/viewFile/1632/1051 Mazaro, R.M. & Varzin, G. (2008). Modelos de Competitividad para Destinos Turísticos en el Marco de la Sostenibilidad Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 12 (3), 789-809. Retreived October 20th from: http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/840/84012309 Merinero, R. & Pulido, J.I. (2009). Desarrollo turístico y dinámica relacional. Metodología de análisis para la gestión active de Destinos Turísticos. Cuadernos de Turismo, 2009 (23), 173-193. Retreived October 24th 2011 from: http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=39811874009 Parra, E. (2008). Determinantes estratégicos para la obtención de ventajas competitivas en el canal de distribución de servicios turísticos (Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor) Tenerife, España: Universidad de la Laguna Perea, J. (2006). Estrategias de diferenciación para los productores cafetaleros de la región de Córdova, Veracruz (Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor en Ciencias Administrativas) México, D.F., México: Instituto Politécnico Nacional Secretaria de Turismo (2011). Boletín 11 Decreta el Presidente Felipe Calderón al 2011 como año del Turismo en México. Retreived October 31st from: http://www.sectur.gob.mx/es/sectur/Boletin_11 Secretaria de Turismo (n.d.). Planeación y Gestión del Desarrollo Turístico Municipal. Retreived on October 26th from: http://sectur.gob.mx/es/sectur/sect_Planeacion_y_Gestion_para_el_Desarrollo_Turis Secretaria de Turismo del Estado (2011), Guía Estatal de Ranchos, Balnearios, Campos Turísticos y Centros Recreativos de Área Rural de Baja California. Retrieved Octubre 1st, 2011 from: http://www.descubrebajacalifornia.com/guias/pdf/ruta-rural/guia Toledo, G.L., Valdés, J.A. & Pollero, A.C. (1998). Empresas turísticas en ambiente globalizado: marketing y competitividad. Estudio de casos de clúster turísticos. São Paulo: FEA/USP. Retreived October 20th 2011 from: http://fama2.us.es:8080/turismo/turismonet1/economia%20del%20turismo/ultimos/empresas%20turistica s%20en%20ambiente%20globalizado Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 466 World Tourism Organisation (n,d,). Understanding tourism: Basic glossary, Retreived October 30th 2011 from: http://media.unwto.org/en/content/understanding-tourism-basic-glossary BIOGRAPHY Adalberto Avelar is a first year PhD full time student at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Campus Ensenada. He can be reached at aavelar@uabc.edu.mx Ariel Moctezuma Hernández holds a PhD in Economic Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California where he is a full time professor. He can be reached at ariel_moctezuma@uabc.edu.mx APPENDICES Appendix A: Models referenced in the proposal Model name (year created, institution) Bosch (1998) Toledo, G. L., Valdez, J.A., Pollero, A.C. (1998) Kosak & Rimmington (1999) Buhalis (2000) Hassan (2000) Kim (2001) Genest, J. Legg, D. (2002) Dwyer & Kim (2003) Ritchie and Crouch (2003) Sanchez & Fajardo (2004) Gooroochurn & Sugiyarto (2005) Hu & Wall (2005) Mazaro (2006) Mazanec (2007) Hong (2009) Navickas & Malakauskaite (2009) Indice de competitividad turistica de los estados mexicanos (ITESM) World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Travel and Tourism Competitivity Index (WEF) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 467 THE IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL ON PERFORMANCE IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ACCOMODATION ENTERPRISES: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Guacimara Jiménez-García, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Rosa M. Batista-Canino, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ABSTRACT The author peruses the most up to date management control-related articles. This review focuses on different aspects such as accounting, strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting, which all come under the heading, Management Control Systems. Performance Management Systems are addressed in a separate section, as they are an important issue of the management control systems, which includes the balanced scorecard and the effects of non-financial measures, as well as the data envelopment analysis. Some differences between large and small and medium-sized enterprises, within the Tourism sector, are also identified therefore researchers and professionals must agree on the need for a change. In addition to the review, the author also provides suggestions for future research. JEL: M10 KEYWORDS: Management control systems, performance management systems, small and medium- sized enterprises, accommodation. INTRODUCTION One of the hallmarks of leading-edge organizations has been the successful application of performance measurement to gain insight into, and make judgments about, the organization and the effectiveness and efficiency of its programs, processes, and people (Amaratunga et al., 2001). This paper focuses therefore, on the review and analysis of two major topics: the management control systems and the performance management systems as an important issue within the former. This document pursues two main aims. The first aim is to analyze and classify the different studies to identify current research trends and work done in this field. The second is to identify and evaluate the objectives and variables of analysis presented by different researchers, which form the basis of methodological framework for future research. Because, most studies that focus on tourism refer to large companies, the topic choice is a novelty itself, given the paucity of literature examining business practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (Phillips and Louvieris, 2005). The reason why it is important to conduct research on these issues regarding SMEs is clear. It is due to the main impact of these businesses in the global economy. In fact, SMEs have always occupied an important position in the hospitality industry and it is imperative we investigate this further to ensure their success (Quinn et al., 1992) and efficient management. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 468 The remainder of this article is organized as follows. Firstly, the literature on management control systems (MCS) and performance management systems (PMS) is reviewed. Secondly, we try to demonstrate the impact of MCS on performance. Then, conclusions and recommendations are presented, and the theoretical model is outlined. LITERATURE REVIEW Literature review contained in the present study aims to analyze the management control systems (MCS) and the performance management systems (PMS), in the field of small and medium-sized accommodation enterprises (SMEs). Accordingly, we start by properly defining the concepts we are going to analyze. First, According to the second article in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 6, 2003, the Commission´s recommendation on the definition of SMEs is made up of companies with fewer than 250 employees and whose annual turnover does not exceed EUR50 million or an annual balance sheet total not exceed EUR43 million.Second, MCS are defined broadly as the formalized routines and procedures that use information to maintain or alter patterns in organizational activity (Simons, 1991). According to Wood and LaForge (1981); Grinyer et al. (1986); Rhyne (1986); Ramanujan and Venkatraman (1987); Fredrickson (1984), (cited in Lyles 1993), the formality of planning has been measured by assessing such procedures as the degree of planning manual usage, the amount of emphasis on developing written plans and/or the existence of specific schedules for formulating plans. Finally, PM is defined as the process of quantifying past action, according to Neely (1998) cited in Amaratunga et al., (2001). However, it is a useful tool for implementing long-term change (Kaplan and Norton, 1996).In the literature, we find a variety of articles examining the management control procedures, which covers a wide range of issues, such as accounting, practice, budgeting and strategic planning, which all come under the heading, MCS (See Table 1). Furthermore, PMS represent an important issue of the management control systems, which includes the balanced scorecard and the effects of non-financial measures, as well as the data envelopment analysis (See Table 2). Strategic Planning as Management Control Systems (MCS) Several authors argue the positive impact that a more formal planning exerts on business performance (Robinson and Pearce, 1988; Lyles et al., 1993; Wijewardena et al., 2004). In fact, the use of planning tends to increase with firm size according to Berman, Gordon, and Sussman (1997) and, Robinson and Pearce (1984) (cited in Wijewardena et al. 2004). Initially, Robinson and Pearce (1983) suggested that there were no differences between firms using formal and informal planning. However, the results of later studies highlight the positive impact that strategic planning has on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and document the low degree of planning in such firms (Robinson and Pearce, 1984). Thus, note that a planning sophistication-strategic orientation interaction exists (Robinson and Pearce, 1988). Lyles et al. (1993) demonstrated a positive relationship between planning and performance of SMEs. Firms with no written strategic plan were covered as non-formal planners and those with written plans were classified as formal planners. This study is an advance in this field showing the benefits of formal planning in SMEs. Wijewardena et al., (2004) has empirically demonstrated the significant relationship between planning and control sophistication in sales performance. In essence, the findings of the study Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 469 suggest that the greater the sophistication in both planning and control processes, the higher the sales growth. However, it presents some limitations on the numbers of performance variables analyzed, needing further studies to prove this relationship. Table 1: Management Control Systems Author/s Type of research Sample Scope/Target Sources Theoretical framework Hesford and Potter (2010) Theoretical NA Tourism Literature Accounting practice Cost management Strategic management control Jones (2008) Quantitative 31 (UK) Hotel industry Questionnaire: Likert- 5/Nominal/Ordinal Budgets Budgetary control Lyles, et al. (1993) Quantitative 188 (USA) SMEs Pre-test: Interviews Planning formality Questionnaire: Likert- 5/Nominal Strategic process Business performance Marginson (2002) Qualitative 1 case (UK) Telecommunications Case study: Interviews Management control systems Strategic process Simons' model (1991, 1994, 1995) Robinson and Pearce (1983) Quantitative 85 (Carolina) Small banks Questionnaire: Likert- 4/Nominal Planning formality Financial performance SMEs Robinson and Pearce (1984) Theoretical NA Management Literature Strategic planning SMEs Robinson and Pearce (1988) Quantitative 97 (Carolina) Manufacturing firms Questionnaire: Likert-5 Strategic orientations Performance Planning process Simons (1991) Qualitative 30 (USA) Health care industry Interviews Management control systems Strategy Simons' model (1987) Simons (1994) Qualitative 10 (USA) Various Interviews Management control systems Longitudinal analysis Strategic change Simons' model (1987, 1990, 1991) Steed and Gu (2009) Quantitative 42 (USA) Hotel industry Questionnaire: Likert- 5/Nominal/Ordinal Budgeting/Forecasting Efficiency Wijewardena, et al. (2004) Quantitative 168 (Sri Lanka) Manufacturing SMEs Questionnaire: Nominal/Ordinal Planning sophistication Control sophistication Performance measurement Tourism-related articles are in bold MCS appear as levers for strategic change. Simons (1991) shows how top managers in the health care industry use specific control systems for implementing strategic objectives. Subsequently, the author examines, by taking samples from different sectors, how MCS are used by managers to communicate new strategies, establish implementation targets and ensure the continuity of new strategic initiatives (Simons, 1994). Marginson (2002) offers a rich portrait of how MCS might strengthen strategic change, innovation and business performance. Accounting And Budgeting As Management Control Systems (MCS) Historically, accounting has been the basic tool of control for managers. Budgeting has also played a dominant role as a technique for evaluation and control. Even today, budgets remain one of the most Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 470 widely MCS techniques used. For instance, Jones (2008) discovered three key reasons why organizations in the hospitality industry developed budgets as a tool for management control, performance evaluation and planning. Currently, budgets can be viewed as a forecasting tool in the short term (one year). However, in order to align strategy and business objectives in the long term, the need for advanced forecasting (5-10 years) arises. In this way, Steed and Gu (2009) document the budgeting and forecasting practices in the hospitality industry. They also identified significant differences in processes between large and small hotel management companies. Hesford and Potter (2010) show a complete collection of accounting research papers that were published in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, which includes issues that involve accounting practice, cost management and strategic management controls. The authors have presented various explanations for accounting topics such as budgets, costs and performance measurement. Some problems and limitations are drawn from this study, related to the limits of cost assignment and the misuse of flexible budgets and non-financial measures. Performance Management Systems (PMS) as Management Control Systems (MCS) Performance measurement is a very useful tool for management control systems. According to contemporary approaches, to improve business performance in management fields, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is widely used as management framework instead of the traditional ratio analysis. However, we also found further recent studies that use data envelopment analysis (DEA) to analyze the efficiency and performance, which also deserves our attention. Table 2: Performance Management Systems Author/s Type of research Sample Scope/Target Sources Theoretical framework Amaratunga, et al. (2001) Theoretical NA Management Literature Kaplan y Norton´s BSC (1992, 1996) Performance measurement Banker, et al. (2005) Qualitative 1 case (USA) Hotel chain Interviews Kaplan y Norton´s BSC (1992, 1996) Longitudinal analysis Non financial measures Financial measures Chen (2011) Quantitative 1 case (Taiwan) Hotel chain DEA Model Performance measurement Business efficiency Cruz (2007) Qualitative 2 cases (Portugal) Hotel industry Interviews Control practices Performance measurement Denton and White (2000) Qualitative 1 case Hotel chain Experimental Kaplan y Norton´s BSC (1996) Kaplan and Norton (1996) Theoretical NA Management Literature Kaplan y Norton´s BSC (1992) Strategy Neves and Lourenço (2009) Quantitative 83/2 cases (Global) Hotel industry DEA Model Performance measurement Longitudinal analysis Strategic analysis Phillips and Louvieris (2005) Qualitative 10 cases (UK) Tourism SMEs Interviews Kaplan y Norton´s BSC (1996) Performance measurement Sainaghi (2010) Theoretical NA Hotel industry Literature Kaplan y Norton´s BSC (1992, 1996) Performance measurement Tourism-related articles are in bold In 1992, Kaplan and Norton revolutionized conventional thinking about performance metrics by going beyond traditional measures of financial performance. In later work, Kaplan and Norton (1996) showed that non-financial indicators were extremely valuable for predicting future financial performance rather Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 471 than simply reporting the past. This work describes how the BSC can help managers to link current actions to future goals becoming a strategic management system for teamwork and innovation. Denton and White (2000) show the advantages of implementing the BSC in a hotel chain, in order to achieve the long-term objectives, move into news strategic areas and identify negative trends in the early stages. Amaratunga et al. (2001) extend the Kaplan and Norton´s BSC by showing a novel view to deploy strategic direction, communicate expectations and measure progress towards agreed objectives. According to these authors, the key approach to overcome the BSC implementation is to develop a systematic and structured improvement process to support the measurement system. Phillips and Louvieris (2005) highlight performance management as a determining factor for the success of tourism SMEs and show how companies can adopt the BSC to improve PMS. Sainaghi (2010) highlights the relevance the BSC has gained in the hospitality industry as a satisfactory PMS. Cruz (2007) states that budgets remain a valuable management tool in the tourism context. She also shows how new performance measurement practices employed by international hotel companies can be adapted to local areas where these companies operate. Although there is still much confidence in financial reporting as a business strategy, non-financial measures are increasingly taken into account (Phillips and Louvieris, 2005). The most successful companies consider these measures as the key for future business performance as will be reflected in long-term financial performance (Denton and White, 2000). Banker, et al. (2005) empirically show how improvements in the non-financial measures of a hotel chain were followed shortly by increases in revenue and profit.In the last 20 years, academics and professionals have been arguing that performance management is only possible if the PMS reflects the company’s multidimensional nature, according to Anthony and Govindarajan (2003); Kaplan and Norton (1992, 1993, 1996) and Zhu (2000), (cited in Neves and Lourenço, 2009). The main criticism of this stream of thought is that multiple measures may divert management attention from the organizations’ objectives. Therefore, it has been suggested that a subjective weighted average rate may generate a performance index from the BSC. In this sense, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) satisfies the criticism where the weights applied to each variable within the model are determined to maximize the performance index of each decision-making unit (Neves and Lourenço, 2009).Very few studies use the DEA model to measure performance in the hotel industry. Neves and Lourenço (2009) show how DEA can be used in strategic management and performance measurement in the hospitality industry, being a novel alternative technique to traditional ratio analysis. Chen (2011) also uses DEA as a technique to analyze each unit’s relative use of inputs and its relative production of outputs in a hotel chain, proving to be a useful tool for multiple performance measurement. Through this approach, the hotels chain´s inefficiencies can be detected and managers can focus on improving performance. CONCLUSIONS With regard to the management control systems and the performance management systems it is not a new research in management discipline, but in Tourism it is a novelty, as very little research has been done. The articles reviewed have contributed to a greater understanding of management practices, analyzing issues related to accounting information systems, management control, strategic planning and the use of the balanced scorecard as a primary tool to measure the organizations’ performance (See Table 3). Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 472 Table 3: Main topics reviewed Management Control Systems (MCS) Strategic planning: Formal and Non formal planners Accounting: Cost Management, Budgeting & Forecasting Performance management systems (PMS) BSC a Methodology DEA b Model a Balanced Scorecard; b Data Envelopment Analysis The main conclusions from the review relate mainly to the relevance of this research. The analyzed studies demonstrate a significant association between the use of MCS and PMS on the overall organizations’ performance (Robinson and Pearce, 1988; Lyles et al., 1993; Wijewardena et al., 2004). Firstly, the use of different MCS and PMS promote the strategic implementation and the execution of organizational goals (Lyles et al., 1993; Simons, 1994; Kaplan and Norton, 1996; Marginson, 2002). Secondly, performance measurement arises as a key factor for SMEs success in the accommodation industry (Phillips and Louvieris, 2005), turning the Kaplan and Norton’s methodology into a very useful tool for measuring performance (Denton and White, 2000; Banker et al., 2005; Phillips and Louvieris, 2005; Sainaghi, 2010) and management control. Further, any improvement on non-financial measures results in revenues and profits increasing in the short term (Banker et al., 2005). Finally, the use of budgets as a control technique is highly relevant in the hospitality industry (Cruz, 2007; Jones, 2008; Steed and Gu, 2009). According to the main conclusions mentioned above, this interplay between MCS, PMS and performance is depicted in Figure 1, which establishes the conceptual framework for future researches. Figure 1: Theoretical Model This figure shows the relationship between management control systems (MCS), performance management systems (PMS) and business performance. The review so far, suggests that little is known about SMEs within the tourism industry. In general, future research should focus on further understanding of the links between management control and performance, as no set criteria is clear. In this sense, the development of more qualitative studies will be an advance towards a better in depth understanding of the issues. There is a need for articles using experimental and analytical methods that employ a more consistent statistical analysis, which allows a better fit of the relationship between variables; this will contribute positively to the science and the + MCS Formal Non Formal PMS Financial measures Non-Financial measures Business Performance + + Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 473 tourism industry.The main concern for future research is about discovering why some companies use formal systems whilst others use informal systems and the consequences they have on organizational performance. This subject should be considered especially in SMEs, as there are significant differences between SMEs and large companies (Steed and Gu, 2009). Cross-studies regarding the use of these control systems in different areas and economic sectors, such as tourism, should help identify these companies’ contributions in the global economy.As tourism is the world’s largest industry and due to the prominent role of SMEs in the global economy, new studies relating to these issues are necessary with performance improvement being the main objective. REFERENCES Amaratunga, D.; Baldry, D.; Sarshar, M. (2001): “Process improvement through performance measurement: The balanced scorecard methodology”, MCB University Press, Work Study, vol. 50(5), p. 179-188. Banker, R. D.; Potter, G.; Srinivasan, D. (2005): “Association of nonfinancial performance measures with the financial performance of a lodging chain”, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 46(4), p. 394-412. Chen, Tien-Hui (2011): “Performance measurement in a small Taiwanese hotel chain”, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. XX(X), p. 1-9. Cruz, I. (2007): “How might hospitality organizations optimize their performance measurement systems?”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 19(7), p. 574-588. Denton, G. A.; White, B. (2000): “Implementing a balanced-scorecard approach to managing hotel operations: The case of White Lodging Services”, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 41(1), p. 94-107. Hesford, J. W.; Potter, G. (2010): “Accounting research in the Cornell Quarterly: A review with suggestions for future research”, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Vol. 51(4), p. 502–512. Jones, T. A. (2008): “Changes in hotel industry budgetary practice”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 20(4), p. 428-444. Kaplan, R. S.; Norton, D. P. (1996): “Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system”, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2007, p. 150-161. Lyles, M. A.; Baird, I. S.; Orris, J. B.; Kuratko, D. F. (1993): “Formalized planning in small business: increasing strategic choices”, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 31 (2), p. 38-50. Marginson, David E. W. (2002): “Management control systems and their effects on strategy formation at middle-management levels: evidence from a UK organization”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 23(11), p. 1019-1031. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 474 Neves J. C.; Lourenço, S. (2009): “Using data envelopment analysis to select strategies that improve the performance of hotel companies”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 21(6), p. 698-712. Phillips, P.; Louvieris, P. (2005): “Performance measurement systems in tourism, hospitality, and leisure small medium-sized enterprises: A balanced scorecard perspective”, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 44(2), p. 201-211. Quinn, U.; Larmour, R.; McQuillan, N. (1992): “The small firm in the hospitality industry”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 4(1), p. 11-14. Robinson, R. B.; Pearce, J. A. (1983): “The impact of formalized strategic planning on financial performance in small organizations”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 4(3), p. 197–207. Robinson, R. B.; Pearce, J. A. (1984): “Research thrusts in small firm strategic planning”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9(1), p. 128-137. Robinson, R. B.; Pearce, J. A. (1988): “Planned patterns of strategic behavior and their relationship to business-unit performance”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 9(1), p. 43-60. Sainaghi, R. (2010): “Hotel performance: state of art”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 22(7), p. 920-952. Simons, R. (1991): “Strategic orientation and top management attention to control systems”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12(1), p. 49-62. Simons, R. (1994): “How new top managers use control systems as levers of strategic renewal”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 15(3), p. 169-189. Steed, E.; Gu, Zheng (2009): “Hotel management company forecasting and budgeting practices: a survey- based analysis”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 21(6), p. 676-697. Wijewardena, H.; De Zoysa, A.; Fonseka, T.; Perera, B. (2004): “The impact of planning and control sophistication on performance of small and medium-sized enterprises: Evidence from Sri Lanka”, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 42(2), p. 209–217. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This study is part of a broader research line on management control, which has been started by the Doctoral Program “Scientific Perspectives on Tourism and Hospitality Management”, which is offered by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. BIOGRAPHY Guacimara Jiménez-García is a Professional Consultant and a PhD candidate of Tourism Management at University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. She can be contact by E-mail: gjg@economistas.org. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 475 Rosa M. Batista-Canino is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Business Management at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). Contact detail: Facultad de Economía, Empresa y Turismo, Módulo C- Dcho. C216. 35.017 Las Palmas. E-mail: rbatista@dede.ulpgc.es. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 476 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF ADVENTURE TOURISTS IN PRETORIA Melissa J. Lötter, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Sue Geldenhuys, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Marius Potgieter, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) ABSTRACT Adventure tourism is not a well-defined segment in the discipline of tourism studies. It is therefore difficult to examine the different motivations and segment differentiations in niche markets such as adventure tourism. In order to assist adventure tourism companies towards identifying and developing effective marketing strategies to attract or penetrate the adventure niche market, this study aims to contribute towards the current understanding of adventure tourists by compiling a demographic profile of such tourists. This profile includes the gender, age, ethnic group, family life cycle stage, household type, as well as the income and expenditure rates. Two hundred and fifty adventure tourists who used the products/services of adventure tourism companies within Pretoria participated in this study. However, because of incomplete self-completing questionnaires that could affect the outcome of this study, the sample size that realized were 234, a 93.6% response rate. The results indicate that a typical adventure tourist in Pretoria is generally Afrikaans speaking individuals between the ages of 28 and 49 years (born between 1960 and 1981). These individuals are mostly part of a family, because a large segment is married with no children or have two children who are above the age of twelve years. Adventure tourists in Pretoria tend to be further educated as Technicians and Associate Professionals, or Legislators, Senior Officials and Managers whose gross individual income ranges between R10 001 and R29 999 per month. Their households tend to consist of two or four people and there are generally two income earners per household. This study established that there is a need to further research comprehensive adventure tourist profiles that is equally accepted and interpreted. These findings could assist adventure tourism companies to promote and sell specific activities and experiences that will meet the specific needs and wants of identified target markets. JEL: M000 KEYWORDS: tourism; adventure tourism; market segmentation; demographic profiles INTRODUCTION Tourism is the act of travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes and refers to the provision of services in support of this act. Tourists are people who travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year – for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited (World Tourism Organization [WTO], 1991). Adventure tourism, according to Andrews (2007:21), is a type of tourism involving exploration or travel to remote, exotic and possibly hostile areas where the tourist should "expect the unexpected”. Adventure tourism is rapidly growing in popularity because tourists increasingly look for different kinds of vacations. According to the Adventure Travel and Trade Association (2005) of the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 477 United States of America, adventure tourism may be any tourist activity that can include two of the following three components: a physical activity, a cultural exchange or interaction, and an engagement with nature. While these characteristics might constitute the motivation for participation in adventure activities for some, it can also be a deterrent for others not to participate in adventure activities. An exhaustive search of existing literature did not reveal any profiles of adventure tourists – only general classifications or definitions used to attract all possible adventure tourism groups were found. Furthermore, Heyniger and Consulting (2008:2) suggest that adventure tourism is not a well-defined segment in the discipline of tourism studies. Therefore, it is difficult to examine the different motivations and segment differentiations in niche markets such as adventure tourism. As a result, adventure tourism companies need to include target marketing as a core element of strategic marketing management in order to identify the parts of the market it can best serve, rather than trying to compete in an entire mass market. This could assist adventure tourism companies to promote and sell specific activities and experiences that will meet the specific needs and wants of their identified niche target market. Against this background, the primary objective of this investigation was to develop a demographic profile of adventure tourists in Pretoria with a view to assist adventure tourism companies to promote and sell specific activities and experiences that will meet the specific needs and wants of their identified niche target markets. More specifically, the secondary objectives of this investigation were to explore the notions of market segmentation, market targeting, and market positioning in order to explain how these elements contribute towards profiling consumers; and to identify the demographic descriptors applicable to adventure tourists. This investigation starts with reviewing the literature applicable to demographic segmentation and this is followed by discussing the research methodology and data analysis techniques used. This is followed by a presentation of the findings. This investigation concludes with a discussion of the findings and the managerial implications, research limitations, and recommended directions for future research. LITERATURE REVIEW Although tourism, as suggested by Kalbassi (2010:51), is one of the world’s largest industries, it is still difficult to define its limits and decide what counts as tourism. As mentioned earlier, many definitions of tourism are lodged within a leisure and recreational context. Therefore, tourism shares strong fundamental characteristics and theoretical foundations with the recreation and leisure field of study. The exact size of the adventure tourism market is still debated because of (1) the lack of a standard adventure tourism definition; (2) the fact that the phenomenon of adventure tourism is both new and complex; (3) the majority of available research on adventure tourism is kept confidential as it is collected for individual companies’ marketing purposes; (4) government and industry awareness of adventure tourism is not equally developed worldwide; and (5) the available data on adventure tourism is difficult to use due to a lack of comparability. Although it is difficult to measure the market, Fluker and Turner (2000:380) explain that the adventure tourism market is a newly emerging, fast-growing sector of tourism. Swarbrooke, Beard, Leckie, and Pomfret (2003:55) further concur that although the adventure tourism market appeals to an expanding population who are seeking self-fulfillment and excitement through participating in physically and mentally stimulating activities, the patterns of consumer behavior are in a constant state of flux. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 478 Loverseed (1997:93) suggested in the 1990s already that satisfaction and self-actualization appear to be crucial in understanding tourists’ engagement with an activity or a product for a specific purpose to satisfy their specific interest and needs. However, Weber (2001:368-370) recommends that when analyzing the decision-making process, researchers should obtain information regarding tourists’ characteristics and their consumer and travel behavior because anticipating and meeting tourists’ needs are the key to success. Adventure tourism research has received relatively little attention in academic literature and the focus of studies in this field tends to be on accidents or injuries. In addition, adventure tourism is mentioned in some texts of ecotourism, outdoor recreation and park management, but not explored in much detail. Authors such as Fennel and Eagles (1990), Fennel (1999), Page and Dowling (2001), as well as Weed (2008) include adventure tourism typologies within their publications. However, it appears to be only Hudson (2003), Swarbrooke et al. (2003), as well as Buckley and Cater (2007) whose publications specifically focus on the concept of adventure tourism. In addition, research investigations with an adventure tourism focus have been published by Bentley, Page and Laird (2001), Beedie and Hudson (2003), Gyimothy and Mykletun (2004), Cater (2006), as well as Bentley and Page (2008). However, profiling adventure tourists does not form the focus of their research, as this investigation proposes to do. Adventure tourism companies ought to recognize that they cannot appeal to all consumers in the same way (mass/undifferentiated marketing). Yang, Wall and Smith (2008:753) indicate that “consumers are too numerous, too widely scattered, and too varied in their needs and buying practices”. Furthermore, different companies vary widely in terms of their ability to serve different segments of the market. As a result, Kurtz (2008:281) suggests that every company should implement differentiated marketing strategies. In order to implement an effective target-marketing strategy, companies should follow the three major steps of target marketing. Target marketing, as set out by Kotler (2000:256) coincides with the model of Rudra (2008:48). The first step, market segmentation, involves: (1) dividing a market into distinct groups of consumers with different needs, characteristics, or behaviors who might require separate products/services or marketing mixes (segmentation bases), as well as identifying different bases to segment the market, and (2) developing profiles of the resulting market segments. The second step, market targeting, involves: (3) developing measures for every market segment’s attractiveness and (4) selecting one or more of the market segments to enter. The third step, market positioning, involves: (5) developing the competitive positioning for the product/service and (6) developing a detailed marketing mix for every segment. As developing profiles require the implementation of an identified segmentation basis, the following section will explore demographic segmentation as a sub-section of market segmentation, as well as how these elements contribute to developing a demographic profile of adventure tourists. Market Segmentation Markets consist of consumers and consumers, according to Waldfogel (2008:569-570), may differ in their wants, resources, locations, buying attitudes, and buying practices. Ideally, every consumer can be viewed as a potentially separate market because consumers have unique needs and wants (customization). The role of market segmentation, according to Kurtz (2008:281), is to divide the total market into smaller, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 479 relatively homogenous groups. This is necessary in today’s business world because there are too many variables in consumer needs, preferences, and purchasing power to attempt attracting all consumers with a single marketing mix. This does not necessarily mean that adventure tourism companies should change their products/services in order to meet the needs of different market segments, but it does suggest that adventure tourism companies should attempt to identify the factors that affect consumers’ purchase decisions; group consumers according to the presence or absence of these factors; and then adjust their marketing strategies in order to meet the needs of the selected group(s) of consumers. Market segmentation presents numerous advantages and disadvantages to adventure tourism companies. The advantages of using market segmentation, according to Musyoka, Mutyauvyu, Kiema, Karanja, and Siriba (2007:633) are: easier marketing as it is simpler to address the needs of smaller groups of consumers if they have many characteristics in common; finding niches (locating under-served or un-served markets will enable a new company or new product/service to target less contested marketplaces and helps a mature product/service to seek new consumers); and, efficiency (creating a more efficient use of marketing resources by focusing on the segments with the best potential). The disadvantages of using market segmentation, according to George (2001:121), are: developing separate market products/services are expensive; it may be difficult for the company to know how accurately or broadly to segment the market; and lastly, there is a tendency to appeal to markets that are not viable. Taking the above into consideration it can be concluded that market segmentation is the process of breaking a larger target market into smaller groups with specific characteristics. Every group requires different promotional strategies and marketing mixes because every group has different wants and needs. An understanding of a group’s characteristics such as personality, social class and lifestyle plays a vital role in developing a successful marketing strategy (Kurtz, 2008:283). As previously indicated, there are two steps involved in market segmentation, namely: (1) identifying the bases for segmenting various markets; and (2) developing profiles of the resulting market segments. These steps form the basis of this investigation and will now be further explored. Bases of Market Segmentation Companies can identify four different bases for segmenting markets, namely geographical, demographical, psychographical and behavioral. However, according to studies by Kotler, Bowen & Makens (2006:263), demographic characteristics should be known to assess the size of the market and to reach it effectively. Therefore, for the purpose of this investigation, the focus will be on exploring the demographical bases to segment a market. Following is a description of six demographic segmentation variables. (1) Gender-Gender is a variable that helps define markets for certain products/services; yet, segmenting by gender can be tricky. Gender segmentation is in some cases obvious, according to Kurtz (2008:287). However, adventure tourism companies may have to segment their markets differently if a ‘typical’ male or female product/service is not clearly identifiable. Kotler, Bowen and Makens (2006:269) suggest that companies’ marketing strategies should rather be aimed at consumer interests rather than gender as gender marketing is more effective when combined with lifestyle and/or demographics. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 480 (2) Age Age is another variable that adventure tourism companies could use to segment their markets. However, as with gender, age distinctions have become blurred as consumers’ roles and needs change, as age distribution shifts, and as studied changes take place in every group. Adventure tourism companies can benefit from taking into consideration the sociological concept called the cohort effect. Kurtz (2008:288) describes this concept as “... the tendency of members of a generation to be influenced and bound together by significant events occurring during their key formative years.” The cohort effect helps to define the core values of the age group that eventually shape consumer preferences and behavior. In order for adventure tourism companies to be effective, they need to understand some basic characteristics of the cyber generation, generation Y, generation X, baby boomers, and the silent generation. (3) Ethnic group- Companies are increasingly segmenting the market according to ethnic groups with a view to increase their market share. Companies then tend to target the largest and fastest growing ethnic groups (Kurtz, 2008:290-293), as well as ethnic groups with the most disposable income. The focus then is to inform and attract these groups as spending by these groups are rising at a faster pace than what is the case for general households. (4) Family life cycle stages-As people move from one life-cycle stage to another, they become potential consumers of different types of goods and services (Frash, Antun & Hodges, 2008:382). Therefore, adventure tourism companies should consider whether a consumer is a young single person, a young couple, a full nester, an empty nester, a single parent, a blended couple or an older single person when developing their marketing approaches. (5) Household type-The average household size in South Africa, as indicated by the Health Systems Trust (2007), has decreased from 4.5 in 1995 to 3.9 in 2007. Hayami and Okada (2005:201) explain that the trend towards smaller households could include lower fertility rates, young people’s tendency to postpone marriage, the frequency of divorce, and the ability and desire of many people to live alone. Today’s households represent a wide range of diversity. Households, according to Kurtz (2008:294), could include a household with a married couple and their children; a household that is blended through divorce, or the loss of a spouse and remarriage; a household with a single parent, same-sex parents or grandparents; couples without children; groups of friends; and single-person households. It is important for adventure tourism companies to identify household trends, should these be applicable, in order to modify their marketing approach, so that they will be able to meet the needs of different groups. (6) Income and expenditure rates-Companies often target geographic areas known for the high incomes of their residents, and/or they might consider age or household types when determining potential buying power. In order to identify how expenditure patterns vary with income, adventure tourism companies could utilize Engel’s Law. Ernst Engel, a German statistician, published what is known as the Engel Curve, or Engel’s Law. This law states that the higher a family’s income the smaller the proportion of it is spent on food; the percentage spent on housing, household operations and clothing remain constant; and the percentage spent on other items (education and recreation) increases (Engel, 2009). Engel’s conclusion was based on a budget study of 153 Belgian families and was later verified by a number of other statistical inquiries into consumer behavior. It is evident that adventure tourism companies could utilize Engel’s Law when segmenting their markets according to income and expenditure rates. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 481 To conclude the discussion on demographic segmentation, it is important to keep in mind that demographic segmentation as a basis can be helpful, but it can also lead to stereotyping, as indicated by Kurtz (2008:287). Furthermore, it can alienate a potential market or cause adventure tourism companies to miss a potential market altogether. The idea is to use demographic segmentation as a starting point and not as an only alternative. The discussion on market segmentation addressed the first step of the market segmentation process; the next section will elaborate on how to develop profiles of the resulting market segments. Profiles of Resulting Market Segments Profiling is the second and last step of the market segmentation process and this concludes the first step of the target marketing process. Before a marketing program aimed at a specific market segment (differentiated marketing) can be developed, adventure tourism companies should understand the typical consumer in that market. According to Czinkota et al. (2000:225), a detailed picture of a market segment is called a profile. A profile, according to Hanson, Rauniyar and Herrmann (1994:303), should paint a clear picture of the typical consumer by using applicable segmentation variables. For the purpose of this investigation, the demographic variables were identified and discussed above. Although a profile is a generalized average of the typical consumer in a segment (Mostafa, 2009:11034), profiling is very important because the usefulness of market segmentation is precipitated upon accurate profiling. Relatively low accuracy in forecasting segment membership will result in ineffective marketing programs and may have a potential negative impact due to targeting unintended segment members. As the primary research purpose of this investigation was to develop a demographic profile of adventure tourists, step one and two of the market segmentation (step one of the target marketing process) forms the basis of this investigation. The resulting information gained through implementing this process will address the research problem of this investigation. In order to identify how this investigation’s resulting information can be utilized by adventure tourism companies, companies should implement market targeting and market positioning strategies. Detailed discussions of these strategies fall outside the scope of this investigation but could form part of future research. METHODOLOGY This paper is based on applied research in order to attain the stated objectives and find a solution to the research problem. This paper is based on the descriptive research approach because of the specific information requirements. A quantitative methodology is used because the methodology of this paper is grounded in the positivist social sciences paradigm. The target population consisted of all adventure tourists within Pretoria, and the sample consisted of adventure tourists using the products/services of adventure tourism companies within Pretoria. Non-probability sampling in the form of quota and convenience sampling was used to select the sample members. Quota sampling with predetermined parameters was used to ensure data comparability. The sample consisted of 250 adventure tourists of whom 50% were male and 50% female. However, because of incomplete questionnaires that could affect the outcome of this paper, the sample that actually realized was 234, providing a 93.6% response rate. Lastly, convenience sampling was applied because the selection of sample members was based on their proximity to the researcher and the ease with which participants could be accessed. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 482 A list of adventure tourism companies presenting adventure tourism activities at their premises within Pretoria was compiled with the assistance of the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA), the GSA (industry magazine), the Indaba traders’ catalogue, the Internet, and personal interviews. The list consisted of 35 adventure tourism companies; however, due to a lack of cooperation by some of these companies, the final list comprised of 20 adventure tourism companies. The sample size was divided into the number of adventure tourism companies to ensure that an equal number of responses were obtained when these companies were visited. The aim was to include as many as possible adventure tourists participating at adventure tourism companies, in order to obtain a representative sample. Prior to distributing the questionnaires, 30 first and second year adventure tourism students at the Tshwane University of Technology completed a pilot questionnaire in order to determine the analytical capability and the effectiveness of the questionnaire as a research instrument. Based on the feedback received from the pilot paper, adjustments were made to the questionnaire before it was distributed. Self-completing questionnaires were distributed among adventure tourists using the products/services of adventure tourism companies in Pretoria. To ensure that these tourists have participated in at least one adventure activity, the researcher approached them to participate in the study after they have completed their activities. This approach was necessary because the purpose of this paper was to profile adventure tourists and not tourists in general. The researcher administered the pilot and fieldwork. The questionnaire was specifically designed for the purpose of this paper. Questionnaires used in previous profiling studies were consulted as a guideline during the construction of this questionnaire, such as (1) the questionnaire used by Tassiopoulos and Haydam (2008) for profiling golf tourists attending an international golf event in South Africa, and (2) the questionnaire used by Muthaya (2009) for segmenting the international market. Furthermore, the literature review served as a guideline to ensure that all the demographic variables were included in order to address the objective of this paper. The questionnaire followed a positivistic approach and consisted of closed-ended, dichotomous, multi-choice and two ranking scale questions that required the participants to rank their personality, social class, and lifestyle. The guidelines for constructing questions (Babbie, 2009:262-270) and the Code of Ethics (Jennings, 2001:98) were followed to aid the success of data collection and analysis. Reliability is a complex issue in the social sciences because the fact that human nature changes over time and space means that consistency with previous research findings is by no means a guarantee of reliability. The reliability of the questions in the questionnaire posted to the sample was tested by using the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient. According to the Cronbach Alpha Coefficients for all the items tested in the questionnaire, 0.7388 indicated raw variables and 0.7302 indicated standardized variables, which were more than the acceptable level of 0.70. Therefore, the questionnaire used for the purpose of this paper proves to be reliable and consistent. Data validation is the process of ensuring that a program operates on clean, correct and useful data. Each variable was tested to fall within these boundaries. These boundaries were pre-programmed into the Microsoft Access database on which the pre-coded data was captured. Thereafter, the data was imported into the SAS (Statistical Analysis Software) format through the SAS Access module to perform a univariate and bivariate analysis. Data accuracy and correctness were ensured by capturing the data twice and comparing the two data sets for errors. Errors could be in the form of an invalid code or an unexpected missing value. By referencing back to the original questionnaires, all errors were traced in the data file and corrected. However, construct validation can only be taken to the point where the questionnaire measures what it is suppose to measure. As the questionnaire was suppose to develop a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 483 demographic profile of adventure tourists, construct validity was assured during the planning and development stage of the questionnaire. The final data outputs were validated and checked by the research statistician. FINDINGS Demographic descriptors are those innate economic, geographical, and social attributes that constitute an individual and describe the location of that individual in his or her social environment. Demographic characteristics provide the impetus for both tangible and intangible variations among the ways consumers think, feel and act. This study used pre-determined demographic descriptors in order to provide an overall picture of the respondents’ gender, age, ethnic group, family life cycle stage, household type, as well as their income and expenditure rates. The primary objective of this investigation was to develop a demographic profile of adventure tourists in Pretoria. In order to achieve this objective the demographic descriptors applicable to adventure tourists within this area were identified. A univariate and bivariate analysis was performed on all variables; displaying means, standard deviations, frequencies, percentages, cumulative frequencies and cumulative percentages. The univariate and bivariate statistics for the demographic variables enabled the development of the demographic profile of adventure tourists. Gender An equal number of respondents are male (49.4%) and female (49.4%), whereas 1.2% of the respondents did not stipulate their gender. This is an important factor to mention as it facilitated the comparison of adventure tourists’ profiles. Age The age descriptors were divided into the sociological concept of the cohort effect. 32.1% of the respondents are part of the generation Y age group (born 1982-2001), 57.3% are from the generation X age group (born 1960-1981), 9.8% are from the baby boomers age group (born 1943-1960), and 0.4% are from the silent generation age group (born 1925-1942). Ethnic group More than half of the respondents (51.7%) belong to the Afrikaans-speaking (linguistic) ethnic group, 23.9% of the respondents are from the English-speaking (linguistic) ethnic group, and 24.4% of the respondents are from other ethnic groups. Not all the ethnic groups are specified because many companies tend to target the largest and/or fastest growing ethnic groups (Kurtz, 2008:290-293). Family life cycle stage The majority of the respondents comprise of families (41.9%) and pre-families (26.9%) as they are married (49.6%) or single (30.8%) with no children (38.0%) or two children (35%.0%) older than twelve years of old (64.1%). However, 17.1% of the respondents have one child that is under the age of twelve, 14.5% have two children under the age of twelve, 3.4% have three children under the age of twelve, and 0.4% has four or more children under the age of twelve. This is an important factor to identify seeing that most adventure tourism companies provide special activities and discounted prices for children under the age of twelve. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 484 Household type Adventure tourism companies should identify household trends in order to modify their marketing approach, so that they will be able to meet the needs of different groups. It is important to note that there are various household types within Pretoria, for example foster parents/children, but for the purposes of this study, the ten most common household types have been used. As indicated in Table 1, a large percentage of the respondents (24.4%) are married with children (the children would select the same option if their parents were married), and this exceeds single person households with only 9%. Table 1: Household Type Household type Frequency Percentage Married with children 57 24.4%* Single person household 36 15.4%** Couples without children 33 14.1% Couples with children 29 12.4% Single parent household 24 10.3% Married without children 19 8.1% Household blended through divorce 16 6.8% Group of friends living in a commune 12 5.1% Grandparents 6 2.6% Same sex parents 2 0.8% This table indicates the type of households that adventure tourists in Pretoria occupy. *Most represented sample ** Second largest represented sample Furthermore, a large number of households (25.6%) consist of two people and households consisting of four members (25.2%) closely follow this segment. This coincides with the results obtained in the family life cycle stage. Income and expenditure rates In order to identify how expenditure patterns vary in terms of income, adventure tourism companies should consider the level of education, current occupation, individual income, and the number of income earners within a household of their target markets. For the purposes of this study, the respondents’ responses to their education level are divided into the three levels of education used in South Africa. The general level of education comprises an NQF (National Qualification Forum) Level 1 (Grade R to Grade 9 school grades). The further level of education comprises the NQF Level 2 (Grade 10), NQF Level 3 (Grade 11) and NQF Level 4 (Grade 12). The higher level of education comprises the NQF Level 5 (Certificate, Higher certificate and First diploma), NQF Level 6 (Bachelor’s degree, Professional first- degree post-graduate, General first degree), NQF Level 7 (Postgraduate diploma, Honors degree, Master’s degree), and NQF Level 8 (Doctoral degree). Based on the results, the respondents are normally further (67.1%) or higher (30.8%) educated Technicians and Associate Professionals (27.8%) or Legislators, Senior Officials and Managers (24.4%) whose gross individual income ranges between R10 001 and R19 999 per month (26.5%) or R20 000 and R29 999 per month (20.9%). Their households generally consist of one (32.5%) or two (58.6%) income earners per household. To conclude, numerous adventure tourism companies should view marketing as a major tool to reach their target markets who in return needs to understand the nature and benefits of the adventure tourism companies’ products and/or services. Adventure tourism companies should also use different marketing Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 485 methods and techniques to meet the varying levels of understanding tourists. Moreover, they should further consistently analyze, plan, develop, deliver, evaluate, and update their marketing campaigns to meet their marketing objectives whilst meeting the demand of their target markets. DISCUSSION The primary objective of this paper was to develop a demographic profile of adventure tourists in Pretoria; more specifically, the secondary objectives of this paper were to explore the notions of market segmentation, market targeting, and market positioning in order to explain how these elements contribute towards profiling consumers; and to identify the demographic descriptors applicable to adventure tourists. Summary of Findings and Managerial Implications Technical definitions of tourism are commonly used by companies seeking to define their target markets. Although, the WTO definitions are applied by the majority of users to define tourism-related terms, Page and Connell (2006:12) indicated that there are different interpretations between countries where tourism statistics are gathered. They suggest that international comparisons can only be made if statistics are equally defined, collected, and analyzed. This exemplifies a need for a tourism classification that can evolve and accommodate more complex forms of tourism, such as adventure tourism. According to Page and Connell (2006:16), a robust system is required to classify and measure tourism-related terms. The importance of implementing target-marketing strategies when developing consumer profiles were identified. This study’s empirical research identified that adventure tourism companies cannot appeal to all consumers in the market and they cannot successfully approach all consumers in the same way. It is recommended that adventure tourism companies should identify sections of the market they can serve best − niche target markets. This approach contributes towards identifying market opportunities and developing products/services that are more appealing. The first step of target marketing, namely market segmentation is the act of dividing the market into distinct consumer groups who might merit separate products/services or marketing mixes. Markets can be segmented using different bases and adventure tourism companies should try several approaches, and even combinations of these, in order to determine which will yield the best opportunities. This addressed the second secondary objective, seeing that the development of demographic profiles require the implementation of the mentioned demographic segmentation bases, namely gender, age, ethnic group, family life cycle stage, household type, as well as their income and expenditure rates. In order for adventure tourism companies to utilize the profile, the last two steps of the target marketing strategy (market targeting and positioning) should also be implemented. The steps of this process are reliant on the success of each other, in other words, every step needs to be implemented effectively in order to proceed and successfully complete the systematic process. Therefore, adventure tourism companies should consistently analyze, plan, develop, deliver, evaluate, and update their marketing campaigns to meet their marketing objectives whilst meeting the demands and/or preferences of their target markets. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 486 Limitations and Directions for Future Research The structural limitations of this investigation include the limited available literature associated with adventure tourism. Adventure tourism has been industry-driven; therefore, the importance of theoretical constructs might not have been fully recognized as greater attention was paid to empirical applications. Adventure tourism studies are usually performed from a social science perspective, therefore exchanging research terms or application practices may violate assumptions across these two fields. In addition, regarding the research methodology, the sample might raise the following concerns in terms of representativeness and the fact that the findings of this investigation cannot be generalized. Firstly, this investigation could not be extended to include more or all provinces in South Africa, nor a bigger sample. Secondly, due to a lack of cooperation from some adventure tourism companies, all the adventure tourism companies based in Pretoria could not be included in this study. Lastly, non-probability sampling was used. Nevertheless, the target population of this investigation was not the general public in Pretoria; rather, it comprised adventure tourists utilizing the products/services of adventure tourism companies within Pretoria. Future research could include more extensive research to gain further insight into profiling adventure tourists; more geographic, demographic, behavioral and psychographic components (such as needs, motivations, or benefits) should be considered. Further research is needed in terms of adventure tourism marketing because the full effect of this type of marketing will be beneficial to the entire adventure tourism industry. CONCLUSION The demographic profile of adventure tourists developed in this paper presented a challenging but worthy task, particularly when little systematic research has previously been reported on the subject to date. As there are only general classifications or definitions used to attract all possible adventure tourism groups, the findings of this paper will assist adventure tourism companies to promote and sell specific activities and experiences that will meet the specific needs and wants of adventure tourists in Pretoria. This will contribute towards the effective management of adventure tourism companies whose goals will benefit the company as well as their surrounding communities. REFERENCES Adventure Travel & Trade Association (2005) Adventure Travel Glossary of Terms. Retrieved March 03, 2009, from the Adventure Travel & Trade Web site: http://www.adventuretravel.biz/glossary.aspx. Andrews, S. (2007) Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality Industry. New York: McGraw Hill. Babbie, E.R. (2009) The Practice of Social Research. 12th Ed. Florence: Cengage Learning. Beedie, P. & Hudson, S. (2003) “Emergence of Mountain-Based Adventure Tourism,” Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 30(3), July, p. 625-643. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 487 Bentley, T.A. & Page, S.J. (2008) “A Decade of Injury Monitoring in the New Zealand Adventure Tourism Sector: A Summary Risk Analysis,” Journal Of Tourism Management, vol. 29(5), October, p. 857-869. Bentley, T.A., Page, S.J. & Laird, I.S. (2001) “Accidents in the New Zealand Adventure Tourism Industry,” Journal of Safety Science, vol. 38(1), June, p. 31-48. Buckley, R. & Cater, C. (2007) Adventure Tourism. Wallingford: Cabi. Cater, C.I. (2006) “Playing With Risk? Participant Perception Of Risk and Management Implications in Adventure Tourism,” Journal of Tourism Management, vol. 27(2), April, p. 317-325. 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Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 488 Health Systems Trust (2007) Average Household Size. Retrieved August 18, 2009, from the Health Systems Trust Web site: http://www.hst.org.za/healthstats/6/data. Heyniger, C. & Consulting, X. (2008) Adventure Travel Industry Growth Statistics. Retrieved August 8, 2009, from the Xola Consulting Web site: www.xolaconsulting.com Hudson, S. (2002) Sport and Adventure Tourism. London: Routledge. Jennings, G. (2001) Tourism Research. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Kalbassi, K. (2010) “Personalizing Recommendations for Tourists,” Journal of Telematics and Informatics, vol. 27(1), February, p. 51-66. Kotler, P. (2000) Marketing Management. The Millennium Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall Inc. Kotler, P., Bowen, J.T. & Makens, J.C. (2006) Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism. 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc. Kurtz, D.L. (2008) Principles of Contemporary Marketing. International Student Edition. Mason: Thomson Learning Academic. Loverseed, H. (1997) “The Adventure Travel Industry in North America,” Travel and Tourism Analyst, vol. 6(1), p. 87-104. Mostafa, M.M. (2009) “Shades of Green: A Psychographic Segmentation of the Green Consumer in Kuwait Using Self-Organizing Maps,” Journal of Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 36(8), October, p. 11030-11038. Musyoka, S.M., Mutyauvyu, S.M., Kiema, J.B.K., Karanja, F.N. & Siriba, D.N. (2007) “Market Segmentation Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS),” Journal of Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 25(6), p. 632-642. Muthaya, B. (bashni@southafrica.net). 2009. Departure Survey Questionnaire. [E-Mail To:] Potgieter, M. (potgieterm@tut.ac.za) September 30. Page, S.J. & Connell, J. (2006) Tourism: A Modern Synthesis. 2nd Edition. South Melbourne: Thompson Learning. Page, S.J. & Dowling, R.K. (2001) Ecotourism. London: Prentice Hall. Perner, L. (2008) Consumer Behavior: The Psychology of Marketing. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from the Consumer Psychologist Web site: Http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/. Rudra, S. (2008) Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from the Scribd Web site: Http://www.scribd.com/doc/6356725/market-segmentation-targeting-positioning-by- subha-rudra. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 489 Swarbrooke, J., Beard, C., Leckie, S. & Pomfret, G. (2003) Adventure Tourism: The New Frontier. Kidlington: Butterworth-Heinemann. Tassiopoulos, D. & Haydam, N. (2008) “Golf Tourist in South Africa: A Demand Side Study of a Niche Market in Sports Tourism,” Journal of Tourism Management, vol. 29(5), p. 870-882. Waldfogel, J. (2008) “The Median Voter and the Median Consumer: Local Private Goods and Population Composition,” Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 63, p. 567-582. Weber, K. (2001) “Outdoor Adventure Tourism: A Review of Research Approaches,” Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 28(2), p. 360-377. Weed, M. (2008) Sport and Tourism: A Reader. Abingdon: Routledge. World Tourism Organization. (1991) Resolutions of International Conference on Travel and Tourism: Proceedings of the International Conference on Travel and Tourism Statistics, Held in Canada On 25-28 June, 1991. Madrid: WTO. WTO See World Tourism Organization Yang, L., Wall, G. & Smith, S.L.J. (2008) “Ethnic Tourism Development: Chinese Government Perspectives,” Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 35(3), July, p. 751-771. BIBLIOGRAPHY Melissa Jeanette Lötter is a Master of Adventure Tourism Management at the Tshwane University of Technology. She also lectures Adventure Tourism Management and Tourism Management at the university. She can be reached at the Department of Tourism Management, Private Bag 680, Pretoria West, South Africa, 0001 or at lottermj@tut.ac.za. Sue Geldenhuys is a Doctor and Head of Department (HOD) at the Department of Tourism Management at Tshwane University of Technology. She can be reached at the Department of Tourism Management, Private Bag 680, Pretoria West, South Africa, 0001 or at geldenhuyss@tut.ac.za. Marius Potgieter is a Doctor at the Department of Tourism Management at Tshwane University of Technology. He is also a senior lecturer of Tourism Management at the university. He can be reached at the Department of Tourism Management, Private Bag 680, Pretoria West, South Africa, 0001 or at potgieterm@tut.ac.za. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 490 DOES SEXUALITY IN ADS WORK FOR EVERYONE/ANYONE? AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH OF MUSLIM CONSUMERS’ REACTIONS TO SEXUALITY IN ADS Ahmet Bayraktar, Rutgers University ABSTRACT This paper explores the reactions and responses of Muslim consumers to advertisements that include sexuality. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: What do Muslim consumers think about the advertisements that include sexuality? How does sexual content of ads influence their behavior? What might be the mechanism that explains the behavioral process? This study utilizes exploratory research methods to answer these questions. It suggests that Muslim consumers tend to develop negative attitude toward the advertisements that include sexuality. They may also develop negative attitude toward the brands in these ads, and toward the firms that own these brands, a process explained by “halo effect.” Furthermore, they tend to take some measures in order to prevent both themselves and their children from being exposed to these ads. This paper argues that the concept “personal modesty” explains Muslim consumers’ responses to sexuality in ads. JEL: M37 KEYWORDS: Advertising, sexuality, Muslim consumers, personal modesty INTRODUCTION The use of sexuality in ads and its effects on consumer behavior have been a matter for discussion among researchers. Some (Smith et al., 1995; Reichert, 2002; Treise and Weigold, 1994) have found that advertisements which include sexuality may negatively influence consumer behavior; on the other hand, others (Reichert et al., 2001; Dudley, 1999) have shown that sexuality in ads may positively affect consumer behavior. Research (Reichert, 2002) suggests that religious preference is one of the most important factors that influence individuals’ reactions to sexuality in advertisements. Given the traditional importance of conservatism, personal modesty, the value of women and raising moral and righteous children in Muslim community, it emerges as important questions to explore what Muslim consumers think about and how they react to advertisements that contain sexuality. Furthermore, given the significant number of Muslim population in the world, which is gradually increasing, and the widespread use of sexuality in ads, it becomes more important to explore the aforementioned questions. This study aims at exploring how Muslim consumers react and respond to ads that include sexuality. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: What might be the outcomes of sexual advertisements, when it comes to Muslim consumers? What might be the mechanism that explains Muslim consumers’ reactions to ads that include sexuality? What explains their reactions and responses? For these purposes, this paper firstly offers a brief review of literature on sexuality in advertisements and personal modesty in Islam. Secondly, it introduces the exploratory research findings along with the proposed mechanism that explains the behavioral process. Finally, it discusses the contributions and future research. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 491 LITERATURE REVIEW Sexuality In Advertisements In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of sexuality in advertising. Human body has been abused in advertisements and provocatively used to sell products (Heller, 2000). Sexual appeals in advertisements consist of a variety of elements and are generally presented in visual elements such as attractive models (Gould, 1994). An analysis reveals that common forms of sexual content include the followings: nudity (dress), physical attractiveness, seductive behavior and interaction, innuendo, and other factors such as setting, context and camera effects (Reichert, 2002). Lambiase and Reichert (2003) suggest that there are five types of sexual information in ads: Nudity, sexual behavior, physical attractiveness, sexual referents, and sexual embeds. Ramirez and Reichert (2000) propose that physical characteristics are perceived as the most sexual in an advertisement and the sub-categories of these characteristics are clothing, attractiveness and body. In many advertisements, women are used as a marketing instrument that exists to satisfy men’s sexual desires (Bayraktar, 2011). Baker’s study (2005) shows that an average person in the US is exposed to over 3,000 ads each day and in many of these ads, women are portrayed as sex objects (Smith et al., 1995; Boddewyn, 1991; Baker, 2005). Advertisers feature provocative images of sexually attractive women in ads (Reichert, 2002) without considering their negative effects on individuals and society (Bayraktar, 2011). Many researchers have examined the effectiveness of ads that include sexuality. Most of them (e.g. Steadman, 1969; Alexander and Judd, 1978; Bushman, 2005; Bushman and Bonacci, 2002; Bushman and Phillips, 2001) have found that sexuality in ads negatively influences consumer behavior. One of the most significant negative effects of sexual content is that it reduces consumers’ brand recall (Steadman, 1969; Alexander and Judd, 1978; Bushman 2005; Bushman and Bonacci, 2002). Research demonstrates that sexual images have high attention-getting value and that they arouse the immediate attention of both men and women (Baker, 1961). Many individuals pay more attention to sexual media than non-sexual media (Bushman, 2005). Therefore, when an advertisement contains sexuality, many viewers will direct their attention to sexual stimuli, pay less attention to other cues in the advertisement (Steadman, 1969; Alexander and Judd, 1978; Bushman 2005; Bushman and Bonacci, 2002) and have lower motivation to process brand information (Petty and Cacioppo 1986; Petty, Cacioppo and Schumann 1983). This mechanism negatively affects consumers’ brand recall. A limited number of studies have found that sexuality in ads positively influences consumer behavior. Reichert et al. (2001) argue that advertisements that include sexual images create more positive feelings about the implementation of the ad than do advertisements that do not include sexual images. Besides, researchers (Dudley, 1999; Reichert et al., 2001) suggest that sexual information attracts attention. In addition, findings show that advertisements which include sexuality are more engaging, involving, and interesting than advertisements which do not include sexuality (Reichert and Alvaro, 2001; Reichert, et al., 2001).The above discussion demonstrates that sexuality in ads does not work as advertisers expect. It lowers consumers’ brand recall, which is one the most important goals of advertisements. What would happen, if individuals also have negative attitude toward sexuality in ads? Would the negative outcome still be only reduced brand recall? Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 492 Personal Modesty In Muslim Community Personal modesty is of significant importance in Muslim community (Denny, 2006). It has a great place in the Our’an, the holy book in Islam, and Hadiths, which are narrations originating from the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Mohammad. Modesty in Islam is known as haya, a word that describes shyness, propriety in dress, speech and behavior, and a deeper modesty based on faith (Benlafquih, 2009). In the Qur'an, God says, “O children of Adam, We have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as to be an adornment to you. However, the best garment is the garment of righteousness. These are some of God's signs, that they may receive admonition” (Quran, 7: 26). This verse emphasizes the importance of being righteous or modest. The Qur'an (24: 30-31) also says: "Say to the believing man that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands...” In a Hadith prophet Mohammad says, “If you feel no shame, do as you wish.” In another Hadith, He says, “Modesty is a part of faith,” (Nevevi, 2009: 243). These suggest that modesty in Islam is so important that the absence of it can lead a person to sinful behavior and disbelief (Benlafquih, 2009). In the writings of the Qur’an and Hadiths, the code of modesty for both men and women includes (Benlafquih, 2009; Guven, 2010; Colakoglu, 2001; Nevevi, 2009): • Lowering the gaze and avoiding flirtatious speech and behavior, • Refraining from close physical contact with unrelated individuals of the opposite sex, • Avoiding eyes from being exposed to forbidden images, • Paying attention to wearing modest or Islamic dress and avoiding seductive dresses, • Refraining from drawing unnecessary attention to oneself, • Protecting one’s purity. In Islam, both men and women are forbidden to look at the nude images of opposite sex. They are also forbidden to look at some parts of the same sex (Benlafquih, 2009; Guven, 2010). In a Hadith, it is defined as the adultery of the eye to look at women with desire (Nevevi, 2009: 490). Looking at unlawful images is regarded by Muslim scholars as a first step that takes one to greater sins such as adultery or other unlawful sexual relations (Guven, 2010). Thus, individuals are encouraged to avoid being exposed to sexual images. In addition, it is the parents’ responsibility to protect their children from being exposed to illicit images or scenes. Islam pays much attention to raising righteous and moral children. Therefore, it is one of the main duties of parents to bring up modest children (Guven, 2010; Colakoglu, 2001). Adultery appears explicitly in the Qur’an as “Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful deed and an evil, opening the road to other evils” (Bennett, 2007). Qur’an does not say “Do not commit adultery,” instead, it says “Do not approach to adultery.” This means, one should avoid from the ways or situations that may take him or her to adultery. Therefore, most Muslim individuals pay great attention to refraining from looking at sexual images or scenes (Guven, 2010). In Muslim community, prohibiting looking at Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 493 unlawful images and adultery is thought to prevent emotional injury, and to result in greater familial stability and social harmony (Bennett, 2007, Guven, 2010). In addition, it is believed in Muslim community that looking at sexual or unlawful images or watching illicit scenes weakens individuals’ memory and leads to amnesia (Guven, 2010). Women have distinctive value in Muslim community. There is a chapter in the Qur’an named Nisa, which means women. In this chapter, the Qur’an enjoins fairness toward women. It says, “Live with them with kindness.” In addition, we can find the same kind of distinctive value given to women in Hadiths. Prophet Mohammad says, “Act kindly towards women…” (Nevevi, 2009: 112) In another Hadith, He says, “The whole world is a provision, and the best object of the benefit of the world is the pious woman,” (Rahim, 2000). In Muslim families, the man is responsible for his wife and girls’ purity, and his honor is directly connected with the purity of the women in his family (MacNeill, 2009). Qur’an warns those who propagate shameful things among believers. It says, “Verily those who love that indecency should spread among the believers deserve a painful chastisement in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah knows, but you do not know,” (Quran, 24: 19). In all Muslim countries, all kinds of body displays and sexual references are considered indecent (Boddewyn, 1991). METHODOLOGY This study adopted exploratory research methods in order to obtain in-depth understanding of Muslim consumers’ reactions to sexual advertisements and the mechanism of the process. It utilized long-term observations of Muslim individuals and families and interviews with them. The analysis of observations and interviews sought to identify Muslim consumers’ general approach and reactions to sexuality in ads, their attitude toward the brands whose ads include sexuality and toward the firms that own these brands and the motivations behind their behavior. FINDINGS The findings suggest that Muslim individuals tend to believe that today’s advertisements include too much sexuality. Furthermore, irrespective of their gender, they have negative attitude toward the use of sexuality in advertisements and express their discomfort with it. In addition, they tend to avoid looking at or seeing advertisements that contain sexuality. The extent to which they take some measures to avoid being exposed to these ads varies. They tend to believe that most advertisements abuse females’ body, degrading women’s value in the community, and deteriorating social values. They are mostly troubled with the sexual ads on billboards, newspapers and TV channels. Moreover, some are irritated by the advertisements including sexuality. A great majority of women find some advertisements disgusting and insulting. Their discomfort tends to increase when the ads also include the images of sexual males. On the contrary, some Muslims do not have any negative attitude toward sexuality in ads and avoid seeing these ads. Moreover, they regard it as a legal strategy to attract consumers’ attention. This research argues that religiosity level, in particular personal modesty, determines the extent to which a Muslim person has negative attitude toward sexuality in ads. Therefore, it hypothesizes that those who are more religious and have high level of personal modesty have more negative attitude toward sexuality in ads than those who are less religious and have low level of personal modesty.At this point, significant questions arise: Does Muslim consumers’ negative attitudes toward sexual ads influence their evaluations of brands in these ads? Do they develop negative attitude toward the brands and firms that own these brands? In other words, does “halo effect” occur? If yes, how Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 494 is the evaluation process influenced? What extraneous variables affect the evaluation process? The exploratory research findings suggest that Muslim consumers may develop negative attitude toward the brands whose ads accompany sexuality, toward the firms that own these brands, and toward the advertisers who use sexuality in the advertisements that they make. Some informants make very harsh criticism against these firms and advertisers. One interviewee draws attention to a very interesting point, when criticizing firms’ use of sexuality in the ads. He says, “Why do they use this strategy to attract my attention or why do they try to attract my attention by using sexuality? I feel insulted whenever I see an advertisement which includes sexual women.” He further claims that advertisers who use sexual women in ads are insulting men. Although not common, Muslims may even boycott the products whose advertisements include sexual images. They try to avoid buying them even if the products are desirable. One participant gives a very interesting example, saying that he has not bought a biscuit with a particular brand since he saw its advertisement. He says, “Almost 10 years ago, I watched the advertisement on TV, in which there were huge sexual woman lips that covered the whole screen, which had nothing to do with the product. It was disgusting…”One claims that those who make sexual ads on billboards limit his freedom. “I can avoid those in newspapers by not buying the newspapers or those in TV channels by not watching the channels; however, it is difficult to avoid those on billboards.” The extent to which Muslim consumers’ negative attitude toward sexual ads influences their decision making process needs further attention and examination of large samples by including other variables into the study such as price, brand name, product quality and product category. However, this research explores that sexual ads significantly influence their decision making when it comes to newspapers, magazines and TV channels. Muslim individuals tend not to buy any magazine or newspaper that contains advertisements including sexual images and watch TV channels that broadcast advertisements including sexuality. This tendency may also be related to other contents of these newspapers, magazines and TV channels. In addition, word-of-mouth effect may play role in the decision process. Those who know that a newspaper includes sexual images denigrate this newspaper and share their thoughts with others, trying to prevent their purchase. Therefore, we can claim that even if one does not know that a newspaper includes sexual ads, he or she may develop negative attitude toward the newspaper and avoid buying it through word-of-mouth communication. Observations suggest that Muslim consumers tend to be stricter when it comes to their children. They tend to believe that advertisements that include sexuality deteriorate the culture and negatively affect children and adolescents. They consider that these advertisements arouse sexual thoughts in children and adolescents’ mind, increasing their inclination to sexual behaviors. Some parents believe that it becomes more difficult for children who are frequently exposed to sexuality to focus on their education. Those who have children tend to prevent their kids from being exposed to these kinds of ads. Observations show that parents who are religious and who want their kids to become religious take more drastic measures. They tend not to let their kids to buy magazines or newspapers that contain sexuality and watch TV channels that broadcast sexual images. In addition, those who do not have children consider that they would do almost the same thing if they had kids. It is interesting to note that those who do not criticize sexuality in ads are relatively sensitive when it comes to their kids. Based on the above findings, table 1 demonstrates the proposed mechanism that explains Muslim consumers’ reactions to sexual advertisements. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 495 Table 1: Proposed Path Model of Muslim Consumers’ Responses to Sexual Ads This table shows the proposed path model of the Muslim consumers’ responses to advertisements that include sexuality. The expected relationships are developed based on the research findings. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION The effectiveness of advertisements that contain sexuality has been a matter for discussion among researchers. Many of them have found that sexuality negatively influences the effectiveness of ads, due to its high attention-getting value and attractiveness. Their argument is that sexuality attracts more attention than other cues in the ads, resulting in lower brand recall. However, when it comes to Muslim consumers, further negative effects occur. This paper aimed at exploring the responses and reactions of Muslim consumers to advertisements that contain sexuality. The findings reveal that irrespective of their age, gender and marital status, Muslim consumers tend to have negative attitude toward the use of sexuality in ads. The extent to which sexual ads influence their brand evaluation and purchase decision appears as an important research question. Furthermore, the antecedents of this negative effect and the moderators involved in the process require further attention.Emotional perspective primarily considers the affective aspects of consumer decision process and accounts for the feelings of individuals as a complement to cognitive processes dominant in the value perspective (Auger, et al., 2011). According to emotional perspective, both positive and negative feelings can significantly influence purchase intentions (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982). In addition, it can be inferred from the “halo effect” that the first impression of a brand may influence the future evaluations of the brand. Therefore, those who have negative attitude toward sexuality in ads may negatively evaluate the traits of the brand, when its ads include sexuality. In addition, their negative feelings can significantly influence their purchase intentions.This study argues that Muslim consumers tend to avoid looking at or seeing ads that contain sexuality and try to prevent their kids from being exposed to these ads. This tendency is expected to lead Muslim consumers to have low brand recall. Furthermore, they tend not to buy newspapers or magazines that include sexual images and watch television ads that contain sexualityThis study suggests that “personal modesty,” a concept that describes shyness, propriety in dress, speech and behavior, and a deeper modesty based on faith (Benlafquih, 2009), explains Muslim consumers’ reactions to sexuality in ads. Therefore, it hypothesizes that advertisements that contain sexual stimuli will negatively influence consumers with high level of personal modesty.This paper recommends that those who wish to appeal successfully to Muslim consumers should take into consideration the requirements of personal modesty. Specifically, they should avoid using sexuality in their marketing campaigns. The advertisers should Religiosity Personal Modesty Negative Attitude toward Sexuality in Ads Avoidance of Sexual Ads Negative Attitude toward brand/firm Low Brand Recall Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 496 refrain from using women with seductive dresses. They should also refrain from using flirtatious behaviors and speeches in television ads. Furthermore, the newspapers, magazines and TV channels targeting Muslim consumers should pay attention to the requirements of personal modesty and avoid sexual advertisements. In addition, since Muslim parents pay much attention to raising righteous and modest children and want them to stay away from sexuality, the marketers should not use any kind of sexual image in their marketing campaigns that target Muslim children. Moreover, they should not use any kind of sexual image on the products with which they target Muslim children. Briefly, firms that want to be successful in Muslim markets and appeal effectively to the consumers in these markets should use in their marketing campaigns the images and materials that comply with the requirements of personal modesty.The findings of this study points to several future research areas. First, more research is needed to better understand how Muslim consumers respond to advertisements that include sexuality. Due to its exploratory nature, this paper offers an initial understanding of the subject matter. Future research needs to examine the issue with a large sample size and investigate some covariates such as age, gender, marital status, country of origin and educational background more in depth. Second, future studies need to pay attention to personal modesty in order to understand this phenomenon and its effects on consumer behavior. The development of “personal modesty scale” can help better understand Muslim consumers’ behavior and contribute to consumer behavior literature. Finally, it is likely that cross-cultural investigations will offer new insights and a better understanding of the subject matter. REFERENCES Alexander, M. Wayne and Judd, Jr. B. (1978) “Do Nudes in Ads Enhance Brand Recall?” Journal of Advertising Research, 18, February, 47-50. Baker, S. (1961) “Visual Persuasion” New York: McGraw-Hill, December 1. Baker, C.N. (2005) “Images of Women’s Sexuality in Advertisements: A Content Analysis of Black- and White-Oriented Women’s and Men’s Magazines,” Sex Roles, 52, January, 13-27. Bayraktar, A. (2011) “Is It Ethical to Use Women as a Marketing Instrument?” Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings, 6, 1, 250-260. Benlafquih, C. (2009) “Modesty (Haya) in Islam,”http://quran-hadith studies.suite101.com/article.cfm/modesty_haya_in_islam Bennett, L.R. (2007) “Zina and the Enigma of Sex Education for Indonesian Muslim Youth,” Sex Education, 7, November, 371-386. Boddewyn, J.J. (1991) “Controlling Sex and Decency in Advertising around the World,” Journal of Advertising, 20, 4, 25-35. Bushman, J.B. (2005) “Violence and Sex in Television Programs Do Not Sell Products in Advertisements,” Psychological Science, 16, 702-708. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 497 Bushman, B. J. and Bonacci, A.M. (2002) “Violence and Sex Impair Memory for Television Ads,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 557-564. Bushman, B.J. and Phillips, C.M. (2001) “If The Television Program Bleeds, Memory for The Advertisement Recedes,” Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 44-47. Colakoglu, O. (2001) “Islam’da Edeb,” (Personal Modesty in Islam). Coskun Matbaacilik, Izmir, Turkey. Denny, F.M. (2006) “An Introduction to Islam,” Pearson-Prentice Hall: New Jersey. 3rd Edition, 279- 281. Dudley, S.C. (1999) “Consumer Attitudes toward Nudity in Advertising,” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 79, 4, 89-96. Gould, S.J. (1994) “Sexuality and Ethics in Advertising: A Research Agenda and Policy Guideline Perspective,” Journal of Advertising, 23, 3, September, 73-80. Guven, M.Y. (2010) “Gozumu Haramdan Nasil Korurum?” (How Can I Protect my Eyes from Illicit Images?). Isik Yayinlari, Izmir, Turkey. Heller, S. (2000) “Sex Appeal: the Art of Allure in Graphic and Advertising Design,” Allworth Press, New York, NY. Holbrook, M. and Hirschman, E. (1982) “The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun,” Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 2, 132-140. Lambiase, J. and Reichert, T. (2003) “Sex in Advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal,” Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. MacNeill, M. (2009) “The Practice of Veiling, http://islamic- practices.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_practice_of_veiling Nevevi, I. (2009) “Riyazu’s Salihin,” Isik Yayinlari, Izmir, Turkey. Petty, R.E. and Cacioppo, J.T. (1986) “The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion,” Advences in Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 123-205. Petty, R.E., Cacioppo, J.T. and Schumann, D. (1983) “Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement,” Journal of Consumer Research, 10, 135-146. Rahim, H. (2000) “Virtue, Gender and the Family: Reflections on Religious Texts in Islam and Hinduism,” Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 9, 3, 187-199. Ramirez, A. and Reichert, T. (2000) “Defining sexually oriented appeals in advertising: A grounded theory investigation,” Advances in Consumer Research, 27, 269-273. Reichert, T. (2002) “Sex in Advertising Research: A Review of Content, Effects, and Functions of Sexual Information in Consumer Advertising,” Annual Review of Sex Research, 13, 241-273. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 498 Reichert, T. and Alvaro, E. (2001) “The Effects of Sexual Information on Ad, Brand Processing and Recall,” Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, 17(1), 9-17. Reichert, T., Heckler, S.E. and Jackson, J. (2001) “The Effects of Sexual Social Marketing Appeals on Cognitive Processing and Persuasion,” Journal of Advertising, 30, 1, 13-27. Smith, S.M., Haugtvedt, C. P., Jadrich, J.M. (1995) “Understanding Responses to Sex Appeals in Advertising: An Individual DifferenceApproach,” Advances in Consumer Research, 22, 735-739. Steadman, Major (1969) “How Sexy Illustrations Affect Brand Recall,” Journal of Advertising, 9, 15-19. Treise, D. and Weigold, M. (1994) “Ethics in Advertising: Ideological Correlates of Consumer Perceptions,” Journal of Advertising, 23, September, 59-70. BIOGRAPHY Ahmet Bayraktar is a PhD student in the marketing department at Rutgers University. His research interests are related to consumer behavior, brand management and marketing ethics. He can be contacted at Rutgers Business School, 1 Washington Park, Newark, NJ 07102. Email: ahmetbay@pegasus.rutgers.edu Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 499 EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PROGRAM (ESOP) PHENOMENA ON PUBLIC COMPANIES IN INDONESIA I Putu Sugiartha Sanjaya, Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta, Indonesia ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to explain the phenomena of employee stock ownership program on public companies in Indonesia. It is done because the ownership of companies in Indonesia is concentrated by single controlling shareholder. Some time, board of directors and board of commissioners of the company are controlling shareholder or his/her family. Therefore, this study is interested to describe the interesting phenomena of employment stock option program. This study collects data from Indonesian Stock Exchange Database conducting the program. The company conducting this program only is 45 companies from 1999 until 2011. In 2011, the number of public companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange approximately 398 companies. It means that the public companies conducting the program are only 11.30%. Why do not more companies make this program? Almost 33.56% directors of public companies in Indonesia is family of controlling shareholder. Therefore, he/she feels that this program will not have any impact to the manager because the manager has the same interest with controlling shareholder. Thus, the program is not attractive in Indonesia as one way to mitigate agency problem between shareholders and manager. It is relevance to be applied in public companies dispersed ownership. JEL: M41; G32 KEYWORDS: employee stock ownership program, corporate ownership, concentrated, dispersed INTRODUCTION Management practices of the world can affect a company's practices in Indonesia. These practices generally occur in the developed countries such as employee ownership program. It is better known as Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP). This program is introduced by the management of human resources in the form of corporate ownership by employees. One objective of this program is to align the interests between agent (managers) and principles (owners). The alignment can reduce agency problems between owners and managers. This program will be decided in a general meeting of shareholders or the extraordinary meeting of shareholders as in PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk. Based on a decision of the Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders (EGM) of PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk on November 15, 2010 as amended by Decision Circular Shareholders on January 26, 2011, the shareholders have approved ownership program by the management and employees (Management and Employee Stock Allocation/MESA). It was done by allotment of shares to the buyer special which consists of stock bonus and stock discount. It also provides the option right to the management and employees (Management and Employee Stock Option Plan/MESOP). Based on the approval of the shareholders, the directors have set the number of shares for the MESA program at most 5% of total issuance of new shares and stock option for the program MESOP as much as possible 0.97% of total issued and paid up after the public offering. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 500 In Indonesia, the program has been set in the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 53. The statement was effective from October 1, 1998. Stock option is offered as rewards and compensated to employee. It is measured and recognized at the fair value of equity instruments. The fair value of the instrument can be determined as service of employee as same as fair value after deducting from the amount to be paid at the time of the equity instruments given (IAI, 2007). According Machfoedz (1999), stock option is the right to buy shares at a special price. It is usually given to executives because they have good dedication to the company in certain period. Employee stock option program is a program directed to provide an opportunity for employees to own stock of the company through stock options. Implementation of ESOP in Indonesia has not yet optimal. It is not so many public companies to do this program. The question is why the program is not getting response from the public companies in Indonesia. The program has some good objectives as follows. 1. This program can provide reward to all employees and directors for their contribution to company performance. 2. This program can also create alignment of interests between employees (directors) and owners (principals). 3. This program can also increase employee motivation and commitment to the company because they are also the owner of the company. Therefore, the program is expected to increase productivity and performance. 4. This program can be used to retain and motivate key employees to enhance value of the firm in the future. However, why the program has less been done by public companies in Indonesia? Is it concentrated ownership causing the program less optimal? Therefore, the objective of this study is to answer these questions. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses the relevant literature. Section 3 is research method. Section 4 provides analysis based data. Section 5 concludes the paper. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Emloyment Stock Option Plan According to El-Tahch and Ricaurte (2011), employee stock option program is the basis for developing a key employee in the present and future. Companies need to establish a work plan and a good blue print before establishing any basis. Philosophy and benchmarking is a blueprint and a plan to develop a company by an employee ownership program. Explain what the company's plans are intended to be achieved as retain key employees, paying a basic salary at a specific rate or an annual bonus on a certain level, and paying a basic salary or phantom stock. Another important part prior to the implementation of the ESOP program is a comparative study. This analysis uses the market or industry survey data relating to other companies. How do they pay such as based salary and bonus payments annually? We shall compare it with the current pay practices at companies that will implement the ESOP. The study will provide an overview of the current picture of Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 501 employee compensation and what is needed to respond any gaps between the company's compensation plan and the relevant benchmark. The stock option program has several benefits as follows. 1. Stock option program for employees can be used effectively to reduce agency problems between owners (principals) and managers (agents). The program is expected to increase company performance. According to Iqbal and Hamid (2000), employee stock ownership will increase sense of satisfaction, commitment, and control to the company. ESOP can also improve employee motivation and productivity for the the company (Shulman, 2002). 2. Related to agency problems, the stock option program for employees is an effective way to reduce agency cost (Brenner, Sundarm, and Yermack, 2000). The cost can be mitigated through the alignment of interests between managers and principals. According to Chance, Kumar, and Todd (2000), this program can be used by public companies to plan incentives and compensation for employees. McColgan (2001) suggests that the structure of executive compensation contracts can be an incentive to increase value of the firm. It also influences on the alignment of interests between owners and managers. 3. ESOP will increase value of the firm. According to Senders (1999), ownership of shares by the employee will increase the performance of company. Iqbal (2000) finds that there is a positive association between operating performance of ESOP companies and the price market of stock of this company. 4. According to Carberry (1996), stock ownership by employee can represent a respect for the voting rights by the employees. Therefore, the stock ownership can determine the percentage of their control to the company. 5. Cash flow advantages, an employee can contribute to a plan in the form of cash. The ESOP is required to invest primarily in the ownership by employees. This cash flow advantage for companies is clear. Through ESOP, employees receive a deduction equal at fair market value of shares (Shulman, 2002). 6. ESOP can be used to absorb funds from the public. Core and Guay (2000) suggest that when the problem arises of financial and capital needs, these companies will implement share-based compensation. ESOP in Indonesia According Bapepam (2002), in Indonesia parties implementing the concept of stock ownership by employees can be divided into two groups. The first group is public companies begin implementing stock ownership program. The program is conducted through a special allocation program for employee or employee stock allocation, bonus shares or bonus share plan, or provision of stock option or stock option plan. Employee stock ownership plan through program savings or purchasing stock is not yet a common activity in Indonesia. The second group is companies which are subsidiaries of multinational companies (foreign companies). Multinational companies are part of the compensation package for employee to implement ESOP program. It is also applied to employee of its subsidiaries in Indonesia which are eligible to participate for this program. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 502 According to Bapepam (2002), there are two main rules governing the implementation of ESOP in Indonesia as follows. 1. Bapepam. IX.A.7 suggests that employee get priority of allotment up most 10% of total public offering. 2. Bapepam. IX.D.4 regulates that issuers can increase equity without giving shareholders pre-emptive rights to all specified in the charter. Within a period of three years, additional capital is more than 5% paid up. Based on the regulation, many issuers use this rule to increase the share up to 5% of the total paid-up in the framework of the ESOP program. This rule also regulates the disclosure required to increase equity without through public offering only limited to as follows. a. Analysis and discussion by management about financial condition. b. Pro forma company. c. Effect of increasing on equity to shareholders after adding equity. d. The reason for the addition of equity without the order right in advance is the best option. The company also must follow to the regulation governing the exercise price of the shares issued in the added equity without preemptive rights. The exercise price must be at least from the market price of the stock in the regular market. It is the average closing price during the period of 25 consecutive days before the announcement of general meeting of shareholders scheduled to adding equity. The development of the implementation ESOP in Indonesia is as follows (Bapepam, 2002). 1. Prior to 1998, the ESOP is done by Indonesian companies. At the beginning, ESOP is the allocation of shares when the company goes to public. It is only a stock allocation scheme. In this offering, employee obtains subsidies or loans guaranteed by the company. 2. 1998-present, before public offering, employee is given warrants to purchase shares at a specified price in the future predetermined period and price. LITERATURE REVIEW Previous researchers observed positive effects of employee stock ownership plan on operating performance as documented by Park and Song (1995) and Blasi, Kruse, and Conte (1992). According to Klien (1997), there are several theoretical perspectives relating with the ownership of companies by employees on employee behavior and corporate performance. Employee stock ownership will increase the employee commitment and performance for the company. According to Jensen and Meckling (1976), financial incentives such as employee stock ownership will align the interests of the employee and interests of shareholders. Positive benefit will be obtained by employee-owners. It is often cited as a primary motive to establish an ESOP in the company. It suggests that employee will be more motivated and act as owners through ESOP participation. The program also minimizes agency costs and aligns their behavior with the goals of the firm. They will perform in their own best interest because they are not as employee but as shareholder. Alignment of interest between agent and principle is a great benefit. This is a result of ESOP implementation. Because of ESOP has impact on improving company performance. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 503 Wah (1999) finds that total shareholder return for ESOP firms exceeded those of non ESOP firms by 6.9% and that average annual return on assets for ESOP is 2.7% higher than for industry peers without ESOP. Wah (1999) uses 382 U.S. public firms that adopted ESOP over period 1971-1995. Kruse and Blasi (2002) uses 343 matched pairs of ESOP and non ESOP held firms closely. Kruse and Blasi (2002) also compare performance differences from three years prior to three years after introduction of the ESOP. Kruse and Blasi (2002) find differences in favor of ESOP of 2.4% in sales, 2.3% in employment, 2.3% in sales per employee, and 4.4% in employee productivity. Lee (2003) uses Taiwanese electronics manufacturers. Lee (2003) find similar productivity gains of 4-5% associated with the introduction of ESOP. Pugh, Oswald, and Jahera, Jr. (2000) find that few firm performances increased significantly return on equity, return on assets, and net profit margin. This is in short term. Iqbal and Hamid (2000) examine the longitudinal relationship between stock price changes and operating performance of ESOP firms. Iqbal and Hamid (2000) find a positive relationship between stock price changes and performance. Iqbal and Hamid (2000) also find that this relationship significant on several quarters after the changes in stock prices occurs. Ducy, Iqbal, and Akhigbe (1997) examine the ESOP three year pre- and post-implementation economic performance of publicly traded firms using operating cash flow (OCF) rather than accounting returns. Ducy, Iqbal, and Akhigbe (1997) determine that adjusted performance in industry of ESOP deteriorated on all three measures utilized as OCF to market value of assets, OCF to sales, and OCF per employee. According Kruse, Freeman, Blasi, Buchele, and Scharf, (2003), the role of human resources policies and the motivation of ESOP employee-owners are how to understand employee ownership works successfully. It requires three analyses as incentives of ownership, available of participative mechanisms, the corporate culture. However, the executives take advantage of the opportunities available to increase earnings. They hope that stock market price will increase (Baker, Collins, and Reitenga, 2002). It happens because the earnings information shows the company's performance. The information can also be used to predict the performance of companies in the future. Managed earnings are known as earnings management. Some researchers in Indonesia such as the Asyik (2007) and Astika (2008) study earnings management and ESOP. Asyik (2007) finds that managers of the company have ability to manage earnings around option grant date. The effect is stronger when executives release earnings before option grant date for period prior to ESOP. For period after ESOP, the effect is stronger related to manage stock price volatility. It happens because the volatility determining fair value of option based on management policy. Astika (2008) finds employee stock option granted positively effect on earnings management before the grant date. The results indicate that the more option grant, the more likely manager to manage earnings downward. Manager hopes to lower the option exercise price. Astika (2008) also finds the number of exercised employee stock option positively influence to earnings management before the exercised date. It indicates the more exercised option the more likely manager manages earnings upward before the exercised date to take advantage of a higher stock price. RESEARCH METHODS Samples The sample of this study is that public companies implementing ESOP. The companies are listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in the year 1999-2011. Sampling was done by purposive sampling. The Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 504 number of ESOP companies conducting programs during the period is 45 companies. The number of companies conducting ESOP is limited. Companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange is approximately 398 companies. It means only 11.31% public companies conducting ESOP. Based of the facts, why the companies less make ESOP program? The program has some advantages both the company and shareholders. What is it caused by limited rules in Indonesia regulating ESOP program? Or whether concentrated ownership of the public companies causing ESOP program is not popular in Indonesia? These conditions will be discussed in the data analysis. DATA ANALYSIS Based on the samples, the study will analyze the structure of corporate ownership. This study uses the ultimate ownership structure to trace corporate ownership. To trace ultimate ownership, this study collects data from Indonesian Business Data Center. It is caused by concentrated corporate ownership (Sanjaya, 2011). This study analyzes corporate ownership only for the manufacturing industry because to obtain data on the ultimate ownership of non-manufacturing companies is very difficult to find. Based on 45 companies conducting the ESOP program, the study can identify only four companies included in the manufacturing industry such as PT Davomas Abadi Tbk in 2002, PT Dynaplast Tbk in 2003, Tbk PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk in 2004, and PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk in 2007. It will be shown in figure of the ownership structure for each company as follows. Figure 1: Ownership Structure of PT Davomas Abadi Tbk in 2002 Based on the tracing in the chain of ownership, this study finds that the controlling shareholder in PT Davomas is Hassoks Enterprise Ltd. Percentage of share ownership is 23.17%. Hassoks is a foreign company in which this study is unable to trace who controls Hassoks. Hassoks’ control rights to PT Davomas is 23.17% and cash flow rights is 23:17%. This result indicates that there is no agency problem PT Davomas Abadi Tbk. Hassoks Ent. Ltd. (23 17%) Caterpillar Ass. Ltd (11.46%) Polar Cap. Inv. Ltd (6.08%) Krigler Holding Ltd. (7 75%) Public (38.37%) Catnera Ltd (5.53%) PT Multiprima P. (19.59%) PT Sheriutama R. (6.03%) Willy S. (20%) Tji H. S. (20%) Hendrawan S. (60%) Tonny B. (24.35%) Irwan S. (58.98%) Ernas K. M. (16.66%) Templeton A. Ltd. (5.53%) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 505 between controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders in PT Davomas. Because of the number of control rights and cash flow rights are the same or cash flow rights leverage is zero. Cash flow rights leverage can be used as a proxy for determining the agency problems. Cash flow rights leverage is control rights minus cash flow rights. PT Davomas is controlled by foreign institution. The compositions of the board of directors and commissioners of PT Davomas on December 31, 2002 are as follows. Board of Directors Board of Commissioners President Director: Johanes Herkiamto President Commissioner: Hermawan Felani Director: Theodorus Hopmans Independent Commissioner: Anthonius A. Unawekla Director: Berliana Sukarmadidjaja Commissioner: Elfisno Board of directors and commissioners are professional people. Because of tracing the chain of ownership in PT Davomas does not find the names of families associated with directors and commissioners. This study shows the ownership structure of PT Dynaplast Tbk in 2003 as follows. Figure 2: Ownership Structure of PT Dynaplast Tbk in 2003 Based on the tracing on chain of ownership in PT Dynaplast Tbk, this study finds that controlling shareholder in this company is the Bank of Bermuda Ltd. Hong Kong. Ownership percentage of shares of Bank of Bermuda in PT Dynaplast is 39.80%. Bank of Bermuda is a foreign company and this study could not trace who controls the bank. Bank of Bermuda has control rights as same as cash flow rights in PT Dynaplast Tbk. Tirtadjaja Hambali (0.41%) PT Panca Graha S. (21.4%) Public (28.50%) PT Hambali D. C. (4.77%) Tirtadjaja Hambali (44.444%) Soebekti Hambali (55.56%) Irene M. Hambali (10%) Tirtadjaja Hambali (30%) Soebekti Hambali (30%) Bank of Bermuda Ltd. Hongkong. (39.8%) C. Gina Hambali (10%) Peggy Hambali (10%) Ayleen Hambali (10%) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 506 PT Dynaplast (39.80%). This suggests that agency problems between controlling shareholder and non- controlling shareholders are low or absent. It indicates that the value of cash flow rights leverage is zero. PT Dynaplast is also controlled by foreign institution. The compositions of the board of directors and commissioners of PT Dynaplast on December 31, 2003 are as follows. Board of Directors Board of Commissioners President Director: Tirtadjaja Hambali President Commissioner: Soebekti Hambali Director: Gunawan Tjokro Commissioner: Robert Wiryono Director: Mulyadi Kosasih Commissioner: Santoso Symkoputro Commissioner: Sri Hartini Urip S. Figure 3: ownership structure of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk. in 2004 President Director and Commissioner of PT Dynaplast is the second controlling shareholder. They are controlling shareholder after the Bank of Bermuda. If calculated, their control rights and cash flow rights are 26.58%. The number is still lower than the control rights and cash flow rights of Bank of Bermuda. The objective of ESOP in this company is to motivate corporate executive to work the best for the company. Performance improvement will increase value of the firm. It will also improve the welfare both owners and managers. Agency problem in PT Dynaplast is low. It encourages alignment between the controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders such as Bank of Bermuda and Hambali’s family PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk. T. Stock (9.69%) Public (43.77%) Horizon Holding Investment Ltd (100%) First Pacific Consumer Products Ltd. (100%) CAB Holding Ltd. (46.53%) First Pacific Company Ltd. (100%) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 507 and other non-controlling shareholders.Next, this study shows the ownership structure of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur in 2004 as follows. Based on the tracing on chain of ownership in PT Indofood Tbk, this study finds that controlling shareholders in this company is First Pacific Company Ltd. Percentage of shareholding First Pacific Company Ltd. in PT Indofood is 46.53%. First Pacific Company Ltd. is a foreign company and this study can not trace who controls the company. Control rights of First Ltd. in PT Indofood are 46.53%. Cash flow rights of First Ltd. are 46.53%. This results shows that there is no agency problem between controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders in PT Indofood. This occurs because the control rights and cash flow rights are equal or cash flow rights leverage is zero. PT Indofood is controlled by foreign company. Next, this study shows the ownership structure of PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk in the year 2007 as follows. Figure 4: ownership structure of PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk. in 2007 Based on the ownership structure in PT Multistrada, this study finds PVP XIII Pte as the controlling shareholder. In PT Multistrada, agency problems are low and almost not exist. The control rights of PVP XIII. Ltd. is equal to its cash flow rights. This study can not trace who the owner of PVP XIII Pte. PVP is a foreign company. Thus, PT Multistrada is controlled by foreign company. PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk. PVP XVIII Pte. Ltd (27.73%) Prudent Capital Ltd. (15.92%) Public (43.55%) Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, Jakarta (8.96%) PT Dwitama Agra Sejati (10.8%) PT Perkasa Cipta Terang (5%) PT Indokemika Jayatama (3.81%) PT Inti Idola Sejati (84.2%) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 508 ANALYSIS Based on these four manufacturing companies, ESOP in Indonesia is only conducted by companies owned by foreigners. ESOP is conducted in companies which have the low agency conflict between the controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders. It is shown by the value of cash flow right leverage equal to zero. The leverage can be used as a proxy for agency conflicts between controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders on concentrated ownership. The next discussion is why the ESOP programs are less popular in Indonesia? Though, this program has several benefits such as to reduce the agency problem between principals and agents. Another objective of ESOP is to align the interests between managers and owners. The alignment will improve the employee performance. It can also increase value of the firm. It will give a positive impact on the welfare of both the employee and the employer. But why this program is not interesting in Indonesia? Sanjaya (2011) shows that the public companies which are not owned by ultimate or direct ownership (immediate) is 3.79% of all manufacturing companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2001- 2007. There are 96.21% manufacturing companies which are owned by ultimate ownership. Companies which are owned dispersed at cut off less than 10% of control rights is 0.49%. Based on cut off 10%, there are 99.51% manufacturing companies which are owned concentrated. The results confirm that only 0.49% manufacturing companies which are dispersed. Sanjaya (2011) also suggests that the family is the greatest controlling shareholder as 68.49% at cut off 10%. This finding is consistent with La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes and Shleifer (1999), Claessens, Djankov and Lang (2000), Faccio and Lang (2002), and Siregar (2006). The Indonesian government only controls 2.58% at cut off 10%. The results are not much different with Siregar (2006). Other controlling shareholder controls 28.93% at cut off 10%. Other controlling shareholder includes foreign investors, cooperation, and employees. The results are not much different with Siregar (2006). Siregar (2006) shows 437 of 1302 observations on a categorical variable are 1 for management. This result indicates that 33.56% controlling shareholder is also part of the directors of public companies. This means that directors of public companies are the controlling shareholder or the family member of controlling shareholder. Involvement in the board of director is another way to improve the control mechanisms other than through ownership pyramids or cross-ownership. In this circumstance, ESOP program is not important because without this program directors had aligned their interests with shareholder interests. Directors may not make decisions that will harm their family members. The phenomenon of agency problems in Indonesia is different from the phenomenon of agency problems in the U.S. or the U.K. Agency problems occurred in Indonesia is between controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders. ESOP programs become less relevant to apply to this context. ESOP programs are more effective implemented in dispersed ownership where managers are as the controller for company. Agency problem occurring is usually between management companies and owners. ESOP program becomes very relevant and appropriate to be implemented in the context of dispersed ownership. The objective of program is to reduce agency problems and to improve the performance of Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 509 each employee. Meanwhile for companies that concentrated ownership, ESOP program is less effective to reduce agency problems. It is due to agency problems occurred between the controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders. How does the ESOP program align the interests between controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders? It can not be done easily. However, this program relatively can be done to the context of concentrated ownership. This program can be implemented in companies which do not have agency problems between controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders. The ESOP program is a strategy to make managers more serious and committed in their jobs. It is a way for mutually beneficial for all parties existing in the company. CONCLUSION The study concludes that the ESOP program less attractive to be implemented in Indonesia. It is caused by the directors of the company is the controlling shareholder or a family member of controlling shareholder. Second, ownership of companies in Indonesia is concentrated in certain groups such as family. Family is the most dominant to control public companies. Third, agency problems in Indonesia are between controlling shareholder and non-controlling shareholders. These conditions make the ESOP program to become less popular in Indonesia. This program is effectively implemented in the dispersed ownership. Because, agency problems occurring in dispersed ownership is between managers (agent) and owners (principles). To reduce this problem, the ESOP program can be implemented. This program will align interests between managers and owners. In the context of concentrated ownership has occurred alignment between managers and owners. It occurs because the manager is a family member of the owners. In this condition, the manager will not make decisions which benefit themselves and harm the owner. If it is done, the manager also harms their families. Limitations of this study are that, the first, this study only describes the phenomena existing in Indonesia. Second, this study is limited to the context of Indonesia. Third, private ownership in some companies in abroad can not be traced. Subsequent studies can consider aspects of ownership to conduct research on ESOP. Astika’s study (2007) can be developed by considering the agency problems occurred in Indonesia. Future studies can compare ESOP phenomenon in some East Asian countries. It will be done to confirm whether the ESOP program can be implemented. REFERENCES Astika, I. B. P. (2007), Perilaku Eksekutif dalam Menentukan Return Ekspektasian Melalui Program Opsi Saham. Jurnal Riset Akuntansi Indonesia, 11, 327-347. Asyik, N. F. (2007), Pola-pola Perilaku Eksekutif Berkaitan dengan Tahapan Penawaran Opsi saham: Uji Komprehensif di Sekitas Tanggal Hibah. Journal Riset Akuntansi Indonesia, 10, 287-302. Baker, T., Collins, D., and Reitenga, A. (2002), Stock Option Compensation and Earnings Management Incentive. Working Paper. Bapepam. (2002), Studi tentang Penerapan ESOP Perusahaan Publik di Pasar Modal Indonesia. Departemen Keuangan Republik Indonesia. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 510 Blasi, J., Kruse, D., and Conte, M. (1990), the New Owners: Stock Price Performance for Public Companies with Significant Employee Ownership. The Journal of Employee Ownership Law and Finance, 4, 95-130. Brenner, M., Sundaram, R.K., and Yermack, D. (2000), Altering the Term of Executive Stock Options. Journal of Financial Economics, 57, 103-128. Carberry. (1999), Assessing ESOPs. Journal of Management in Engineering, 12, 17-19. Chance, D., Kumar, M. R., and Todd, R. B. (2000), the Reprising of Executive Stock Options. Journal of Financial Economics, 57, 129-154. Claessens, S., Djankov, S., and Lang, L. H. P. (2000), the Separation of Ownership and Control in East Asia Corporations. Journal of Financial Economics, 58, 81-112. Core, J. E., and Guay, W. R. (2000), Stock Option Plans for non-executive Employees. Journal of Financial Economics, 61, 253-287. Ducy, M., Iqbal, Z., and Akhige, A. (1997), Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Cash Flow Performance of Publicly Traded Firms. American Business Review. 15, 31-36. El-Tahch, A., and Ricaurte, M. (2001), Executive Compensation Programs in ESOP Companies and Their Impact on Value. The Journal of Employee Ownership Law and Finance, 21, 51-63. Faccio, M. and Lang, L. H. P. (2002), the Ultimate Ownership of Western European Corporations. Journal of Financial Economics, 65, 365-395. IAI. (2007), Standar Akuntansi Keuangan per 1 September 2007, Salemba Empat, Jakarta. Iqbal, Z., and Hamid, S. A. (2000), Stock Price and Operating Performance of ESOP Firms: A Time-Series Analysis. QJBE, 39, 25-47. Jensen, M. C., and Meckling, W. H. (1976), Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Cost and Ownership Structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3, 305-360. Klien, K. J. (1997), Employee Stock Ownership and Employee Attitudes: A Test of Three Models. Journal of Applied Psychology Monograph, 72, 319-332. Kruse, D. and Blasi, J. (2002), Largest Study Yet Shows ESOPs Improve Performance and Employee Benefits, on http://www.nceo.org/main/article.php/id/25 Kruse, D., Freeman, R. Blasi, J., Buchele, R., Scharf, A., Rodgers, L., and Mackin, C. (2003), Motivating Employee-Owners in ESOP Firms: Human Resource Policies and Company Performance. Working Paper. La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., and Shleifer, A. (1999), Corporate Ownership around the World. The Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 511 Journal of Finance, LIV, 471-516. Lee, Y. T. (2003), the Productivity Effects of Employee Stock Ownership Plans: Evidence from Panel Data of Taiwan Electronic Companies. International Journal of Management, 20, 479-489. Macfoedz, M. (1999), Akuntansi Keuangan Menengah, Edisi Kedua, BPFE, Yogyakarta. McColgan, P. (2001), Agency Theory and Corporate Governance: A Review of the Literature from a UK Perspective. Working Paper. Park, S., and Song, M. (1995), Employee Stock Ownership Plans, Firm Performance, and Monitoring by Outside Blockholders. Financial Management, 24, 52-65. Pugh, W. N., Oswald, S. L., and Jahera Jr., J. S. (2000), the Effect of ESOP Adoptions on Corporate Performance: Are There Really Performance Changes? Managerial and Decision Economics, 21, 167- 180. Sanjaya, I. P. S. (2011), Agency Problem in Indonesia: the Case of Firms in Manufacturing Industry in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Journal of International Business and Economics, 11, 94-103. Sender, W. G. (1999), Incentive Structure of CEO Option Pay and Stock Ownership: the Moderating Effects of Firm Risk. Managerial Finance, 25, 61-76. Shulman, C. C. (2002), Employee Stock Ownership Plans: Part I. Journal of Pension Planning & Compliance, 28, 63-118. Wah, L. (1999), ESOP Performance at a Glance. Management Review, 88, 10. BIOGRAPHY Dr. I Putu Sugiartha Sanjaya, S.E., M.Si. is Lecture at Accounting Department, Economics Faculty, Atma Jaya Yogyakarta University, Indonesia. He can be contacted at Economics Faculty, Atma Jaya Yogyakarta University, Jl. Babarsari No. 43 Yogyakarta (55281) INDONESIA. Email: siputusugiartha@yahoo.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 512 THE PERFORMANCES OF THE ORGANISATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISES Ionica Oncioiu, Tomis University of Constanta Florin Razvan Oncioiu, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Dan Balamaci, Free International University of Moldova ABSTRACT Major changes which occur in the economic actions and processes, as a direct effect of the economic crises and increasing competition, involve the use of innovation as founding pillar in the creation of strategies by managers. Knowledge along with information is the nowadays competitive weapon and will be the main motor force. This paper wants to reveal the superior rendering profitable of information and knowledge by the manager represents the main source of creating the value in the company which activates in economic crises.The world is literally crossed by a large number of economic, communicative, cultural, independence. INTRODUCTION The economy of the future will be totally different in its essentials from its present form. This new economy will find its reliance in the advancement of science and technique, the technologies of the future, which should work with priority according to the environment regulations. This trend is already noticeable especially in the IT industry.On the other side, the economy of the future will have to be more efficient than the present one; the motivation is already known: the changes in economic crises and their impacts, the population is constantly increasing and the resources are, quite often, limited, even if there is an important transformation undergoing in the place and purpose of the factors of production. It’s all about the genesis of a new civilization (based especially on elements coming from science and technique), which comes in a constant conflict with the other civilizations today, the later trying as well to expand their influences. The essential dominant characteristic of this century is change. It applies to all the organizations, no matter what they do, all are systems undergoing change, and their self – regulation is done through management.We will witness, in economy, a revolution of the information which is the base of the economical increasing significance of information, of the capacities and of the organization competences. An essential role in the starting of this revolution it’s held by the mixing up between the new IT, the communication technology and acquisition means, making, dissemination and use of information. In the context of economic crises the need to have vast and inclusive information will trigger a very profound and broad process, with major changes in all the components of the economical activity. LITERATURE REVIEW We can say that we do not have to prepare for the organization of this situation, we are already there and only those who will adjust quickly will be winners, otherwise chances and opportunities will be lost. There’s no need to build an ideal company, but one shaped by goals, people and cultures. An organizational culture has to be developed, focused on the values of knowledge and communication. It Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 513 takes a remodeled company, which can permanently shift from one strategy to another. This is the flair and instinct of the manager anchored in the society based on knowledge. In a society affected by the crisis, the changes are more consistent and occur one after the other in a constantly increasing pace. These changes are oriented in some great ways, which even if they cannot be seen as exhaustive, give a rather clear image on the challenges of the future and of the impact these will have on the very existence and activities of the organizations. In the informational society, the essential economical resource is no longer the fund, nor the land, nor physical labor. Knowledge and information will soon become essential elements of the obtaining of competitive advantages by the organizations in the context of the economic crises. At the core of the genesis and running of the informational system of the organization – just as the information management – there’s a new paradigm. The one used until a few years back referred to the focusing of the informational system on the identification of the need of information and the ways of compliance, concomitant with the information usage approach, in a vision both strategic and economic, focused on efficiency. This paradigm is a prediction of the evolution towards the company based on knowledge, being the kind of organization which develops the fastest in a significant part of the globe.The approach of definition, running and designing of the company’s informational system starting from a new paradigm represents the premise of its running and efficiency. The information from within the organizations is extremely complex. To facilitate their description, there are classified according to several criteria, which allow the presentation of areas significant for the management of the organizations. Therefore, information is raw material involved in all the activities of the organization. Every work process, no matter its nature, is based on information. A common characteristic of managers is the fact some information contain a ruling aspect, shaping into decisions. Therefore, the decision can be defined as being that information through which is being ascertained, for other people, the obligation to do certain work processes with an exact outcome. In light of the aspects mentioned earlier, information gives power to the holder.The more information the person inside the organization holds – meaning raw material and finite informational product – and the more ability to use it efficiently, the more power he holds, formal or informal one. The relation information – power acquires new dimensions in the shifting environment to an economy based on knowledge. Specialists believe information has value and generates efficiency at a level which depends on the complexity and the competitive aspect of the environment involved. In the context of the development of the organizations based on knowledge – the basis of birth, development and use of knowledge – is amplified.On the informational – managing side this is reflected in the appearance of the so-called contextual scanning, which is the systematic activity of research of the informational environment of the company by the manager, based on the Internet connection of the company and other informational resources. Therefore, information starts moving intensively towards the ambient environment, through which a large quantity of exogenous information is absorbed. In an increasing proportion, the ability of managers to ensure the access to the most recent and performing hardware and software limits the competitive capacity of the organization. For the performance of each organization it is essential that the informational subsystem is not approached by itself, but related to the other systems which form the managerial system. This is absolutely necessary because in each company there’s the trend to ignore or underestimate the correlations with the other subsystems, which triggers multiple negative effects, on the functioning and economical level. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 514 The managerial system of the company contains the shaping and exertion of the processes and managerial relations in a certain manner, as to determine the obtaining of high competitiveness. In other words, the managerial system, can be defined as the total of the elements with a decisional, organized, informational, motivational aspect from within the organization, through which is exerted the management process and relation ensemble.When it comes to them, the elements which compose the informational system greatly mark the running of the managerial instrument. The biggest impact is held by the quality of the information delivered, which, evidently, depend greatly of the characteristics of the procedures, circuits, transfer and informational means. The data and information represent, accompanied by the decisions as well, the main inputs in the methodic – managing system, seriously limiting its effects generated directly and indirectly. The relations between the informational system and the organization system are both functional and structural- constructive. The entire informational system is held by the organizational structure of the company. Working with the data and information, the operation of the moving of information and the informational procedures, the use of means to deal the information are the result of the tasks, competences and responsibilities exertion of certain managers. Their reasoning has a great impact over all the components of the informational system. Simultaneously, there’s a strong influence of the organizational culture over the informational elements. This influence is functional, and is exerted especially over the operational way of the components of the informational system.By the correlative measuring of the performances, we call upon concepts of competitiveness and competitor advantage. Inevitably, the notion of performance brings to light the efficiency and efficacy, and the indicators of performance acquire a special diversity. Therefore, the obtaining of performances at a company level assumes, directly or indirectly, the reevaluation of the concepts of competitiveness, competitor advantage, efficiency and efficacy. Performance is not a simple ascertained fact of a result, but just the opposite, is the consequence of a comparison between result and objective. The proportions the term “practice” of performance has achieved, led to outline of a new concept, the one of performance management, itself debatable, but justified by the orientations which the stating of performance in the center of the managerial concerns of the organization gives the present steps and especially to the future ones of it.Also, performance cannot be defined as a great result obtained in the field of management, economics, commercial which gives characteristics of competitiveness, efficiency and efficacy to the organization and its procession and structural components. Which is particularly interesting are the theory and managerial practice from Romania, the managerial performances, which are absolutely necessary to obtain economic and financial performances in the fields they run. CONCLUSIONS The unanimous recognized conditions by specialists in this area of scientific concerns are clear: only a performing management, exerted by professional managers, is capable of managerial performances, generated by social, economic, financial performances.For this it is necessary to know the accomplishments of other organizations in the reference fields in order to compare (volume indicators, quantity, as well as efficiency). A performing organization, anchored in the economy based on knowledge, renders better the opportunities of the ambient environment, overcomes more easily the difficulties arisen, performs better from a quantity and quality point of view towards a segment of the social need, and obtains a competitive advantage on its specific market. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 515 In fact, a performing organization from a managerial and economical point of view is capable to fully satisfy the economical interests of its main stakeholders – employees, managers, shareholder, state, local authorities, banks, contractors, clients – when the two fundamental trends are optimized and they mark its running: “the obtaining of value for the client” and ”the obtaining of value for the shareholder”.Mainly, the obtaining of managerial performances at a company level is limited by the competence of managers and employees, by the cultural context in which they act and, evidently, by the contextual influences exerted by the ambient, national and international environment. One factor of limitation of the level of managerial performances is represented, without any doubt, the competence of those who exert management processes, meaning managers but also those who implement the decisions, the employees. Evidently, the decisive role is held by the managers, proper education, no matter the position in the organization.A competent manager, professional, takes quality decisions (proven scientifically, proper, complete), using modern leading instruments, increasingly sophisticated, in a cultural context as open as possible, to allow him to implement managing styles which involve others as well. The managerial performances are, in conclusion, several and have great chances of implementation in the organization.Knowledge along with information is, in condition of the economic crises, the nowadays competitive weapons and will be the main motor force. REFERENCES Berrien K., (2006) A General Systems Approach to Organization, College Publishing Company, Chicago. Drucker Peter, (2004) Managementul viitorului, Editura Asab, Bucureşti. Henry P., (2007) Creative Management, Glenview Scott, Foresman. K. Kalseth, (2008) Re-inventing Information Management: Bridging the Gap between Information, Needs and Knowledge Source, FID Bulletin, nr. 48. Radu I., Ursăcescu M., Vlădeanu D., Cioc M., Burlacu S., (2005) Informatică şi management – o cale spre performanţă, Ed. Universitară, Bucureşti. Verboncu I., Michael Zalman, (2005) Management şi performanţe, Ed. Universitară, Bucureşti. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 516 PROMOTION A MORE RAPID GRADUATION PROCESS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS Harri Virolainen, Turku University, School of Economics, Pori unit ABSTRACT This article focuses on promoting the speeding up of the graduation process of university students. Graduation is delayed for many reasons; financial reasons, family reasons and a lack of motivation. Universities can promote study and graduation in many different ways and decrease the factors that cause graduation to be delayed. Interaction between university staff and students is a good way to promote study. Suitable methods of interaction are study plan counselling, personal master’s thesis counselling, and feedback on courses and studies in general. Certain learning methods such as e-learning can also promote a more rapid graduation, especially if a student works full-time or lives in another city. KEYWORDS: delay of studies, promotion of studies, graduation INTRODUCTION This article deals with factors that cause university studies to be delayed and makes suggestions on how to promote study and increase the speed of graduation. In Finland people start university studies at approximately 23 years of age. The average age of students when they graduate with an MA is 27 years. Academic freedom has made it possible for students to spend seven years studying and then allows them to ask for more time to finish their studies. Academic freedom is not always efficient and in Finland it is estimated that about 33 % of university students drop out of their study program (Saarenmaa, Saari & Virtanen 2010; Rautopuro & Väisänen 2001, 15, 30). A protracted study period is clearly a different problem to dropping out. However, students themselves don’t necessarily see protracted study length as a problem (Laukkanen 1988; Kalliosalmi, Pekkala & Rönkkömäki 1990; Rautopuro 2011). However, graduation and getting a degree “on time” without a major delay is to everyone’s’ advantage: the state saves money, the university saves resources and improves its image, employers receive workers and individual students increase their competence. Getting a degree “on time” also positively affects students’ physical and mental well-being. Students often feel guilt, social shame and stress if their studies are protracted (Remonen 1996). Despite the win-win situation only about 25 % of the Finnish university students attain a master’s thesis within the five years aimed at by the Finnish state and 22 % of the students do not graduate (Rautopuro & Korhonen 2011). There has been some research (for example Rautopuro & Väisänen 2001; Vesikansa, Lempinen & Suomela 1999) on the factors that affect the delay of studies. However, despite the information and research results, universities are still dealing with study delays and drop outs. There has been little solution focused activity, nor research on how different solutions to avoid protracted studies might work in practice. This article presents different solutions for decreasing study delays and the amount of students who fail to graduate. It also analyses those solutions. This article answers the following study questions: 1) What are the main reasons that result in university students having delayed graduation? 2) What kinds of solutions are there for promoting study that results in graduation on time? This article begins with a chapter about factors that affect the delay of studies, and deals with both the internal and external factors that affect how a student studies. It is followed by a chapter suggesting and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 517 assessing solutions for promoting graduation on time. The article ends with a discussion of the issues raised. FACTORS THAT AFFECT STUDY AND RESULT IN DELAYED GRADUATION The causes of delayed graduation are complex and varied. According to Vesikansa et. al (1999) the factors that result in prolonged study can be grouped as follows: 1) Internal factors including motivation factors, orientation factors and orientation to the education field, clearance of field and certainty; 2) External factors including financing (financing of studies, working), education institute related factors (teaching, counseling, climate), structure of degree factors (education field, study methods), employment situation factors (work life qualification, working situation) and life situation related factors (family etc). Internal factors are mostly self-directed but external factors can also influence them. According to Seinä’s (2000) study, motivation is a significant factor in the prolonging of studies. A weak study motivation can delay studies. In many cases, another activity, such as work or social activities, can take away a student’s energy and decrease their study motivation. However, the delay of studies is so common it is expedient to think that this is because students are not highly motivated, or because they have poor study plans, or that an administrative reason led to the delay, rather than looking for the actual causes. Orientation factors have a very important role in setting the tone for study, especially during the first study year. Students often want to change faculty and their field of study. Rautopuro and Väisänen (2001) conducted a study at the university of Joensuu where they gathered data on students who began studying in 1995 (N=916). They collected data from the same students during their second and fourth year and found three main reasons why students dropped out of a course. Over half (55 %) of the students named certain academic reasons, such as the nature of the studies, not being able to study subjects they were interested in and making the wrong career choice. In Finland there are large differences between faculties regarding the amount of students who start at the faculty and the amount that graduate from the same faculty. The faculty of medicine has the highest graduation rate – almost 90 % receive a master’s. The natural sciences have the lowest graduation rate, only about 30 % receive a master’s (Korhonen 1994, 48). This phenomenon is partly explained by students changing faculty. Many students who start out by studying the natural sciences transfer to other faculties belonging to the technical or economic sciences. In study fields such as the humanities and social sciences, dropping out is more frequent than in sciences which aim for vocational degrees, such as law and medicine (Helenius 1991). Rautopuro’s and Väisänen’s (2001, 49-50) results show that students’ study experiences become negative during their studies. After the first year of study 15.4 % of the students had dropped out, and of those who continued their studies 14% had dropped out after second or third year. Approximately 25 % of the students gave reasons related to infrastructure factors as the cause of their dropping out of a course, e.g. the location of the university, the university’s infrastructure, the city’s climate, while about 20 % mentioned personal, social or family related reasons. According to many studies (e.g. Helin 2000; Uski 1999) external factors are significant in delaying studies. The main external reasons for the delay of studies are full time work, financial reasons, family, long travel distances to the university, an unclear curriculum, studies being too demanding, too rapid a study speed and not enough information about study arrangements. In many cases financial reasons lead Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 518 to students working full-time or part-time during semesters. Some other factors, such as health problems, social relationship problems and studying abroad had only a minor effect on study progress. Almost two-thirds of university students work during a semester (Osaava työvoiman saatavuus 2010) Working during a semester usually prolongs studies. According to Helin (2000), working estranges students from a university’s conventions and decreases their social contacts with other students, which is something that can increase participation in lessons. Life situation reasons include, for example, family reasons and health reasons. Typically, the birth of a baby and long-term health problems delay studies. However, health problems have only a minor role in the delay of graduation (Uski 1999; Saarenmaa et al. 2011) Many of the life situation factors can direct a student’s activity more than university administration activities and expectations. For example, work life qualifications are not unambiguous (Vesikansa et. al. 1998; Vuorinen & Valkonen 2001). Depending on the faculty it takes approximately about 6.5 years to attain a master’s degree in Finland. In some faculties, such as sports, economics, education and health care, the average time to graduation is 6 years, while in other faculties it is 7 years. An architecture student’s average time spent attaining a master’s is 9 years, which is the longest (Tilastokeskus 2011). There are some differences based on gender and age concerning delays and dropping out of studies. Male students drop out of studies or have a more prolonged study time compared to female students. Older students are more likely to drop out and their studies take longer than those of younger students. Older students are more likely to be affected by their life situation, family life and financial situation. They usually study alongside their full-time work (Friman & Kokko 2000). A university cannot influence everyone regarding the above mentioned factors. However, in many cases it is possible to help students so that their studies move forward more quickly. On the other hand some of the factors slowing down studies are not so easily fixed by university administration (Päkkilä 2002). The next chapter looks at solutions for speeding up the average time of graduation. SOLUTION PROPOSITIONS FOR THE PROMOTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES According to researchers (for example Uski 1999; Salminen 2001) certain factors can help students to promote their studies: 1) Introduction to a university’s routines: According to Vesikansa et al (1998), a study career includes moments where continuing studies becomes problematic. An especially problematic phase seems to be the first year, which includes many changes, such as moving, adapting to new teaching methods and meeting new people. Success in the first year of study seems to predict a smoother road to graduation. According to Virtanen (2000, 14, 34) and Rautopuro et al (2011), students whose studies progress slowly usually gain just a few credit points during their first study year. Students whose studies proceed well usually attain good grades. Some of the main ways to promote study are study counseling and tutoring. If students are properly introduced to university routines it is much easier for them to concentrate on their studies. This results in proactive study and – if done properly – it can increase motivation and help prevent the delay in graduation. Proactive counseling in the beginning of the first study year can be very helpful for many students as helping students before they fall behind schedule too much or build up too much stress might be a very helpful and efficient way of promoting study. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 519 2) Study counseling: According to Salminen (2001) study counseling, encouragement and concrete support are good ways to minimize drop outs and delayed graduation. However, 25 % of those students whose graduation is delayed feel poor counseling was one of the key reasons for their delayed graduation (Saarenmaa 2010) Students also noted the lack of a contact person who knows the course structure, degree demands and who has time for students but who can also help them to make study plans. In particular, first year students miss study counseling, but so do other students. Students whose graduation is delayed have usually misunderstood or received incorrect answers to questions such as what courses they still have to study and when those courses will be available (Salminen 2001). University studies emphasize self-direction. This means that university staff assume that students themselves plan their studies and figure out how to solve problems. In practice, not every student is able to take care of their studies without support and guidance. Many students need extra support and guidance during their studies. By increasing study counseling it is possible to decrease stress and lack of awareness and increase their self-confidence and motivation towards studies (Brockett & Hiemstra 1991; Grow 1991; Koro 1993). In many cases students contact a study advisor when their anxiety level is high, their studies are falling behind schedule or when they don’t know what else to do. Usually, such a situation has already progressed to a point where it is difficult to get students back on track. It also seems that many students hesitate to contact study counselors and other administrative and teaching staff until it is too late (Tanner 2002). Thus, it would be beneficial if students would contact study counselors proactively before a situation becomes difficult to resolve. Proactive discussions between every student and study advisor, for example, once or twice per year could help study planning and aid study progress. Development discussion once a year between student and a teacher, including the checking of credit points and motivation would also be proactive way to promote studies. For instance, a study counselor could be a contact person for study planning etc. However, the amount of study counselors is usually quite small and the amount of students is usually quite high – perhaps hundreds or even thousands of students per study counselor in some universities – so personal contact with every student might be hard to arrange. A counselor does not necessarily need to be a member of the study department’s staff. In the beginning of the first study year student tutors could take on a bigger role than they have previously and be a contact person concerning simple study planning and study questions. In addition, students lack frequent counseling, especially from teachers. Kokko and Termonen (2002) emphasize the importance of personal interaction between students and university staff that would make it possible to discuss a student’s progress in their studies. Thus, there could also be a member of staff contact person for every subject of study. That person could be, for example, an assistant, senior lecturer or even a professor. That way the number of students would decrease per counselor, which would increase the amount of personal counseling time per student. 3) General and language studies: General and language studies are in many cases problematic and cause graduation to be delayed for many students. Language course are usually compulsory, which leads to problems in scheduling due to length, especially if students are also working. Students who live in different cities and who have to travel long distances to participate in long language courses find attending them difficult to arrange (Uski 1999). There are certain solutions for general and language courses. In many cases basic language courses and other general studies could be studied at the Open University in different cities. For students who live in other cities this should offer more opportunities to take part in courses where attendance is compulsory. Another possibility is e-learning solutions which are discussed in more depth in section 7. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 520 4) Time schedule of the courses: According to Päkkilä’s (2002) research the main reason for graduation being delayed was work. Many students who were working felt that they did not have time for their studies. Some students mentioned that the work and study schedules conflicted and made it hard to attend classes. They hoped that at least some lectures would be organized during the evening or at weekend. One possibility is to arrange intensive courses where all the course lectures are held over one or two days. That would also make clear to those students who live in another city which days to be absent from work and indicate when they should study intensively. However this solution is not trouble-free. Firstly, some courses might include homework and learning might be seen as a process which happens over time and for which one or two days of intensive study might not be the best solution. Secondly, intensive days might not fit a student’s schedule and in that case the whole course would be missed because of one missed day. 5) Lower demands: Some of the students have asked teachers or professors to lower the demands of certain courses so that they would have a better chance to pass them (Uski 1999). In practice this suggestion is out of the question. In addition, university courses have certain learning goals and demands cannot be lowered below those learning goals (see Avoin Yliopisto, 2011). The demands for passing a course and the performance demands are the same for every student whether a student is a full-time student or a part-time student etc. So, there is not much potential for flexibility. A teacher cannot make a course easier to pass for some students. Nevertheless, there is some potential for flexibility; a teacher can, for example, give certain alternatives to students regarding how they accomplish a study task, such as choosing between a learning diary, an exam or writing an essay. This might make it easier for students to study but will probably result in teachers having an increased workload. 6) Work experience to compensate for some of the study courses: There has been discussion about whether work experience should replace some study courses that cover the same subject area. For example, a student who has work experience in human resource management could use that to compensate for an academic human resources course. In practice, that does not happen very often. University studies include the mastery of theoretical information and practical work experience seldom offers that. Thus, even though practical work experience provides exactly that, it seldom offers academic readiness (see OPM 2007:4). 7) Distance learning: The possibility to take an exam in another city would help those students who live elsewhere. This would decrease traveling and the possibility to take an exam in another city should be easy to organize. There will be some extra costs, such as postal costs and extra work for administrative staff, but those are quite small. Students who live in other city can then save time and money (see Jyväskylänkesäyliopisto 2011). Distance learning is much more than just taking exams in other city. Distance learning also includes different e-learning possibilities that could make it possible to listen and watch lectures at home online, do learning assignments at home and read e-books etc. In e-learning studying is independent of time and place. However e-learning is not the best option for every course. For some courses face-to-face contact is important, which is why e-learning does not solve all the problems associated with delayed graduation (see Kiviniemi 2000; Saarinen 2002). 8) Master thesis counseling: Students lack personal master’s thesis counseling and counselors who understand the possible life situations facing students. In contrast, some students want their counselor to give them a research topic, possibilities to take part to study projects and ready book lists. In Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 521 consequence, masters counseling varies depending on the counselor and the questions asked. Some of the counselors rely on students being mostly self-sufficient and feel that a student should do their thesis without major counseling. On the other hand, some counselors feel that students need strict and exact counseling and they have certain protocols for counseling their master’s students. Master’s thesis counseling can benefit students by increasing personal feedback to students and by listening and motivating students more. Hakala emphasizes the importance of a counselor’s quick response to students’ questions concerning a master’s thesis. A quick response often makes students feel that someone cares and will help to accomplish their goals. It also promotes activity because students do not have to wait for an answer for a long time and they can begin writing (Valtonen 2002). Counseling on a thesis’ technical or substantive themes is not only important it also helps ascertain a student’s motivation, and can help reduce their anxiety and promote self-confidence and hope, which are very important for students. However, an increase in personal counseling time per student is not as easy as it might sound. In many cases staff members have many master’s degree students and increasing personal counseling time means longer working hours for them. Although, in many cases even a short phone call or short email to student asking how she or he is doing might have a very positive effect on a student (see Opinnäytetyö ja sen ohjaus, 2004). Some universities have organized intensive master thesis counseling days where counselors motivate and help students during intensive days. Students can then write their master’s thesis during the computer class and have the counselor available for all that time as well as the library. Such intensive days may be especially suitable for students who work or live in another city (Virolainen 2011). 9) Flexible library services: Some students have mentioned that borrowing books from other libraries should be made cheaper and easier for master’s degree students. Students have also requested that more course books are made available in the university library (Uski 1999). Library services are partly dependent on resources and some libraries and faculties lack funds for extra course books, making it difficult to increase the amount of course books. E-books could be one possibility. By using e-books every student would have the opportunity to borrow a course book when they want. E-books would also decrease the amount of borrowing from other libraries and reduce costs for students. In practice, the situation is not so simple. There is a lack of suitable course books published in e-book format and even if a book is in that format, the teacher in charge does not necessarily know about those options and might choose a traditional paper book. Library opening hours could also vary to allow longer evening opening hours on some days, which would benefit students who work during the day. 10) Different universities co-operation: There is some co-operation between Finnish universities. Students can, for example, take some courses at other universities and include them in their grades. Open University studies are available for all and that is one solution for students who do not live near their university. However, the Open University does not solve all the problems, this is because the amount of courses it offers is limited (see avoinyliopisto.fi 2011). 11) Study grand: Raising the study grant has been discussed almost every year since the middle of the 1990s in Finland. By raising the study grant students would have more money to compensate for their living costs and they would not necessarily have to work during semesters and could concentrate better on their studies. This could help some students, although some students would probably still want to work during semesters. Universities cannot do much as the Finnish parliament decides the study grant. On January 1, 2010 a law came into effect that makes it possible for students who are over 25 years old to get Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 522 unemployment benefit if they have already spent their study grant. This gives financial support, especially to those students whose graduation is already behind schedule (see yövoimatoimisto, 28.10.2011). 12) General motivation by university staff: Academic studies emphasize studying at home. University staff believe that students will study hard and only come and ask questions when they have problems. On the other hand, for many of the students being able to study at home is not self-evident. Students might lack motivation and self-confidence and require motivating, which is something that is not always forthcoming from university staff. Hence, teachers and professors could, for example, provide more feedback to students, including both positive and constructive feedback. Furthermore, messages for students when a deadline has been missed as well as motivational emails and phone calls could be increased (see Kääpä & Siirilä 2008). 13) Questionnaires and letters: Receiving questionnaires or informative letters from a university might create a feeling of being appreciated. Letters can also increase the motivation to study and function as a “wake up call”. For students who have not studied for some time this kind of letter might be the only contact from the university in a long time. Such letters might receive better results if they are sent to students whose studies have only just started to fall behind schedule (see Kronqvist & Linnansalo 2004). DISCUSSION This article identified the main reasons for a slow pace of study and delayed graduation. It also suggested ways study could be sped up. The main reasons for study delays are students working during semesters, a lack of motivation, financial difficulties and a difficult life situation. Some of these reasons affect others. For example financial reasons affect the need to work and the motivation to study. A university can reduce the effect of some of those factors but not necessarily all of them. Ultimately, taking care of one’s studies is a student’s own responsibility. However universities have relied too much on students’ self- direction and concentrated mainly on curricula. By putting a little extra effort into encouraging students there could be benefits that exceed the effort expended. Many activities for encouraging student study can be done fairly easily but may require resources from a university or its staff. Nevertheless, activities such as quickly responding to student questions and motivational activities are highly dependent on the willingness of university staff and not on resources. One important period is the first year of study and it is clear that university staff and tutors should concentrate more on those students. By creating a positive learning atmosphere and by offering them counseling and help, students will receive a strong foundation for continuing their studies. Another critical moment is the master’s thesis stage. Good master’s thesis counseling includes motivation, quick response and guidance, which promotes thesis activity. Proactive ways of thinking at universities concerning the counseling and guidance of students is required. In many cases universities claim that they have a limited amount of resources for study counseling. However by increasing proactive activities such as study counseling there would probably be fewer delays during the study period and a fewer amount of students would drop out. Dealing with students whose studies fall behind takes, in many cases, much more time and resources than proactive activities. Thus, universities would probably save resources by investing more resources in proactive activities. A proposal further study proposal is to enact some of the above mentioned activities, such as study counseling, or e-learning possibilities and study how they affect the average speed of graduation or course dropout rates. This should be conducted as a longitudinal study. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 523 REFERENCES Avoin yliopisto (2011) http://www.avoin.helsinki.fi/opettajille/opettajan_kasikirja.htm. Read 28.10.2011 Avoinyliopisto.fi (2011) www.avoinyliopisto.fi read 28.10.2011 Brockett , R. & Hiemstra, R (1991) Self direction in adult learning. Perspectives on theory. Research and practice. London: Routledge. Friman, M. & Kokko, P (2000) Raportti Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulussa tapahtuneista opintojen keskeyttämisistä lukuvuonna 1998-1999. Opintojen edistäminen ja tukeminen. Oped. Grow, G (1991) The staged self-directed learning model. In H. Long and associates. Self-directed learning. Concensus and conflict. Oklahoma. Helenius, B (1991) Korkeakouluopintonsa keskeyttäneiden sijoittuminen. Korkeakouluneuvoston julkaisuja 4/1991. Helsinki: Opetusministeriö. Helin, S (2000) Humanistisen tiedekunnan opiskelijoiden opintojen eteneminen. Selvitys viivästymisen ja keskeyttämisen syistä. Humanistinen tiedekunta. Helsinki. Yliopistopaino. Jyväskylän kesäyliopisto (2011) http://kesayo.jyu.fi/avoin-yliopisto/ilmoittautumiskaytannot. Read 28.10.2011. Kalliosalmi, I., Pekkala, S. & Rönkkömäki, H (1990) Opintojen keskeyttäminen Oulun yliopistossa. Opintotoimiston julkaisuja 2. Oulun yliopisto. Kiviniemiemi 2000. Johdatus verkkopedagogiikkaan. Kokkola: Keski-Pohjanmaan ammattikorkeakoulu. Kokko, P. & Termonen, T (2002) Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulu. Pitkittymisrenkaan toiminnalle tilaus (Ed). P. Kokko. Pitkitty-mutkistuuko? Opedin P-renkaan loppuraportti. Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulun loppuraportti. Korhonen, K (1994) Korkeakouluopiskelu pitkittyy, keskeyttäminen harvinaisempaa. Hyvinvointikatsaus 4. Koro, J (1993) Aikuinen oman oppimisensa ohjaajana. Jyväskylän yliopisto. Kronqvist, E. & Linnansalo, S (2004) Oppimista ja oivalluksen iloa. Oulu: Oulun yliopisto. Kääpä, P. & Siirilä, S (2008) Palautetta, tukea ja vaikutusmahdollisuuksia. Turku: Turun yliopisto. Laukkanen (1988) Korkeakouluopinnot. Keskeyttäminen, viivästyminen ja ammatilliset opinnot. Helsinki: Taloudellinen suunnittelukeskus. Opinnäytetyö ja sen ohjaus (2004) Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. OPM 2007:4 (2007) Opetusministeriön työryhmämuistioita ja selvityksiä 2007:4: Aiemmin hankitun osaamisen tunnustaminen korkeakouluissa. Osaava työvoiman saatavuus ja osaamisen kehittämisen muodot. Sektoritutkimuksen neuvottelukunnan tutkimuksia (2010) 6/2010. http://www.avoin.helsinki.fi/opettajille/opettajan_kasikirja.htm http://www.avoinyliopisto.fi/ http://kesayo.jyu.fi/avoin-yliopisto/ilmoittautumiskaytannot Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 524 Päkkilä, M (2002) Opettajaksi hitaalla plulla. Oppimisportfolio. Oulun seudun ammattikorkeakoulu. Rautopuro, J (2011) CC-tutkmustoiminta opintojen hidas eteneminen, syrjäytymisriski viako vapaaehtoinen valinta. Esitys Campus Conexus –projektien ohjausryhmän kokouksessa. 18.8.2011. Rautopuro, J. & Korhonen, V (2011) Yliopistojen keskeyttämisriski ja opintoihin kiinnittyneet ongelmat. In Korkeajännityksiä – kohti osallisuutta luovaa korkeakoulutusta. Rautopuro, J. & Väisänen (2001) Experiencing studies at the university of Joensuu. Modelling a student cohort satisfaction, study achievement and dropping out. Finnish educational research association. Research in educational sciences 7. Remonen, S. (1996) Raportti Jyväskylän yliopiston roikkuvista opiskelijoista. Jyväskylän yliopiston ylioppilaskunta. Saarenmaa, K., Saari, K. & Virtanen, V (2010) Opiskelututkimus 2010. Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön julkaisuja 18/2010. Saarinen, J (2002) Etäopiskelun mahdollisuudet. In J. Saarinen (ed). Kouluttajana verkossa – menetelmät ja tekniikat, 43-74. Hämeenlinna: Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulu. Salminen, H (2001) Opintojen tehostaminen ammattikorkeakoulun aikuiskoulutuksessa. Teoksessa Kokko, P. & Kolehmainen, S Ed.). Mutkatonta opiskelua. Puheenvuoroja ammattikorkeakoulujen edistämisestä. Oped, Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulu. Seinä, S (2000) Opintojen etenemisen edistäminen. Näkökulmia ja pohdintaa opintojen pitkittymisen ja keskeyttämisen ehkäisemiseksi Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulussa. Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulu. Tanner, T (2002) Haaga Instituutin ammattikorkeakoulu: Opinto-ohjaajan merkitys opiskelijan näkökulmasta tarkasteltuna Tilastokeskus (2011) Ylemmän korkeakoulututkinnon keskisuoritusaika 1999-2008. http://www.stat.fi/til/yop/2008/02/yop_2008_02_2009-06-18_tau_002.html read 28.10.2011 Työvoimatoimisto (2011) Omaehtoinen opiskelu työvoimatuella tuettuna. http://www.mol.fi/mol/fi/03_koulutus_ura/05_omaehtoinen_opiskelu/index.jsp read 28.10.2011 Uski, E (1999) Eksyneet lampaat. Selvitys Tampereen yliopiston opiskelijoiden opintojen pitkittymisestä. Tampere: Tampereen yliopisto. Valtonen, A (2002) Tee mahdollisimman huono diplomityö. Tekniikan akateemiset 4/2002. Vesikansa, Lempinen & Suomela. 1998. Tehokkaaseen opiskeluun – norminopeutta vai mielekästä oppimista. Opiskelijajärjestöjen tutkimussäätiö Otus 14. Vesikansa, S., Lempinen, P., Suomela, S(1999) Tehokkaaseen opiskeluun - Norminopeutta vai mielekästä oppimista. Opiskelijajärjestöjen tutkimussäätiö Otus rs 14/1999 http://www.stat.fi/til/yop/2008/02/yop_2008_02_2009-06-18_tau_002.html http://www.mol.fi/mol/fi/03_koulutus_ura/05_omaehtoinen_opiskelu/index.jsp%20read%2028.10.2011 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 525 Virolainen, I (2011) Personal oral communique 26.10.2011. Vuorinen, P. & Valkonen, S. (2001) Opintojen keskeyttäminen ammattikorkeakoulussa oppilaitoksen näkökulmasta. Jyväskylän yliopiston koulutuksen tutkimuslaitoksen tutkimusselosteita. Joensuun yliopistopaino. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 526 CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES REFFERING TO THE CONCEPT OF FAIR VALUE Ionica Oncioiu, Tomis University of Constanta Florin Razvan Oncioiu, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Daniela Simona Nenciu, Dimitrie Cantemir University of Constanta ABSTRACT Many of the authors are presenting the advantages of the fair value, but there are voices which contest this concept, because of its volatility and the tendency of subjectivism, of the manipulation of used models for the evaluation. Among the advantages of the fair value there can be named: utility, relevance, transparency and superior accuracy of the results and cash-flow of the company, it brings more clearance to the financial statements, it does a total accounting of the comparable value and it gives more liability to the manager.The credibility regards a reasonable evaluation, the using of market information in all possible situations for evaluating and justifying the subjective arguments. Starting from these concepts, the users of the accountancy information had demanded the elaborating of a model for a general appliance of the fair value.There are also specialists who criticize the limited use of fair values in IFRS. However, those criticizing fair value accounting do not seem to provide any credible alternatives. Do we go back to historical cost accounting, wherein the financial assets are stated at outdated values and hence are not relevant or reliable? In the current crisis, a question that is raised is: Should assets be marked down to their current throw away prices, as companies may not want to sell them at those values? This paper analyses the answer of this question, and also various controversial issues of the concept of fair value it as it is presented in the current project of the IASB and FASB. INTRODUCTION Fair value is a relatively new concept. It did not feature in the academic debate on current values in accounting that raged (not too strong a term) in the 1960s. In those days, the current values that were debated as alternatives to historical cost, and to one another, were replacement cost (Günter 1966), net realizable value (Chambers 1967) and deprival value (Baxter 1967). The term ‘fair value’ seems to have been used first by accounting standards setters in the United States and has subsequently appeared in UK standards, in international standards and in the Directives of the European Commission, in addition to some more recent standards in the US. The use of the term by standards setters has been to describe, rather loosely, a market-based current value, as opposed to traditional historical cost. The precise application of fair value has varied from standard to standard, and the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has recently developed a standard which prescribe a uniform method of calculating fair value, to apply within all standards that currently use the term. An exposure draft was issued in 2004 and the final standard was published in September 2006. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is committed, as part of its international convergence program, to issuing a discussion paper (the first stage of its due process for developing a standard) based on the new FASB standard. LITERATURE REVIEW Fair value is usually defined as a current market price. The definition in current international financial reporting standards (IFRS) is: „The amount for which an asset could be exchanged, a liability settled, or Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 527 an equity instrument granted could be exchanged, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm’s length transaction” (IASB 2006, 2304). The FASB fair value measurement standard defines fair value as follows:”Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date” (FASB 2006). The new definition resolves two of the alternatives within fair value as follows: 1. The reference to price rather then amount makes it clear that transaction costs are not included in fair value. If they are included in the measurement, the correct description would, in the case of assets, be ‘fair value, less cost to sell’. 2. The reference to received to sell an asset and paid to transfer a liability clarify the choice of market, by specifying the exit market (disposal) rather then the entry market (acquisition). There are two distinct dimensions to the consideration of alternatives to fair value. The first is to examine alternative current values, and the second is to consider historical costs. Discussions of fair value often fall in to the trap of debating the relative merits of fair value and historical cost while ignoring the existence of alternative current values. Thus fair value can, wrongly, be regarded as the only alternative to historical cost. In order to avoid giving this false impression, the current discussion will focus first on alternative measures of current value. Like fair value, the other current value measures have a number of alternative definitions and their classification into generic groups is far from simple. Here we shall adopt the classification used by the Discussion Paper on measurement bases, published recently by the IASB (IASB 2005). APB Opinion No. 16 (1970) on business combinations in an early example. The term ‘fair value’ subsequently became widely used to describe the measurement basis used in the revaluation exercise required by acquisition accounting for initial recognition of an acquired entity. This includes an entry value, current cost (subdivided into reproduction cost and replacement cost), two exit values (net realizable value and value in use) and one method that combines both entry and exit values (deprival value). For the sake of simplicity, the subsequent discussion is conducted in terms of measuring assets, although most but not all of it is equally relevant to liabilities. For example, due to the financial nature of liabilities, the distinction between reproduction cost and replacement cost is not generally relevant to them. A useful analysis of the recognition and measurement of liabilities is Leonard in 2002. The Fair Value Against the Historical Cost Historical cost is the method of measurement traditionally used by accountants. It measures an asset at the cost of acquiring it. This provides a reliable basis for measurement, but an obvious disadvantage is that, as price change subsequent to acquisition, the relevance of historical cost declines if the objective of measurement is to reflect the current economic benefit represented by the asset. Moreover, it is possible that, in some cases, the transaction did not take place at market price (as in the case of bargain purchase) so that the transaction price did not represent the current economic benefit conferred by the asset, even at the moment of purchase. This comparison holds between historical cost and each of the current value alternatives described above. Each of the current values measures a current rather than an historical attribute of the asset and looks to the market rather than the specific transaction for evidence, but this leads, in each case, to a degree of estimation, because the current measures are not based on actual transactions but upon transactions that might take place in markets that are far from perfect and, in the extreme, may not even exist. Hence, current values include gains or losses in value that are unrealized, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 528 where as historical cost does not amend the measurement arising from the acquisition transaction until the gain or loss is realized in a disposal transaction. These benefits of historical cost are obtained by sacrificing relevance to the current economic opportunities represented by the asset. From that perspective, historical cost loses its relevance as time passes and prices and opportunities change. Moreover, historical cost will measure otherwise identical assets of the same entity at different amounts, depending on the specific acquisition cost prevailing at the time of acquisition. Thus, it does not provide either a timely or a comparable basis for measuring the economic benefits conferred by the ownership of asset.There are clearly several plausible alternatives to fair value. In choosing between them, it is necessary to have criteria with which to weight their relative costs and benefits. The conceptual framework of various accounting standard settlers attempt to provide such criteria, although no standard setter has yet taken the courageous step of choosing a single valuation basis which is consider to be generally superior to the others. Thus, the extant standards are based upon mixed measurement systems. Current values and historical costs are used in different standards and sometimes as alternatives within the same standard. The selection of alternative current values also varies: sometimes it is described as fair value and other time is not (e.g. the use of ‘fair value less cost to sell’ in IAS 36). Even when fair value is the prescribed measure, as in several of the current IASB and FASB standards, the precise application of the term is not the same across different standards: removing such inconsistencies is the main objective of the current FASB and IASB project in fair value measurement. The fundamental measurement issue is not application guidance and the choice of evidence to support measurement, but rather it is to determine the guiding objective of the measurement process. The primary objective of account, and therefore of measurement in accounts, is, according to the conceptual framework of the IASB and the FASB, relevance to the need of users. Those needs are assumed to arise from the economic decisions that users have to make. These decisions are assumed to be primarily those made by an investor, and they therefore relate primarily to the prediction of future cash flows. However, prediction does not imply merely forecasting, and the concerns of stewardship are also assumed to be included in the objective. Stewardship implies accountability by management to investors. The feedback that this provides is relevant to future cash flows because it will affect the future conduct of management and confidence which investors will place in the entity’s prospects. In practice, therefore, cost/benefit considerations seem to rule out an unconstrained multiple column approach, and the need for comparability suggests that the single measurement that is given prominence in the accounts should be chosen by reference to consistent guidance, so that like transactions and events are recorded in a similar manner. This requirement does not rule out measurement methods such as deprival value, which may use a different measurement method in different circumstances, because such a method will always treat like circumstances is a similar manner. Equally, it does not rule out systematic valuation of different types of asset on a different basis (e.g. current assets at selling price and fixed assets at cost); such an approach might be chosen on cost/benefit grounds (e.g. if fixed assets are expensive to value and the resulting valuation are unreliable). However, when the cost measure used is the historical cost, it could be argued that such measures cannot be compared in an economically meaningful way because the measure is dependent on the time of acquisition, which will differ across different assets. Many academic writers have advocated that a single measurement method be applied to all assets. This would have the obvious benefit of enabling different types of asset to be compared without having to allow the changes in valuation method and would also remove possible errors or bias arising from different classification methods being used by different entities or at different times. However, it seems Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 529 likely that, in practice, cost/benefit considerations may justify the use of different measurement methods for different categories of asset (e.g. when market evidence is unavailable or expensive). In the latter case, it may still be helpful to users to have a common valuation objective, imposing consistency of purpose, even if the techniques used to achieve it may vary according to asset type. Moreover, it may be preferable to choose techniques by reference to specific circumstances rather than asset type: thus, it would be the actual absence of market information, rather then asset type that would justify the use of an alternative technique, so that the measurement objective would always be followed as closely as was permitted by the available evidence. This is the approach adopted by the fair value hierarchy discussed above.The positive result of the theoretical debates of the 1960s was to demonstrate the potential usefulness of different current valuation bases, such as replacement cost, net realizable value and deprival value. CONCLUSIONS To conclude, there are a number of plausible alternatives to fair value and that the choice will depend upon the specific circumstances of the entity and the needs of the user of accounts. In an uncertain world with imperfect and incomplete markets, no particular measurement objective should be regarded as having a monopoly, and different measurements should be regarded as complementing one another. Fair value is here to stay. It is already deeply embedded in IASB and FASB literature and there are growing calls from the user community to increase its use in financial reporting. Conceptual support for fair value is demonstrable and will be further underpinned in the revised conceptual framework. Users, auditors and regulators will become more comfortable with the use of fair value as time passes. Moving from theory to practice, the question perhaps becomes: What are the informational advantages and disadvantages of the practicable proxies to fair value, value, both when applied consistently, and when applied pragmatically on an item-by item basis? This takes us back to the academically traditional debates on the pros and cons of the various theories of income measurement and asset valuation. Many academics have strongly held view on these issues. REFERENCES FASB., (2006) Fair Value Measurements. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157. IASB., (2006) International Financial Reporting Standards. London. International Accounting Standards Foundation. Leonard, A., (2002) Liabilities and How to Account for Them: An Exploratory Essay. London: Accounting Standards Board. Van, T, and Whittington, G., (2006) Deprival Value and Fair Value: A Reinterpretation and Reconciliation. London. Accounting and Business Research. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 530 ARE THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS RELATED TO THEIR PREFERENCES FOR ONE UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DELIVERY MODE OVER ANOTHER? Robert J. Koenig, New York Institute of Technology ABSTRACT Students in higher education can and do take courses delivered in a variety of ways. But, to date, little research has been done on the demographic characteristics of students related to their preferences for one undergraduate course delivery mode over another. This study sought to fill that void by comparing the effectiveness of three undergraduate course delivery modes: classroom, online, and video conference at a technical institute in a mid-Atlantic state. Students (N = 1,206) completed questionnaires on effectiveness, in terms of satisfaction for each delivery mode and on demographic characteristics. The questionnaire response rate was 74% for students. In summary, in terms of the relationship between demographic characteristics of students and preference for the three delivery modes, significant differences were found on most characteristics tested. Only gender and race/ethnicity showed no significant relationships to choice of delivery mode. The other factors, age, year in school and full-time status, were significantly related in some way to delivery mode. The results of this research should assist leaders in higher education to understand the benefits associated with different undergraduate course delivery modes. In addition, the study provides leaders with a useful tool for securing and applying this type of information when making decisions about the modes best suited to serve their academic communities. BIOGRAPHY Robert J. Koenig, Associate Dean: School of Managements Student Advancement Programs and Department of Hospitality Studies, New York Institute of Technology Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 531 THE FACTORS OF INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATION: SOME EVIDENCE IN THAILAND Wannapa Wichitchanya, Chulalongkorn University Supol Durongwatana, Chulalongkorn University Pakpachong Vadhanasindhu, Chulalongkorn University ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to explore the organization structure that suite for innovative organization and support employees’ creativity. Mix method is used in gathering the data that can categorize in two parts. The factor of innovative firms are company infrastructure, external confidence, clear objective, team constitution, external influence, freedom, attitude to risk, internal confidence, department growth and development. The result shown almost employees understood the important of innovation and innovation concept that would served organization in business competition environment. The employees recommended firm to create innovative culture from executive manager to employees to support the new research and development of exist products and new products, set work standard in organization. The communication among individual, group, organization would be facilitated employees to understand the detail of firm’ innovation, and should be openness and motivate employees to participate and create new ideas. JEL: M 10, M12, M14 KEYWORDS: Innovation, Innovative Organization, Corporate Structure, Biotechnology, Small and Medium Firm INTRODUCTION Nowadays, Biotechnology industry is critical to Thailand's economy and the government set the biotechnology framework that the detail focused on expanding its neighboring countries, boosting a large country investment and supporting industrial research and development. This policy made the private sector active and interested in biotechnology investment as well as attracting new foreign corporation. Thus, the local company that looking forward to build a competitive advantage start the innovation strategy. Although, the successful innovation is not simplify, its depend on several factors, such as funding, networking, marketing strategies, and human resource management in the organization. Especially, human resource management (HRM) will affect the corporate structure: the employee relation within firm, and employee behavior change that are the important factor of the innovation failure or successful. However, organizations must realize to start from the effective source of human capital and find the right person who has special skills and the willingness to work differently (Hawitt-dundas, 2006). LITERATURE REVIEW What’ S Innovation? Drucker (1994) business management scholar, “Innovation is the entrepreneurial tool for getting property, profit and firm potential, whether innovation may be related to technology and new technique or not, but the innovation affect the entire economic and society, for example, the emergence of the newspaper and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 532 insurance business.” Roger (1995) stated that “Innovation is a new idea implementation or new method of the individual.” Hansen and Birkinshaw (2007) described the main innovation concept as innovation value chain process that are: 1. Idea Generation – idea generation is the first stage of the innovation process and could be both from the in-house idea and external idea. 2. Conversion – the idea selection and development stages. 3. Diffusion – the commercialized and distributed the new product or service to be outside. Figure. 1: Innovation Value Chain The factor of innovative organization The emergence of innovation often occurs in the organization because of huge investment in research and development and systematic knowledge management. Thus, the pleasant environments and good managerial way will result in an effective innovation. Katz (2004) stated one of the innovation dimensions called the human side of innovation that consisted of three factors: 1. Corporate Culture - socialized the employee what the organization needs and the innovation process. 2. Architecture / Structure - The relationships of managers and subordinates in the organization will help people to interact and blend ideas among groups, teams, departments or business units that the origin of innovation. 3. Roles - The role of formal and informal of staffs that are project leader, product champion, and gatekeeper. These roles take the dominant in the innovation process. Rosenfeld (2008) said the executives not only understand the innovation process, and the innovators must have a wide range of skills, but also motivate the employee to work. Meanwhile, creating the appropriate infrastructure, corporate structure, innovative champion and trust are needed. Tidd and Bessant (2009) noted the challenge of organizational management is to create an innovative organization that made people focus on creativity, innovation and change behavior to innovative Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 533 behavior. The innovative behavior of employees is achieved by working with a multi-skill team in proper working environment. The human resource management practices associated with the innovative aspects of promoting and supporting innovation, such as job design, reward system, employee participation and team building, etc. The critical components of innovation in the enterprises are: 1. Company Infrastructure - refers to the resource, management model and plans that affect the operation. 2. External Confidence - The confidence of the executive of employees. 3. Clear Objective - The clear goals setting and thinking process that guide employees work and recognize. 4. Team Constitution - The nature of the team member who consistent with the corporate plan. 5. External Influences - The external environment that affect the operations of the organization such as finance, technology, creativity, new knowledge. 6. Freedom – the employees have the authority to decide, plan and control their work. 7. Attitude to risk - refers to proactive thinking, ready to change and learning from mistakes that are beneficial to organizations. 8. Internal confidence - Trust in a group of employees and confidence in the ability of their potential to create change and solve the problem. 9. Department growth and development - The employee should develop new skills which add value to the organization. METHODOLOGY The research designs of this paper is mixed methods and study in a medium well known firm in Thai biotechnology industry that was selected to be the case study. The methodology categorized in two parts. 1. The qualitative collection used focus group discussion in R&D unit. The participants consist of manager, assistant manager, supervisor and talent employee. Data analysis is to describe the nature of participant and grouping information followed the components of innovation in the enterprises (Tidd and Bessant (2009). 2. The quantitative gathering is the employee perception survey about innovative culture and structure by questionnaires. The samples are 152 employees in all departments that were selected by simple random sampling technique. The statistic is descriptive statistics that are frequency, percentage, means and standard deviation. FINDING A case study is the import-export company that distributes animal feed raw materials and initiates new agriculture product through investment in research and development to expand the domestic and ASEAN Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 534 market. The main products include shrimp feed, shrimp head protein extracts, soybean processing, organic minerals, organic agricultural supplement, protein and probiotic enzymes. The currently targets accelerate to research and develop of human functional food and distribute in the country and abroad. In order to R&D, the company works with government agencies, research institutes and academic institutions to develop technology and transfer knowledge. Further, the company enrolled many pretty patents and patents and was taken the National Innovation Award in 2007. The Opinion Of Employees The survey results had shown that the employee rated the team constitution and the external influence in the high level (x̄ = 4.34), followed by the attitude to risk ( x̄ = 4.18), the company infrastructure (x̄ = 4.14), the clear objective ( x̄ = 4.01), the internal confidence (x̄ = 3.99). The department growth and development and the freedom dimension were in the same rate ( x̄ =3.96). Finally, the external confidence was rated at low level (x̄ = 3.89). Table 1: Means and Standard Deviation of The factors of innovation in the enterprises Components Ax̄ E SD Company Infrastructure 4.14 0.85 External Confidence 3.89 1.04 Clear Objective 4.01 0.80 Team Constitution 4.34 0.79 External Influence 4.34 0.79 Freedom 3.96 0.75 Attitude to risk 4.18 0.60 Internal confidence 3.99 0.76 Department growth and development 3.96 0.93 Total average 4.09 0.64 The factors of innovation in the enterprises Almost employees had understood the innovation concept that “the innovation is new product, service or process. The innovation novelty has multiple levels: new to the world, new to the nation, new to the organization or new to the market. However, the important for innovation is its invention can commercialize.” The company plans to create learning atmosphere within the organization and recognizes to transfer basic innovation concept to all employees. Moreover, all process in the organization base on the innovation concept. It could be seen from the development of innovative products and ongoing research. In addition, management also plays a role in innovation supporting in organizations such to encourage long life learning of employees and creating network that is beneficial to the organization. 1. Company Infrastructure – the company had sufficient tools and equipments. For scientific equipment, some of which are often less use and high investment, the company had cooperated with outside agencies to use. The organization not only created a learning organization environment, but also restructured organization to flat organization that had less hierarchy and command level. This made close contact among employees, departments and top managerial positions. Furthermore, the monthly meeting was held to receive suggestion and operating problem, and the directly channel between employees and executives via E-mail took employee comments as well. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 535 2. External Confidence - top executives recognized the employee capability and supported staff to public training with technology institutions. In the part of in-house training, the top executives allocated resources and coordinated with external experts to set training program for educating the employees, including socialized new values “the innovation is not overloaded work, but is the challenge of the work.” 3. Clear Objective - the company set the clearly direction and communicated to employees in monthly meeting and prime occasion. Instance of each meeting, the president had focused and repeated about company vision, mission and strategy to ensure that all staffs get into the same direction before start the new discussion topics. 4. Team Constitution - the coordination and sharing production information among various departments, such as production problem, R&D information and customer needs, was essential for efficiently new product development process. All parties involved in setting goals and operating guidelines. For R&D unit, the company focused on career planning of researchers and knowledge sharing each other. 5. External Influence - the cooperation with educational institutions, universities, research and technology agent, and government unit; the Nation Innovation Agency (NIA), Nation Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), in funding, policies and transfer body of knowledge affected the development operations in the company. 6. Freedom - the company permitted the employee to work on their own, express the opinion and delegated authority in decision making about their job. These ways were convenient and helped to encourage creativity of employees. Therefore, the staff proposal and ideas would not be blocked that affected sense of belonging and goal achievement. 7. Attitude to risk - the company initiated new projects that focused on technology investments and high risk operation. Thereby, the administration and staffs had understood about innovation and risk in doing it as well. They also learn from the past failed experience and successful implication before develop the suitable plan for each project. 8. Internal confidence – the company had efforts to create a workplace environment regarding safety and quality of work life of employee issues as well as focused on communication within the organization and interpersonal communication to keep good relationships and trust. 9. Department growth and development - the company emphasized on staff development at all levels. In R&D unit, the company invited the technology expert to be an employee consultant and coach. Further, they highlighted on internal and external training as well as career management. CONCLUSION The survey and focus group discussion aligned in the same results. The final finding found that almost staffs had understood the innovation concept, and all factors of the innovation in the enterprise affected the employee innovative behavior and innovation process in the company. The innovative firms should be concerned and transform the organizational structure to motivate and support the employees’ creativity as well as boosting the innovative culture from leader to operational level and set the standard base on the innovation process. The staffs also had the opinion about an external factor such as the government must take the proactive role in promoting and supporting. Especially, resources and service center who provides science equipment, laboratory service and knowledge management system to facilitate the private sector. As this study the population is small and come from a single company. The results obtain not pretty complete and reliability is not so much. Therefore, further study should require increasing the size of the population and comparing with other biotechnology companies or other industry. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 536 REFERENCE Hawitt-dundas N. (2006), Resource and Capability Constraints to Innovation in Small and Large Plants, Small Business Economics, vol. 26, 2006, p. 257-277. Drucker P. (1994), Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Butterworth. Rogers M., Diffusion of innovations, Free Press, 1995. Hensen T.M. and Brilinshaw J. (2007), The Innovation Value Chain”, Harvard Business Review, p.121- 130. Katz R. (2004), The Human Side of Technological Innovation, Oxford University Press. Rosenfeld B.R. (2008), All About People: Why Leaders Need to Know the Human Side of Innovation, Leadership in Action, 27(6), p. 13. Tidd J. and Bessant J. (2009), Managing Innovation. John Wiley & Sons. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The successful in this study come from the collaboration of CEO of the company that allowed the author to gather the data and provide much useful information. I would like to thank all staff who participated in group discussions and survey respondents. BIOGRAPHY Wannapa Wichitchanya is a Ph.D. candidate in Technopreneurship and Innovation Management Program, Graduated School, Chulalongkorn University and she is also the lecturer in Human Resource Management Program at Burapha University. Her previous researches are in the human resource management. She can be contacted at: 1405-1409 14th Floor, Chamchuri Square Building Phayathai Road, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330, Thailand, Wannapa.w236@yahoo.com Dr. Supol Durongwatana is an Associate Professor of Commerce and Accountancy (Statistics) at Chulalongkorn University. His expertises are regression models, design models, baysian inference. Almost his researches are in organization and corporate performance area. He can be contacted at: Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, Phyathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand Supol@acc.chula.ac.th Dr. Pakpachong Vadhanasindhu is an Associate Professor of Commerce and Accountancy at Chulalongkorn University. She had many experience in business and government consultancy. Her researches are about business model, corporate structure and strategy. She can be contacted at: Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, Phyathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand, Pakpachong@hotmail.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 537 THE GLOBALIZATION AND EUROPEAN UNIQUE MARKET – A NEW CHALENGES FOR THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY Ionica Oncioiu, Tomis University of Constanta Florin Sorescu, Tomis University of Constanta ABSTRACT Globalization represents the process or the long term reception and approach systems of the greatest contemporary issues determined by the interaction of multiple processes and economic, technical, social, cultural phenomena and the envisage of their solution in a wide perspective by the international community. The European unique market is dynamic, constantly evolving and adapting itself to the new realities. Still, it must remain dynamic and steadily adapt itself in order to remain valid, and continuously contribute to the economic growth and social cohesion. The unique market must take position by stimulating the development of norms and quality standards in accordance with the international norms, in order to enable the European citizens and enterprises to benefit from the opportunities of globalization, minimizing the risks at the same time. This paper wants to reveal that Globalization and the European unique market, as all social-economical phenomena is neither totally good, but it can neither be considered something totally bad INTRODUCTION As regarding the globalization, we confront ourselves both with false ideologies perceptions of this phenomenon and with conceptions which make the rule of understanding, though they are inadequate, accomplished or simply inaccurate. As both theory and phenomenon, globalization tends to increase the economic blockings existent at a certain moment. Therefore, in the specialist literature, it is presented as a challenge and justification, as well as a stimulus to widen integrity, competition and freedom of trade. The essence of globalization is to ensure a social completeness of economy. The economy may be globalized as an effect of commercial conventions through its specific agents, players of the global markets. According to their position on the international scene, this phenomenon shall be benefic for humanity. Globalization seems to be an integration study of the worldwide economy in which the unique market tends to be an actor of the global market as a viable matrix of international transactions. According to certain authors, the European Union appeared as a response to the intensification of competition on the global market and as a consequence and cause of changes in the economic role of the states. It became a significant actor in the worldwide economy. The unique market is an essential component of the international economic integration and, at the same time, the main means of achieving the common goals of the states which are part if it. If initially, the accent was emphasized on the elimination of the main cross-border obstacles which the enterprises were confronting with, the European unique market should evolve as to improve the functioning of the markets and to bring concrete benefits to the citizens, entrepreneurs, workers and consumers in an enlarged Europe. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 538 In order to realize these objectives, the European unique market should face the following changes: 1. globalization, which offers numerous opportunities but which has accumulated the competitive pressure for the European enterprises and which makes that the razor edge between the internal and external markets to become more and more indeterminate; 2. structural changes generated by the development of the economy based on knowledge, the increasingly important role of services within the economy, the increase of energy dependence, climate changes and population ageing; 3. a more extended and diversified European Union, which developed from a community of 12 members and which has at present a number of members. METHODOLOGY RESEARCH As regarding the European integration, globalization is seen as an external threat which shall create an environment where a higher degree of integration shall be necessary. Therefore, Europe shall aspire towards realizing a union in global context. It will be difficult for Europe to accomplish its mission of reducing the tensions created from an economic point of view and to contribute to the hastening of institutionalization of international and global governing instruments. For a better understanding of the new world formula and the way in which it determines the transformational reactions at the level of Romanian authorities we have to briefly consider the immediate past. The most important problem is if Romanians will be able to greatly take advantage of the immense opportunity of the European integration. For that the Romanian authorities must adopt a political decisions mix able to ensure the economic effect regarding the accomplishment of nominal and real convergence of our economy with that of other UE member states. The European Union states shall increasingly feel the need of security offered as a member quality in the European economic block as the low economies can no longer develop isolated, in a global market environment. The most advantageous are the consumers and small Romanian enterprises due to the fact that the unique market maintains their benefits and the profits shall integrally return to them. They increasingly demand to stay under the “umbrella”, sheltered by the tumultuous globalize market. Today the environment of the Romanian enterprises became more uncertain, more complex, and more turbulent. The competitiveness of the enterprises on more and more globalize markets constitute a supplementary competitive pressure for the enterprises of the countries developed. This dynamic depends of a complex game of various factors, but the production of knowledge and of new technologies play of it a role of first plan. The competitiveness of the European Union, to the, global level, is conceived like an instrument to assure an attractive space in term of activities and of jobs, and finally to permit a supportable development. In analyzing the benefits and the disadvantages brought by the European unique market, at the extremes there are those who either support the European unique market without reservation, considering it a cure- all, or reject it completely. The disadvantages of the unique market would be as follows: - on short term: partial loss of national economic control; - on medium and long term: if this loss shall be prolonged, some immature industries could disappear. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 539 The contemporary world is one of interdependences; from the specialists’ point of view, there is no better solution at this moment than globalization and rationalization. The integration within the European Union implies respecting the same rules and regulations both on the national and unique markets. Adopting and implementing the EU standards in Romania represents one of the conditions for the access on the Unique Market, as Romania, after accession, is not only a member with full rights of the Unique Market, but it is also a completely integrated member within it. Romania is challenged by the identification of key-factors to constitute an environment in which the entrepreneurial initiative and commercial activities may develop. Political measures shall be needed in order to stimulate the entrepreneurship both at the level of “unique” and national markets, through an adequate approach for raising the number of entrepreneurs and developing an increasing number of firms. Therefore, the globalization is an irreversible reality and any country carefully preparing its future finds itself forced to interact with it. Failing to adjust to the new globalization “environment” represents not only a lost chance, but also the risk of losing position and market segments already attained. The present evolution of the enterprises, the internationalization of the economy and walks entailed the multiplication of operations that is often about amounts elevated and frequently had transnational consequences. There are voices which consider that the unique market must be rethought as the economy of the European Union is more fragmented than that of the United States. This European general trend regarding the consume, the investments and the labor market represents an argument for a rethought of the unique market politics. More exactly, a redirection of it is necessary from the concentration of the goods towards services and innovation. In addition, a message is conveyed to realize more reforms within the production and financial and labor markets in order to diminish the barriers that still exist against the commercial changes and investments. Globalization and the European unique market, as all social-economical phenomena is neither totally good, but it can neither be considered something totally bad. We can only say that, overall, it has more positive aspects than negative ones or, just as Joseph E. Stiglitz states “those criticizing globalization too often ignore its benefits.” They demand that the unique market to become a means, not an aim. A means to allow all those who are part of the European Union to fully capitalize the opportunities offered to them by a more open and integrated European Union. At the same time, they contrive promoting the interests of the European citizens in an era of globalization on a cosmopolitan stage. Therefore, the unique market is never going to be “complete” or “accomplished”. A stable legislative frame was formulated for most of the activity sectors, but on the one hand there are still gaps to be filled, on the other hand the current norms are not always fully applied. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the unique market is promoted by certain connected politics applied by the European Union along the years and for Romanian economy specialists importance is that have the task of finding viable answers to such challenges. The purpose of these politics is to aid as many companies and consumers to enjoy the advantages of the unique market including the Romanians. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 540 REFERENCES Blondel J., (2004) La globalization: approche du phenomene et ses incidences sur l’action humanitaire, IRRC, vol 86, nr. 855, 2004. Mathieu T., (2003) Le monde des services et les leviers techonologiques associes a son industrialization, Pea Consulting. Mattera A., (2002) Le marche interieur de la communaute, Rapports 2000. Moussis N., (1996) Manuel de l’Union Europeenne, Edit. EUR, Paris. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 541 THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF GOODWILL IMPAIRMENTS ARISING FROM THE ACQUISITION METHOD TREATMENT FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS Nina Dorata, St. John's University According to Compustat TM, the reported amount of Goodwill during the past 10 years has increased by 219% yet the amount of goodwill impairments decreased by approximately 59% over the same period for U.S. domestic companies that remained active over the same 10-year period. Along with the significant increase in the reported goodwill came increased scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of valuations used in the business combination, especially for indefinite-life assets. Goodwill in particular as it represents an amount paid in excess of the fair value of identifiable net assets, pressures acquiring firms to support economic reasons for the excess payments. A KPMG study also documents that goodwill impairments substantially decreased between 2008 and 2009 citing improvement is a result of large goodwill write-downs from prior years as well as signs of improvement in the economy at that time. In that period, the amount of goodwill increased from $3.5billion to $3.8 billion while the amount of goodwill impairments decreased by 89% according to the sample of Compustat TM firms. The data found in Compustat TM is consistent with a continuation of the KPMG study, which cited that the decline in goodwill impairments continued in 2010 by 72% from 2009 levels. The goodwill losses dominated the financial industry, with the remainder of the losses impacted telecommunications and energy. The modest increase in the amount of goodwill from 2008 to 2009 is reasonable given that deal values for those years aggregated about $154 billion and $251 billion, respectively (Sample obtained from FactSet Merger and Acquisition database for U.S. publically held acquirers and target firms.) However, deals values for 2010 declined to $148 billion, which should lead to less goodwill impairments beyond 2010. Overall, the evidence suggests that goodwill impairments are declining in spite of fluctuating deal values and less than robust merger and acquisition market, while overall goodwill is increasing. INTRODUCTIONS The paradox could be explained by the other important factor that occurred in the 2008 to 2009 period; a significant change in accounting for business combinations from the purchase method treatment to the acquisition method. The latter method treats acquisition-related costs, namely accounting, legal, and investment banker fees as expenses; the former method afforded capitalization treatment for the same costs and thereby inflating goodwill and thus provide the explanation for the reported increase in goodwill amounts during the past years. The change in accounting for business combinations did not change procedures for testing the recognition of goodwill impairments. On September 15, 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-08, titled Intangibles-Goodwill and Other, Testing Goodwill for Impairment (ASU). The purpose of the ASU is to further simplify the goodwill impairment test from a 2- step test to an optional assessment of qualitative factors to determine whether there is a more likely than not that fair value of the reporting entity is less than its carrying amount. This procedure is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 542 For 2008 deals, just before the change to the acquisition method treatment, goodwill was 50% of deal values at completion. In 2009 and 2010, when the acquisition method was required, goodwill as a percentage of deal values was 32% and 36%, respectively. The precipitous decline in goodwill as a percentage of deals values for 2009 and 2010 is directly associated with treating significant acquisition costs as expenses compared to past treatment as a component of goodwill. Therefore, the decline in goodwill impairments cited earlier could also be attributed to the change in the accounting treatment for business combinations. The purpose of this study is to examine goodwill impairments associated with 2008 business combinations using the purchase method treatment, and for 2009, and 2010 business combinations that used the acquisition method treatment. Using the methodology of Bens et al. (2011), a sample of goodwill impairments from those business combinations will be analyzed for their information content as the difference between an estimate of their expected impairment and their actual impairment, “the surprise impairment.” The test variable is the accounting method used for the business combination. Controls for attributes of the business combination, such as bid premiums, deal size, industry comparability, and information asymmetry will be used in the analysis. Event study methodology, using the impairment announcement as the event date, will examine the market reaction to the surprise impairment. The results of the empirical analysis are expected to be consistent with the findings of Bens et al. (2011), but for different reasons. The market reaction to the impairment news should be less significant for those business combinations using the acquisition method treatment than those that did not. The contribution of this study serves to highlight the acquisition method critics’ claims that not capitalizing acquisition costs, and thus reducing the amount to reported goodwill for business combinations, does not provide relevant accounting information for users to evaluate investments in the corporate control market. REFERENCES Bens, D.A., Heltzer, W, & Segal, B. (2011) The information Content of Goodwill Impairments and SFAS 142. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 26, 527-555 Financial Accounting Standards Board (2011) Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-08, Intangibles- Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) Testing Goodwill for Impairment KPMG LLP (2011) Evaluating Impairment Risk: Goodwill Impairment Continues Its Downward Trend in 2010 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 543 MANAGING THE FUZZY FRONT END OF INNOVATION Linda L. Naimi, Purdue University Brian S. Glassman, Purdue University The unacceptably high failure rate of new product development may be due in part to the inadequacies of the processes used to generate and manage ideas – the fuzzy front end of innovation. Improving this early phase of the innovation/development process may prove critical to enhancing a company’s competitiveness and sustainability. This paper examines the unintended consequences that arise when companies fail to manage the fuzzy front end of innovation. Our research suggests some structured approaches and process models to improve the generation, capture and management of ideas during the early phases of the innovation process. The need to manage innovation more effectively is critical if a company is to remain competitive, efficient, adaptable and sustainable in an ever-changing world. (Collins, & Porras, 2002; Berkun 2007; Christensen, & Raynor, 2003; Christensen, 2000; Drucker, 1985). The fuzzy front end involves new product development, and research in the area focused on innovation management, processes, tools, resources, people, culture, and best practices for new product development (Kahn, 2005; Belliveau, Griffen, Somermeyer, 2002; Griffen, Somermeyer, 2007; Belliveau, 2004). On the process side, Koen (2005) breaks the innovation process “into three areas: the Fuzzy front end (FFE), the New Product Development Portion (NPD), and Commercialization” (p. 3). Of these, the fuzzy front end (coined by Smith & Reinerten in 1991) is considered a fundamentally important issue in future research on product development (Verwon, Herstatt, & Nagahira, 2008). Backman, Borjesson, and Setterberg (2007) posit that “the greatest opportunities for improving the overall innovation process lie in the very early phases of NPD” process (i.e., the fuzzy front end) (p. 321). Zhan and Doll (2001) state that “managers and researchers claim the benefits resulting from improvements in the front [end] are likely to far exceed those that result from improvements aimed directly at the design engineering process” (Koen, et al. 2001, p. 2). Process models for the fuzzy front end center on idea generation as a core activity of innovation (Hansen, & Birkinshaw, 2007; Khurana, & Rosenthal, 1998; Gallagher, George, & Kadaki, 2006; Koen et al. 2001; Husig, Kohn, & Poskela, 2003; Hüsig & Kohn, 2003; Hüsig, Kohn, & Poskela, 2005; Flint, 2002). Simply put, “innovation begins with an idea” (Vandenbosch, Saatcioglu, & Fay, 2006, p. 12). How important are ideas? Jack Foster (1996) asserts that “new ideas are the wheel of progress” (p. 3) and Linda Rochford (1991) states that “ideas are the raw material for product development” (p. 4). Therefore, it stands to reason that effectively managing ideas will enhance the innovation process and lead to improvements in new product development processes. According to Stasch, Lonsdale, & LaVenka (1992) “the objective of all idea-generating activities is to guarantee that the company does not leave the exploration stage of new-product development to chance” (p. 3). While McGuiness (1998) argues that “organizations that are active in new product development work must have a system of sorts to keep the flow of ideas coming” (p. 121). The problem, according to Tucker (2003), is that idea generation is often mishandled in companies where it arises sporadically and is inefficiently captured and managed. This results in a loss of valuable information, loss of new ideas, and loss of time and opportunity. As Gamlin, Yourd, & Patrick (2007) observe, “Idea generation is everyone's job and no one's responsibility….no one individual in a company or business unit is specifically in charge of idea generation, and often, when new ideas surface, no action is taken” (p. 42). This research explores both the intended and unintended consequences of managing the fuzzy front end of innovation and how it may improve innovation and sustainability. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 544 TURNOVER AND JOB EMBEDEDDNESS IN TIJUANA, MEXICO Blanca Rosa García Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martinez, Universidad La Salle Sonia Elizabeth Maldonado-Radillo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Ma. Concepcion Ramirez Baron, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California ABSTRACT In this paper we analyze if having family and community links keeps the employees from leaving their jobs at the export processing zone (EPZ) in Tijuana. With survey data gathered in a organization belonging to the EPZ of the Tijuana area, we use the international model of extended job embededdness to find the causes hidden behind turnover. A questionnaire with 125 items using a 4 points likert scale was developed using the international extended job embeddedness model. Questions measuring variables such as attachment to the firm and community, satisfaction with benefits offered by the employer, Attitudes towards job and community, Family attitudes towards job, recent events causing the employee to think about leaving, benefits of returning home or emigrating to USA, cultural questions and personnal data were used to correlate vs. employee future intentions to stay or leave the organization. 225 questionnaires were applied to find the relationship between family and community embededdness, affective commitment and satisfaction with benefits and future intentions to quit that employees present in the sample. High correlations were found that proof a strong relationship between the variables of the proposed model. JEL-M12 KEY WORDS: job turnover, Ensenada, Mexico, Model of Employee Turnover, maquiladora industry (foreign assembly plant industry outside the U.S.A. INTRODUCTION While an extensive literature research has been developed in the last fifty years since export processing began in northern Mexico, very little research has addressed the relationship between turnover and employee family and community links leading to labor migration in the export processing zones (EPZ). In this paper we look at if having family and community links keeps the employees from leaving their jobs at the export processing zone (EPZ) in Tijuana. With survey data gathered in a organization belonging to the EPZ of the Tijuana area, we use the international model of extended job embededdness to find the causes hidden behind turnover. The paper begins with a documentary research related to turnover studies and findings. Then we analyze the preliminary data collected using the questionnaire developed to be applied in Mexico with the purpose to stablish the relationship of the variables of the model. For the Mexican survey, we chose Tijuana due to its Maquiladora Industry dynamics along the Mexico Border that has contributed to employment growth, economic resources and knowledge spillovers in the area since 1960. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 545 • Maquiladoras originated as part of the Mexican government’s 1965 Border Industrialization Program. • Most maquiladoras are foreign-owned, controlled or subcontracted manufacturing plants that process or assemble imported components for export. • Maquiladora inputs are generally imported duty-free, and countries, like the U.S. only tax the value-added portion of mapuiladora exports. • Maquiladoras account for more than 60% of Mexico’s exports • The area of Tijuana, Mexico employs roughly 120,000 workers with over 3,000 maquiladoras. Approximately 58% of the jobs in Tijuana are from the maquiladora industry. • Tijuana is also geographically desirable to foreign investors as it is conveniently located directly on the U.S. Mexico Border allowing for cheap shipment of assembled products directly into the U.S. (twin plants.) Tijuana is known as the "TV manufacturing capital of the world." Maquiladora companies produce more than 12 million television sets there each year. Tijuana's largest employers, for example, are Sony and Sanyo. Also, other manufacturing plants not related to the electronics have chosen Tijuana as their center of production due to the geographical advantages described above. Carrillo, et al. found interesting statistic that less than twenty-three percent of the workers in Tijuana were natives of Tijuana. Research Objectives: 1-Describe the relationship between family and community embeddedness and future turnover intentions in the sample. 2-Describe the relationship between satisfaction with benefits and future turnover intentions in the sample. 3-Describe the relationship between affective organizational commitment and future intentions turnover in the sample. LITERATURE REVIEW Research for turnover and human resources management in the EPZ is scarce. Academic researchers have not analyzed this problem from the workers point of view. Various models designed to analyze human resource management have been developed to explain the reason behind turnover. These models have been widely accepted in the United States but application of the same in other countries is under speculation. (March – Simon 1958). There is no appropriate turnover model for EPZ countries outside the United States and its absence is clearly manifested by the lack of knowledge in the application of a suitable turnover model. Arrioja (1993), partially proved that these foreign models could be used in EPZ countries, even though, his research was very limited and more than 10 years have passed since he validated his hypothesis. Other researchers such as Pena (2000) stated that conditions in the maquila industry were different, which allowed the emerge of new hypothesis that refuted the old ones. He also stated that up to the middle of the sixties, the most part of research found in turnover was bivariated, emphasizing the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 546 Williams e Ibarreche (1989) found that Mexican workers perceive personal and working conditions variables in a very different way than the United States workers. Also, they found that there is a strong relationship between the personality variables and job continuation. (Carrillo- Santibañez 2001). McEvoy & Casio (1985) mentioned more than 1000 publications on turnover, and Rosse (1991) mentioned 2,000 articles concerning turnover. Porter mentioned the organizational factors of job atmosphere, job content and personals as the main causes of turnover. Rodriguez (1988) found that turnover didn’t affect productivity of these companies due to the abundant labor available searching for jobs. Carrillo and Santibáñez 2001 emphasized the need of managing turnover in the maquiladora sector, due to the multiple factors that contribute to the individual decision of leaving the job and to the major problem that it means. For them, the problem of turnover was practically impossible of solving without affecting the location of the plants and the posibilities of managerial policies. Ahr & Ahr (2000) mentioned that since March & Simon’s, findings, researchers have focused in finding out how jobs availability and job dissatisfaction interact to give as a result turnover behavior. They stated that under certain circumstances, the availability of different job opportunities stimulate job dissatisfaction in the worker by creating expectations that are not met in the present job. According to them, some employees stay in the organization due to loyalty to the company (normative commitment), while others stay due to the fact that leaving their actual job cost is higher than what they are willing to pay (continuity commitment). Those employees that show attitudes and habits more desirable by the managers tend to be the ones that stay because they want to (affective commitment). Organization practices represent a potential treat to efficiency and effectiveness of the organization in the maquila industry due to the centralization of power that characterizes this kind of companies. In the Maquila Industry, the grade of centralization is very high due to the fact that most of the high executives are foreigners who are the decision makers (Kacmar et.al 1999). According to them, the perception of the organizational practices is affected by activities such as favoritism, suppression of organization competition and manipulation of internal policies, according to the way the individual perceives them. In the maquila industry workers who do not perceive organizational policies like impartial, where supervisors and his under workers do not have a respectful relationship where the individual has the faculty to become jumbled in the decision making of the organization and to perceive that the opportunities and the forms of remuneration, as well as the relations occur in an impartiality atmosphere. The lack of knowledge of the Mexican culture, its labor, its laws and the atmosphere of businesses that prevails could disturb the advantages of the low cost labor when requiring additional expenses in recruitment, selection and training, as well as in the losses of productivity whenever an experienced worker leaves the company. (Cascio 1991). The voluntary exit of a worker of the company is understood as turnover. Turnover says so much about the need of a worker to go to another economic sector or towards not-economic activities. (Carrillo- Santibañez 2001). Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 547 Family and Job Embeddedness In particular, Ramesh & Gelfand (2010) demonstrated that “family embeddedness”—comprising family opinions about an incumbent’s employment in a firm, family benefits from incumbent’s employment, and ties between family and incumbent’s colleagues—can explain additional variance in turnover beyond that of job embeddedness. Customizing this model for collectivist cultures is increasingly essential as turnover is a crucial challenge for manufacturers in export processing zones (EPZ; Sargent & Matthews, 2008) in developing--often collectivist--countries. To illustrate, factory turnover can amount to 31% in China (Chiu, Luk, & Tang, 2002) and exceed 100% in Mexico (Maertz, Campion, & Stevens, 2003). Understanding what embeds the Chinese and Mexican EPZ workforce is important as they represent a vital source of low-cost factory labor (hired directly or indirectly) for transnationals (Gereffi, 2009). Chinese manufacturers may also become concerned about turnover in Mexico as they increasingly invest there to circumvent NAFTA tariffs, hire even less costly Mexican labor, and access Latin American markets (Liu & Chenyin, 2011). Though Mexico and China both supply EPZ labor, their cultural comparison can offer a strong test of the cultural universality of our model and well as cultural moderation. According to the Globe Project, Mexicans have higher performance orientation, future orientation, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance than the Chinese (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004). Such cultural differences may translate into differential effects for various embedding forces. For example, greater collectivism among Mexicans suggests that links, normative pressures, and network colleague closure embed them more than do the Chinese. Moreover, our project further advances the limited cross-national attrition research by demonstrating whether between- and within-country differences in cultural values exhibit similar moderating effects. To illustrate, a collectivism moderation thesis is best sustained if embedding forces have stronger loyalty effects on Mexican than Chinese nationals (a between-group moderating effect) and if these relational antecedents are stronger among more collectivist than individualist individuals from both societies (Ramesh, 2007). Testing the efficacy of the embeddedness model for counteracting forces driving employees to quit, such as job dissatisfaction or shocks—critical events at work (or outside work) prompting incumbents to think about quitting (Lee & Mitchell, 1994) is important for EPZ countries. In recent years, turnover researchers observed that basic job embeddedness can deflect the negative effects of shocks, such as supervisory abuse or layoff threats (Burton et al., 2010; Mitchell & Lee, 2001; Trevor & Nyberg, 2008). That is, embedded incumbents exposed to shocks are less like to perform poorly or decide to quit. We extend this emerging research by considering whether our extended embeddedness model can attenuate shocks' effects among the EPZ workforce. EPZ workers are especially prone to varied shocks noted by Lee and Mitchell's (1994) unfolding model. According to EPZ research, they quit due to a) personal (path 1) shocks (invoking pre-existing plans to quit), such as returning home to care for family members, b) negative workplace (path 2) shocks, such as hazardous working conditions or unpaid wages, and job-offer (path 3) shocks, such as being recruited away by former co-workers or other plants (Johnson, 2004; Maertz et al., 2003; West, 2004). While exposed to greater forces that "push" (path 2 shocks) or pull" (path 1 shocks) them away from the factory job, EPZ workers however lack certain "pull" forces keeping them in jobs (Tharenou & Caulfield, 2010). Because many Mexican and Chinese EPZ workers emigrated from the interior countryside for work, they are rarely embedded in the EPZ community (Rivera & Tovar, 2007). To illustrate, Chinese Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 548 migrants lack hukou (or rights to housing or education benefits that are available for legal residents in a community) and thus would not find it costly (in terms of foregone community amenities) if they leave EPZ locales. They also may have few--if any--family members residing nearby and even may have left children in their hometowns to be reared by grandparents (Yardley, 2004). Because EPZ workers encounter more shocks and are weakly embedded in communities in which they work (lacking community links and sacrifice; Mitchell & Lee, 2001), it is not surprisingly that this workforce exhibits exorbitant turnover. In sum, evaluating "attenuation" capacity of our extended model to deflect or mute shocks' effects advances previous research by probing this capacity with EPZ workers, representing both a powerful as well as an international test. DATA AND METHODOLOGY A questionnaire with 125 items using a 4 points likert scale was developed using the international extended job embeddedness model. Questions measuring variables such as attachment to the firm and community, satisfaction with benefits offered by the employer, Attitudes towards job and community, Family attitudes towards job, recent events causing the employee to think about leaving, benefits of returning home or emigrating to USA, cultural questions and personnal data were used to correlate vs. employee future intentions to stay or leave the organization. The questionnaire items and corresponding variables are described in Table1. Figure . 1:The International Extended Job Embeddedness Model: Upon securing firm permission, we directly administered the survey to 250 workers when their work shifts ended. The purpose was to assure survey confidentiality as well as address respondent questions. After this first survey application, we tested the predictive validity of the model with logistic regression and cultural moderation with hierarchical moderated (logistic) regression. Sample Characteristics As we can see, most of the employees surveyed are young, 52% of them are less than 30 years old, 52% are male, 48% are married, 80% have a low level of education, where 40% only have elementary school and 40% secondary school. About seniority, 20% are new employees of 1 year or less, 28% have between 1 and 2 years of seniority, 12% have between 2 and 3 years and 40% have been working for the company for more than 3 years. Job Embeddedness Factory Retention Family Embeddedness Workplace & External Shocks Friendship Network Closure + - + + Normative Demands to Stay + Job Ftit Job Links Job Sacrifice Community Fit Community Links Community Sacrifice Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 549 Table 1: Operational description of International extended Job Embeddedness Model Variable item Workplace and external shocks ES1-2 Family embdeddness FE1-10 Job embededdness JE1-23 Satisfaction with benefits SB1-18 Pay adequacy PA1-4 GLOBAL JOB EMBEDDEDNESS GJE5-12 JOB SATISFACTION JS13-15 AFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AOC16-19 PERCEIVED JOB PROSPECTS PJP19-21 SUPERVISORY COMMITMENT SC22-25 TEAM COMMITMENT TC26-29 DEFECTING COWORKERS OR SUPERVISORS DCS30-31 NORMATIVE PRESSURES FROM FAMILY TO STAY OR LEAVE NP11-13 RELOCATION DESIRABILITY FROM THARENOU AND CAULFIELD MODEL ON EXPATRIATE TURNOVER RD1-8 MEASURES O HOFSTEDE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS 1-6 = POWER DISTANCE 7-12 = COLLECTIVISM 13-17 = UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE HCD1-17 Factory Retention FR1-5 Source: self research Table 2: Education Level of the Sample percentage Level of education 40% elementary school education 40% secondary school education 20% had high school or more Source: self research Table 3: Seniority of the Sample Percentage Level of seniority 20% One year or less 28% between 1 and 2 years 12% Between 2 and 3 years 40% More than 3 years Source: self research Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 550 Table 4: Sample’s Age Percentage Age 52% 20-30 years old 28% 31-40 years old 20% Older than 40 Source: self research Table 5: Gender of the Sample percentage Gender 52% Male 48% Female Source: self research Table 6: Seniority of the Sample percentage Level of education 20% One year or less 28% between 1 and 2 years 12% Between 2 and 3 years 40% More than 3 years Source: self research Measures Predictor variables:Two survey formats were used: (1) Likert-type scales ranging from 1, “strongly disagree” to 10 “strongly agree” and (2) demographic questions. Employees self-reported data on all variables with the exception of characteristics of the organization, for which human resources personnel provided data. Control variables. Organizational characteristics and employee profile were controlled as both have been found to correlate with turnover (Griffeth et al., 2000). Gender was coded as “male” 1, and “female” 2. The variables in the model were measured by individual perceptions and assessments as recorded on the questionnaire. The questionnaire included multiple items intended to measure the perception of the employee for the variables attachment to the firm and community, satisfaction with benefits offered by the employer, Attitudes towards job and community, Family attitudes towards job, recent events causing the employee to think about leaving, benefits of returning home or emigrating to USA, cultural questions and personnal data were used to correlate vs. employee future intentions to stay or leave the organization. Most of these variables were based on previous measurement work by Hom and Garcia (2011). We designed 128 questions in a new questionnaire. RESULTS We analyzed data using the S.P.S.S. program with Pearson correlations. For the variable of future intentions to leave the job, we used the methods described by Hom and Garcia (2011) in their turnover research. Findings about demographics of the employees were: • The group that presented high turnover represents 49.7% of the sample, and the low turnover group represents 41.7%, having 8.6% of non responders. Average seniority was 18 months in the job. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 551 • Employees that stayed longer than 18 months in the job are older than 26 and younger than 35 years old. Married women represent most of the low turnover employees. • 48% of the total employees sampled are foreigners who don’t have family or community links in this city. • 47% of the total employees sampled are renting a small house temporarily. About the satisfaction with the benefits offered by the organization, we found that the average of the employees were satisfied, eventhough, a great number was showing dissatisfaction, which could lead to turnover. Some of the results are shown on table No. 7: Table No. 7: Satisfaction with the benefits offered by the organization Benefit description Very disatisfied disatisfied none satisfied Very satisfied Christmas bonus 8% 20% 12% 52% 8% Seniority bonus 12% 20% 32% 28% 8% Punctuality bonus 4% 16% 8% 52% 20% Yearly salary increases 16% 24% 28% 20% 12% Source: self research Table No. 8: Spearman Correlations PEARSON CORRELATION MATRIX FAMILY AND COMMUNITY EMBEDEDDNESS FUTURE INTENTION TO QUIT SATISFACTIO N WITH B. AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT FAMILY AND COMMUNITY EMBEDEDDNESS .629*** 1.000 .553*** .427*** FUTURE INTENTION TO QUIT .699*** .525*** 1.000 .557*** SATISFACTION WITH BENEFITS .553*** .552*** .206*** 1.000 AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT .427*** .557*** .397*** .445*** *** correlations significance is to 0.01 level source: self investigation Main Findings and Discusion As shown in figure No. 8, correlations between family and community embededdness and future intentions to quit are high, employees with no family and community links are the ones that leave the organization first. About the satisfaction with the benefits, there is a strong relationship found with the future intentions to quit. We found a strong relationship with future intentions to quit and the employees affective commitment. Objectives are achieved in the main findings. Mexico is a collectivist society. People respond to the norms of others to fulfill their need for social affiliation. Community embeddedness of fit and sacrifice reflect an individual's preferences (i.e., self need of acceptance). Community links is related to future quit intentions. As noted, 48% of the employees sampled have no community links and have future intentions to migrate to USA. Job embeddedness theory does not fully capture the emotional intensity of links (which Holtom et al., 2008 acknowledge). Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 552 American-based models are so individualistic, assuming that people are motivated mostly by self-gain. We are finally recognizing social influences, though we continue to disparage them as “constraints” on self-fulfillment. Yet newer theories on collectivism suggest that collectivists embrace the opportunity to serve group goals (finding altruism “intrinsically rewarding; cf. Adam, 2007) or that their self-identity derives from group affiliations (Brewer & Chen, 2007). As we carry out more turnover studies in collectivist countries, we need to revamp our models to fit these cultural differences. As shown in the results, Family embeddedness and affective commitment are good predictors for turnover. For the sample of this research, it was very clear the importance of community and family links to feel attached to their roots at the same time that they belong to the organization. Having 35% of the population in Tijuana considered as floating population, due to their status, it is very understandable that employees consider their jobs at the EPZ as temporary and a necessary step before crossing the border. Many of those employees that get hired by this companies (48%) according to this research, will leave the company at the first opportunity. With high instability in the border towns of the EPZ, administering and keeping the work force is a hard task for most human resources’ managers. Organizations need to “read” the future employee intentions to stay or leave the company understanding the hidden reasons he has for his final destination. REFERENCES Burton, J. P., Holtom, B. C., Sablynski, C. J., Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. (2010). The buffering effects of job embeddedness on negative shocks. Journal of Vocational Behavior,76, 42-51. China: Mexico wants Chinese investors. (2010, June 11). Thai Press Reports. Chiu, R., Luk, V., & Tang, T. (2002). Retaining and motivating employees: Compensation preferences in Hong Kong and China. Personnel Review, 31, 402-431. Garcia Rivera, B.R. & Rivas Tovar, L.A. (2007). A turnover perception model of the general working population in the Mexican cross-border assembly (maquiladora) industry. Innovar, 17, 107-114. Gereffi, G. (2009). Development models and industrial upgrading in China and Mexico. European Sociological Review, 25, 37-51. Johnson, T. (2004, September 8). Chinese factory workers begin protesting low wages, poor conditions. Knight Ridder Washington Bureau. Hom, P. W., Tsui, A. S., Wu, J. B., Lee, T. W., Zhang, A. Y, Fu, P. P., & Li, L. 2009. Explaining employment relationships with social exchange and job embeddedness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94: 277-297. House, R., Hanges, P., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P., & Gupta, V. (2004). Culture, leadership, and organizations: The Globe study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 553 Kammeyer-Mueller, J.D., Wanberg, C.R., Glomb, T.M., & Ahlburg, D. 2005. The role of temporal shifts in turnover processes: It’s about time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91: 644-658. Lee, T. W., & Mitchell, T. R. (1994). An alternative approach: The unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover. Academy of Management Review, 19, 51–89. Liu, L., & Chenyin, W.-Y. (2011, January 13). Mexican economy minister seeks to build stronger Sino- Mexican economic ties. Xinhua News Agency. Maertz, C., Stevens, M., & Campion, M. (2003). A turnover model for the Mexican maquiladoras. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 111-135. Miller, J., Hom, P., & Gomez-Meijia, L. 2001. The high costs of low wages: Do maquiladora compensation practices reduce turnover among Mexican workers? Journal of International Business Studies, 32: 585-595. Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. 2001. The unfolding model of voluntary turnover and job embeddedness: Foundations for a comprehensive theory of attachment. In B. Staw (Ed.), Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 23: 189-246. Elsevier Science. Mexico seeking investment by Chinese automakers. (2009, April 23). EFE World News Service. Ramesh, A. (2007). Replicating and extending job embeddedness across cultures: Employee turnover in India and the United States. Doctoral thesis, University of Maryland, College Park. Ramesh, A., & Gelfand, M. 2010. Will they stay or will they go? The role of job embeddedness in predicting turnover in individualistic and collectivist cultures. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95: 807- 823. Tharenou, P., & Caulfield, N. (2010). Will I stay or will I go? Explaining repatriation by self-initiated expatriates. Academy of Management Journal, 53, 1009-1028. Trevor, C. O., & Nyberg, A. (2008). Keeping your headcount when all about you are losing theirs: Downsizing, voluntary turnover rates, and the moderating role of HR practices. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 259-276. Yardley, J. (2004, December 21). Rural exodus for work fractures Chinese family. New York Times, A.1. West, M. (2000). Employee turnover in Mexico: A cultural investigation of causes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University. BIOGRAFIA Blanca Rosa García Rivera Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales México blanca_garcia@hotmail.com tel. 619 207 43 29 (USA) 1550 Broadway St. E17 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 554 Chula Vista, Ca. 91911 Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martinez, Universidad La Salle, México, D.F. alexmemi@servidor.unam.mx, tel. 011 52 555 617 58 32 Sonia Elizabeth Maldonado Radillo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales México Ma. Concepcion Ramirez Baron, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales México Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 555 GREAT WAR LEADERS’ SUCCESSFUL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS: HOW FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT AND JOHN CURTIN WON JOURNALISTS’ SUPPORT Caryn Coatney, Curtin University ABSTRACT At the height of the Pacific war, the American and Australian leaders communicated successfully with journalists, providing valuable business strategies on how to develop positive media relations in crises. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 1941, the United States President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, generated favorable news coverage about their leadership. Yet there is a lack of information on their media strategies to win journalists’ support in a time of crisis. This paper shows how Roosevelt and Curtin managed to influence and persuade the news media. First, they frequently communicated to journalists in an honest, egalitarian and friendly way, increasing the number of regular news briefings between the press and the national leader. Secondly, they advanced the relatively new medium of radio to broadcast appealing, inclusive and accessible messages. Journalists repeated and amplified their radio talks in the news. Thirdly, they used practiced, forceful rhetoric and hand gestures in filmed newsreel scenes to convey their resolve and create the appearance of a direct, friendly relationship with their target audiences. These media strategies are still useful to business leaders when managing information needs in today’s 24-hour news cycle.© INTRODUCTION Just as CEOs need to communicate a unifying vision to reassure troubled markets, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used the media to bring together diverse global audiences after the Pearl Harbor bombing. During the Pacific crisis, for example, Australian people’s “admiration of his personal qualities” was “unlimited”, as that country’s Prime Minister John Curtin declared (1945a). Why did people in Australia and around the world develop “a personal devotion” to this United States president “rarely given by a people to any statesman other than their own” (Eggleston, 1945)? While Roosevelt is known for his stirring radio “fireside chats,” there is a lack of published findings on how he managed his media relations to generate positive news coverage about his resolve to end the Pacific crisis with Curtin. Likewise, United States journalists reported on “Honest John” Curtin’s eloquent radio rhetoric, likening this to the words of Civil War poet Walt Whitman because it “should have roused the fight in the entire U.S. public” (Time, March 23, 1942, p. 27; August 23, 1943, p. 34; August 30, 1943, p. 28). Their media strategies are useful for today’s businesses when communicating information needs during a time of crisis. Effective leadership calls for personable executives skilled in the fine art of communicating across boundaries (Fombrun, 1992; Hartog and Verburg, 1997). The most successful firms provide a common understanding of a clear and consistent corporate vision (Bartlett and Ghosal, 2002). Through their frequent messages in the press, radio and film, Roosevelt and Curtin generated mainly favorable media coverage about their alliance in World War II (hereafter the war). They developed cooperative media strategies after the Japanese military government’s bombing of the Hawaiian naval base, Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. Roosevelt sent about 90,000 US servicemen to Australia, a country with major military bases and a population of seven million people, by August 1942 (Curtin, 1944a; Saunders and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 556 Taylor, 1995). By talking frequently with journalists, using inclusive language and practiced, forceful gestures, they persuaded varied public audiences to coalesce and support their strategic direction. This paper identifies the lessons of their media success for today’s businesses. LITERATURE REVIEW A review of the literature reveals parallels in both leaders’ media skills. They established a close affinity with journalists by talking about their previous newspaper experiences in media conferences. While Roosevelt enjoyed referring to his undergraduate position as the managing editor and president of his university’s newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, Curtin discussed his former role as an Australian labor newspaper editor (Davidson, 2000; White, 1979). When Curtin visited San Francisco on April 19, 1944, for example, he said he had been a “newspaperman” at a media conference that was “the biggest and best ever held” in the city, according to a Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) commentator (Moody, 1944a, p. 1). Appealing to journalists’ sense of integrity, Curtin said they were in an “honorable” profession that necessitated a “high degree of responsibility” and upholding a “code” (1944b, p. 44-45). These press conversations assisted the two men to develop a sense of a common bond with reporters. As Roosevelt answered journalists’ impromptu questions, his interviews represented a significant departure from the more formal, structured briefings provided by his predecessors, Herbert Hoover and Woodrow Wilson (Perloff, 1998; Truman, 1945; Winfield, 1990). He generally conducted twice-weekly news conferences during his four presidential terms. This amounted to 998 interviews during slightly more than 12 years, from March 8, 1933, to April 5, 1945 (Perloff, 1998). Likewise, Curtin generally held twice-daily media briefings, well-timed at noon and the early evenings to coincide with reporters’ deadlines including weekends (Lloyd, 1988, Lloyd and Hall, 1997). Furthermore, he conducted at least three major media conferences in San Francisco and Washington DC in 1944 (Campbell, 2008; Curtin, 1944c; Great Britain Foreign Office, 1944). Just as Roosevelt was the first president to employ a full- time press secretary, Stephen T. Early, in 1933, Curtin appointed Australia’s first full-time prime ministerial press secretary, Don Rodgers, in 1941 (Levin, 2008; Rodgers, 1971). While Curtin and Roosevelt benefited from the wartime censorship policies, and a few newspaper publishers disagreed with their ideologies, they developed mainly respectful, egalitarian relationships with journalists (Day, 1999; Serle, 1998; Steele, 1985). Both leaders enthusiastically used the relatively new media of radio and wartime newsreels (Bonner, 1963; Day, 2000; Link, 1955; University of San Diego, 2008; Ward, 1999). Scholars have described Roosevelt’s radio “fireside chats” as setting “the gold standard for American political oratory” because of his ability to project a warm, fatherly persona to US audiences (Bonner, 1963; Lim, 2003, p. 438; Link, 1955). As historical accounts vary, it is believed he gave between 25 and 31 radio “fireside chats” during his presidency (Lim, 2003). Also Curtin gave radio talks from his country to US listeners (John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, 2007). By early 1944, he and Roosevelt had developed a “very friendly and cooperative relationship” (Black, 2001, p. 225). Likewise, the leaders’ wives, Eleanor Roosevelt and Elsie Curtin, used news conferences to promote their wartime alliance, as well as to support women in business and leadership. On March 6, 1933, only two days after her husband’s inauguration, Eleanor Roosevelt began weekly interviews to try to persuade US news organizations to employ at least one female journalist each. She conducted 350 women-only media conferences in the White House from 1933 to 1945 (Beasley, 2000; United States Library of Congress, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 557 2006). Just as Eleanor Roosevelt gave media talks during her visit to Australia, Elsie Curtin conducted news interviews in Washington DC (Campbell, 2008). As US correspondents portrayed Roosevelt’s death as a shock to Americans, similarly many Australians were reportedly astonished by the loss of Curtin. Both nations’ citizens seemed genuinely surprised by the news because journalists had cooperated with the two leaders and censorship policies by avoiding publishing detailed medical diagnoses of their health problems (Coatney, 2011; Evans, 2002). Curtin wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt and the new US President, Harry S. Truman, that Australians were deeply “shocked” by his death during his vacation in Warm Springs, Georgia, on April 12, 1945 (1945b, p. 34.). Similar statements were made about Curtin after he died in Canberra on July 5, 1945. Few Australians “were prepared” for the tragedy, with people quoted as saying they “didn’t think it was so near.” The news was reported as tributes on US press front pages (Coatney 2011). Journalists lauded the two men’s resolve to remain as leaders to help achieve a war victory. METHODOLOGY To discover how the two leaders were able to develop positive media relations, this study has conducted a multimethod approach. First, a new examination is made of primary sources, some of which are rarely viewed, to identify the successful strategies developed by Roosevelt and Curtin in their media conferences. Secondly, through a limited content analysis, this paper investigates the keywords they emphasised to persuade audiences. Thirdly, the simplicity, accessibility and appeal of their words will be examined. The Flesch Kincaid score will be used for this purpose. This formula ranks documents on a school grade level. The recommended Flesch-Kincaid score for most public documents is about eight, close to the reading level of “middle-brow” newspapers and suitable for an eighth-grade student (Day, 2008; Lim, 2003). Rudolph Flesch first developed his readability formula as a doctoral thesis in 1943 at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York City (Sirico, 2008). Certainly, Roosevelt and Curtin were aware of the need to speak distinctly in national broadcasts (Curtin, 1941a; Ryfe, 1999). Expert recommendations have varied on the optimal pace of public speech, with some scholars advising a languid pace of one hundred words each minute (Lim, 2003) while other authors advocate 125 words a minute in a business setting (Nichols and Stevens, 1957). These formulas will be applied to a sample of Roosevelt and Curtin speeches to glean an understanding of whether their media messages were targeted effectively to global audiences. Fourthly, it is important to discover whether these messages were reproduced favorably in the news. This analysis is based on the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism formula (2008) that a news article is deemed “positive” if two-thirds of the statements appear to support a leader (Public Broadcasting Service, 2009). Fifthly, while public opinion polling was new in the wartime era, these surveys indicate general support for the two leaders (Gallup, 1972; The Courier-Mail, August 14, 1942, p. 4; Time, August 23 and 30, 1943). By investigating their ability to promote their values and visions, this study will identify the secrets of their success as media communicators. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Managing the News Although Roosevelt and Curtin cultivated good-natured relationships with journalists, they delivered their main messages forcefully to the media. For example, the president joked with the nation’s newspaper Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 558 financial editors at the beginning of an interview, when he said: “Of course, very few newspapermen know the difference between a dollar and a dime, anyway. But then, on the other hand, very few Presidents do. So we start even” (1942a). Yet he knew how to persuade journalists to focus on his messages. At one of his White House media conferences, he sought to influence correspondents to report on the US economic agreements with Australia. He announced: “We have been receiving from Australia enough beef and veal, practically, to feed all of our troops that are based in Australia.” This “reverse lend-lease process” enabled US meat producers to send about the same amount of beef and veal to troops in Europe. “I didn’t know it until this morning,” he told journalists. “I grabbed hold of it and said that’s the thing that has been overlooked.” He also encouraged them to publish the news by saying: “That is a real headline. In the long run that is something that the country doesn’t know” (1943). As a result, the press reports supported the US-Australian military alliance (Coatney, 2011). Roosevelt’s innovative news conferences perhaps influenced Australia’s prime minister to hold more frequent, two-way discussions with journalists. Curtin’s news interviews were unprecedented in their frequency, openness and informality in Australia (Coatney, 2011). At his San Francisco media conference, “pressmen” applauded and laughed when he joked that neither he nor Roosevelt “could get outside of the law of natural attraction” as American servicemen married Australian women (1944d, p. 35; Moody, 1944b). Despite these seemingly spontaneous interactions, Curtin was prepared to direct the content of these international media talks. When he visited Ottawa in 1944, the Canadian Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, observed: “He seemed to attach great importance in the morning to the press interview. He came with material prepared for distribution, welcomed questions, etc” (June 1, 1944, p. 565). Just as Roosevelt had persuaded reporters to promote his “real headline,” Curtin focused journalists’ attention on his prepared information. Likewise, Eleanor Roosevelt created a “delightfully informal atmosphere” and also made her main points emphatically at a media conference in Canberra, Australia on September 3, 1943. Afterwards a senior Australian journalist, Joseph Alexander, wrote in his diary: “She is the greatest woman in public life that I have ever met” (September 4, 1943). Furthermore, Eleanor Roosevelt’s candid media talks in Australia might have influenced Elsie Curtin’s interview techniques when she visited Washington DC in 1944. Elsie became a popular media personality, who assisted her husband’s US mission. Shortly after Curtin announced his trip, The New York Times (April 4, 1944, p. 14) and The Washington Post (April 6, 1944, p. 9) publishers praised Elsie’s decision to “break a tradition” and travel with her husband. Eleanor promoted a firm friendship with Elsie (Eleanor Roosevelt 1944). At her first US news conference, Elsie accentuated themes of kinship by saying Australian and American women had “a good deal in common” and she would continue to support their “prominent” work in “public affairs” (1944). After her interview with Washington DC’s leading female journalists, she was praised for her “honest opinions of matters American and Australian” (Republican, May 5, 1944; The New York Times, April 26, 1944, p. 20; The West Australian, April 28, 1944; Valley News, May 6, 1944). Elsie extended her US visit, resulting in Washington Post stories about her “busy time” as an “honor guest at luncheons” and her speech to the American Association of University Women (May 12, 1944, p. 12; May 15, 1944, p. 3). Subsequently the two women pioneered direct relationships between a national leader’s wife and international journalists. Along with their candid press briefings, Roosevelt and Curtin were adept in diverting media attention from controversies. One day after the US declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941, Roosevelt announced new censorship rules at his press conference. In a persuasive manner, he added: “It is going to work out all right.” Yet one White House reporter questioned: “Will there eventually be a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 559 censor who we can get our teeth stuck into?” The president replied: “It is awfully hard to answer it. Talk to Steve [Early] about this” (1941a). By referring the journalists to his press secretary, Early, he managed to forestall more negative questions. Ultimately reporters were willing to accept a voluntary censorship system because it was preferable to punitive war secrets laws and they recognised the popular support for fighting totalitarian enemies (Hammond, 2001). Similarly Roosevelt was keen to prevent undue media attention of Curtin’s visit because he was secretly resting at his advisor Bernard Mannes Baruch’s hunting and fishing lodge in Hobcaw Barony, South Carolina. Before the meeting, Eleanor confided to Elsie: “The President may still be away on an enforced holiday due to complete weariness” (1944). They kept Roosevelt’s secret. Curtin did not give details of his forthcoming trip when he spoke to 80 leading journalists at Blair House, Washington DC on April 24, 1944. Instead, correspondents positively portrayed his views on peace talks (The New York Times, April 25, 1944; The Washington Post, April 25, 1944). While detailed records do not exist, Roosevelt seemed to have enjoyed Curtin’s visit because on the same day, he cabled Churchill to confirm: “Everything goes well here in my vacation residence. The doctor agrees with me that I am better” (1944a). Early’s media release indicated only that the Curtins had accompanied Eleanor on a one-day return trip to Roosevelt’s “vacation residence in the South” (Early, 1944, p. 15). This abstruse message was repeated in newspapers and an official photograph of the cheerful visitors was published (Republican, May 5, 1944; The Daily Mirror, May 1, 1944; The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, April 27, 1944; The Sydney Morning Herald, April 25, June 27, 1944). In fact, Roosevelt revealed his “vacation hide-out” to White House correspondents only when he invited them to an interview at Hobcaw Barony on May 6. Imploring them to maintain confidentiality, he said: “I have been very comfortable down here. I want to come back” (1944b). Their press strategies are useful for businesses when conducting media conferences and news interviews. While cultivating direct, candid and forceful communications to journalists, they knew when to divert attention quickly from potential controversies. Although they gave the appearance of informal, spontaneous press interactions, they were prepared to focus on their main messages by distributing written material and persuading reporters to accept what they considered to be a “real headline” (Roosevelt 1943). Connecting with New Media Audiences During their global media broadcasts, Roosevelt and Curtin deliberately selected inclusive language of unity and appealed to ideals that evoked shared meanings among different cultural groups. When Roosevelt began his Pearl Harbor announcement and his “fireside chats,” he always welcomed his media audiences with some variant of a greeting to “My Friends” (Lim, 2003). One day after the bombing in Hawaii, he attempted to instil hope in his listeners by talking of “righteous might,” “absolute victory,” “confidence,” “determination,” and “triumph” (1941b). As Curtin broadcast the first prime minister’s radio talk from Australia to American listeners, he greeted “men and women of the United States” particularly those who were “fighting,” “sweating in factories and workshops,” and “making sacrifices.” His frequent use of “we,” “us” and “our” contributed to his reassuring tone (1942a). Curtin’s appeals to freedom, democracy, and liberty were familiar in Roosevelt’s rhetoric. More than half of the “fireside chats” were published on The New York Times front pages, with the full texts of the speeches continuing inside the issues (Lim 2003). Such prominent news columns indicated press endorsement for Roosevelt in his home state as he was a former governor of New York. Furthermore, when he mentioned “Australia” occasionally (1942b, 1942c and 1942d), his speech was often favorably promoted on Australian newspaper front pages (e.g. The Argus, April 30, 1942; The Canberra Times, February 25, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 560 1942, September 9, 1942). Curtin broadcast his US radio talk to more than 700 radio stations connected to the National Broadcasting Company of America, as well as to the British Isles, Canada, Europe and South America (1942a; The Age, The Canberra Times and The West Australian, March 16, 1942). He received positive US press coverage and London reporters praised his “fighting message to America” (The Age, March 16, 1942, p. 2; Time, March 23, 1942). Thus they established a semblance of a friendship with their audiences that reinforced each one’s media image as a “man of the people” (ScreenSound Australia, 1945). Despite their theme of unity, the two leaders tried to marginalise and isolate their critics. Roosevelt “assailed his opponents … as often as he greeted his friends” in his “fireside chats” (Lim, 2003, p. 449). During his broadcast to celebrate George Washington’s birthday, he described foreign policy isolationists as those who “wanted the American eagle to imitate the tactics of the ostrich.” He added: “Now, many of these same people, afraid that we may be sticking our necks out, want our national bird to be turned into a turtle.” Roosevelt reassured his listeners, however, that “we prefer to retain the eagle as it is - flying high and striking hard” (1942e). Likewise, Curtin branded his critics, who were opposed to his military draft policy, as “the mischief-makers outside” the government, and “abusers” whose “quarreling” would not hinder “those who have the responsibility of conducting the war” (1943a, p. 592-596). Newspaper editors copied his speech, focusing on his description of the “mischief-makers” (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The West Australian, February 12, 1943). Yet both leaders took care to make impersonal references to “Japan,” “the enemy,” and the war. It was necessary to avoid verbal “assaults” on Japan’s revered Emperor Hirohito, according to the US government. By the first half of 1942, Roosevelt and Curtin removed official anti-emperor and racist statements that might consolidate Japanese people’s support for their military government and could become counterproductive to Allied efforts in the Pacific (Brands, 2005; Curtin, 1942b; Mowell, 1942). With the aid of speechwriters, as well as adding their personal written flourishes, they were able to portray their opponents as removed from public opinion. Moreover, Roosevelt and Curtin advanced the use of relatively new media to aim their messages appropriately to their target audiences. Roosevelt made about nine radio talks each year during his presidential terms. Curtin broadcast about 12 significant prime ministerial radio addresses a year. In terms of the accessibility of their words, Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” were suitable for audiences with a ninth-grade reading level. A selected sample of Curtin’s radio talks was generally appropriate for tenth- grade listeners. Although the prescribed standard was for a public document to be targeted to an eighth- grade student, it appeared that they still aimed their major radio broadcasts to a predominantly lower secondary school level. This was suitable for the era, when the average level of education was eight years of schooling in the US and nine years in Australia. The Roosevelt and Curtin radio talks were accessible to global media audiences (Coatney, 2011; Day, 2008; Lim, 2003; U.S. Census Bureau, 1942). Both Allied war leaders knew how to deliver their oratory at the right pace for their target audiences. When announcing the Pearl Harbor tragedy, Roosevelt spoke for six minutes and was reportedly interrupted by “wild and thunderous applause and cheers” in the joint session of Congress (1941b; The Argus, December 10, 1941, p. 5). Therefore he spoke 86.6 words a minute; his pauses emphasised the drama and import of his words during the broadcast. In his radio talk on the same day, Curtin spoke 119.4 words per minute, which some scholars would consider to be an acceptable pace (1941b; Nichols and Stevens, 1957). After developing a reputation as a very fast speaker, Curtin talked calmly with Australians in like manner to Roosevelt’s reassurance that the invasion of Pearl Harbor was “a date which will live in infamy” (Roosevelt, 1941b; The Herald, October 4, 1941). According to different scholarly estimates, the president’s average pace was between 105 and 117 words per minute in his “fireside chats” Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 561 (Bradenburg and Braden, 1958; Lim, 2003). Based on a selected sample, Curtin spoke an average 139.46 words a minute, faster than the recommended levels of 100 to 125 words (Curtin 1941b, 1942a, 1943b). Yet at the start of the Pacific crisis, both leaders spoke more slowly than they normally did to emphasise their keywords about hope, unity and a strong defence. During his “fireside chats” newsreels, Roosevelt spoke directly to the camera at eye level, with his hands placed on the table before him to signify his straightforward manner and a close connection with his audiences. Also the president was framed in close-up and medium shots to convey a personal relationship with US moviegoers (Universal Studios, 1933, 1934). In a 1934 scene, for example, he removed his pince-nez glasses and looked straight at the camera to criticize “a timid few people” opposed to his policies and to emphasize his words: “I believe in practical explanations and in practical politics” (Universal Studios, 1934). In like manner to his newsreels, filmmakers started a pattern of intimate, close-up scenes that signified Curtin was leveling with the public. Filmed rehearsals showed Curtin’s determination to perfect his messages as he uncomplainingly waited for the director’s clapperboard and the call for “action!” His practice film scenes indicated he refined his memorised rhetoric, gestures and camera delivery to build “a closer relationship between the Australian and American peoples,” as he declared in a public statement. During one of his stand-ups to the camera in “take three,” for example, Curtin pointed his finger, moved his head from side to side, looking like he might be addressing an unseen audience, and said: “We know that our destinies will go forward hand-in-hand and we are proud and confident in that association.” The camera zoomed in closer during “take four” as he embellished his statement to add, “we will stand or fall together” and “we are proud and happy in that association [emphasis added.]” As in his other newsreels, he did not refer to notes (Coatney, 2011). Roosevelt’s innovative use of relatively new media may have influenced Curtin’s radio and film strategies. Both leaders seemed to have approved of film techniques that emphasized their direct communications and strong, decisive gestures to reassure international audiences. They worked hard to look like skilful media performers, providing useful tips to business communicators. Their strategies included rehearsing in practice sessions so that later, they would appear to be using new media effortlessly. Also they approved of close-up, eye-level visual images of themselves to establish a sense of a personal relationship with their audiences. They used assertive hand gestures to emphasise their main messages, such as when Roosevelt deftly removed his pince-nez glasses and Curtin pointed his finger as they made their points. Their unifying, inclusive language appealed to shared ideals that brought different groups together. At the same time, they portrayed their opponents as isolated from mainstream public opinion. Additionally they took care to use impersonal words to characterise foreign enemies so they would not alienate overseas populations. They spoke more slowly to appear calm and reassure people in a time of crisis, and selected accessible words that were appropriate for their target audiences. Their rhetoric, media images, and gestures are applicable for today’s business leaders when needing to articulate a clear vision to increasingly multicultural audiences The frequency of their radio broadcasts, the largely positive reception towards them in the news, the mass audiences of devoted listeners and polls suggest that Roosevelt and Curtin used the media skilfully (Lloyd, 1988; Steele, 1985; Time, August 23, 1943). Similarly to the president, Curtin generated mainly positive news coverage of his foreign policies (Coatney, 2011; Steele, 1985). They were successful in using relatively new media to develop a close link with public audiences. For example, Australian radio listeners enjoyed Curtin’s “periodical talks to the nation” because they liked to “hear his voice, weigh his words and generally maintain that personal contact with the head of the Government which is eminently desirable” (The Age, January 22, 1945). At least 12 wartime senior journalists affirmed in their Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 562 reminiscences that he was a great prime minister (Coatney, 2011). Likewise, public polling conveyed the leaders’ foreign policies were mostly popular among citizens. By January 1942, Roosevelt’s public approval rating was 84 per cent, according to the Gallup poll. Another survey found 73 per cent of respondents approved his handling of foreign policy in May 1943 (Gallup, 1972). The next year he was elected to an unprecedented fourth presidential term. In a survey in Australia, eight out of 10 voters said they “were satisfied or more than satisfied with Curtin’s job as prime minister” in August 1942 (The Courier-Mail, August 14, 1942). During the Australian federal election in 1943, he won 66.9 per cent of the votes in his electorate of Fremantle, Western Australia. At the time, this was the greatest election victory for his Australian Labor Party. Time reported (August 23 and 30, 1943) that 78 per cent of Australians supported his leadership. These types of polls and news coverage indicated the leaders’ mass media strategies were successful in attracting broad support. CONCLUSION In a global crisis, Roosevelt and Curtin provided valuable lessons on how to manage media relations. As rarely researched documents have shown, they successfully cultivated spontaneous interactions with journalists, the result of thorough preparations before interviews. They kept focused on their main messages, directing talks from potential controversies and branding opponents as far from the mainstream. When advancing the use of relatively new media, they selected inclusive language of unity to appeal to ideals shared by disparate populations. Their media images signified a direct, honest relationship between them and the public. 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Hall, eds (1997) Backroom briefings: John Curtin’s war. Canberra: National Library of Australia. Moody, T. (1944a) “Triumph For Mr Curtin At Press Talk,” The Argus, April 21, 1944, p. 1. —— (1944b) “Mr Curtin Parries Tricky Questions,” The Argus, April 21, 1944, p. 16. Mowell, H.S. (1942), “Letter to John Curtin,” April 1, Bentley: John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, R.004. Nichols, R. and L.A. Stevens (1957) Are you listening? New York: McGraw-Hill. Perloff, R. M. (1998) Political Communication: Politics, Press, and Public in America. New Jersey and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (2008) “Winning The Media Campaign: Methodology,” Journalism.org, Accessed September 26, 2009 at: http://www.journalism.org/node/13314 Public Broadcasting Service (2009) “The Online NewsHour,” June 29, Accessed September 26, 2009 at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june09/obama_06-24.html Rodgers, D.K. (1971) “Interview by Mel Pratt,” April 29, Bentley: John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, JCPML00497. Roosevelt, E. (1944) “Letter to Elsie Curtin,” April 17, Bentley: John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, JCPML00330/1. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/king/index-e.html http://www.journalism.org/node/13314 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 565 Roosevelt, F.D. (1941a) “Excerpts from the Press Conference”, December 9, The American Presidency Project, Accessed December 8, 2008 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu —— (1941b) “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”, December 8, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Accessed 11 September 2009 at: http://www.FDRlibrary.marist.edu —— (1942a) “Excerpts from the Press Conference”, January 6, The American Presidency Project, Accessed December 8, 2008 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu —— (1942b) “Fireside Chat,” February 23, The American Presidency Project, Accessed March 25, 2010 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu —— (1942c) “Fireside Chat,” April 28, The American Presidency Project, Accessed March 25, 2010 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16252 —— (1942d) “Fireside Chat,” September 7, The American Presidency Project, Accessed March 25, 2010 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16303 —— (1942e) “Addresses and messages of Franklin D. Roosevelt: Development of United States Foreign Policy,” Canberra: National Archives of Australia, series no. A5954, control symbol 1979/109. —— (1943), “Excerpts from the Press Conference,” October 29, The American Presidency Project, Accessed February 11, 2009 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu —— (1944a), “Letter to Winston Churchill,” April 25, Bentley: John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, JCPML00796/4. —— (1944b), Roosevelt, “Excerpts from the Press Conference at ‘Hobcaw Barony,’ in Georgetown, South Carolina,” May 6, The American Presidency Project, Accessed November 17, 2011 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu Ryfe, D. (1999), “Franklin Roosevelt and the fireside chats,” Journal of Communication, vol. 49, p. 80– 103. Saunders, K., and H. Taylor (1995) “The Reception of Black American Servicemen in Australia During World War II,” Journal of Black Studies vol. 25(3), p. 331-48. ScreenSound Australia (1945) “John Joseph Curtin 1885 – 1945,” Bentley: John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, JCPML00238/1. Serle, G. (1998) For Australia and Labor: Prime Minister John Curtin. Bentley: John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library. Sirico, L.J. Jr. (2008) “Readability Studies: How Technocentrism Can Compromise Research and Legal Determinations,” Villanova University School of Law, School of Law Working Paper Series, Accessed June 8, 2010 at: http://law.bepress.com/villanovalwps/papers/art104 Steele, R.W. (1985) “News of the ‘Good War’: World II News Management,” Journalism Quarterly, vol. 62, p. 707-16, 783. Truman, H. S. (1945), “The President’s News Conference”, April 17, The American Presidency Project, Accessed March 22, 2010 at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu United States Library of Congress (2006), “Women Come to the Front: Journalists, Photographers, and Broadcasters During World War II,” Accessed March 22, 2010 at: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0002.html http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16506 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16506 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0002.html Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 566 Universal Studios (1933) “On the Currency Situation. October 22, 1933,” Accessed November 17, 2011 at: http://www.archive.org/details/WorldHistoryFranklinD.Roosevelt-SixFiresideChats1933-1938 —— (1934) “Review of the Achievements of the Seventy-third Congress. June 28, 1934,” Accessed November 17, 2011 at: http://www.archive.org/details/WorldHistoryFranklinD.Roosevelt- SixFiresideChats1933-1938 University of San Diego (2008), History of the Newsreel, Accessed March 22, 2010 at: http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/filmnotes/newsreel.html U.S. Census Bureau (1942) “Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years Old And Over In The United States: 1940,” Accessed March 19, 2010 at: http://www.census.gov Ward, I. (1999), “The early use of radio for political communication in Australia and Canada: John Henry Austral, Mr Sage and the Man from Mars,” Australian Journal of Politics and History, vol. 45(3), p. 311- 29. White, G.J. (1979) F.D.R. and the Press. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Winfield, B. H (1990) F.D.R. and the News Media. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was supported by the Australian Government under an Australian Prime Ministers Centre Fellowship, an initiative of the Museum of Australian Democracy. The author would like to thank the Institute for Business and Finance Research, the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, and Associate Professors Steve Mickler and Bobbie Oliver of Curtin University. BIOGRAPHY Dr Caryn Coatney lectures and teaches at Curtin University in Western Australia. She has completed a Fellowship at the Australian Prime Ministers Centre in the Museum of Australian Democracy, Canberra. Along with her academic publications, she has a PhD, MA, and BA with Double Honours. She has worked in journalism and public relations for 20 years including as a staff writer, news editor and bureau manager at The Christian Science Monitor and The West Australian Newspaper Group. ttp://www.archive.org/details/WorldHistoryFranklinD.Roosevelt-S ttp://www.archive.org/details/WorldHistoryFranklinD.Roosevelt-SixFiresideChats1933-1 ttp://www.archive.org/details/WorldHistoryFranklinD.Roosevelt-SixFiresideChats1933-1 http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/filmnotes/newsreel.html http://www.census.gov/ Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 567 THE FASB ACCOUNTING STANDARDS CODIFICATION AND ACCOUNTING QUALITY Chia-Ling Chao, National Chung Cheng University ABSTRACT On June 30, 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 168, The FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles – a replacement of FASB Statement No. 162. Although the Codification was not intended to change generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) or any requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the process of eliminating content viewed as redundant or nonessential introduces the possibility that GAAP is altered. Moreover, if management specifically used ambiguity in pre-codification compilation GAAP to shift their numbers toward industry means or stable time trends, then it is warranted to investigate whether the Codification lessen opportunities for this sort of earnings management (McEwen, Hoey, and Brozovsky, 2006). Against this background and concern, this paper examines whether the implementation of the FASB Codification is associated with higher accounting quality. The results indicate that accounting amounts of firms in the post-codification period exhibit less income smoothing, more timely recognition of losses, and higher value relevance than those in the pre-codification regime. This comparison provides direct evidence that accounting quality for U.S. public firms improves between the pre- and post-codification periods. JEL: M4 KEYWORDS: Earnings Management•Conservatism•Value Relevance Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 568 DISCLOSURE LEVEL, STOCK MARKET LIQUIDITY, AND EARNINGS QUALITY: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN Horng-Ching Kuo, National Chengchi University, Taiwan Hsiu-Chin Lin, Deloitte, Taiwan ABSTRACT In 2003, authorities in Taiwan launched a system to annually rank listed firms according to disclosure level to encourage raising disclosure levels so as to reduce cost of capital. This study explores the relation between disclosure level (as proxied by the ranking results of the system) and market liquidity (as measured by effective bid-ask spreads) to empirically test whether the objective of the system can be achieved as asserted. In examining the relation between disclosure and cost of capital, Francis et al. (2008) find that the relation between the constructs examined is due to disclosure being merely a proxy for earnings quality. Following Francis, et al. (2008), this study also examines whether earnings quality plays a role in the relation between disclosure and liquidity. Results of the study reveal that market liquidity is better for firms that disclose more. In addition, this study finds that market liquidity is higher (lower) for firms with higher (lower) earnings quality. Finally, in contrast to Francis, et al. (2008), this study finds no significant difference in the relation between disclosure and liquidity after controlling for earnings quality, which indicates that, aside from earnings quality, information disclosure is affected by other factors as well. JEL: M KEYWORDS: Disclosure, Information transparency, Earnings quality, Liquidity Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 569 CAPITALIZING WOMEN’S HUMAN RESOURCES THROUGH MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREAS: ROLE OF MICROFINANCE Poornima Gayangani Wasana Jayawardana, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University ABSTRACT Microfinance is closely associated with microenterprises due to its ability to eliminate one of the greatest obstacles of access to capital. However, its effectiveness in microenterprise development remains questionable. This study attempts to shed some light on this by assessing the role of the largest microfinance provider in Sri Lanka in microenterprise development among rural women, with a qualitative case study. The study reveals that mishandling of loans has largely limited the program effectiveness in promoting female microenterprises. This is mainly due to the lack of proper monitoring even with the availability of other supporting services. Thus, field officers’ role in effective monitoring of credit disbursement and utilization is essential for actively promoting microenterprises among these rural women through the program. INTRODUCTION Microenterprise development through microfinance has been emerged as a major strategy for integrating women into the overall economic development process in many developing countries. Microenterprises mainly focus on developing and utilizing the entrepreneurial skills and potential of rural women below the poverty line (Kaushik & Rengarajan, 2010). Microfinance programs have been recognized as an effective mechanism for bringing equal opportunity for women by providing capital through repayment technologies. Thus, microenterprises are generally perceived as very small businesses owned by the self employed poor that usually do not have access to the commercial banking sector and use microfinance (Leon & Schreiner, 2001; Jones, 2004). Despite the wide recognition given to the microfinance in promoting microenterprises, studies have offered contradictory findings on its effectiveness. This study seeks to provide an insight into this issue by assessing the role of Samurdhi program in Sri Lanka in promoting microenterprises among rural women in the country. Samurdhi or ‘prosperity’ in local language is the largest microfinance provider in Sri Lanka. It was launched in 1995 by the government as a poverty alleviation program with total country coverage, where a large percentage of poor families as members of Samurdhi Banking Societies (SBSs) that facilitate community based lending. The program consisted of three main components of provision of consumption grants, provision of savings and credit facilities that provides microfinance services, and community development programs. These three components are operated as integrated support activities. The Samurdhi program has extensive coverage in rural areas, and the majority of the program participants are women (Gant et al, 2002). The main objective of the program is to ensure beneficiary participation in the production process by increasing access to resources for self employment. This study was conducted in Ihala Koswaththa village with a population of approximately 2500 in 2010. The village is situated in Kurunegala District of North Western Province in Sri Lanka. The study relies on the female microfinance clients of the study village to reflect and assess to what extent access to Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 570 microfinance services through the Samurdhi program has contributed to develop microenterprises among them. LITERATURE REVIEW There is no single definition of microenterprise as it varies depending on the context. Munoz (2010) comprehensively defines microenterprise as: A very small enterprise that is typically owner operated and participated by marginalized segments that sell a product or service through entrepreneurial methodologies and utilizing diverse organizational forms. It operates under flexible arrangements and locations to manage entry barriers and capital constraints, in order to respond to market trends and customer requirements to achieve profitability and business growth. (p.3) Microenterprise development projects are primarily designed to serve four objectives of poverty reduction, empowerment of women, employment generation, and enterprise development as an end in itself. Most projects combine first two or three as their explicit objectives (Jalal, 1997). Access to finance has been a major obstacle faced by microenterprises along with lack of support, market access and geographic constraints, lack of infrastructure, growth and expansion challenges, lack of market intelligence, poor business expertise, and lack of management skills. Hence, successful microenterprise development requires both financial and nonfinancial services (Goldmark, 2001). In this context, microfinance has been identified as an effective mechanism in providing financial services on a sustainable basis to poor who are outside the scope of financial markets by providing needed opportunity for starting up or expanding microenterprises. In addition to the financial services, microfinance often includes social intermediation and thus considered as the most effectual means for promoting female entrepreneurship (Ledgerwood, 2001; Churchill & Frankiewicz, 2006; Fayolle, 2007). The basic theory in microfinance assumes that increasing women’s access to financial services empowers them by putting capital in their hands, enabling them to increase their income through microenterprises and contribute financially to their households and communities. This economic empowerment is expected to produce increased self esteem, respect, and other forms of empowerment for microfinance women beneficiaries (Cheston & Kuhn, 2002, Mayoux, 2002). METHODOLOGY The study is qualitative in nature and data were gathered conducting fieldwork in Ihala Koswaththa village during September 2007 and 2010, through in depth interviews with individual Samurdhi program beneficiaries, small groups, Samurdhi field officers, village officer, and informal interviews, and observations made by visiting beneficiary households, weekly Samurdhi group meetings and monthly meetings of Samurdhi societies during the fieldwork. The respondents were selected through purposive sampling by selecting information rich cases on the basis of theoretical saturation (Guest et al, 2006), and interviews of Samurdhi microfinance clients were conducted with the married middle aged poor women who are also Samurdhi consumption grant recipients in the village. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 571 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS The Samurdhi program has been primarily targeting women in Ihala Koswaththa for providing loans for microenterprises. According to the Samurdhi field officers, female recipients of Samurdhi in Ihala Koswaththa have been actively participating in the program and related activities. Figure 1: Samurdhi Microenterprise Development Approach through Microfinance Source: Compiled by the Author Based on the group lending methodology, the program has encouraged women to form groups of five members having some already established connection and mutual understanding. The borrowers from groups guarantee one another’s loan repayments. The Samurdhi field staff highlighted that they assess the feasibility of the projects, and conduct field checks before approving group members’ loan applications. Furthermore, they monitor the progress and grant loan money at different stages of the projects. The village women who already owned microenterprises or had plans for undertaking income generating activities had obtained loans referring to those activities. In addition to the loan facilities, the program had provided various credit plus services including entrepreneurial skills training development of women in the village. The training component had assisted women to acquire new skills and identify avenues for starting microenterprises so that they were able to apply for loans. The program initially grants small loans for women and gradually encourages them to obtain larger loans through the expansion of their microenterprises. Microfinance though Samurdhi program has also provided insurance facilities for these women in the event of project failures due to various reasons such as death and natural disasters. The importance of providing nonfinancial services along with the loans has been highlighted for effective development of microenterprises through microfinance. The enterprise credit without consumption credit or safety net is considered ineffective in developing entrepreneurship (Jalal, 1997). Although Samurdhi Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 572 program meet these criteria by combining financial services with nonfinancial services and a safety net component, the program role in promoting active entrepreneurship among women in Ihala Koswaththa village has been limited mainly due to the diversion of loan utilization for other purposes. Majority of the women interviewed in Ihala Koswaththa village had obtained loans through the Samurdhi program by indicating in the loan application that the money would be invested in microenterprise. This is consistent with the main objective of the program. However, according to interviews with recipients the loans had often not been used for the stated purposes, but instead for other purposes such as housing, family welfare, and repayment of other loans. Majority of the beneficiaries revealed that it was their initial intention even at the time of making the loan application. There were only few beneficiaries who had plans for investing in microenterprises when applied for the loans, but later had to prioritize their needs and spend the loan money on other purposes. Discussions with the field staff highlighted that women somehow tend to manage their repayments on time without investing credit on microenterprises in the absence of rigorous follow up and monitoring. Given that, all of the women who were interviewed had managed the loan repayments on time, with the income from their existing livelihood activities, with the help of their husbands, or in extreme cases with constant loans from neighbors and moneylenders despite the fact that loan money had not been invested in any income generating activities. The women under the study revealed that, in most cases, the field staff neither visited them before granting the loans nor monitored their progress unless they had been given a considerably large sum of money, giving opportunity for women to deceive the officers and misuse the obtained loans. This has largely contributed to the ineffective use of Samurdhi microfinance services in promoting microenterprises among these women. All of the women interviewed in Ihala Koswaththa possessed different skills, and had received various trainings under the Samurdhi credit plus service that could have been utilized for income generating activities. However, not all of the women had an entrepreneurial spirit or faith in starting or expanding their microenterprises. Women in the village highlighted various reasons behind this such as infrastructure constraints, limited market access, limited access to information, risk averseness, insufficient funds through loans for initiating projects, lack of commitment and discipline in continuation, lack of enabling household environment, and the traditional negative perception towards indebtedness in Sri Lankan society. CONCLUSION The findings highlight the limited capacity of Samurdhi microfinance services in promoting microenterprises among women in the study area largely due to the diversion of loan utilization for other purposes in the absence of proper monitoring, though the necessary nonfinancial supporting services are already in place with the financial services. The field staff role is vital in ensuring close monitoring of credit disbursement and utilization while approving enterprise loans only for viable economic activities. It should be ensured that repayments are made through business revenues enabling the primary objective of the program is satisfied. Along with that, program should adequately upgrade existing credit plus services to deal with the other issues and foster women’s confidence in entrepreneurship for actively promoting microenterprises, and thereby capitalizing women’s human resources that will ultimately enhance the life and economy of rural society. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 573 REFERENCES Cheston, S. & Kuhn, L. (2002). “Empowering Women through Microfinance”, in S. Daley Harris (eds). Pathways Out of Poverty: Innovations in Microfinance for the Poorest Families, Bloomfield, Connecticut: Kumarian Press. Churchill, C., & Frankiewicz, C. (2006). “Making Micorfinance Work: Managing for Improved Performance”. Geneva: International Labor Office (ILO). Fayolle, A. (2007). “Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education: Contextual Perspectives”. Edward Elgar Publishing. Gant, R., de Silva, D., Atapattu, A., & Durrant, S. (2002). “National Microfinance Study of Sri Lanka: Survey of Practices and Policies”. Colombo: AusAID & GTZ. Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). “How Many Interviews are Enough? An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability”. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82. Goldmark, L. (2001). “Microenterprise Development in Latin America: Towards a New Flexibility”. Journal of Socioeconomics, 30: 145-149. Jalal, K.F. (1997). “Microenterprise Development: Not by Credit Alone”. Asian Development Bank (ADB). Jones. S. R. (2004). “Legal Guide to Microenterprise Development”. American Bar Association. Kaushik, S.K. & Rengarajan, V. (2010). “Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment”. Serials Publications. Ledgerwood, J. (2001). “Microfinance Handbook: An Institutional and Financial Perspective”. Washington: The World Bank Publications. Mayoux, L. (2002). “Women’s Empowerment Versus Sustainability? Towards a New Paradigm in Microfinance Programs”. In B.Lemire, R.Pearson & G.Campbell, (eds)., Women and Credit: Researching the Past and Refiguring the Future, pp.245-269. New York: Berg Publisher. Munoz, J.M. (2010). “Contemporary Microenterprise: Concepts and Cases”. Edward Elgar Publishing. Schreiner, M. & Leon, J. (2002). “Microfinance for Microenterprise: A Source Book for Donors”. Savings and Development 26. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 574 ANTECEDENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL DOWNSIZING IN THAILAND'S TOURISM AND HOSPITALTIY INDUSTRY: THE ROLE OF BUSINESS IDEOLOGY Por-ngarm Saengratwatchara, Srinakharinwirot University Theerapong Subsupanwong, Srinakharinwirot University ABSTRACT This paper examines the empirical relationship between business ideologies and perceptions of layoff and organizational downsizing within a context of tourism and hospitality business industry in Thailand. Drawing up on the concept of business ideology (Beyer 1986: 66), the study proposes that individuals having strong belief in business ideologies are more likely to perceive layoff and organizational downsizing as acceptable than those who do not. We have derived two formal hypotheses from this conceptual framework, discussed relevant issues in explaining key variables, and specified implications for future research and management practice. INTRODUCTION In the past three years, tourism in Thailand has been through its worst situation in decides, as a result of the global economic slowdown and political turmoil (Anonymous, 2008). Several tourism and hospitality businesses have to reduce cost by downsizing the size of an organization’s workforce to handle the situation. The reduction can be implemented through several means such as temporary layoff certain number of employees, no further plan for new employees, ask some employees to leave a few weeks without pay, shut down restaurants in hotels for certain period of time, etc (Anonymous, 2008). Organizational downsizing as a change management strategy has been adopted for more than two decades (Williams, 2004). Specifically, it is defined as a purposeful reduction in the size of an organization’s workforces (Cameron, Freeman, & Mishra, 1991; Cascio, 1993). Downsizing literature has evolved and now covers many aspects of organizational downsizing. Within literature, there is a growing body of work (Budros, 1999; Lamertz & Baum, 1998; McKinley, Sanchez, & Schick, 1995; McKinley, Mone, & Barker, 1998) that addresses downsizing from neo-institutional and ideological perspectives. This research suggests that downsizing is now taken for granted by managers and supported by specific ideologies that they and their employees share. One consequence of organizational downsizing that has become more visible lately is a dramatic shift in the employee-employer relationship. Originally conceptualized as a highly dependent and mutually beneficial relationship where the employee would stay with one firm for their entire career, now sees employees job hopping a myriad of times in order to get higher pay, better benefits, or a shorter commute. Because of this shift towards being increasingly independent, it would seem likely that the historically negative connotation about downsizing has also changed. Unfortunately, it is hard to test this assumption as little is currently known about the determinants of downsizing attitudes and perceptions because there is almost no research, to our knowledge, studying how business ideologies that both employers and employees in a society share impact level of favorableness in using organizational downsizing tactics. The current study sought to examine so by proposing that two business ideologies – the ideology of employee self-reliance and the ideology of corporate change help influencing the favorableness in using organizational downsizing tactics within tourism and hospitality business context of Thailand. In this Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 575 paper, the ideology of employee self-reliance is defined as the belief that employees should be as independent of employers as possible, particularly regarding their own employability (McKinley et al., 1998), while the ideology of corporate change is defined as the belief that corporate change is constant, healthy and the normal condition for a corporation. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES The employee-employer relationship has changed significantly over the past 20 years from one representing a dependence based relationship to more of an at-will relationship. As such, scholars studying this change (e.g., Ellig, 1998; Kissler, 1994; Lucero & Allen, 1994) have posited a shift from an employer-reliant relationship in which employees rely on their employer for career success to one where the employees are more self-reliant (McKinley et al., 1998) where employees counteract their typical reliance on the firm by an increased proclivity for job mobility. Amongst the multiple causes for this shift, there has been much focus on employees’ increased levels of job mobility and organizations’ increased usage of downsizing and restructuring strategies (McKinley et al., 1998) likely play integral roles and place an increased level of demand on employees to take advantage of available methods for improving existing skills and developing new ones (Ellig, 1998). Beyer (1981: 66) defined ideologies as a “relatively coherent set of beliefs that bind some people together and that explain their worlds in terms of cause-and-effect relations.” When applied to organizational settings, contemporary scholars expand this definition and argue that managers adhering to ideologies experience a lowering of information processing requirements and some relief from the need to continually interpret an overabundance of complex information (e.g., Bunderson, 2001; Rust, 1999, Rust & McKinley, 2002). Therefore, following that belief in ideologies could ultimately influence decisions made by managers. Researchers have attempted to identify ideologies adopted by managers, and analyze how adoption of these ideologies affects the actions and interpretations of those who hold theme. For example, Meyer (1982a, 1982b) showed how ideologies influenced hospital administrators’ perceptions of a doctor’s strike. The major implication from this study is that different ideologies created different cognitive perceptions that led managers to interpret and respond to the same environmental event in different ways. Also, Barley and Kunda (1992) argued that managerial ideologies have repetitively shifted between rational and normative ideologies of control, influencing business practice in the process. McKinley et al. (1998) identified two managerial ideologies currently being explained in the writings by consultants and the popular business press – the ideology of employee self-reliance and the ideology of debureaucratization. Specifically, McKinley and his colleagues argued that these two ideologies have helped to create a context favorable to downsizing, primarily by changing employees’ views about the nature of the relationship between employee and organization. In her study of the effect of future threat of downsizing, Saengratwatchara (2005) further proposed that the ideology of corporate change, also creates a context of favorable to organizational downsizing by emphasizing that organizational downsizing is common as it is a part of organizational change, thus making downsizing seem more normal. Losing jobs through downsizing is widely considered to be one of the most traumatic events that can occur in a person's life (Grunberg, Moore, & Greenberg, 2006). However, we suspect that this thinking will eventually be reduced when individual employees subscribe to the ideologies described above. The Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 576 ideology of employee self-reliance advocates employee independence, implying that the organization is not expected to be responsible for employees’ job security. The ideology of corporate change supports the idea of change, and contains a message that layoff and organizational downsizing should be expected, since it is a part of corporate change. If one adheres to these ideologies, job security will not be one of the obligations that one feels and employer should provide. Thus the failure to guarantee and/or provide job security will be seen as more acceptable and expectable, instead of being painful and unbearable among employees. The arguments above are summarized in the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: Individuals with strong belief in the ideology of employee self-reliance are more likely to perceive layoff and organizational downsizing as acceptable. Hypothesis 2: Individuals with strong belief in the ideology of corporate change are more likely to perceive layoff and organizational downsizing as acceptable. METHODOLOGY Population of interest of this study will be employees working for tourism and hospitality businesses in Bangkok and metropolitan areas. Participants will be given incentives once they finish the questionnaire. In developing a survey instrument to collect information of employees in tourism and hospitality business’s belief in business ideology and the use organizational downsizing, we will follow Saengratwatchara’s instrument assessing the effect of future threat downsizing (Saengratwatchara, 2005). The first part is an essay advocating the ideology of corporate change and the ideology of self-reliance while the second part is a series of items asking about the plausibility and the logic of the author’s argument. Additionally, there are four questions capturing their attitudes towards the use of downsizing tactics. These items are adapted based on the Downsizing Attitudes Scale (DAS) (Karau, Walker, & Saengratwatchara, under review). The scale shows excellent internal consistency, with the Cronbach alpha of .88 (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1995). The ranking scales range from 1= strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree. The second part is demographic questions as well as other questions related to layoffs and/or downsizing experience. For example, the item asks whether participants have ever been laid off; if they have, when. Since our master instrument is originally in English, it will be translated into Thai and the translated instrument will be administered to individuals employed in tourism and hospitality businesses in Thailand. After collection of the data, the instrument was back-translated by a different native Thai speaker from the one who had performed the original translation. This will be done to verify that the Thai version have been an accurate translation of the English original (Brislin, 1980). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The most general discussion of this research is that business ideologies influence how people perceive layoff and organizational downsizing. Specifically, individuals with strong belief in the ideology of employee self-reliance and the ideology of corporate change are more likely to embrace layoff and organizational downsizing than those who do not believe so. As emphasized above, ideologies provide a cognitive framework that reduces uncertainty about the meaning of phenomena with which the believer is presented, highlighting certain aspects of the phenomena and downplaying others. This applies to layoff and organizational downsizing as well as any other phenomenon. In the current research, the aspect of organizational downsizing that appears to be highlighted (or constructed) by strong belief in the ideology Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 577 of employee self-reliance and the ideology of corporate change is they have become more acceptable and thus favorable among employees nowadays. There are several routes for future research. First, scholars might want to administer the scale on a sample that is also exposed to layoff and organizational downsizing. Specifically, certain industries such as auto manufacturing always have a looming presence of these organizational practices and would serve as an interesting sample. Second, it would be interesting to administer this scale among difference parties in the layoff and organizational scenarios such as terminating agent, survivors, management, and victims. Furthermore, future research may want to examine which antecedents drive individuals’ perceptions toward the business ideologies. It is possible that personality traits such as self-esteem as well as others may impact the employee’s reaction to the threat of future downsizing. For example, employees with high levels of self-esteem have confidence in their skills and their ability to find new jobs so that they will not be as vulnerable as those with lower level of self-esteem when experiencing with layoffs. The study also has practical implications. Assuming that the results of the study supported the hypotheses that individuals with strong belief in the ideology of employee self-reliance and the ideology of corporate change would be more likely to accept layoffs and other organizational downsizing, we could expect managers to be tempted to hire employees holding those beliefs. This is because managers would expect that those individual employees would be more acceptable of layoff and organizational downsizing. Additionally, managers might seek to instill the beliefs into current employees so they would show less resistance when layoffs and/or downsizing occur in the organizations. In conclusion, we hope that our study provides a spark in the literature to more thoroughly research the unlimited of variables within the phenomenon of layoff and organizational downsizing, especially on business ideologies related to it. REFERENCES Anonymous. (2008, January, 2). Labour News. Retrieved January 2, 2008, from http://www.thannews.th.com/detialnews.php?id=T1223882&issue=2388. Barley, S. R. & Kunda, G. (1992). Design and devotion: surges of rational and normative ideologies of control in managerial discourse. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 363-399. Beyer, J. M. (1981). Ideologies, values, and decision making in organizations. In P.C. Nystrom, & W. H. Staruck (Eds.), Hanbook of Organizational Design, 2, 166-2020. New York: Oxford University Press. Brislin, R. W. (1980). Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In H.C.Triandis & J.W. Berry (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology, 2, 389-444. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Bruton, G. D., & Keels, J. K. (1996). Downsizing the firm: Answering the strategic questions. Academy of Management Executive, 10, 38-45. Budros, A. (1999). A conceptual framework for analyzing why organizations downsize. Organization Science, 10, 69-82. http://www.thannews.th.com/detialnews.php?id=T1223882&issue=2388 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 578 Bunderson, J. S. (2001). How work ideologies shape the psychological contracts of professional employees: dcotors' responses to perceived breach. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 717-741 Cascio, W. F. (1993). Downsizing: What do we know? What have we learned? Academy of Management Executive, 7, 95-104. Grunberg, L., Moore, S., & Greenberg, E. S. (2006). Managers' reactions to implementing layoffs: relationship to health problems and withdrawal behaviors. Human Resource Management, 45, 159-178. Hair, J., Anderson, R., Tatham, R., & Black, W. (1995). Multivariate Data Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. McKinley, W., Mone, M. A., & Barker, V. L. (1998). Some ideological foundations of organizational downsizing. Journal of Management Inquiry, 7, 198-212. McKinley, W., Sanchez, C. M., & Schick, A. G. (1995). Organizational downsizing: constraining, cloning, learning. Academy of Management Executive, 9(3), 121-145. Meyer, A. D. (1982a). Adapting to environmental jolts. Administrative Science Quarterly, 27, 515-537. Meyer, A. D. (1982b). How ideologies supplant formal structures and shape responses to environments. Journal of Management Studies, 19(1), 45-61. Rust, K. G. (1999). The effects of financial conditions and managerial ideologies on corporate downsizing: some evidence from the US investor-owned electric utility industry 1992-1995. M@n@gement, 3, 89-126. Rust, K. G. & McKinley, W. (2002). Managerial ideologies as rationalizers: how managerial ideologies moderate the relationship between changes in profitability and downsizing. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 3, 108-128. Saengratwatchara, P. (2005). The threat of future downsizing and its ideological consequences. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from UMI's Dissertation Abstracts database. (3204671). Williams, S. M. (2004). Downsizing - Intellectual Capital Performance Anorexia or Enhancement? The Learning Organization, 11(4/5), 368-379. BIOGRAPHY Por-ngarm Saengratwatchara is an Assistant Professor in the International College of Sustainability Studies at Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand. She received her Ph.D. in management from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Her research interests are organizational downsizing, layoffs, organizational restructuring and changes, and strategic management in business functions. Theerapong Subsupanwong is a lecturer in the International College of Sustainability Studies at Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand. His research interests includes sustainable tourism, community- based tourism, and specific tourism business. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 579 AN EXPLORATION OF THE CURE FOR DISSATISFACTION AMONG CUSTOMERS OF MEDICAL SERVICES Jungki Lee, Korea University at Sejong, Jochiwon, South Korea ABSTRACT Research across cultures has consistently reported that customers of medical services experience a high propensity to experience dissatisfaction. Because a customer’s dissatisfaction with medical service produces a series of undesirable behavioral consequences, identifying sources of their dissatisfaction and cure for it is urgently needed. This study attempts to investigate the nature of dissatisfaction among medical service users from the perspective of the theory of perceived control. Data were collected from a sample of customers who had experienced dissatisfaction with medical services. Results of the study reveal that medical customers’ perception of low control during their interaction with medical service providers indeed has significant influences on their dissatisfaction. Managerial implications and future research directions are provided. BIOGRAPHY Jungki Lee can be contacted at Division of Business Administration, Korea University at Sejong, Jochiwon, Jochiwon-Eup, Yeongi-gun, Chungnam 339-700 South Korea, jungkilee@korea.ac.kr, 82-41-860-1660 (Office), 82-10-4546-4461 (Cell) Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 580 THE CROSS-BORDER REGIONAL GOVERNANCE OF THE GLOBAL AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION NETWORKS IN ASIA Katsuhiro Sasuga, Tokai University, University of Warwick ABSTRACT This paper seeks to clarify the characteristics of the emerging cross-border regional governance of the global automobile production networks in Asia. It draws three streams; (1) the relationships between the global shift of the automobile industry and the sharp rise in automobile production and sales in China and India; (2) the ability of institutional settings at the host country focusing on the sub-national levels of government; (3) the role of foreign firms in technology transfer to developing countries and creation of local supplier networks. This paper seeks to examine and analyze the development of the Chinese and Indian automobile industries and the emergence of cross-border production networks in order to reveal a multi-scalar phenomenon linking specific regions and countries. It attempts to understand the nature and dynamics of operational regional governance comprising both individuals and collectives, as well as the roles of public and private actors pursuing common goals. The state has played an indispensable role in pushing the country to a higher phase of automotive modernization. But the paper highlights the dynamic and overlapping nature of automobile production networks in which cooperation and competition among economic actors actively take place. KEYWORDS: automobile industry, India and China, local government, production networks Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 581 GLOBAL LINKAGE OF FINANCIAL SECTOR STOCK PRICES DURING US FINANCIAL CRISIS: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA Aldrin Herwany, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia Erie Febrian, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia ABSTRACT Monetary authorities in Indonesia, as well as some academicians believe that the absence of long run relation between Indonesian stock market and developed markets prevents this emerging market from being deeply affected by the US downturn. Nevertheless, this hypothesis may not apply to the domestic financial industry as such service firms involve in cross-country financial investments. This study examines the global linkage of Indonesian Financial Sector stock prices during the US downturn using co-integration test and vector autoregression. This study elaborates the linkage of Indonesian Financial Industry with the same industry in US and UK markets, as well as with four developed Asian markets, i.e Tokyo, Hongkong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur stock exchanges, using more frequent time series data. We also conduct similar test using pre-US-crisis data to show magnitude of the linkage change. The results show whether financial industry fund managers would be able to diversify their portfolio in these markets either in long run or short run KEYWORDS: Financial sector, financial crisis, market co-integration Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 582 EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA: A PANEL REGRESSION APPROACH Ikechukwu Kelilume, Lagos Business School Doyin Salami, Lagos Business School ABSTRACT Nigeria experienced a large depreciation of its currency in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008 with the result been a greater use of tight monetary policy tool and stringent management of the country’s foreign reserves to check volatility in the foreign exchange market The result has been massive fluctuation in exchange rate movement which have altered not only the structure and composition of firm’s profitability but also the cost profile of most firms. In this study we obtained cross sectional data for the most active 20 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and adopted the panel data regression approach to assess empirically the effects of volatility clustering in exchange rate on firm’s performance in Nigeria over the periods 2000 to 2010. Our result indicates that exchange rate volatility have had a negative impact on corporate performance in Nigeria. In addition, we find the negative effects of fluctuation in exchange rate to have been induced by high and sustained increase in imported raw materials and capital goods. These results have implications for economic stability, policy initiatives and firm strategies. JEL: C34, D21, D51, D92, F31. KEYWORD: Exchange Rate Volatility, Corporate Performance, Panel Data Regression, Policy Formation and Strategies INTRODUCTION Firm performance in Nigeria has not particularly received much attention from macroeconomic point of view. The few studies on the existing on the subject matter have focused specifically on individual firm performance in relation to micro variables. Yet, in the empirical literature, several scholars’ contend that firms can take advantage of changes in macroeconomic aggregates to influence business performance (Greer, Ireland and Wingender 2001; Kypriotakis, 2002; Krishnamurthy, 2005; and Navarro, Bromiley and Sottile 2010). Others have linked firm’s performance directly to the movement of exchange rate (Klitgaard, 1999; Chatterjee, Carneiro and Vichyanond 2010; and Baggs, Beaulieu, Fung and Lapham 2011). The challenges posed by volatile movement of exchange rate became an issue of great concern to corporate establishments and policy makers in Nigeria in the wake of the 2007-2008 global economic crises. At the WDAS1, exchange rate during the period (January 2, 2008), opened at N115.00/US$ and closed at N130.32/US$ in the period (December 31, 2008) representing a depreciation of 13.32 percent. As at November 16, 2011 the naira exchanged at N153.5/US$ representing a depreciation of over 33.5 percent over the period 2008-2011. The volatile nature of the movement of exchange rate in Nigeria and the paucity of research in the area of exchange rate volatility and firm Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 583 performance provides us a good opportunity for studying the effects of exchange rate volatility on firm performance in Nigeria. Instability in the foreign exchange market can pose significant risk to companies and enterprises conducting businesses in foreign markets. Through massive depreciation of the domestic currency of a country, firms operating in the domestic market can be subjected to either translation or transactions risks translating into significant shrinkage in company’s earning, market share, cash flow and firm’s balance sheet. In Nigeria, over the past decades, real output growth has averaged 6.5 percent with the manufacturing sector growth averaging less than 3.5 percent over the same period. This presupposes a declining firm’s corporate performance in the face of changing macroeconomic environment. This paper empirically examines the effects of exchange rate volatility on firm’s performance in Nigeria, using a panel data of twenty most active companies drawn from the Nigerian Stock Exchange and two key performance variables, cost of goods sold and gross profit before tax. We estimate a panel regression to take into account fixed effects and random effects across the companies. Following the introductory section, the rest of the paper is structured as follows; Section II covers some major theoretical and empirical literature while section III is the methodology. Section IV presents the result of the study while section V concludes the study. LITERATURE REVIEW Firm Transactions, Performance and Exchange Depreciation Harris (2001) affirmed that exchange rate depreciation is a necessary factor that influences the gap in productivities. Auer and Chaney (2007) insisted that in equilibrium, the market power of a given firm depends on the prices and qualities of its closes competitors and more than on prices of other closely related firms. They noticed that exchange rate movement is largely influenced by export transactions of low quality goods, which are in high demand internationally, since producers of such good are in steep competition and face the same exchange rate shocks (Fung, 2004). Considering exchange rate movements, the rates of export and firms’ performance, Berman, Martin and Mayer (2008) study indicates that in the presence of distribution costs in the export market, high and low productivity firms react differently to exchange rate depreciation. They noticed that firms with high performance optimally raise their markup rather than the volume they export; while low productivity firms choose the opposite strategy. Consequently, this heterogeneity has serious distorting influence on the levels of exchange rate movements in the economy. Insights from the concept of fixed cost to export express the fact that exporting requires a high productivity, an attribute which in turn gives an incentive to firms to react to exchange rate depreciation by increasing their export price rather than their sales (Berman, Martin and Mayer, 2008). They found out that high performance firms react to depreciation in exchange rate by increasing their export price rather than their export volume but low performance-exporting firms do otherwise. In addition, results revealed that more firms enter the export market following depreciation, these firms are small, their productivity is low and their extensive margin response to exchange rate movement is small when compared with other firms at the aggregate level. Their results suggest that prices are rigid in the currency of the export market and the levels of uncertainties as a result of the nature of the levels of imperfection in the competitive market and the influence of distribution cost (Campa and Goldberg, 2005; Corsetti and Dedola, 2005; Gopinath, Oleg and Rigobon, 2010). In this wise, local distribution costs Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 584 basically lower the pass-through to consumer prices and generate uncertainties in productive capacity to remedy further reductions (Corsetti and Dedola, 2005; Berman, Martin and Mayer 2008). Empirical Literature To estimate exchange rate movement influence on firms performance, most literatures proposed that the main factors that are important in order for firms to be competitive include the ability to export, effective policy regulation, management style, ownership structure, technology and human capital (Bartelsman and Doms 2000; Girma, Greenaway and Kneller 2002). Therefore, to determine how the prices of different goods respond to exchange rate shocks and how this influences performance, Auer and Chaney (2007) proposed a model that viewed competitive pressure from various dimensions such as the domestic market structure, import competition, regional variation product markets, transportation infrastructure, and labor market competition. Also, they analyzed the time path of the impact of a competitive shock (i.e. the abrupt liberalization of prices, entry, imports, and labor mobility) in other to examine the non linearity in the effect of these competition forces. The evaluation of firms survival (persistent increase productivity), disclose that foreign and domestic market competition and good transportation infrastructure have negative impacts on survival, while demand shocks cause increases in the probability of survival. The strength of this impact depends on higher initial profitability and the size of export activities. This result also disclosed that total factor productivity produced strong evidences suggesting that domestic product market competition, import competition and local labor market competition have strong effects on firms’ efficiency (Berman, Martin and Mayer, 2009). Studying the effect of exchange rate shocks on pricing decision of multi-product firms and its impact on firm’s performance, Chatterjee, Carneiro and Vichyanond (2010) constructed a model putting into perception the quantity of the scope of the product, to analyze firms’ price adjustment in circumstances of exchange rate depreciation. It was noticed that firms face a product ascending steps of clustered processes, which is detected by their marginal cost of production. The research work revealed that these margins were usually high for products further away from firms’ core competency. Also, in the event of rate of exchange depreciates, most firms increase the prices of products closer to their core competency. This level of adjustments enhances firms’ performance. Farinas and Martin-Macros (2003) measured difference in economic performance and evaluated the total productivity difference between exporting and non-exporting manufacturing firms for over a ten years period. To do this effectively, they evaluated two measures so performance, labor productivity and total factor productivity and introduced a panel data analysis in accordance with the generalized moving moment (GMM) approach of Blundell and Bond (1999). They controlled for unobserved heterogeneity and simultaneity bias produced by the effect of productivity of the firms on output decisions. They noticed that exporting firms exhibit greater economic performance and self-select the most favorable output process. Park, Yang, Shi and Jiang (2006) considered firm performance by analyzing export demand shocks during the period of the Asian financial crisis in other to disclose how it influence Chinese exporting firms. They did this by constructing firm-specific exchange rate shocks based on the pre-crisis destinations of firms’ exports. These unanticipated shocks were used for to evaluate the impact of exportation on firm productivity and performance. They controlled for the selection bias of joint estimate in the equation by using the full information maximum likelihood method (Clerides et al., 1998). Therefore, Park, Yang and Jiang (2006) perceived financial crisis shocks has unanticipated and large, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 585 claiming that they were most ideal for identifying the impact of exportation on firm productivity and firms performance. As a result of this fact, they invoked a panel data to explore firm-specific exchange rate shocks based on the pre-crisis destinations of firms’ exports. They noticed that although export growth increase firm productivity and performance, exchange rate depreciation slow growth in export. The introduction of firm-specific exchange rate shocks is made possible by the availability of information on firm-specific export country destination for foreign-invested firms in China’s industrial. This was used to represent the timing and pattern of devaluations which were unforeseen due to the crisis. This identification strategy controlled for sector fixed effect and thus rules out bias from unobserved regional or sectoral changes. Also, it made it possible to determine how instrumented changes in exports affect measures of firm performance. Three key measures of performance considered by this study are the value of total factor productivity, total sales and return to asset. They were known to increase as the levels of export increased. They disclosed that firms with greater currency depreciation have slower growth in exports and export growth was noticed to increase firm productivity and performance. This study is different because it examines shocks that are heterogeneous across firms (as anticipated shocks from the financial crisis), which are not based on potential endogenous government actions (such as trade liberalizations), and are not caused by major crises or regime changes that are likely to be correlated with other economic or policy changes. Klitgaard (1999) examines the responses of firms to maintaining stable profit margins and sales as the rate of exchange fluctuates. These firms were known to strike a balance between a stable profit margin and a reasonable sales profile that will substance this profit. The short-run response of profit margins to exchange rate movements appears to be more prominent in firms associated with high valued commodities, the author suggested that this should be due to the fact that the prices of these commodities are majorly invoiced in foreign currencies such that when they are valued in terms of the local currency, they respond automatically to exchange rate swings. It was also noticed that the direction of the movement of the local currency have no effect on firms behavior in analyzing sale-profit relationship, this is because, these firms are used to adjusting their profit margins to stabilize prices in foreign markets. This means that these firms will only raise their profit margins when the local currency depreciates and they may cut margins when the yen appreciates. Baggs, Beaulieu, Fung and Lapham (2011) estimated the effect of real exchange rate movement on Canadian retail firms and its impact on firms’ performance. The measures of performance evaluated are profitability, size, sales and employment. They anticipated that exchange rate movement will have a demand-side effect on retail firms through its impact on cross-border shopping, mainly, Canadian- American consumers. Also, they proposed that these firms will have a supply side effect through its impact on the prices of imported goods that Canadian retailers purchase for resale. They examine the exchange rate effect on retail firms and its impact on different industry groups and detected that the effect of exchange rate movement was most adverse on profitability and the obtained effect diminished over time in accordance to the location of the firm, i.e. nearness to the market. They also disclosed that the real exchange rate distance interaction term maintain the same strong positive sign for all the firms observed. A negative exchange rate effect was observed due to a net effect in the prices of input as a result of an increase in the domestic rate of exchange, which caused the prices of inputs to fall and as a consequence, the retail price of the good was reduced. This indicates that a real appreciation of the Canadian dollar reduces the level of sales, increase in labor supply and firm profit. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 586 The exchange rate movement was also noticed to influence the levels of sales. The levels of sales were noticed to decrease as the rate of exchange appreciated while in depreciation in the real rate of exchange lead to increase in sales. Subsequently, the mixed effect of exchange rate movement was identified to have effect on firm’s survival. Therefore, the real exchange rate effect was viewed to have substantial implications for the sales, employment and profits of retail firms. Also, it was noticed that the largest shock adjustment effect is in profits, and that firms absorb a considerable portion of exchange rate shocks in sales and employment. It was also disclosed that the location of firms determine the magnitude of exchange rate shocks it can absorb. In a model with heterogeneous consumers, exchange rate pass through can be incomplete and heterogeneous across goods of different quality, Auer and Chaney, (2008) affirm that exporters sell goods of different qualities to consumers who have heterogeneous preferences for quality. For this reason, the level of productivity is subject to decreasing return to scale. The level of supply and intense competition react to cost changes due to exchange rate fluctuations. Subsequently, it was justified that exchange rate shocks are imperfectly passed through into prices. Exchange rate has a significant positive impact on export volumes, which varies across firms; although it is significantly reduced for low performing firms (Berman, Martin & Mayer. 2008). This suggests that high and low productive firms have distinct strategies for various circumstances of exchange rate changes. METHODOLOGY Data We obtained the data used for this study from Nigerian Stock Exchange Fact Book (2008), companies’ annual report and statements of accounts and the National Bureau of Statistics Nigeria. The company data comprises cross sectional yearly observations of company performance indicators for twenty most active companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange over the period 2000 to 2009. The twenty companies selected for the study are Ashaka Cement Plc., Benue Cement Company Plc., Cadbury Nigeria Plc., Conoil/National Oil Plc., Flour Mills Plc., Guinness Nigeria Plc., John Holt Plc., Unilever Nigeria Plc., Julius Berger Nigerian Plc., Mobil Oil Nigerian Plc., Nigerian Bottling Company Plc., Oando/Unipetrol Plc., P.Z Industries Plc., Texaco. Nigerian/Chevron Plc., Total Nigeria Plc, W.A.P.C.O, United Nigerian Textile and UACN. The variables used in the study to capture corporate performance are cost related variables (Cost of goods sold) and profitability variable (profit before tax). The exchange rate volatility variable used is the square of the mean adjusted relative change in the official exchange rate. Model The model used for this study is a panel data regression in which corporate firm performance variable is expressed as a function of exchange rate volatility variable. To allow for control variable is the model, we added two explanatory variables prime lending rate and index of industrial production (a proxy for the level of economic activities). The model in it linear estimation form is expressed as follows; Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 587 ( )143221 ititititit uLINDPLINTREXRTLCOGS ++++= αααα ( )243221 ititititit uLINDPLINTREXRTLPRBT ++++= ββββ Where; i = 1, 2,…,20 t =1, 2,…,10 LCOGSit is the log of cost of goods sold for the company i at time t. LPRBT is the log of profit before tax for the company i at time t. LINDPit is the log of index of industrial production affecting company i at time t EXRT2it is the exchange rate volatility variable. LINTRit is the prime lending rates affecting company i at time t. Uit is the error term. The study adopts the panel data estimation to test the behavior of the parameters in the models with the models allowing for three different assumptions: the common constant assumption, the fixed effect assumption and the random effect assumption. The first two models, equation (1) and equation (2) represent the common constant model. In this specification, we assume there are no differences between the estimated cross sections of the twenty companies. This assumption is useful only under the condition that the data set of the different companies is a priori homogenous. But firms hardly behave alike. To capture heterogeneous behavior across the twenty firms, we re-specify equations (1) and (2) as follows; ( )343221 ititititiit uLINDPLINTREXRTLCOGS ++++= αααα ( )443221 ititititiit uLINDPLINTREXRTLPRBT ++++= ββββ The subscript i on the intercept term α1 and β1 suggests that the intercepts of the twenty firms may be different. Equations (3) and (4) are the fixed effect model which assumes heterogeneous behavior amongst the different companies and is based on the hypothesis of incorporating different constants for each company. This is carried out by simply introducing differential intercept dummy into the model. An expansion of equations (3) and (4) produces the differential intercept dummy model. ( )54322 202019191818171716161515 1414131312121111101099 887766554433221 itititit iiiiii iiiiii iiiiiiiit uLINDPLINTREXRT DumDumDumDumDumDum DumDumDumDumDumDum DumDumBumDumDumDumDumLCOGS ++++ ++++++ ++++++ +++++++= φφφ αααααα αααααα αααααααα Where, Dum2i=1 for the firm 1 and 0 otherwise; Dum3i =1 for firm 2 and 0 otherwise and so no. In equation (5), α1 represents the intercept value of the first firm while other α coefficients represents the differential intercept dummies. Thus, α2 tells by how much the intercept of the second firm differs from the first firm. To test whether the fixed effect (FE) estimation should be included in the model, we use the Hausman specification test (1978) to guide us in the choice between the Fixed Effect model and the Random Effects model. The random effect model (RE) also called the error component model (ECM) suggests we treat the constants from each section as random parameter rather than fixed. We obtain the model from equation (3) by assuming α1i in equation (3) and β1i in equation (4) are random variables with a mean value of α1 and β1 respectively. Thus, enabling us to represent the intercept value for an individual company as; Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 588 )6(...,,2,111 Niii =∈+= αα Where i∈ is a random term with mean value of zero and variance of 2 ∈σ The random effect model therefore assumes the form; ( )7)(43221 itiitititit uLINTRLINDPEXRTLCOGS +∈++++= αααα ( )8)(43221 itiitititit uLINTRLINDPEXRTLCPERF +∈++++= ββββ Where; )( iti u+∈ , is the idiosyncratic error term combines cross-section and time series component. The usual assumption made for the error component model (ECM) is that the individual error components are not correlated with each other and are not autocorrelated across both cross-section and time series units. They are also not correlated with any of the explanatory variables in the model. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In Table 1, the result of the common constant model and the least square dummy variable model is reported for the dependent variables (COGS and GPBT). In the common constant assumption, we pooled all the twenty firms by lumping them into a single model. From the result, the common constant coefficient performed poorly given that all the coefficients (measured as elasticities) failed the test of significance at the 5 percent levels of significance with the exception of the exchange rate volatility variable in the cost-performance based model which passed the test of significance at the 10 percent levels of significance. The adjusted R2 values of 0.13 and 0.09 for both the cost of goods sold and the profitability model showed a very poor fit. While the Durbin-Watson values of 0.13 and 0.09 suggests the presence of autocorrelation in both models. An explanation for the poor performance of both models can be attributed to specification error given that we assumed away the uniqueness of each of the firms in the common constant model by taking all the firms as homogeneous entities. The least square dummy variable model (LSDV) reported in Table 1 (Column 3 and 4), showed a significant improvement over the pooled result suggesting that the twenty firm are heterogeneous in their various operations. This is in line with the results obtained by (Bartelsman and Doms 2000; Girma, Greenaway and Kneller 2002) that identified factors such as ability to export, effective policy regulation, management style, ownership structure, technology and human capital as the main factors that determines firm performance. The result reported in column 3, Table 1 appears to be better than the profitability model reported in column 4, Table 1.This result again tallies with the result obtained by klitgaard (1999), where it was established that the direction of the movement of the local currency have no effect on firm behavior in analyzing sales-profit relationship. From the result reported in column 4, all the differential slope coefficients were individually statistically significant with the exception of Dum5, Dum6, Dum8 and Dum14 which failed the test of significance at the 5 percent levels of significance. The exchange rate volatility variable passed the test of significance at the 1 percent levels and is positively signed indicating that a percentage increases in exchange rate volatility increases firms cost of goods sold by over 14.7 percent. Increase in the level of economic activity as measured by index of industrial production and lending rate had a negative impact on firm’s cost of goods sold. The variables easily passed the test of significance at the 1 percent level. The adjusted coefficient of determination value of 0.86 shows a very Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 589 high fit, given that only about 14 percent systematic variation of the performance indicator variable is left unaccounted for in the model. The Durbin-Watson statistic value of 0.91 shows the presence of autocorrelation however, the overall model had a good fit as indicated by the F-statistics value the profitability model reported in column 4, Table 1: Panel Data Results Based on Common Constant and Fixed Effect (LSDV) Model Explanatory Variables COMMON CONSTANT COMMON CONSTANT FE/LSDV FE/LSDV LCOGS (1) LPBRT (2) (11 75)* LCOGS (3) LPBRT(4) (11 75)* C 22.14 (5.37)* 22.00 (4.07)* 24.32 (14.1)* 16.91 (4.60)* EXR^2 15.68 (1.79)*** 16.11 (1.34) 14.75 (4.06)* 10.74 (1.33) LINDX -1.79 (-1.60) -2.42 (-1.66) 0.93 (-4.69)* -1.62 (-1.66) LINTR -1.16 (-1.48) -0.77 (-0.75) -2.18 (3.02)* -0.41 (-0.59) DUM2 -1.95 (-10.7)* 0.27 (0.68) DUM3 -3.21 (-17.1)* 1.63 (3.54)* DUM4 -1.50 (-8.29)* 0.40 (0.85) DUM5 -0.12 (-0.68) 0.08 (0.22) DUM6 -0.08 (-0.45) -0.10 (-0.26) DUM7 -0.89 (-4.93)* 1.14 (3.46)* DUM8 -0.21 (-1.20) -0.37 (-0.91) DUM9 -0.34 (-1.91)*** -0.08 (-0.21) DUM10 -0.58 (-3.23)* 1.88 (4.62)* DUM11 -0.39 (-2.14)** 0.04 (0.11) DUM12 0.36 (-1.98)** -0.09 (-0.24) DUM13 -1.56 (-8.59)* -2.48 (-6.36)* DUM14 -0.30 (-1.65) -0.38 (-0.91) DUM15 0.50 (-2.78)** 0.58 (1.43) DUM16 -1.52 (-8.36)* -0.15 (-0.38) DUM17 -1.09 (-6.04)* 0.13 (0.32) DUM18 -1.29 (-7.09)* -1.23 (-2.46)** DUM19 -1.06 (-5.84)* 1.12 (2.50)** DUM20 -0.65 (-3.58)* 0.20 (0.49) R2 /Adj.R2 0.14 0.13 0..11 0.09 0.87 0.86 0.65 0.60 F-Statistics 10.1 6.28 47.05* 11.5* DW-Statistics 0.135 0.95 0.91 2.42 Notes: Figures in parenthesis represent t-values *denotes Significant at 1 percent level, **denote significant at 5 percent levels while ***denote significant at 10 percent levels Source: Authors Estimation, Eview 6, November 2011. Table 1 performed poorly as all the variables in the model failed the test of significance at the 5 percent levels. With the aid of the Hausman test reported in Table 3, we dropped the Random effects model reported in Table column 2 of Table 3 this is because the Hausman test (which shows the estimated 2χ Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 590 value for 4 degree of freedom) had an invalid cross-section test variance with the test statistics set to zero making the Random effect model unreliable. Thus, for this study we concentrate on the least square dummy variable model result reported in Table 3, column 3 and 4. Table 2: Panel Data Results Based on Fixed Effect and Random Effect Model Explanatory Variables FIXED EFFECT MODEL (1) RANDOM EFFECT MODEL (2) LCOGS LPBRT (11.75)* LCOGS LPBRT (11.75)* C 23.53 (5.37)* 17.06.00 (4.06)* 23.46 (13.6)* 17.94 (4.60)* EXR^2 14.75 (1.79)*** 10.74 (1.33) 14.78 (4.07)* 11.60 (1.33) LINDX -2.18 (-1.60) -1.62 (-1.66) -2.17 (-4.66)* -1.77 (-1.66) LINTR -098 (-1.48) -0.41 (-0.59) -099 (3.04)* -0.46 (-0.59) R2 /Adj.R2 0.87 0.85 0..65 0.59 0.50 0.49 0.10 0.09 F-Statistics 47.05 0.91 11.5 2.42 58.7 0.75 6.20 1.97 DW-Statistics EFFECT SPECIFICATION S.D Rho S.D Rho Cross-Section random. 0.68 0.75 0.74 0.48 Idiosyncratic random 0.38 0.24 0.77 0.51 Notes: Figures in parenthesis represent t-values *denotes Significant at 1 percent level, **denote significant at 5 percent levels while ***denote significant at 10 percent levels Source: Authors Estimation, Eview 6, November 2011. CONCLUSION This study has employed panel data estimating technique to examine the effect of exchange rate volatility on corporate performance in Nigeria. Using the squared value of the mean adjusted relative change in exchange rate to proxy exchange rate volatility and incorporating two control variables in the model- index of industrial production and prime lending rate, the result suggest that exchange rate volatility had a significant impact on firms cost of goods sold. A reduction in firms cost of goods sold is likely to imply significant improvement in firm’s performance. The study shows that volatility in exchange rate would most likely impact on firms’ profitability through increased transactions cost arising from either translations or transactions risk emanating from the volatility in exchange rate. The result also showed that the level of economic activity as measured by index of industrial activity and lending rate are important factors in explaining firm’s performance in Nigeria. Interestingly, lending rate seems to have a significant negative effect on cost of goods sold. This negates the a priori relationship between cost of borrowing and firm’s performance. One explanation to this is that most firms are not driven by bank loans. This finding has severe implications for policy makers as continuous use of monetary policy tool (interest rate) is not likely to influence real economic aggregates as shown by the interest rate-firm performance variable. Limitations In this paper, we estimated the effects of exchange rate volatility on corporate performance in Nigeria using panel data. Our emphasis was on twenty companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange without possibly separating the firms in terms of high and low performance firms. It will be worthwhile for future Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 591 research to examine the behavior of more firms by separating the firms in term of whether the firms are high performance firm or low performance firms. REFERENCES Auer, R. & Chaney, T (2007). How Do the Prices of Different Goods Respond to Exchange Rate Shocks? A Model of Quality Pricing-to-Market. University of Chicago and NBER Working Paper, December. Auer, R. & Chaney, T (2009). “Exchange rate Pass-Through in a Competitive Model of Pricing-to- Market”, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 41(s1), February, p. 151-175. Baggs, J., Beaulieu, E., Fung, L. & Lapham, B. (2011). Exchange Rate Movements and Firm Dynamic in Canadian Retail Industries. Econometrics society, North America, Winter Meeting. Bartelsman, E. J. & Doms, M. (2000). “Understanding productivity: lessons from longitudinal micro databases”, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 38, No. 3. Berman, N., Martin, P. & Mayer, T. (2008). How do different firms react to exchange rate changes? Prices, quantities, entry and exit, Paris School of Economics, University of Paris-1 Pantheon Sorbonne and CEPR Working Paper, December. Blundel, R. and S. Bond (1999), “GMM estimator with persistent panel data: an application to production functions”, IFS Working Paper No. W99/4. Campa, J. M., Goldberg, L. S. & Gonzalez-Minguez, J. M. (2005). “Exchange rate pass-though to import prices in the Euro area”, Staff Report 219, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Chatterjee, A., Carneiro, R. D. & Vichyanond, J. (2010). Multi-Product Firms and Exchange Rate Fluctuations. Princeton University Working Paper, August. Clerides, S. K., Lach S. & Tybout, J (1998). “Is learning by exporting important? Micro-dynamic evidence from Colombia, Mexico and Morocco”, Quarterly Journal of Economics 113 (3): 903-947. Corsetti, G. & Dedola, L (2005). “A Macroeconomic Model of International Price Discrimination”, Journal of International Economics, 67(1), p. 129-155. Farinas, J, C. & Martin-Marcos, A (2003). Exporting and Economic Performance: Firm-level evidence for Spanish Manufacturing, Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy, Working Paper, University of Nottingham. Fung, Loretta (2004) Large real exchange rate movements, firm dynamics, and productivity growth, mimeo, University of Alberta, Canada. Girma, S., Greenaway D. & Kneller, R. (2002). Does exporting lead to better performance? A micro- econometric analysis of matched firms, GEP Research Paper 02/09, University of Nottingham. Gopinath, G., Oleg, I. & Rigobon, R. (2010). Currency Choice and Exchange Rate Pass-through, American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), March, p. 304-336. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 592 Harris, Richard, G. (2001) Is there a Case for Exchange Rate Induced Productivity Changes? Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Working Paper 164. Klitgaard, Thomas (1999) “Exchange Rates and Profit Margins: The Case of Japanese Exporters”, FRBNY Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, April. Park, A., Yang, D., Xinzheng, S. & Jiang, Y. (2006). Exporting and firm performance: Chinese Exporters and the Asian Financial Crisis, Research Seminar in International Economics, University of Michigan, Discussion Paper No. 549. BIOGRAPHY Ikechukwu Kelilume, Lagos Business School Doyin Salami, Lagos Business School *Senior Lecturer, **Senior Fellow Lagos Business School, K.m 22 Lekki-Aja Expressway, Lagos Island, Lagos State, Nigeria Email: dsalami@lbs.edu.ng; ikelikume@lbs.edu.ng Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 593 EXAMINATION OF ETHNIC AND POLICY ISSUES IN GROOMING PREFERENCES AND ETHNIC HAIRSTYLES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN CORPORATE AMERICA Angela Renee Payne, Argosy University – Chicago, IL Bharat S. Thakkar,, Argosy University – Chicago, IL ABSTRACT For a century, college-trained, professional racial minorities: specifically, African American women with a preference in grooming methods have contributed to the labor market; however, in the new millennium, they are often discriminated against, scoffed at, isolated, and demoralized based on ethnic hairstyles. Research studies have distinguished a depth of research on this and conversely there are limited studies on racial minorities, in particular among grooming preferences in ethnic hairstyles. Studies have shown that in progressive companies, racial minorities and African American women who wear ethnic hairstyles had their employment terminated with prejudice. With regard to these case studies and findings, one could argue that in this nation there is freedom of speech and inequality in expression. For this reason, this research is very necessary to discover variables in ethnic and policy issues in grooming preferences with regard to the ethnic hairstyles of African American women as it relates to employers, whereat cohesive practices in diversity and policies address imposing construct in the labor market. This research will not address every ethnical concern in the labor market; yet, it responds to a call in the literature to define managerial deficiencies against racial minorities: in particular, African American women in grooming preferences. KEYWORDS: African American Women, Hair Grooming, Corporate America, Ethnic Policy Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 594 COST AND VALUE ADDED COMPETITIVENESS: CHINA VS. MEXICO Juan España, National University China and Mexico compete in the US market for consumer electronics, auto parts, machinery, etc. This study analyses the role of cost factors as well as technology and other differentiating factors in this evolving rivalry. As alternative low-cost locations emerge worldwide, both nations race to move up the value chain, and the cost focus gives way to a competition based on a wider array of elements. As China’s cost advantages continues to erode, the country takes steps to move up the value chain, increasing its offerings of value added goods with a higher technology content. In turn, Mexico builds on its special location and NAFTA privileges to build a sustainable cost-plus-convenience advantage. Governments play a decisive role in shaping this transformation, and a comparison of national competiveness and industrial policies reveals major differences, while also pointing at viable potential competitive strategies for both countries, including targeted Chinese foreign direct investment in Mexico’s production system. Such an alternative would offer unique advantages to China including location advantages, guaranteed access to the US market, as well as a more receptive FDI legislation and treatment. This option becomes more valuable for China as trade and other tensions with the US escalate. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 595 SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS CREATED BY A CHINESE MANUFACTURER IN AN E-COMMERCE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT Ronald E. Milliman, Western Kentucky University ABSTRACT An e-commerce firm encountered major supply chain problems caused by extremely erratic and unpredictable shipments from its Chinese supplier. It was this firm that cooperated in this empirical investigation. The study was designed to experimentally find an approach to overcome customer dissonance caused by the resultant order shipment delays from the cooperating firm to its customers. The product was a GPS unit specifically designed for fishers. Two independent variables were manipulated: 1) order shipment delays and 2) the receipt of an extra unexpected gift with the order. Significant reductions in dissonance levels were achieved by giving the customer more than expected when they incurred unusually long delays in the receipt of their orders. The research included managerial implications. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 596 A PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE FOR DYNAMIC ELEARNING ENVIRONMENTS BASED ON STUDENT ACTIVITY AND LEARNING STYLES John A. Kaliski, Minnesota State University Queen E. Booker, Minnesota State University Paul Schumann, Minnesota State University ABSTRACT Using computer assisted technologies or learning management systems to supplement or replace the classroom experience is common in education. The use of these technologies generates a large volume of transactional level data that could be used to help both the instructor and the student benefit more from the course content. This is in part due to the amount and type of data captured by technology based learning support systems. This paper proposes a potential architecture using business intelligence methodology for capturing a robust array of leaner activity and using that captured data to automatically adapt the learning environment to the needs and learning style of the learner. This architecture has implications to individual learning, course management, program assessment, and college-level assurance of learning. Partial implements of this architecture are discussed. INTRODUCTION Learning technologies encompass a broad range of communication, information and related technologies that can be used to support learning, teaching, and assessment. Learning technologies are common in the education industry as parents, students and teachers try to take advantage of the technologies to promote and improve learning. With the invention of learning management systems (LMS), teachers and administrators are turning to online technologies to aid in the learning process. For example, Chico State University has rolled out experimental course redesigns, encouraging faculty members to think about how to use new learning technologies such as online instruction (Glenn, 2010). Carnegie Mellon's Open Learning Initiative and the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education's National Repository of Online Courses, are other examples of innovative uses of technology to help educate (Milliron, 2010). In a 2002 Chronicle of Higher Education article, the president of Pennsylvania State University was quoted as saying that the convergence between online and residential instruction was the single-greatest unrecognized trend in higher education. (Young, 2002). In 2003, the American Society for Training and Development identified blended learning as one of the top ten trends to emerge in education, where blended learning is some combination of face-to-face and technology based learning (Rooney, 2003). As institutions engage in greater use of LMS, there are benefits to the use of the learning management systems (LMS). The use of LMS to manage course content allows for the capture of student behaviors such as accessing reading materials and teaching notes, when students start online assignments, how long students take to complete the assignments especially quizzes and exams, as well as productivity in discussion forums. Some LMS also capture how often and how long students log into the system. While many LMS capture this information, little is known about how to appropriately use this information to better understand student behaviors or e-Learning usage patterns. This paper presents are a possible Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 597 architecture for understanding students e-Learning usage pattern. Parts of architecture are already commercially available. PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE FOR UNDERSTANDING AND BENEFITTING FROM STUDENT E-LEARNING USAGE PATTERNS The use of e-learning technologies has its strengths and weaknesses. The strength is definitely in the ability to manage and grade large numbers of assignments making larger classes easier to assess. It also allows for teaching material to be available to students 24/7. By centralizing access to assignments, discussion forums and learning material the instructor now has a rich dataset of transactions that capture student behaviors including information about when the student logs in to the system, what the student did while logged in, and the results of assessments. Some learning platforms can even tell the instructor the proximity of IP addresses of students and other websites the student was visiting while logged in to the learning management system. The weakness of this data is that an instructor can easily be perceived as invading a student’s privacy. Maybe a student doesn’t want the instructor to know how frequently they logged in and what they were doing other than evaluating the submission of assignments. While the data generated can help the instructor better understand and identify behaviors of the student while online, students may not appreciate the instructor knowing so much about them without knowing them in a strong face-to-face situation. Raw Data Generation: a Event Based Activity Monitoring. At the heart of the architecture is the collection of detailed activity information of how the learner is doing within the LMS and how the learner is interacting for the learning content. It should be noted that the collection of this detailed activity does in no way represent a compromise of neither the LMS’ nor browser’s security protocols. All of the information obtained in this section is readily available to any Web-based application. Most applications simply choose to ignore this source of information. The coarsest level of data retained in support to the current architecture is page level information such as which learning content is view by which student at what time for how long and from what physical location. This data is very similar to that retained by most current LMS systems as well as by GA. The event-based tracking described below is in addition to this page-level tracking. Building Activity Benchmark Ascribing meaning to the raw data generated in the previous section is impossible without a benchmark to measure the activity against. For example suppose the activity data indicates that during a portion of the course student online activity has dramatically dipped. From an educational perspective what is the meaning of this finding? It is very difficult to tell. The lack of online activity may have been caused by many reasons: the course is engaged in non-online content or activities or the students are on a break. Student activity only has meaning when coupled with the expectations of the instructor. For example the dip in activity is an area of concern only if the course is at a point where the instructor would expect the students to be heavily engaged with the online content. Building these activity benchmarks are equivalent to GA’s conversion goals. Just as GA’s goals become a metric of performance through which success in of the Web site may be measured, the activity Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 598 benchmarks provide meaning to the learner activity. These benchmarks allow the instructor to communicate with the system what the expectation of the learner is. This is a key component because it allows measurements for the alignment of learner activity and instructor expectations. For example when an instructor is working on an activity within the course, one would expect that the student traffic patterns on the supporting materials for that activity to dramatically increase. If this increase fails to occur this would be a misalignment of the student activity with the instructor’s expectations and would be an area of concern. This alignment can be measured which provides a means of progress tracking the student activity. The benchmarks should be refined over time as the course curriculum evolves or as the instructors expectations clarify. Misalignments between the benchmark and the student activity can drive a continuous improvement process for the curriculum. If disappointing alignment results are seen repeatedly across terms this may be an indicator of a potential area for curriculum improvement. Building a User Rating Metric The architecture outlined here attempts to parallel the construction of this user rating through electronic means. Using the raw student activity data and instructor driven benchmark a user rating score is derived. This score is computed as an affine calculation based on a student’s performance on a series of score card items. To be direct, these score card items are NOT elements from the course gradebook. Rather these items are measurable, binary performance activities that may be observed in the activity logs. These score card items should be easily extensible and will vary from environment to environment. The User Rating developed for the simulation contains over 50 score card items. One such item included in this User Rating metric is the student’s consistency in researching current market conditions within the industry before recording their decisions for their simulated company. If a student frequently makes decisions “blind” to the market, it reflects poorly on their management style and their understanding of marketing. The item is set based on how percentage of times the student “blindly” makes their decision; if this percent is above a threshold level the score card item is set to one. As with the informal, intuitive metric, this formalized user rating is recalculated repeatedly over time. By retaining these values a time series tracking of the student progress is possible. Once a reliable, formalized user rating has been developed for the content, a huge number of uses become apparent: Since the user rating for the learners may be tracked overtime, at risk students may be quickly identified if a dramatic negative change in their user rating. These students can then be automatically referred to an advising function within the university/college. Based on the students User Rating score intelligent agents may be built that will customize on a mass scale the delivery of content and advise based on the current learner’s needs. An example of one such intelligent agent is sited in the Early Stage section below. It the score card items are categorized into sub-topic areas a more detailed picture of student’s strengths and weaknesses may be derived. This may be used to deliver more focused remediation to the student. At a macro, programmatic level, statistical profiles of all students in a program, department or college may be derived as evidence of program outcomes and of potential weaknesses in those programs that should be addressed. This provides an automated way of generating program assessment reports and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 599 continuous improvement feedback loops that are required by many program or college accrediting organizations. From Analytics to Business Intelligence Business Intelligence (BI) is defined as “a system for analyzing collected data, with the purpose of providing a better view of an organization's operations to ultimately improve and enhance decision- making, agility and performance.” (Stiffler, 2010). For faculty who teach and use LMSs, the data generated by the LMS can be extensive. For example, four hundred student users of Micromatic generate roughly 200K transactions in one month. The transaction level data is very detailed consisting of a variety of information including IP addresses, login time, log in time, decisions made, etc. Because the data is transactional it is associated with a particular customer, in this case, the student. Thus, the instructor (or the system) has the ability to associate behaviors with traditional assessments such as grade and provide automated prompts to potentially improve student behaviors and hence learning outcomes. The data in LMS’s can also provide both the instructor and students with a global view of the “average student” as well as identify outliers such as students who have never logged in to the system or students who have already looked at most of the course materials. Future Universe of Research This paper outlines a potential model and use for the transactional data available in learning management systems. Effective use of LMS transactional data can potentially increase student retention, especially when the students are bombarded with large classes in their first few years of college level enrollment. Retaining students is concomitant with retaining a loyal customer-that is one seat that the admissions department does not have to identify a transfer student for replacement, thus saving the college or university significant dollars. The authors consider architecture outlined in this paper as being very early staged. It is only one possible way the activity monitoring could be accomplished. This architecture will likely evolve overtime. The implementation of the architecture will also grow as product plans come to fruition. The goal of the architecture is to find and solve problems sooner than has been possible before and on a much larger scale. Having access of this information modifies the behavior of both the instructor and the students. Does this clear human subjects study? The point is it doesn’t have to – because it will likely come from the commercial vendors. For LMS vendors that decide to implement robust activity monitoring subsystems into their tools, this subsystem will be a strategic product differentiator. There are a daunting number of non-technical questions to be explored concerning this research. At this point the societal and ethical impacts of this technology are unclear. Who should have access to this information? What are the privacy and security concerns? What are the implications to the students? What are the implications to advising? What are the implications to the instructor’s evaluation and tenure? What are the implications to a program/college’s accreditation efforts? REFERENCES Bergen, J. Event Programming Fundamentals. http://csis.pace.edu/~bergin/Java/eventfundamentals.html Access on December 16, 2010. http://csis.pace.edu/~bergin/Java/eventfundamentals.html Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 600 Melosi, Martin V., (2004) The Automobile and the Environment in American History at http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Environment/E_Overview/E_Overview4.htm accessed December 9, 2010 OakTree Simulations. Micromatic Business Simulation. http://oaktreesim.com/Business-Simulation- Game-Instructors.html Produced by Oak Tree Simulations, LLC. Accessed on December 9, 2010. Kaliski, J. Aspen, An Online classroom Tool. http://aspen.mnsu.edu Accessed on December 9, 2010. EPM1. The Basics of Google Analytics. http://www.epowermark.com/basics-google-analytics-wp.php Accessed on December 9, 2010 EPM2. Setting Up Goals in Google Analytics. http://www.epowermark.com/2008/03/setting-up-goals- in-google-analytics.html Accessed on December 9, 2010 David Glenn, “Big Classes Encourage Experiments in Teaching”, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 7, 2010 Mark David Milliron, Online Education vs. Traditional Learning: Time to End the Family Feud, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 31, 2010 Microsoft , “Student Individualized Growth Model and Assessment (SIGMA) A Microsoft Education Analytics Platform Approach to Students at Risk”, Whitepaper. http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/1/8/4182DF40-7EA3-4C13-91D0- E3B75D639590/Student_Individualized_Growth_Model_and_Assessment . Accessed Oct 12, 2011. Stiffler, J. Business Intelligence: Critical Insight for Private Equity. Financial Executive v. 26 no. 8 (October 2010) p. 64-5 BIOGRAPHY John A. Kaliski, Queen E. Booker and Paul Schumann can be contacted at Department of Management College of Business Minnesota State University Mankato MN, 56001 http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Environment/E_Overview/E_Overview4.htm http://oaktreesim.com/Business-Simulation-Game-Instructors.html http://oaktreesim.com/Business-Simulation-Game-Instructors.html http://oaktreesim.com/Business-Simulation-Game-Instructors.html http://aspen.mnsu.edu/ http://aspen.mnsu.edu/ http://www.epowermark.com/basics-google-analytics-wp.php http://www.epowermark.com/2008/03/setting-up-goals-in-google-analytics.html http://www.epowermark.com/2008/03/setting-up-goals-in-google-analytics.html Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 601 PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR OPTICAL CENTERS BASED ON THE CONSUMER Lucila Zárraga Cano, Universidad del Caribe Enrique Corona Sandoval, Universidad del Caribe Miguel Ángel Olivares Urbina, Universidad del Caribe ABSTRACT Now at days it is important for the buying decision process to identify the most relevant factors influencing the decision to purchase a product. This translates into the most prominent attributes that seek to draw the consumers attention and encourage the purchase of a product, knowing this information strategies can be created to achieve a greater impact on clients. Optical Centers are companies that need to redefine their marketing strategies due to the opening of new marketing formats presented by large retail chains that offer the same service. The objective is to identify the weight the variables set by the consumer have in the decision making process on the purchase of a product in an optical center. The objective will be achieved through statistical analysis such as regression allowing us to identify the connection with the purchase and subsequently creating a factor analysis to summarize the variables and develop strategies more in line with what the consumer desires. Every company should consider developing strategies congruent to their consumers based on theoretical basis such as the purchase decision process, but establishing empirical factors required by the market to obtain a genuine buying interest. KEYWORDS: buying decision process, optical centers, marketing strategies. INTRODUCTION The eyes provide the sense of sight, it turns out to be one of the most important powers to humans, because it allows you to interact with their environment, recognize the objects that surround him in regard to mobility, shape, size, color and brightness, and access to information in their environment. In the absence of this option in whole or in part, that is, when people are blind or have visual disabilities must resort to alternative means of their own, such as the intensification of the rest of your senses, or technological devices have or scientific support to perceive reality (WHO, 2011). According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) estimates that worldwide 45 million blind and another 135 million are visually impaired, 90% of these people are in developing countries, what is unfortunate is that 80% of those cases are preventable According to the XII General Census of Population and Housing 2000, in Mexico there were almost five people with visual disabilities per 1000 inhabitants in the country, just over 467 000 people, of which 32.2% resided in rural areas. By state is observed that the state with the highest prevalence of visual impairment was Yucatán, with 10.7 people per thousand inhabitants, Tabasco and Campeche followed with 8.9 and 8.6 respectively. In contrast, Baja California (2.3), Tlaxcala (3.4) and Mexico City (3.4) were the states where the prevalence of visual impairment was lower in the country (INEGI, 2010). The gender difference is minimal overall, women represent 50.6% of the population, but significant changes occur between the different age groups showing the disability and focuses mainly on adult and elderly population, persons under 30 years 17.2% concentrate, people 30 to 59 years 33% and those 60 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 602 and older 48.8%, as age increases so does the proportion of people with visual disabilities (INEGI, 2010). For these reasons, the optics are companies that offer services in a space designed for specialized care eye care, with staff ready and able to identify the visual capabilities of patients and offer the best options for bringing your eyesight to the normal, where the main product offered are glasses and contact lenses. In Mexico are traditionally organized into smaller sections, own business units served by the owner and franchises. In recent years the arrival of two major global competitors Luxottica and Safilo, attracted by the potential for market growth in emerging countries have made major acquisitions of national chains such as market penetration strategy. The scenario is complicated for this industry, as contracted economic market is compounded by the arrival of large global competitors, which offer a vertical integration of distribution channels and cover the entire available market segments. The idea that the industry was hit hard from the post 2001 crisis and the crisis of influenza, the optical business has faced the crisis with a significant decline in customers visiting the outlets, mainly citing reasons an economic. So this research is to identify within marketing exogenous factors, the variables most strongly affecting the purchase decision process. Based on the fact that these businesses have a customer-centric approach, are given the task of periodic market research to know, among other things, the purchase decision process as a central element of the marketing process. LITERATURE REVIEW AND BACKGROUND Traditionally this type of business relies on a sale consultant is the person responsible to guide and explain to the patient in his final decision on ophthalmic lenses and its frame. The training they receive is of vital importance, since this depends on its arguments to present at the counter, so that firms tend to train more consistently to your personal brand support, but meets the concerns based optical only on training advisers to sell more, but forgets that it is important to link business strategy with the strategy of loyalty, if loyalty campaigns are conducted in optics become occasional customers and the objective is that they know the brand identity and begin to have an emotional relationship with it (Reynolds & Olson, 2001). You must get to work closely with customers to establish long term relationships, always focused on their tastes and preferences, changing course. The client concept has become, before it was taken just as the person who bought the product occasionally now being sought is to link with the brand and build a lasting relationship, where not only buy once but repeatedly, making his attitude towards the brand is sustained. The idea is to add the rational link generated by exchanging the product or service an emotional touch where the customer becomes a friend of the brand or company (Hawkins, Best & Coney, 1994). Companies that want to survive in a competitive environment, are set on the client as they are generated sales, is the most valuable asset in that count, because without them would not exist, therefore it is important to know how the consumers make decisions to buy, use and disposal of the product or service (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel) in order to facilitate this process. You need to understand that companies are required to have a thorough understanding of who your consumer is important to know how consumers make purchase decisions, as they use the product and finally as discarded goods and services (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel). Several researchers talk about the Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 603 steps involved in the process of consumer decision-making that is (Assael, 1999; Alonso, 2004; Pitts & Woodside, 1984; Schiffman & Kanuk, 2001; Sheth, mittal & Newman, 1991): 1. Recognition of the need occurs when consumers face a mismatch between their actual and desired that awakens and activates the process of consumer decision making. The recognition of the need when a consumer is exposed to internal or external stimulus. 2. Searching for information, once they recognize the need or desire, consumers seeking information about the various alternatives available to satisfy them through a search of information that can be internal to the remembered past information stored in external memory or is seeking information that may be internal to the remembered past information stored in external memory or is seeking information in the external environment. 3. Evaluation of alternatives, the consumer is ready to make a decision. 4. Purchase, the consumer must decide whether to buy or not. 5. Post-purchase behavior. A consumer will use the information stored in memory and other information obtained from external sources to develop a set of criteria. Researchers have shown that exposure to certain signs in their everyday environment may affect your decision criteria and buying. Factors that influence consumer buying decisions The process of consumer decision-making does not occur in isolation are affected by factors, cultural, social, individual and psychological, these factors have an effect from the time when the consumer perceives a stimulus to post-purchase behavior (Sheth, Mittal & Newman, 1999). Cultural influences: cultural factors exert a greater influence and which is the set of values, norms, activities that make consumer behavior (Loudon & DellaBitta, 1995). Social influences: These factors can reduce the search and evaluation efforts to decrease uncertainty, especially when it increases the perceived risk of the decision, through formal or informal group that influence the buying behavior of an individual or a leader opinion that it is an individual known to influence others or family (Sheth, Mittal & Newman, 1999). Individual Influences: The purchasing decisions of a person are also influenced by personal characteristics unique to each individual such as gender, age and stage of the cycle of life and personality, self-concept and lifestyle (Alonso, 2004). Psychological influences. Purchasing decisions of an individual are also influenced by psychological factors: perception, motivation, learning and beliefs and attitudes. These factors are what consumers use to interact with their world. They are tools that consumers use to recognize their feelings, gather and analyze information, formulate thoughts and opinions and take action (Sheth, Mittal & Newman, 1999). METHODOLOGY This research seeks to determine the relationship of the dependent variable age of purchase several independent variables that determine factors that may influence the purchase of prescription glasses. The relevance of this study is that they can develop strategies that have a greater impact at the time of Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 604 purchase decision, so you must first see if there is a relationship between them and then see the strength of the association so raises the following hypothesis: H1 Age has a positive significance in the factors that influence the purchase Table 1: Variables Dependent Variable Independent Variables Age of purchase Design framework Lens Brand Price Weight of frame Warranty Treatment of mica Materials making up the mica Mica type Lens Accessories Purchase Promotion Eye exam Point of sale Advertising Table shows the dependent and independent variables DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS There are several independent variables which need to see their influence on the age-dependent variable of purchase. The results show that Pearson variation of age is associated with the price slightly, the weight of the frame and the warranty as shown in table 2. Table 2: Pearson correlations Pearson Correlation Age Correlations Sig. Design framework -.069 .167 Lens Brand -.054 .224 Price .127 .037 Weight of frame .183 .005 Warranty .212 .001 Treatment of mica .075 .146 Materials making up the mica .088 .108 Mica type .032 .296 Lens Accessories -.072 .156 Purchase Promotion -.016 .410 Eye exam .099 .083 Point of sale .076 .142 Advertising -.099 .083 Table shows the Pearson correlation The Model Summary (table 3) shows that R square is .145, meaning that 14.5% of the variation in the age of purchase may be explained by the independent variables. The results of the regression model in the ANOVA table shows that the general model is significantly different from 0 (F = 2402). The probability level of .005 means that the chances are no greater than 005 that the results of the regression model could yield a population in which R square is actually .00. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 605 Table 3: Model Summary Model R R squared Adjusted R squared 1 .381 .145 .085 Table shows the R squared a. Predictors: (Constant), Advertising, Design frame, Price, Review of sight, Eyeglass frames, Lenses Accessories, Promotion of purchase, Treatment of mica, Point of sale, Type of mica, Warranty, Materials which are composed of mica. Table 4: ANOVA Model Sum of square Df Mean square F - value Sig. 1 Regression 32.120 13 2.471 2.402 .005 Residual 189.254 184 1.029 Total 221.374 197 Table shows the ANOVA a. Predictor Variables: (Constant), Advertising, Design of shell, shell weight, price, eye exams, eyeglass frames, lenses Accessories, Promotion of purchase, treatment of mica, point of sale, type of mica, Warranty, Materials which is composed of mica. b. Dependent Variable: Age To determine whether the thirteen variables are significant predictor purchase age is observed Coefficients table. The column of Standardized Beta Coeficients variable reveals that the guarantee has a beta coefficient of .307 with a significance level of .001, so the warranty states that grows 1 unit, the age- dependent variable of purchase is .307 units on average. So we know from this regression analysis the variable price, warranty and point of sale are a good predictor of age to purchase and frame design variables, a brand of lenses, treatment of mica, mica type, accessories lenses, purchase promotion, eye exam, and advertising are not. Table 5: Regression Coefficients Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Beta Model B Error t Sig. 1 (Constant) 1.729 .501 3.451 .001 Design framework -.056 .056 -.073 -1.008 .315 Lens Brand -.016 .042 -.030 -.394 .694 Price .104 .053 .147 1.973 .050 Weight of frame .073 .046 .126 1.597 .112 Warranty .178 .054 .307 3.298 .001 Treatment of mica -.072 .059 -.119 -1.217 .225 Materials making up the mica .006 .065 .011 .097 .923 Mica type -.018 .061 -.032 -.295 .768 Lens Accessories -.062 .040 -.124 -1.558 .121 Purchase Promotion -.053 .052 -.084 -1.028 .305 Eye exam -.003 .052 -.004 -0.50 .960 Point of sale .085 .045 .159 1.877 .062 Advertising -.101 .049 -.189 -2.067 .040 Table shows the regression coefficients a. Dependent Variable: Age CONCLUSIÓN The inference in the interpretation of statistical survey of marketing exogenous variable most influential in the purchase decision was the warranty. Conceptualizing the extended warranty attribute as the defining element at the time of the evaluation of alternatives. Within the purchasing decision process of such products within the binomial categorized visual health - personal image (fashion), the criteria of place, price, promotion and service are equalized to the extent of not showing a strong and definitive differentiation, generating a effect of "commodity", in the imagination Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 606 of the consumer does not make any difference. Therefore, the defining element is the warranty, which causes the generation of a relationship that goes beyond the extended life of the product or repair of any damage, generating a lasting relationship is highly valued by the actors in the process that influences repurchase and recommendation. It is important to set a limit of the investigation, the results circumstantial, as is inferred that the high competition in the retail business and the economic situation in the region - particularly seasonal and dependent on the tourism sector - the changing of the process indicates purchase decision in this sector, it is recommended, in an effort to monitor any change in consumer behavior, similar research conducted periodically to respond to the most appropriate marketing strategies. REFERENCES Assael, H. (1999). Comportamiento del Consumidor. México. Internacional Thomson. Alonso, Rivas, J. (2004). Comportamiento del Consumidor. Madrid. ESIC. Hawkins, D.I., Best, R. & Coney, K.A. (1994). Comportamiento del consumidor. Repercusiones en la estrategia de marketing. Wilmington. Addison – Wesley Iberoamericana. INEGI. (2010). Censo General de Población y Vivenda 2000 Lamb, C., Hair, J. & McDaniel, C. (2011). Marketing. México. Cengage Learning. Loudon, D.L & Della Bitta, A.J. (1995). Comportamiento del Consumidor conceptos y aplicaciones. México. Mc Graw Hill. Pitts, R.E. &Woodside, A.G. (1984). Personal values and consumer psychology. Massachusetts, Lexington Books. Reynolds, T.J. y Olson, J.C. (2001). Understanding consumer decision making: the means – end approach to marketing and advertising strategy. New Jersey. Erlbaum Associates. Schiffman, L.G. & Kanuk, L.L. (2001). Comportamiento del Consumidor. Prentice Hall. Sheth, J.N., Mittal, B. & Newman, B.I. (1999). Customer behavior. Consumer behavior and beyond. Orlando. The Dryden Press. World Health Organization (2011). Fact Sheet. Retrived November 2011 from www.who.int Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 607 PRODUCTIVE CHAINS CONFORMATION OF OSTREICULTURE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF ENSENADA BAJA CALIFORNIA Ramón Galván, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Enselmina Marín Vargas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California ABSTRACT This article describes a study proposal aimed to highlight the importance and benefits of the establishment of sectoral production chains as a source of growth and strengthening of producers, as well as a driver of regional economic development. Study will be refering specifically to the ostreiculture industry in Ensenada, Baja California. The key is to analyze the degree of progress of existing integration and/or factors alternatively influencing and preventing the formation of these productive chains between oyster farmers in the municipality of Ensenada, it is a topic of great interest due to the particular characteristics of the biological, geographic and economic context in this municipality and the potential it represents. It emphasizes the need to strengthen the groups with common activities that have been identified as promising and dynamic, seeking to strengthen each other, to promote their advancement within the value chain of individual and group. Analyzing clustering models and productive chains existing, this research emphasizes model variables: associativity, differentiation, and research and development as influencing factors for the formation of these clusters or productive chains. JEL: O13; Q22; R11 KEYWORDS: Ostreiculture, productive chains, clusters. INTRODUCTION Fishing and aquaculture are important economic activities and means of growth and development in the municipality of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Sardine and tuna extraction and production currently stands out in the state; however there is a huge potential in aquaculture, so it is essential to explore new production options that can produce a greater level of certainty. Oyster business in the region has great potential for development due to the geo-biological conditions of our state as well as being an important source of employment and foreign exchange generation; in the near future is a viable solution to the of food and nutrition problems in Mexico and the world, so it is vital that participants interact to promote orderly growth and development on this sector. According to FAO (2008), aquaculture has experienced unprecedented growth over the past 5 decades, from 1 million tons in the decade of the 50´s to over 50 million tons in 2008. Currently, aquaculture generates about 50% of fish consumed in the world. It is estimated that primary and secondary sectors are creating jobs for a total of 540 million people in the world, accounting aproximately 8% of the population. It is expected that over the next decade (2010-2020) global aquaculture production continues to increase. We highlight the importance and potential in the fishing and aquaculture for Mexico, as the country has over 3 million km2 of exploitable surfaces, which puts Mexico at number nine worldwide. On July 24, 2007 was published LEY GENERAL DE PESCA Y ACUACULTURA SUSTENTABLES (General Law of sutainable Fisheries and Aquaculture), which in Article 17 states: “…the fisheries and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 608 aquaculture are matters of national security are a priority for national development planning and management integrated fisheries and aquaculture;…”. Stresses that within the framework of National Development Plan 2007-2013 envisaged actions to further promote the fishing, aquaculture, as they are activities that demand momentum due to their potential and the slow development achieved. The State Development Plan for Baja California, includes the importance of aquaculture as the implementation of strategic development and improvement of the income of those people engaged in fishing and aquaculture activities, which ensure the sustainable use of resources and the preservation and restoration of marine ecosystems. Ensenada is currently the most important production, highlighting, among other species, the Japanese oyster culture (Crassostrea gigas). It originated initially in the Bay of San Quintin Baja California, in the early seventies, with the development of a series of works made at the time by Oceanological Research Institute (IOI) of Universidad Autonoma de Baja California; see Table 1. http://www.sepescabc.gob.mx/x/inicio/ Accessed: 06/16/2011. Table 1: Areas of aquaculture and species LOCATION SPECIES rincon de ballenas oyster, clam isla todos santos marine fish salsipuedes blue fin tuna punta banda blue fin tuna ensenada ornamental fish san quintin oysters, clams ejido erendira abalone, oyster seed ojos negros trout (pilot test) maneadero japanese oyster bahia todos santos kumamoto oyster san quintin laguna manuela estero san jose Source: Based on data from State Ministry of Fisheries Main areas of aquaculture and type of crops in the municipality of Ensenada The municipality of Ensenada has an extension of 1,114.89 km of coastline which account for over 80.8% of the coastal state extension; also owns 74,800 has of coastal lagoons suitable for aquaculture SEPESCA (2011), the main are listed in Table 2. Table 2; Ensenada bays Main bays in the municipality of Ensenada Resource Extension / Surface B. San Francisquito 215 has B. de Los Ángeles 476 has B. Sn Luis Gonzaga 315 has B. Todos Santos 24,000 has B. Isla Todos Santos 15 has B. Soledad 205 has B. San Quintín 3,000 has Total surface 28,226 has Source: Based on data from State Ministry of Fisheries. This table describes the Ensenada´s Bays and its surface in hectareas. http://www.sepescabc.gob.mx/x/inicio/ Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 609 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The research focuses on a positivistic approach, for which different models were compared for consideration (see Table 3), identifying those whose analyzed the variables: associativity, differentiation, and, research and development, which served to propose a model to meet the particular needs of Baja California. Table 3: Comparative of studied Models Author / Variable Associativity Differentiation I + D Emphasis / Model Porter (2002) X X Design and branding, Technology, product Attributes, consumer Services, network sales. Mintzguer, Quinn & Bogar on Ceniceros (2008) X Low Costs, differentiation Koonts & Weihrich on Ceniceros (2008) X Competitiveness David on Ceniceros (2008) X X marketing, I+D Laudon & Laudon on Ceniceros (2008) X Market Segmentation Thompson & Strickland on Ceniceros (2008) X X Design and performance of product and assortment, recyclability and environment protection, on-demand manufacturing of products, improved production methods, quality and appearance. Vazquez (1998) X X X Territoriality, resources interaction, unions, social and historical importance, socio-economic transformation; quality, infrastructure and services in mutual support; priorization of collective activities, networks, information flow, innovation and entrepreneurial dynamism. Olave (2005) X X Integrated business management, productivity, competitiveness, cultural and social focus, leadership focused on scientific practices. Medicci (2011) X X Integration of producers, financing, institutional relations, cooperation, economies of scale, R & D, marketing, social and economic welfare. This Table contains a summary of studied models, which contains the specific dimensions considered on each model. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 610 Definitions Aquaculture: According to the FAO’s yearbook of Aquaculture (2008) is defined as the cultivation of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. The farming activity involves human intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, and others activities. The farming also implies individual or corporate owners exert the population are under cultivation. Associativity: Vazquez Barquero (1998), associativity are grouping strategies carried out by groups of companies that decide to engage in various activities together, a situation that occurs in an atmosphere of informal networks, relationships and certain production linkages with suppliers, customers and markets, leading to the endogenization development. Development: This concept is related with economy, and primarly on technology. There is to be sought in developing a systematic application of scientific knowledge, it means, “therefore it is concluded that the cause is necessary for the development of research, however it is not necessary that the research becomes development. Differenciation: Porter (2002), on his book Competitive Advantage defines differentiation as a competitive advantage that any company possess, trough which it generates added value for customers by creating singularity, it may have originated from any part of the value chain. Ostreiculture: The cultivation of oysters in a controlled environment. Research: In regard to researchers, as companies, both agree that is the effort anyone does, personal or collective, to attain new knowlodge; in that sense, this process has different levels of relevance, to be distinguished: basic research, and the application-oriented research. Linkage between research and development (R&D): This connection must necessarily be managed, and that does not occur naturally. The growth of a country is strongly linked to its ability to integrate research and knowledge, posing such as strategic management to generate innovation and development. LITERATURE REVIEW Production Chains: A Proposed Model To Study According with Anllo, CEPAL (2010) (Economic Commision for Latin America) recognizes the existence of three different figures of business groups: linkages, clusters, networks and global value chains. Regarding the model proposed on this study, we will emphasize in terms of productive chains and clusters. The Clusters In the nineties, Porter (1999), revolutionized the concept of clusters and supply chains by introducing his theory of what he called “clusters” or “critical mass”, arguing that the economic map of the world is dominated by this type of clusters, which are located in a particular place, with a distinctive or unusual competitive success in certain areas of production (see Figure 1). Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 611 Figure 1: Outlining of cluster according Porter Source: Porter (1999) This figure outlines how cluster is defined by Porter, as the sum of supply chains and distribution channels of companies in a sector. The definition of a cluster according to Porter (1999 p. 199) is: “geographic concentrations of interconnected companies and institutions that act in a particular field. They bring together a wide range of industries and other related entities that are important to compete” in that sense, includes input suppliers or specialized industry ciritics, extending vertically sometimes to the channel with customers, and horizontally, to manufacturers of complementary products and other companie operating in industries with technological specialties or common inputs. Moreover, these concentrations include government agencies and other institutions such as universities, research centers, groups or business groups that provide training, information, and research and technology support. In the same matter, Porter (1999) notes that with the opening of markets, and the advancement of information technology and communications (globalization), the physical location of these clusters is becoming less relevant, and what takes on real importance of competitiveness, since the latter was traditionally linked to the cost of inputs, but to be satisfied the acquisition of these, takes precedence over the most productive use of inputs through constant innovation, generating this added value within the value chain of each company. Examples of these concentrations are mentioned: The wines of California, the cluster of entertainment in Hollywood, finance on Wall Street, the Italian leather cluster, the cluster of chemicals in Germany, among many others. According to CEPAL (2010), the cluster approach the central concept revolves around competition or individual competitive improvements, which have their origin in capturing positive externalities related to the advantages of their geographical location, (Porter calls “club goods”) is shared by traders or acitivity, but their costs are improved and/or income have such common features that allow them to exploit economies of scale and / or agglomeration. Therefore, these companies are characterized by competing with each other in normal conditions, but they share mutual benefits of various kinds. Company 1 Company 4 Company 2 Company N SUPPLIES DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS GEOGRAPHIC CONCENTRATION Company 3 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 612 Productive Chains According to McCormick (2006), a chain is a system consisting of interrelated actors and succession of stages of production, processing and marketing of a product or product group in a given environment, and in this sense, is defined as: “the sum of the supply chains and distribution channels of the companies that belong to a sector”. Consistent with what was stated in the “Economic development strategic plan for the municipality of Ensenada” (2004), McCormick (2006) agrees on the need to strengthen those sectors that have been identified as promising and dynamic diagnostic exercises to generate that leap to the stage of consolidation as clusters. Continuing McCormick (2006) noting that the production chains have weak links in their interaction with the territory, as opposed to clusters in these relations are not given support to institutions in the region, or with government agencies involved. Input-output matrix Productive chains Fuentes (2009), describes the input-output matrix of Leontief, as a model that quantifies the relationships between the various branches of economic activity, as suppliers or demanders mutual intermediate inputs, which allows you to select a function key sectors of the importance of interdependencies that can be measured through intersectoral linkages. The main premise of these studies is based on that not all economic activities have the same ability to induce effects on others. Some effects are indentified by generating “pull” or “push” harder, and through these indicators can establish a possible correlation between such effects and levels of economic growth. Alcalá et. al. (2009), notes that the importance in the implementation of a product system as a strategy for strengthening the development and competitiveness in a sector (in this case the shrimp in Baja California) lies in the contribution towards the development of a collaborative work culture among producers, primarily in the areas of production, marketing, organization, research and technology transfer, financing and insurance. Consistent with this, the strategic plan for municipal development in Ensenada 2010 includes the application of input-output matrix for the municipality of Ensenada, to identify potential clusters develop, and the forward plan and strategies for implementation. Approach Model To Study The model to study the problem posed is focused on identifying business practices such as associativity, differentiation, and, research and development in companies engaged in the ostreiculture in the municipality of Ensenada Baja California (Figure 2), have a direct bearing on the creation or participation of these chains, and their positioning within the value chain of their individual and group activity. METHODOLOGY This study will be conducted as applied research, since a model is proposed; is quantitative correlational as the goal is to measure and correlate between the study variables; documental research, as makes use of bibliographic sources to contextualize the situation of oyster industry from a global perspective; due the variables are not manipulated, it is a non-experimental research, as only interpret the results; it is a partial retrospective research, as part of the information already exists and the rest of it will be obtained; and finally it is a descriptive, since this way the parameters are described to study within the population. Problem Statement Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 613 It is unknown what is the relationship or impact of variables: associativity, differentiation and, research and development as an influence factor for productive chains conformation of oistreculture companies in the municipality of Ensenada Baja California. Figure 2: Ex – ante Model: Productive chains on ostreiculture business in the municipality of Ensenada. Source: Own This figure outlines the proposed Model to study, outlining the relationship between dependent variable and independents variables. Research Objective Identify, describe, and correlate, in which forms influence the variables: associativity, differentiation and, research and development, in the conformation of productive chains of oistreculture companies in the municipality of Ensenada Baja California. Research Question What is the relationship between associativity, differentiation, and reserach and development, as a factor of influence to participate in productive chains of oyster producers in the municipality of Ensenada Baja California? Statement / Hypotheses Ho: The conformation of productive chains has a direct relation with the business practices of associativity, differentiation and, research and development. H1: The conformation of productive chains does not have a direct relation with the business practices of associativity, differentiation, and research and development. Limitations Main limitation for the research performance is the distance to the production sites, due the geographical characteristics of the municipality of Ensenada, which territory covers nearly 80% of the state of Baja EX - ANTE MODEL dependent variable productive chains conformation of oyster business in the municipality of ensenada, baja california how to influence to: unit of analysis: companies dedicated to oistreculture in ensenada b.c. independent variables Asociativity diferentiation research and development Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 614 California, the most important production area is located around 250 km south of city of Ensenada, a smaller area less important in therms of production is nearly 500 km to the south. METHOD Table 4: Method description Study universe Ostreiculture producers in the municipality of Ensenada Baja California. Collection period 2012-1 Collection data Survey, interview, focus group Universe & Sample size 29/29 Sampling type Stratified Experimental error / confidence level of 05% / 95% Source Oyster producers, government officials, researchers. Survey Instrument Likert type Source: Own This table describes specific information about data and method used to develop the study. RESULTS Research Findings Because of its importance, the area of greatest oyster production in Mexican pacific is concentrated in the Bay of San Quintin in the municipality of Ensenada, but there is great disparity between the size and profile of the producers involved in this activity; some of them show some progress within the value chain, while others make their productive activities with a very primal focus, almost artisanal. There have been some studies as part of a strategic plan for municipal economic development, specifically in 2004 a study called “PLAN ESTRATEGICO DE DESARROLLO ECONOMICO DEL MUNICIPIO DE ENSENADA” (“ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF ENSENADA”), in which a section was included to boost the Fisheries and Aquaculture Cluster. However, nearly a decade of development, no progress is obvious; due this, it is of great interest for this study to determine the factors that have prevented the formation of clusters or productive chains on this specific activity. DISCUSSION Significance Of The Study This study propposes to identify factors that influence the grouping of producers towards common goals, in order to add value to their products within individual value chain as well as in the value chain group, such that this benefit is passed to an improvement not only from the economic point of view the generation of wealth and jobs, but also in social and cultural development. Therefore, it should be of interest not only for the producers involved, but also for other sectors as government, educational, technological and others direct and indirect participants for a true collective benefit. Expected Results:Reviewing studies conducted in other regions and countries where productive chains have been performed succesfully, this study will provide useful information for ostreiculture companies in the municipality of Ensenada, as well as others with similar activities in the region, interested in get involved in their integration through the framework of productive chains. Also will analyze the problematic that occurs in the formation and integration of productive chains, specifically in ostreiculture companies in the municipality of Ensenada Baja California, proposing relevant actions that encourage and Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 615 result in its conformation and development. The integration of ostreiculture companies in the municipality of Ensenada through the form of productive chains, will result in an increase in labor supply and better salary level, as well as improvements in family living standards of employees, so as a result of it, would create better prospects for education and culture leading to a restructuring of social tissue. Opportunity Areas For Future Studies Besides the economic importance of performing this study, there is an opportunity for future studies towards the solution of a nutrition problem, due the fact that Mexico occupies first place worldwide in obesity, which can be crashed by promoting the consumption of food from aquaculture source. There is also a great opportunity to develop a similar study in other areas of aquaculture due its wide variety of species and their potential. REFERENCES Alcalá, C., et. al., (2009). Potenciales de desarrollo de redes de conocimiento en el campo de la biotecnología marina en Baja California. Hacia una camaronicultura sostenible y sustentable, bajo un enfoque de sistemas. Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, México. Anllo, et. al., CEPAL, (2010). Colección documentos de proyectos. Cambios estructurales en las actividades agropecuarias. Avilés-Quevedo S y Vázquez-Hurtado, (2005). Fortalezas y debilidades de la acuicultura en México, Comisión de Pesca de la Cámara de Diputados- CIBNOR Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión, (2007). Ley General de Pesca y Acuacultura Sustentables. (DOF 24-07-2007). Ceniceros, A., (2008). Evidencia sobre la diferenciación de productos. Evidencia empirica sobre alimentos básicos. Universidad de Occidente. Culiacan. CODEEN. Consejo de Desarrollo Económico de Ensenada, (2004). “Plan Estratégico de Desarrollo Económico del municipio de Ensenada 2010”. Centro de Estudios Estratégicos de la Escuela de Graduados en Administración Pública y Política Pública (EGAP) del Sistema ITESM, en colaboración del Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), la Secretaria de Economía del Gobierno del Estado (SEDECO), y el despacho Integra Consultores. Ensenada, México. CONAPESCA-SAGARPA, (2008). Programa Rector Nacional de Pesca y Acuacultura 2008. CONAPESCA-SAGARPA, (2004). Anuario estadístico de pesca 2002. Comisión Nacional de Acuicultura y Pesca. México. LEY GENERAL DE PESCA Y ACUACULTURA SUSTENTABLES, (2007). Camara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Union. Secretaria General. Secretaria de de Servicios Parlamentarios. Centro de Documentacion, Informacion y Analisis. México. FAO yearbook 2008: Organization, A. (2006).fishery statistics: aquaculture production (Vol. 98). Food & Agriculture Org. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 616 FAO (2010). El estado mundial de la pesca y la acuicultura. Roma, 219p. McCormick-Morales (2006). Revista GESTIÓN & REGIÓN No.2 Junio –Noviembre 2006 - UCPR - Pereira, Colombia. Médicci (2011). Revista REDIP. UNEXPO. VRB. Vol. 1. No.2 Mayo 2011 - Venezuela. http//redip.bqto.edu.ve Porter, M. (2002). Ventaja Competitiva. Creación y sostenimiento de un desempeño superior. CECSA. México. Ramos, R. (2004). Investigación y Desarrollo: La percepción de investigadores y empresas. CONICYT. Gobierno de Chile. SAGARPA. 2003 Anuario Estadístico de Pesca, 2003. Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca, Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca. México Surraco, G., (2005). El Asociativismo como estrategia PYME. Una respuesta a las necesidades de las pequeñas y medianas empresas. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Argentina. Vázquez Barquero, A. 1998. “Desarrollo endógeno. Conceptualización de la dinámica de las economías urbanas y regionales”, en Cuadernos del Cendes, No. 38: 45-65. Cendes-UCV, Caracas (Venezuela). Internet Pages: http://acuicultura.cicese.mx/historia.htm Consulted on may 26, 2011. http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_mexico/es#tcN900AD Consulted on July 7, 2011. http://www.sepescabc.gob.mx/x/inicio/ Consulted on june 6, 2011. http://www.cesaibc.org/ Consulted on june 14, 2011. http://www.fao.org/index_en.htm Consulted on june 8, 2011. http://www.ensenada.gob.mx Consulted on june 26, 2011. BIOGRAPHY Ramon Galvan, graduated from Accounting and Administration School at UABC (Autonom University of Baja California) Ensenada; holds a Master degree in Accounting, and now is currently PhD Student in Management Science by UABC Ensenada; full time professor in the areas of Accounting and Finance at UABC, Ensenada. He can be contacted at: ramon.galvan@uabc.edu.mx http://acuicultura.cicese.mx/historia.htm http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysector/naso_mexico/es#tcN900AD http://www.sepescabc.gob.mx/x/inicio/ http://www.cesaibc.org/ http://www.fao.org/index_en.htm Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 617 Enselmina Marin is Researcher Professor at UABC (Autonom University of Baja California) Ensenada; She attained her Ph.D. in Management Science from Instituto Politécnico Nacional; She is S.N.I. (National Researchers System) Member, level 1. She can be contacted at: enselmina@gmail.com mailto:enselmina@gmail.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 618 ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, MARKETING STRATEGIC CHANGE AND PERFORMANCE OF WHOLLY-OWNED AND INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES IN THAILAND Olimpia C. Racela, Mahasarakham University, Thailand Amonrat Thoumrungroje, Assumption University, Thailand ABSTRACT In an international joint venture (IJV), the extent to which learning and change take place may depend on the ownership structure of the organization. This exploratory study compares the levels of organizational learning and marketing strategic change and their relationships with firm performance between 100% Thai-owned firms, Thai-majority IJVs and Thai-minority IJVs in Thailand. Using data from a sample of 101 firms listed in the Japanese-Thai Chamber of Commerce, we find Thai-majority owned IJVs have the highest level of organizational learning whereas the levels of marketing strategic change are equally low among all three ownership structure types. Moreover, organizational learning and marketing strategic change relationships with marketing performance and financial performance vary between the three groups. Findings from this study provide support on the role of IJV ownership structure on strategy formulation, implementation and firm performance. KEYWORDS: International joint venture, organizational learning, marketing strategic change, IJV performance INTRODUCTION Equity ownership and control is considered an important factor in the successful management of an international joint venture (IJV) and control problems have been cited as one of the main causes of IJV failure (Groot and Merchant, 2000; Nippa, Beechler and Klossek, 2007). Prior research on the link between IJV ownership structure and IJV performance suggests that the relationship may not necessarily be a direct one since some studies have found that foreign equity ownership has a positive impact on IJV performance (Luo, 2002; Meschi and Cheng, 2002), some studies have found no significant relationship (Luo and Tan, 2003), and some have found mixed results (Luo, 2001; Zhang, Jing, Fu, 2008). Consequently, a stream of IJV equity ownership research has been aimed at identifying and examining organizational or strategic factors that may also influence IJV performance (e.g., Park and Ungson, 1997). Thailand is an emerging economy where major growth in IJV formation was seen during the 1980s, mainly by companies from Japan and other East Asian nations. Such IJVs were mostly in manufacturing sectors by foreign investors motivated by the prospect of future market expectations and economic gains from lower labor costs (Suwannarat, Williams, Smith and Ibrahim, 2010a). Compared to other ASEAN nations, Thailand has long been regarded as providing an attractive investment environment. Thailand’s Foreign Business Act BE 2543, initiated in 1999, relaxed restrictions of foreign investment. One-hundred percent foreign ownership is permitted for business operations promoted by the Thailand Board of Investment, as well as those that are wholly-owned by U.S. corporations or U.S. nationals. A designated ‘Category C’ of businesses may have foreign majority ownership upon approval by the Thai government. The country’s strong economic growth and resilience within the past 15 years is an indication of an ideal economic climate for future IJV activities. In the first quarter of 2010, total FDI increased 137 percent Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 619 from the same quarter the previous year. Japanese remained the top investors, with an increase of 145 percent from the same quarter in 2009, followed by FDI from Chinese then Singaporean investors. Some studies conducted have described IJVs in Thailand in terms of characteristics (e.g. Suwannarat et al., 2010a, 2010b), marketing performance (e.g. Julian and O’Cass, 2004) and marketing knowledge transfer (Mohamad, Ramayah and Hathaivaseawong, 2010). Examining the operating characteristics and performance of IJVs and wholly-owned subsidiaries from a comparative perspective has been undertaking in previous studies (e.g. Chowdhury, 1992; Jung, Beamish and Goerzen, 2008; Luo and Chen, 1995), however, the variations in the results suggest that findings of such studies are context-specific. In addition, past studies have been examined from the perspective of the foreign parent firm, rather than from that of the local parent. The main purpose of this exploratory study is to assess and compare the levels of organizational learning and marketing strategic change and their relationships with firm performance between 100% Thai-owned firms and Thai-majority and Thai- minority IJVs with Japanese partners in Thailand. Although the cultural gap between Thailand and Japan is regarded as being smaller compared to what it would be with Western partners, there are notable differences between Thais and Japanese. Such differences in terms of national values, business and social practices, and human resource management systems may pose conflict and challenges in a shared workplace (Swierczek and Onishi, 2002). Thus, this Thai-Japanese context provides an interesting research context and the study contributes to literature on IJVs and in particular, those relevant to operating in an emerging economy. In addition, by examining these stated levels and relationships, the study provides Thai and Japanese parent firms, with valuable insights into strategic factors that influence firm performance. LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL DEFINITIONS International Joint Venture, Equity, and Control An IJV is an equity-based arrangement between two or more parent firms from different countries to establish a new independent business entity. Parent firms pool their resources, share consequent earnings, operational control and risks in order to run the IJV on a continuous basis with the aim to achieve specific strategic objectives (Geringer and Hebert, 1989). Parent firms engage in an IJV to facilitate access of new markets, acquire new knowledge, enhance their capabilities, and gain other various resources. Despite such expectations to realize these economic benefits, IJVs can be challenging to manage not only because the parent companies may have different cultural characteristics, but also because there may exist competing or incongruent goals, conflicting management styles, and/or mixed understanding of government/regulatory environment and business practices. The extent to which partners share and control their IJV can be dictated by each partner’s equity share. Based on corporate governance theories, equity share in a joint venture constitutes legal ownership of assets. A parent firm’s equity investment gives it a source of bargaining power that ultimately affects the extent to which it has management control over IJV operations (Yan and Gray, 1994). Thus, equity also signifies the level of influence a partner can exercise as well as a measure of commitment and involvement in the IJV (Mjöen and Tallman, 1997). For example, a parent firm that invests a small equity share of an IJV may not be able to or be driven to become actively involved in the IJV management. The theoretical perspective of transaction cost economics is also relevant to explain how equity share acts as an important antecedent of control (Chen, 2009) and to examine equity structure and entry mode Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 620 choice (e.g., Brouthers, 2002; Delios and Henisz, 2000). Thus, it is reasonable to assume that equity ownership plays an important role in the overall control within an IJV (Hill and Hellriegel, 1994). Equity ownership has been found to be associated with control over staffing and strategic management activities (Wong, Luk and Li, 2005), as well as with IJV stability and survival (Dhanaraj and Beamish, 2002), and operating characteristics and performance of foreign subsidiaries (Chowdhury, 1993). Moreover, most of the anecdotal evidence on the relative performance of IJVs appears to suggest that joint-ownership arrangements are more profitable than, or at least equal to, those of wholly-owned subsidiaries. Organizational Learning in IJVs Broadly defined, organizational learning is a process undertaken by organizational members to understand and acquire new insights. In an IJV, the differences in partner culture, knowledge, skills and capabilities often serve as an impetus for learning (Inkpen, 2000) and partners have access to one another’s skills and competencies. In emerging economies, foreign partners of an IJV typically contribute technology and advanced management and marketing techniques while the local partner contributes market knowledge. Learning that takes place in IJVs that have been formed between firms from developing and those from developed countries is widely regarded as a one-way process, with the firm from the developing country being superior in both technology and management. It is widely assumed that greater learning within an IJV leads to higher performance, yet, a review of the extant literature remains inconclusive with some studies supporting a positive learning-performance relationship (e.g. Lyles and Salk, 1996), some showing no relationship (e.g. Farrell, Oczkowski and Kharabsheh, 2008), and others finding mixed results (Child and Yan, 2003). An explanation to these inconsistent findings from prior research results stem from different operationalizations of organizational learning and firm performance (Kandemir and Hult, 2002). Sinkula, Baker and Noordewier (1997) conceptualize ‘learning orientation’ as a process that gives rise to a set of organizational values that influences the propensity of a firm to create and use knowledge. As such, the core organizational values of a firm’s learning orientation include commitment to learning, open- mindedness and shared vision. In many IJVs, differences in national culture motivate its members to work continuously to achieve adequate shared meaning and management practices to make the venture sustainable. In our study, this conceptualization by Sinkula and colleagues is appropriate, and therefore, adopted. We expect higher levels of organizational learning to take place in IJVs as opposed to wholly- owned subsidiaries. Marketing Strategic Change in IJVs In academic literature, strategy has been defined from various perspectives because strategy formulation and implementation often takes place at different levels within an organization, i.e. corporate level, business level, and functional level. With this in mind, we regard strategic change as a change in the form, quality or state over time in the overall pattern of alignment of an organization with its environment (Rajagopalan and Spreitzer, 1997). Strategic change can be pursued as a response to an anticipated or existing change in the firm’s external environment. The performance and survival of firms depends largely on their ‘fit’ with their external environment. Thus, for an organization to survive in an environment, it must be capable of adapting and re-aligning itself. This is typically done by initiating changes in the content of its current strategy (i.e. mission and goals, product market scope, competitive positioning, and resource deployment), it also encompasses the changes in relations with the external Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 621 environment and in internal organizational structures, processes and systems, brought about to initiate and implement changes in the content of strategy. Ginsberg (1988) states that when firms add or divest new products and services, they alter their competitive domains and as such, he defines strategic change in terms of changes made to a firm’s product and services. Based on this definition, Goodstein and Boeker (1991) conceptualize strategic change as changes in the breadth of products or services that an organization offers. In the marketing literature, marketing strategy has been defined as “an organization’s integrated pattern of decisions that specify its crucial choices concerning products, markets, marketing activities and marketing resources in the creation, communication and/or delivery of products that offer value to customers in exchanges with the organization and thereby enables the organization to achieve specific objectives” (Varadarajan, 2010, p. 128). Since these three conceptualizations of strategic change center around the organization’s product/service mix, we consider these critical decisions as marketing strategic change, irrespective of which strategic level the decision is made. In the same vein, internationalization of a new venture has been considered a mechanism for strategic change (McDougall and Oviatt, 1996). Yet, little attention has been given to strategic change in IJVs. Hence, this study attempts to fill this void. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Sample The sampling frame used for this study was the Japanese-Thai Chamber of Commerce database. This database lists Japanese companies and Thai affiliate companies operating in Thailand. All 577 member firms were contacted by phone to identify an appropriate key informant and to secure participation. A total of 108 firms agreed to participate and their designated key informant was sent a copy of the four- page questionnaire. Seven questionnaires that were returned were omitted from our analysis due to excessive missing values. The final sample was comprised of key informants from several functional areas including corporate heads (e.g. CEO, Director, SBU Head) (39.6%), marketing/sales (33.7%), R&D/product management (6.9%) and others (e.g. finance, environmental) (12.9%). The key informants were knowledgeable about the cross functional dynamics within the firm, with 58.5% of them having more than five years of experience in the firm and 40.6% having at least five years of experience. A majority of the firms in the sample were small or medium in size (74.3%), with 1,000 or fewer employees. The major industries represented in the sample are construction/property development (22.8%), electric & electronics (16.9%) and automobile (14.9%). In terms of ownership structure, 31.7% of the sample is 100% Thai-owned firms, 42.6% comprise Thai-majority IJV, and the remaining 25.7% constitute Thai-minority IJV. Measures IJV equity ownership was measured by the share proportion held by the Japanese parent-firm. Three share proportions were used to categorize ventures in this study: (1) Zero share foreign equity ownership (i.e. 100% Thai-owned firm affiliated as a licensee or alliance partner with a Japanese company, (2) 5 to 49% Japanese equity (i.e. Thai-majority IJV), and 3) greater than 50% Japanese equity (i.e. Thai-minority IJV). All other constructs were adopted and adapted from existing multi-item scales. Organizational learning (ORGLEARN) was measured using the second-order three-dimensional (i.e. commitment to learning, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 622 shared vision, open-mindedness) learning orientation scale developed by Sinkula et al. (1997) with a seven-point Likert scale. Marketing strategic change (MSTRATCHG) was measured using the six-item scale of Goodstein and Boeker (1991) on a seven-point scale anchored with 1 being ‘No change’ and 7 being ‘Very frequent changes’. Two measures of firm performance were used from the work of Furrer, Alexandre, and Sudharshan (2007). Marketing performance (MKTGPERF) was measured on four items related to consumer loyalty, customer satisfaction, firm reputation, and relative product quality reputation) and financial performance (FINCPERF) was measured with six items concerning market share, cash flow, sales and sales growth, return on investment and net profit. These subjective measures of firm performance were deemed appropriate as past research has found such measures to be highly correlated with objective performance measures due to the difficulty of obtaining objective data from respondents. Both performance scales were measured on a seven-point scale anchored with 1 as “Well below average” and 7 as “Well above average.” Construct Reliability and Validity The original English version of the questionnaire was translated to Thai and back-translated by two independent bilinguals as suggested by Douglas and Craig (1983). Construct reliability and validity for the four multi-item scales ORGLEARN, MSTRATCH, MKTGPERF and FINCPERF were determined using coefficient alpha. Construct unidimensionality was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Adequate construct reliability and validity had been established and consequently the construct scale items were combined to produce a summed score for each latent variable. Table 1 presents the item factor loadings, construct means, standard deviations, and correlations for these variables. Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Multi-item Constructs Construct No. of Items Range of Factor Loadings Mean Std. Dev. 1 2 3 4 1. ORGLEARN 3 .839-.862 5.09 .853 .811 2. MSTRATCHG 6 .579-.853 2.88 1.147 -.002 .828 3. MKTGPERF 4 .786-.872 5.32 .867 .415** .038 .855 4. FINPERF 6 .797-.911 4.86 1.070 .365** .206* .589** .926 Reliability coefficient is shown in the diagonal. ** Significant at the 0.01 level * Significant at the 0.05 level DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ANOVA was used to examine and compare the levels of organizational learning and marketing strategic change of the firms in our sample. The mean level of organizational learning for at least one of the three firm groups is statistically different (F=3.67, p=.03). As shown in table 2, the mean levels of all three other major constructs are equal (F=0.15, p=.86). In fact, the mean level of marketing strategic change is relatively low between the three groups of firms, based on a scale of 1 to 7. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 623 Table 2: Comparison of Organizational Learning and Marketing Strategic Change Variable 100% Thai-Owned Mean (Std. Dev.) Thai-majority IJV Mean (Std. Dev.) Thai-minority IJV Mean (Std. Dev.) F-test p-value ORGLEARN 4.806* (0.917) 5.328 (0.727) 5.051 (0.880) 3.665 0.029 MSTRATCHG 2.818 (1.283) 2.957 (1.116) 2.846 (1.054) 0.153 0.858 MKTGPERF 5.117 (0.914) 5.378 (0.868) 5.462 (0.790) 1.327 0.270 FINCPERF 4.781 (1.220) 4.853 (1.045) 4.962 (0.940) 0.201 0.818 * Mean is statistically different. Multigroup path analysis using AMOS 7.0 was conducted to examine the relationships between organizational learning and marketing strategic change with marketing performance and firm performance. We compared the fit of the restricted and the unrestricted models. The unrestricted model improved the fit (χ23d.f. = 2.916, p = .405, GFI = .986, RMR = .076). The difference of χ210d.f. = 12.739 is significant and suggests that at least one path coefficient differs significantly between our three groups. The standardized path coefficients for each firm group are shown in table 3. Table 3: Standardized Regression Weights Path Full Sample (λ, p-value) 100% Thai-Owned (λ, p-value) Thai-majority IJV (λ, p-value) Thai-minority IJV (λ, p-value) ORGLEARN -> MKTGPERF
ORGLEARN -> FINPERF
MSTRATCHG -> MKTGPERF
MSTRATCHG .> FINPERF
MKTGPERF -> FINPERF
.416 (0.000)
.150 (0.079)
.039 (0.666)
.186 (0.016)
.519 (0.000)
.440 (0.004)
.055 (0.683)
.313 (0.038)
.005 (0.968)
.722 (0.000)
.318 (0.029)
.135 (0.295)
-.092 (0.528)
.286 (0.020)
.507 (0.000)
.617 (0.000)
.393 (0.060)
-.197 (0.194)
.165 (0.323)
.236 (0.266)
Goodness-of-fit statistics: Unrestricted model: χ23d.f. = 2.916, p = .405, GFI = .986, RMR = .076
Restricted model: χ213d.f. = 15.655, p = .268, GFI = .935, RMR = .099

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

In this paper, we compared organizational learning and marketing strategic change and their relationships
with marketing performance and financial performance between wholly-owned Thai firms, Thai-majority
IJVs and Thai-minority IJVs in Thailand. Our study found that higher levels of organizational learning are
taking place in Thai-majority IJVs (x=5.33) and Thai-minority IJVs (x=5.05), and a much lower level is
taking place in of 100% Thai-owned firms (x=4.81). This suggests that differences, i.e. cultural,
managerial, or otherwise, between the Thai and Japanese partners, appear to be motivating factors that
foster a higher learning orientation among members in these IJVs. As for 100% Thai-owned firms, their
learning orientation may be lower due to their relatively limited resources to invest in nurturing its
learning capacity.

This study also found that marketing strategic change in terms of the frequency of changes in the breadth
of the firm’s products or services is equally low among all ownership groups. These low degrees of
marketing strategic change may result from the limited role (e.g. licensee, co-marketing partner,
subsidiary unit) that the firm plays in the foreign partner’s international strategy (i.e. global versus
multidomestic or standardized versus localized). Thus, the extent marketing strategic change that takes
place in a firm may not only be contingent upon its role in its parent firms’ international strategy, but also
on other firm factors such as size and industry (i.e. product-market competition).

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The data also provides evidence that the relationships between organizational learning and marketing
strategic change with marketing performance and financial performance vary between the three groups of
firms in our study. For the 100% Thai-owned group of firms, only marketing performance has a positive
relationship with both organizational learning (λ=.44, p=.004) and marketing strategic change
(λ=.313, p=.04). Financial performance has only a strong positive relationship with marketing
performance (λ=.77, p=.00). It appears that for this group, to achieve enhanced financial outcomes in
terms of market share, cash flow, sales and sales growth, return on investment and net profit, it is
necessary to make investments in and launch activities for organizational learning and marketing strategic
change that are geared towards improving marketing outcomes of consumer loyalty, customer
satisfaction, firm reputation, and relative product quality reputation. Thus, this relationship between
organizational learning and marketing strategic change with financial performance as potentially
mediated by marketing performance should be reasserted in future research.

With respect to the Thai-majority IJV group, the results show that marketing performance has a positive
relationship with only organizational learning (λ=.32, p=.03) while financial performance has a positive
relationship with marketing strategic change (λ=.29, p=.02) and marketing performance (λ=.51, p=.00).
Therefore, for this group of IJVs, greater financial performance may be achieved by fostering a stronger
learning orientation that is focused on attaining better marketing performance.

The results of the Thai-minority IJV group indicate that of the two strategic factors included in this
exploratory study, only organizational learning has a strong positive relationship with marketing
performance (λ=.62, p=.02) and a marginal positive relationship with financial performance (λ=.39, p=.06).
Therefore, for these Thai-minority IJVs (i.e. Japanese-majority IJVs), organizational learning is a key
strategic pursuit to attain higher levels of performance.

CONTRIBUTIONS

This exploratory study provides an initial effort to study and compare the relationships between specific
strategic factors and firm performance between three groups of firms in Thailand with different foreign
equity structures. By doing so, we make several contributions to the IJV literature and can provide
managers with some practical implications. From a theoretical standpoint, there are two clear implications
from the results reported. One is that the relationship between organizational learning, marketing strategic
change and firm performance vary between the three groups of firms, thus providing additional support
that foreign ownership structure has on an influence on IJV’s strategic pursuits and attained performance
levels. A second implication is that the results are derived from IJV firms operating in an emerging
economy and from the standpoint of the ‘local’ parent firm, a standpoint that has been virtually ignored in
international business studies. Further research may examine the influence of IJV ownership structure
with other organizational characteristics (e.g. parent contributions, control mechanisms) and other
strategic factors (e.g. entrepreneurial orientation) on IJV performance.

From a practical perspective, it is worth noting that implementation of strategic pursuits requires
investments in activities such as training and company-wide communications. The findings from this
exploratory study imply that organizational learning is taking place in the sample of firms and, compared
to marketing strategic change, is a more valuable strategic factor related to firm performance. Moreover,
organizational learning may have an indirect influence on the financial gains for Thai dominated firms
(i.e. 100% Thai and Thai-majority IJV). Thus, these firms should consider incorporating marketing

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performance targets as part of its organizational learning programs and as part of building its commitment
to learning, shared vision and open-mindedness.

LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

While this study offers theoretical and practical implications, the results should be viewed in light of
several limitations. First, data were collected through a cross-sectional study, thus the findings are limited
the extent to which we were able to examine organizational learning, marketing strategic change, and
performance relationships in our chosen context. Second, it should be noted that organizational learning
and marketing strategic change can be motivated by factors other than IJV equity structure. As such,
future research of organizational learning and strategic change in IJVs should aim to include other critical
antecedents. Third, our study is conducted with a sample of Thai parent firms in an alliance (i.e.
licensing/comarketing alliance versus IJV) with a Japanese parent firm, thus, the specific context of our
study limits the generalization of the results. Therefore, we call for further research to replicate or extend
our study in other IJV contexts.

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Yan, A. and Gray, B. (1994), “Bargaining Power, Management Control, and performance in U.S.-China
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Olimpia C. Racela earned her D.B.A. in Marketing from Thammasat University, Thailand. She is a
faculty member of the Mahasarakham Business School, Mahasarakham University, Thailand. Her main
research interests include international business and marketing strategy, consumer behavior, and cross-
culture business issues. She can be contacted through dr_ocr @yahoo.com.

Amonrat Thoumrungroje earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Washington State University,
U.S.A. She is assistant professor of international business at the Department of International Business
Management, Martin de Tours School of Management, Assumption University, Thailand. Her current
research interests include entrepreneurship, institutional impact on business, international marketing
strategy, strategies in emerging economies, and cross-cultural research and methodology.

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CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF E-SERVICE QUALITY
IN ONLINE APPAREL SHOPPING
Zui Chih (Rick) Lee, Susquehanna University
Paul, Dion, Susquehanna University

ABSTRAT

The percentage of U.S. consumers shopping and purchasing through the Internet is growing. The
consumer has adapted to using the Internet to purchase products and retailers have profited from this
new channel. Little is known about how a website provides competitive advantage to a retailer and what
makes a website appealing to consumers. In order to address the gap in research that exists regarding
why and how consumers identify with online apparel retailers, the purpose of this research is to examine
the relationship between e-service quality (e.g., efficiency, fulfillment, and system availability) and
consumer-company identification for online information search and purchase behavior. This study makes
several contributions to the literature. First, this study tests consumer-company identification to provide
implications for Internet retailing. Second, the research provides important insights into consumers’
search and purchase intentions in relation to consumer-company identification with, perceived usefulness
of, and attitude toward a website. Third, discussion of the relationship between e-service quality
attributes and perceived usefulness provides suggestions for online marketing strategy. Fourth, this
research connects psychological concepts like identity and organization identification with business
strategies and consumer decision-making. Finally, this research confirms the unique value of Internet
technology to retailing and emphasizes the importance of online store attributes to search and purchase
intention.

KEYWORDS: TAM model, online apparel shopping, identification, e-service quality

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PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY IN RESTAURANT
SERVICES
Prabha Ramseook-Munhurrun, University of Technology, Mauritius

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to investigate service quality dimensions in retsuarant services. The study
examines the influence of the service dimensions on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions
within the restaurant context in an island economy. Factor analysis was performed to determine
dimensions that are likely to influence customers’ restaurant service evaluations. Based on the analyses,
three distinct dimensions were identified by the customers, “Food Quality-Reliability”, “Responsiveness-
Assurance-Empathy” and “Tangibles”. Multiple regression analyses were then employed to examine the
relative importance of the three service dimensions in determining satisfaction judgments and customers’
behavioral intentions. The results support the links between service quality dimensions, satisfaction and
behavioral intentions respectively. The findings are expected to help the owners of restaurants to address
the gaps and improve satisfaction rate of their customers, thereby bringing about repeat business and
improving profits.

JEL: M31

KEYWORDS: Service quality, Customer satisfaction, Behavioral intentions, Restaurant

INTRODUCTION

Delivering high quality service is important for the success of organisations so that they can survive and
strengthen their competiveness. The restaurant industry has not been exempted from either increased
competition or customer demand for high service quality. Nowadays, customers have a wide range of
restaurant services to choose from and service quality conditions indeed influence a restaurant
competitive advantage (Bojanic & Rosen, 1994; Soriano, 2002; Yüksel & Yüksel, 2002; Sulek &
Hensley, 2004; Chow et al., 2007). Since service quality is an important factor for restaurants, research
related to service quality, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the restaurant industry has
been growing. However, most of the research studies were focused on the United States (US), Hong
Kong, China, Korea and Europe (Stevens, Knutson & Patton, 1995; Oh, 2000; Kivela, Inbakaran &
Reece, 1999, 2000; Soriano, 2002; Yüksel & Yüksel, 2002; Sulek & Hensley, 2004; Chow et al., 2007;
Kim et al, 2009) and very few, if any research has been undertaken to measure service quality of
restaurants in an island. Therefore, an understanding of the factors that influence service quality ought to
be useful in guiding restaurant owners and managers to design and deliver the right offering to the
customers.The trend of globalization has fostered the introduction of a number of foreign chain
restaurants into the Mauritian market place, a small developing island in the Indian Ocean.

The restaurant industry is one of the fastest growing industries within the island and is likely to continue
its development into the future. This growth is also attributed to the development of the tourism sector as
well as socio-cultural and economic changes which are influencing the eating habits of local consumers.
Consequently there is an increase in the frequency of Mauritians dining outside the home. Changes in
local eating behaviour, increased product knowledge and competition have forced the restaurants to
improve their product offerings as well as their level of service. Therefore, it is deemed important to

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explore this industry in terms of service delivery as well as food quality. The aim of this study is to
identify the key service quality dimensions that affect customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in
restaurant services in an island.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The fundamental factors that contribute to customer satisfaction in restaurants include food quality
(hygiene, balance, and healthiness), service quality, physical provision (layout, furnishing, and
cleanliness), atmosphere (feeling and comfort), and service received (speed, friendliness, and care)
during the dining experience (Jones, 1983; Johns & Pine, 2002), which in turn determines customers
behavioral intentions toward the restaurants. Therefore it is important to identify the factors that affect
dining experiences.

Service Quality

The service literature has demonstrated that customers are becoming increasingly sensitive to service
elements and the overall quality of service offered by an organization (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry,
1988). Various researchers have developed alternative concepts for service quality, like the Nordics
(Grönroos, 1984, 1988; Lehtinen & Lehtinen, 1991) and the American schools of thought (Parasuraman
et al., 1988). The work of Parasuraman et al. (1988) has led to the identification of a service quality
measurement tool, SERVQUAL. It is one of the most widely used instruments as it aims to help service
managers diagnose and improve the quality of services under their control. The model on which
SERVQUAL is based proposes that customers evaluate the quality of a service across five distinct
dimensions as follows: Reliability – ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately;
Responsiveness – willingness to help customers and provide prompt service; Assurance – knowledge and
courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence; Empathy – caring, individualized
attention the firm provides to its customers; Tangibles – appearance of physical facilities, equipment,
appearance of personnel, and communication materials. The SERVQUAL scales comprises of 22
questions measuring expectations and 22 questions measuring perceptions. Customers evaluate the
quality of services provided by organisations based on the discripancy among expectations and
perceptions (Grönroos, 1984; Parasuraman et al., 1988).

Although the SERVQUAL instrument has been widely used in various settings (Fick & Ritchie, 1991;
Saleh & Ryan, 1992; Jabnoun & Al-Tamimi, 2003; Tan & Kek, 2004; Arasli et al., 2008), it has been
subjected to a number of criticisms regarding its operationalisation of expectations, the reliability and
validity of the gap score formulation and the difficulty in replicating its dimensions (Carman, 1990;
Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Teas, 1993; Baker & Crompton, 2000; Sureshchandar, Rajendran &
Kamalanabhan, 2001). Babakus & Boller (1992) suggest that the dimensionality of service quality may
vary depending on the type of service sector under investigation. Similarly, Becker et al. (1999) contend
that the five-dimensional model does not adequately identify the characteristics most critical to successful
service delivery in the hospitality setting. Cronin & Taylor (1994) argue that there is no real evidence to
support the concept of performance minus expectations gap as a basis for measuring service quality. In
addition, the use of expectation and performance statements may be too time consuming to administer
(Carman, 1990; Babakus & Boller, 1992). It has also been argued that the performance-only measure
(SERVPERF) explains more of the variance in an overall measure of service quality than the
SERVQUAL instrument (Bolton & Drew, 1991; Cronin & Taylor, 1994; Yüksel & Rimmington, 1998).
SERVPERF maintains the original 22 items of SERVQUAL but measures perceptions of performance

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only instead of measuring both expectations and performance and has been empirically validated in
banking, pest control, dry cleaning, fast food, advertising and dental service (Cronin & Taylor, 1992,
1994; Quester & Romaniuk, 1997).

Customer Satisfaction And Behavioral Intentions

Customer satisfaction has been of great interest in services marketing because satisfaction links
purchase/consumption to post-purchase phenomena such as attitude change, repeat purchase, positive
word-of-mouth, and loyalty (Oliver, 1994; Fornell et al., 1996; Oliver, 1997). Customer satisfaction is
defined as a judgment made on the basis of a specific service encounter (Cronin & Taylor, 1992). Several
major questions have emerged in the literature such as the relationship between service quality and
satisfaction (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Cronin & Taylor, 1992) and the relationship between satisfaction
and future intentions of customers (McDougall & Levesque, 2000). Thus satisfaction judgments are seen
as moderating the quality attitude and purchase intention relationship (Taylor & Baker, 1994; Mattila,
2000), indicating the need to investigate satisfaction and perceived service quality as two separate
constructs. Behavioral intentions are one of the important goals in the service marketing community as it
is a key component for an organization’s long-term viability or sustainability. According to Zeithaml et
al. (1996), favorable behavioral intentions are associated with a service provider’s ability to get its
customers to say positive things about them, recommend them to other customers, remain loyal to them,
spend more with the company and pay price premiums. Previous studies have used one or more of these
five proposed constructs to examine the outcomes of quality (Oh, 1999; Baker & Crompton, 2000; Kim et
al., 2008; Han et al., 2009) and satisfaction (Spreng & Mackoy, 1996).

FACTORS INFLUENCING RESTAURANT SERVICES

According to Susskind and Chan (2000), three components contribute to overall customer satisfaction
with the restaurant: good food, good service and a pleasant setting. Kalra (2001) explains that dinning out
has become an integral part of customers’ lifestyle, thus experienced customers have raised their
expectations with regard to quality, good service, well-cooked food and no dirty interiors, while seeking a
better value for their money. Several researchers have attempted to test the SERVQUAL framework in
measuring customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry. Bojanic & Rosen (1994) used the
SERVQUAL instrument in a chain restaurant with a diverse clientele in Columbia, South Carolina and a
varied menu that included international items. Six dimensions were used as “Empathy” was divided into
two dimensions: knowing the customer and access to services.

The results identified dimensions similar to those in Parasuraman et al.’s (1988) SERVQUAL instrument,
“Knowing the customer”, “Reliability”, and “Assurance” were the most significant in predicting overall
restaurant quality; the other three dimensions were not important predictors of overall quality. Lee &
Hing (1995) assessed the usefulness and apllicability of the SERVQUAL instrument in the restaurant
industry to measure and compare patrons’ perceived service quality at a French and a Chinese restaurant
in Australia. The results revealed that the customers’ highest expectations of service quality involved
“Assurance” and “Reliability”, while their lowest expectations were related to “Tangibles”. Oubre &
Brown (2009) examined the relationship between customer, wait staff and manager perceptions in fine
dining restaurants and “Reliability” was found to be the most important dimension, followed by
“Tangibles”, “Assurance”, “Responsiveness”, and “Empathy”. In an effort to adapt SERVQUAL to the
restaurant industry, Stevens et al. (1995) developed the DINESERV instrument. The final version of
DINESERV consisted of 29 items that captured the five dimensions of SERVQUAL. Kim et al. (2003)

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conducted a study to validate five dimensions of the DINESERV instrument in Korean casual dining
restaurants and explored any possible differences in perceived service quality of those restaurants.

Other studies on customer expectations and service quality perceptions in the restaurant industry have
revealed certain important attributes, such as low price, food quality (food taste and nutrition properties),
value for money, service, location, brand name, and image (Pettijohn et al., 1997; Johns & Howard,
1998). Sulek & Hensley (2004) investigated the relative importance of food, physical setting, and service
in a full-service restaurant and food quality was found to be the most important factor influencing
satisfaction and the only factor predicting behavioral intention. Namkung & Jang (2007) evaluated the
relationships of individual attributes that constitute food quality (e.g. food presentation, menu variety,
healthy options, taste, food freshness and temperature) with customer satisfaction and behavioral
intentions. The findings revealed that food presentation, taste and temperature were significantly related
to customer satisfaction whereas food presentation, taste and healthy options (instead of temperature)
were significant predictors of behavioral intention.

The tangibles represent the restaurant’s physical attributes, which are usually noticed first by customers
when they enter the restaurant. Yüksel & Yüksel (2002) examined tourist satisfaction with restaurant
services and their study revealed that “service environment” such as seating arrangements, music
decoration, is the critical determinant in shaping customers’ behavior. A recent study undertaken by
Chow et al. (2007) investigating restaurant services in the Chinese context reveals that interaction with
staff and the physical environment are the more important than the outcome quality in predicting service
quality for restaurant customers. Similarly, Ryu & Jang (2007) explored the combined effect of
atmospheric variables on behavioral intentions in upscale restaurants. Their findings revealed that
ambience (e.g. music, aroma and temperature) and employee appearance had the most important
influence on customers’ emotional responses, which in turn affected customers’ post-dining behavioral
intentions. In their investigation, Han & Ryu (2009) findings suggest that a restaurant firm should
carefully design the physical environment to improve the customer’s perceived reasonableness of the
price. The authors further indicated that creative use of physical design in a restaurant operation would be
essential in enhancing specific marketing objectives such as positive customer perception of quality,
positive evaluation of experience, and positive attitudes.

Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction And Behavioral Intentions

In the restaurant industry, service quality has been found to be important in influencing both customer
satisfaction and return intention (Qu, 1997; Pettijohn et al., 1997; Oh, 2000; Ladhari et al., 2008; Kim et
al., 2009). While there is no guarantee that a satisfied customer will be a repeat customer, it is most likely
that a dissatisfied customer will not return (Soriano, 2002). Therefore customer satisfaction is imperative
for service organizations because of the positive correlation it has with future attitudes, intentions and
behaviors of customers (Taylor & Baker, 1994; Mattila, 2000). Even though behavioral intentions and
customer satisfaction are not the same, they are related because the outcome of satisfaction may reinforce
a customer’s decision to use a particular brand of service on a given occasion (Oliver, 1980; Cronin &
Taylor, 1992). According to Zeithaml et al. (1996), behavioral intentions can be measured by repurchase
intentions, word-of-mouth, loyalty, complaining behavior and price sensitivity.

Studies have also shown that when customers perceive poor service quality and when dissatisfaction is
felt, the customers are likely to complain about the service and engage in negative word-of-mouth
(Richins, 1983; Singh, 1990). Thus customer satisfaction is often used to predict the likelihood of

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customers returning to a service organization.Previous studies have shown that customer satisfaction is
important to food service managers because it leads to repeat patronage, brand loyalty, and new
customers through word-of-mouth promotion (Oh, 2000; Yüksel & Yüksel, 2002). According to Gupta et
al. (2007), the link between customer satisfaction and repeat buying is an important contributor to a
restaurant’s profits. Hence studies investigating these links have been numerous and the literature reveals
evidence of strong relationships between customer satisfaction with various restaurant attributes and
repeat-purchase intentions (Stevens et al., 1995; Pettijohn et al., 1997; Kivela et al., 1999; Sulek &
Hensley, 2004; Söderlund & Öhman, 2005; Cheng, 2005). Other studies have established the
relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions, namely intention to
return and to recommend. Qu (1997) found that food quality in Chinese restaurants was the most
important determinants of customer’s decision to return, followed by cleanliness, value, price and
convenience, which ranked second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Namkung & Jang (2008) also
investigated how food quality is perceived in relation to satisfaction and behavioral intentions in mid-to
upscale restaurants. Their study showed that overall food quality significantly affected customer
satisfaction and behavioral intentions and also revealed that the relationship between food quality and
customer behavioral intentions was mediated by satisfaction. Ladhari et al. (2008) investigated
determinants of dining satisfaction and post-dining behavioral intentions, and concluded that perceived
service quality influenced customer satisfaction through both positive and negative emotions.

Based on the literature review, this study investigated customers’ perceptions of restaurants in an island
economy terms of food related attributes, service-related attributes and atmosphere-related attributes, and
identified the key attributes affecting customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Hence, the
following hypotheses have been developed:

H1: A positive relationship exists between perceived service quality dimensions and satisfaction.

H2: Customer satisfaction and perceived service quality positively influence intention to revisit.

H3: Customer satisfaction and perceived service quality positively influence intention to recommend.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Based on a thorough literature review, a self-administered questionnaire was developed. The survey
instrument composed of three sections measuring service quality perceptions, customer satisfaction and
behavioral intentions, and demographic variables. The first section measured customers’ perceptions of
restaurant service quality. This section adopted statements from the SERVPERF model (Cronin & Taylor,
1992) and on previous research findings in the food service sector (Stevens et al., 1995; Kivela et al.,
1999; Raajpoot, 2002). Some modifications were made to the SERVPERF items in order to suit the
context of restaurant with added items related to food quality. These added items were thought to be
important to customers’ dining experience, namely availability of fresh food, well-presented food and
taste of food. The modified SERVPERF instrument thus consisted of 6 dimensions and 25 statements
instead of 22 statements. The 25 service quality statements were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale
ranging from “1 = strongly disagree” to “5 = strongly agree”.

The second section of the survey instrument assessed customers’ overall satisfaction and behavioral
intentions. Overall customer satisfaction is measured using two items: Overall, how satisfied are you with
the restaurant? (from “1 = very dissatisfied” to “5 = very satisfied”) and I am happy about my decision to

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use this restaurant services (from “1 = strongly disagree” to 5 = strongly agree”).This study focused on
revisit intentions and willingness to recommend as specific forms of behavioral intentions. Two items,
which were taken from Zeithaml et al. (1996), were measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 =
strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree). In the third section, respondents’ socio-demographic
characteristics, such as age and gender, were gathered. Using convenience sampling technique, customers
willing to participate in the survey were approached after they had finished their dinner and were waiting
to pay the bill in three restaurants in Port-Louis, the capital of the island. The restaurants characterised in
this study comprised of a dining experience which provides a wide range of items from appetizers to
deserts with a themed setting. The restaurants further provide professional service, distinctive
presentations, elegant décor, exceptional food, and generates the average check of above US$15 per
person. The survey was carried out over a 7-day period throughout four weeks. A total of 350
questionnaires were given to the customers in the restaurants, requesting them to evaluate their dining
experience by filling in the survey. Of these, 318 questionnaires were returned and in all, 296
questionnaires were found usable for the study, which represents a 85% response rate from the original
sample of 350.

SPSS 16.0 for windows was employed in order to access the particular results required for the scale
measurement. Descriptive analysis such as means, standard deviation and frequencies are calculated.
Reliability of the scale is tested and dimensionality of the scale is confirmed through an exploratory factor
analysis. Multiple regression analyses were employed to measure the influence of the service quality
dimensions on customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.

RESULTS

The results of descriptive analysis for demographic information indicated that among the analyzed
samples (n = 296), 52% of the respondents were female, with 48% being male. In terms of age group, the
ages of the respondents ranged from 20- above 60 years old, with the majority of respondents falling
between the age group of “30-39” (45%), followed by the age group “40-49” (23%), “20-29” (14.5%), “>
60” (13.5%) and “50-59” (3.7%). About 78% of the respondents were working people, followed by 13%
were students and 9% were retired. On the frequency of their patronage to the restaurant at which they
were surveyed, 2.5% ate at the restaurant at least once in 15 days, 84.6% ate at the restaurant at least once
per month and only 12.9% visited the restaurant for the first time.

Reliability And Dimensionality Of The Scale

A factor analysis using varimax rotation was employed on the 25 items to explore the dimensionality in
the data set. The Bartlett test of sphericity was significant (Chi-square = 1201.772, p < 0.000). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy was computed to quantify the degree of intercorrelations among the variables, and the results indicate an index of 0.788. A factor loading cut-off of 0.5 for retaining items in the factor analysis is used and only factors with an eigenvalue equal to or greater than 1 were retained (Hair et al., 1995). After analyzing the data, 18 items were reduced under three factors, which explained 67.7% of the total variance. The average communality of the variables was above 0.5, which indicates that the variance of the original values was captured fairly well by three factors (Table 1). The results failed to identify Parasuraman et al. (1988) five service quality dimensions. “Tangibles” (1 to 4) was the only SERVQUAL dimension that remained unchanged in this confirmatory analysis. The “Food Quality” and “Reliability” items loaded onto the same dimension and items that represented SERVQUAL’s “Responsiveness”, ”Assurance” and “Empathy” dimensions were grouped Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 636 together as one dimension. This indicates that the customers view “Food Quality and Reliability” as one dimension and “Responsiveness-Assurance-Empathy” as a single dimension and not three separate ones. The items for each subscale were subjected to reliability analysis and the alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.77 and 0.66, 0.62 and 0.6 respectively for the dimensions “Tangibles”, “Food Quality- Reliability” and “Responsiveness-Assurance-Empathy”. According to Nunnally (1994) reliability coefficients greater than or equal to 0.50 are considered sufficient for exploratory studies. Given the increasing importance of the restaurant market, restaurant operators need to know how customers perceive restaurant service quality. In this study, a modified SERVPERF instrument was used to investigate customers’ perceptions of restaurant service quality and the results revealed three dimensions. Parasuraman et al. (1991) found a large interrelationship among SERVQUAL’s five dimensions, especially “responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, implying that one factor is the antecedent for another. So for customers, Responsiveness might be an antecedent of Assurance and Empathy suggesting that staff in the restaurants need to provide prompt service to customers (Responsiveness) for staff knowledge to be appreciated (Assurance) and thus demonstrating that they care for their customers (Empathy). Table 1: Results of Factor Analysis Factors and Items F1 F2 F3 Communality Tangibles Comfort and cleanliness of the dining area 0.73 0.638 Visual attractiveness of the building and dining areas 0.60 0.677 Neat and well groomed staff 0.62 0.551 Attractive and readable menu 0.65 0.506 Food Quality The food are fresh and well presented 0.72 0.669 Taste of food 0.73 0.622 The restaurant offers a variety of menu items 0.70 0.557 Reliability Sincere interest in correcting anything that is wrong 0.67 0.790 Provide accurate bills to customers 0.53 0.623 Serve customers in the time promised 0.66 0.667 Serve customer’s food exactly as it was ordered 0.63 0.684 Responsiveness Provide prompt and quick service 0.61 0.605 Give extra effort to handle customer’s special requests 0.77 0.735 Assurance Consistently courteous with customers 0.81 0.724 Have the knowledge to answer customers’ questions such as menu items, their ingredients, and methods of preparations 0.70 0.563 Make customers feel safe with the service and food 0.64 0.667 Empathy Have customer’s best interests at heart 0.79 0.664 Give customers personal attention 0.61 0.629 Understand customer’s specific needs and wants 0.77 0.638 Total variance explained % of variance explained 30.4 19.5 17.8 67.7 Eigenvalue 6.7 4.49 1.34 Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO-MSA): 0.788; Bartlett's Test of Sphericity = 1201.772; p < 0.01 Table 1 displays the factor loadings, eigenvalues, Cronbach’s alpha and descriptive statistics for the items under evaluation. The Restaurant dimensions Table 2 shows the mean scores and t-tests for the three restaurant dimensions found in the study. This result indicates that customers are generally unhappy with the overall service quality and all the dimensions of the instrument. The findings show that among the 3 factors, customers are most satisfied Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 637 with “Tangibles” while they are less satisfied with “Food Quality-Reliability” and “Responsiveness- Assurance-Empathy dimensions. Table 2: Mean scores and t-test results for the restaurant dimensions Dimension Mean Std. Deviation t-value Tangibles 3.66 0.77 81.51 Food Quality-Reliability 3.32 0.75 76.03 Responsiveness-Assurance-Empathy 3.29 0.65 87.47 Overall service 3.09 1.21 44.02 note: significant at p < 1%table 2 shows the overall mean scores for the restaurant service quality REGRESSION ANALYSES Based on the new factors derived from the analysis, multiple regression analyses were used to determine the relative importance of service quality characteristics in predicting overall customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. In identifying those significant variables accounting for customers’ satisfaction, it is found that three service quality dimensions have a significant influence on satisfaction. The adjusted R2 of this model is 0.57, which indicates that 57% of the variation in customer satisfaction was explained by the three dimensions. The significant F-ratio (F = 85.68, p = 0.001) indicates that the results of the regression model could hardly have occurred by chance. Thus, the goodness-of-fit of the model is satisfactory. Only two of the three dimensions (food quality-reliability and responsiveness-assurance- empathy) significantly and positively influenced satisfaction among the restaurant customers. Based on the beta coefficient of each independent variable, it is possible to assess the impact of each variable on the dependent variable, satisfaction. According to Table 3, the variable “food quality-reliability” was the most important determinant of customers’ satisfaction; it had the highest standardized coefficient value, 0.39, and the highest t-value, 6.85, followed by Responsiveness-assurance-empathy with beta = 0.19. Thus H1 is partially supported. Table 3: Predicting Customer Satisfaction Dimensions b-value Beta t-value Tangibles 0.11 0.12 2.33 Food Quality-Reliability 0.52 0.39 6.85* Responsiveness-Assurance-Empathy 0.26 0.19 3.34* R2 = 0.57; F = 85.68, p = 0.001; * p < 0.01 Table 3 shows the regression results measuring the dependent variable “customer satisfaction” on the restaurant services Separate regression analysis was conducted to investigate the influence of the service quality dimensions and overall satisfaction on revisit intention of the restaurant customers and willingness to recommend the restaurant to others. Table 4 provides the results of the regression analysis with intention to revisit as the dependent variable. Approximately 30% of the revisit intention depends on satisfaction and food quality- reliability. Tangibles and responsiveness-assurance-empathy were not statistically significant in predicting revisit intention. Food quality – reliability was found to be more important and exerted a greater influence on intention to revisit than on satisfaction. Thus, H2 is partially supported. For intention to recommend, service quality and satisfaction explained 48% of the variability with the exception of responsiveness-Assurance-Empathy which was not statistically significant. Thus, satisfaction, tangibles and food quality-reliability dimensions were significantly and positively related to intention to recommend. The dimension “Food Quality-Reliability” was once more the most critical Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 638 dimension in predicting customer behavioral intentions because it had the largest beta values and is consistent with the previous finding when customer satisfaction was used as criterion variable. Therefore, H3 is partially supported. Table 4: Predicting Intention to Return Dimensions b-value Beta t-value Satisfaction 0.332 0.176 2.645* Tangibles 0.114 0.075 1.271 Food Quality-Reliability 0.271 0.267 4.453** Responsiveness-Assurance-Empathy -0.038 -0.021 -0.341 R2 = 0.30; F = 43.77, p = 00.000; * p < 0.01; ** p < 0.05 Table 4 shows the regression results measuring the dependent variable “intention to return” on restaurant services Table 5: Predicting Intention to Recommend Dimensions b-value Beta t-value Satisfaction 0.376 0.152 2.388* Tangibles 0.285 0.176 3.097** Food Quality-Reliability 0.253 0.281 4.883** Responsiveness-Assurance-Empathy 0.076 0.039 0.652 R2 = 0.48; F = 68.74, p = 0.000; * p < 0.01; ** p < 0.05 Table 5 shows the regression results measuring the dependent variable “intention to recommend” on restaurant services Customer satisfaction had a positive influence on behavioral intentions. This finding suggests that satisfied customers will result in customers dining at the restaurant again in the future and recommending the restaurant to others. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS This study used a modified SERVPERF instrument to investigate customers’ perceptions of restaurant service quality and three dimensions for the customers’ restaurant market were found. Among Parasuraman et al.’s (1988) five dimensions, only “Tangibles” remained in the new model; “Food quality” and “Reliability” were merged into a second dimension, and “Responsiveness”, “Assurance” and “Empathy” were grouped into a third dimension. It seems that customers perceive “Food quality and reliability”, which are related to the speed and accuracy of service, as one dimension and “Responsiveness, assurance and empathy”, which concern how individuals’ needs are perceived, as one dimension. The results of this study further suggest that the “Food quality-reliability” dimension was the strongest predictor of customer satisfaction as well as repeat purchase intention and willingness to recommend. These aspects of quality are judged to be more important in the minds of the Mauritian customers, and thus will be the key determinants of customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. This result partially is consistent with the previous findings of Pettijohn et al. (1997), Sulek & Hensley (2004) and Kim et al. (2009) that food quality dimension positively influences satisfaction and behavioral intentions.When analyzing customer satisfaction with likelihood of repeat patronage and intention to recommend, the results showed that customer satisfaction is significantly related to both. The findings are in line with the previous results of Ranaweera & Prabhu (2003). The success of restaurant businesses relies on providing superior service quality, value, and customer satisfaction, which in turn enhances customer behavioral intentions. The customer’s post-dining decision whether to return or not to return to the restaurant is the moment of final truth for the restaurant manager. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 639 It is important for restaurant operators to pay more attention to providing friendly services that makes customers feel valued and cared for. Improving service quality will not only strengthen customer loyalty, but also improve the restaurant’s reputation, and result in more sales and greater revenue in the long term. REFERENCES Arasli, H., Ekiz, E.H. & Katircioglu, S.T. (2008). Gearing service quality into public and private hospitals in small islands: Empirical evidence from Cyprus. 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Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 644 AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF COMPANY SURVIVAL/RECOVERY AFTER CORPORATE ACCOUNTING MALFEASANCE Liz Washington Arnold, The Citadel Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology ABSTRACT This study examines corporate survival/recovery after corporate accounting malfeasance from an exploratory and empirical perspective utilizing 100 companies known to have committed corporate malfeasance from a previous study and the related matching non-malfeasance companies to whom they were compared in that study to see if the survival/recovery for the malfeasance companies fared any different than the non-malfeasance companies. This study will examine the current status of the companies relative to where they were during the time of the announce malfeasance from a bankruptcy, merger, market value (stock price increase or decrease) or accounting value (book value) change perspective, including whether there have been subsequent announced malfeasance for any of the companies in the previous study. The research contributes to contemporary accounting literature by providing survival/recovery information for companies with announced malfeasance. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 645 AN INVESTIGATION OF USERS’ CONTINUOUS USE INTENTION OF E-LEARNING SYSTEMS Huichih Wang, National Chiao Tung University Hersen Doong, National Chaiyi University ABSTRACT While there have been broad examinations into the customer psychology and resulting individual’s behavior, its implications for e-learning system usage were still disappointingly understood. Identifying with consumers’ intentions to keep using the e-learning systems, however, has become a priority for practical executives as more and more enterprises have invested in this rapidly growing market. Past studies suggested that individuals who were likely to be more innovative in accepting new technologies tend to use the e-learning systems more often. However, these findings may be biased as they have solely examined single trait of innovativeness and its impact on individual users only. The current study has offered a different perspective by proposing three propositions base on a theoretical framework to demonstrate the diverse impacts of individuals’ mental traits of innovativeness and involvement on their decision to utilize the e-learning systems. Base on the discussions, more-involved individuals who may not be highly interested in adopting new systems may in fact utilize the e-learning system more frequently than those who are highly innovative in accepting new systems. By pinpointing the mental traits of heavy users of the e-learning system, this study helps executives to redesign their marketing tactics of e-learning systems. KEYWORD: innovativeness, involvement, e-learning system Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 646 RESIDUAL INCOME VS. DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW VALUATION MODELS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY Ali Atilla Perek, Marmara University, Turkey Seda Perek, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey ABSTRACT Valuation plays a central role in the financing, investing and operating decisions of companies and many methods are employed to approximate the true value of a company. Although these techniques are based on similar theory, they may generate different results in application. This study incorporates a case study approach to compare the outcomes of two different methods: residual income (RI) and discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation models. The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of why these two valuation techniques, although similar in theory, generate different results when applied to real life companies. There are a number of studies that compare these two methods theoretically. Some studies claim the superiority of one method over the other and some argue that these two methods should yield the same results when applied properly. In this study, the RI and DCF models are applied to nine Turkish companies and the results are compared. We have obtained the data for the study with site visits to the companies and with the help of the managements of the companies. JEL: G32 KEYWORDS: Valuation, Residual Income Model, Discounted Cash Flow Model, Accounting Based Valuation, Case Study, Turkey INTRODUCTION Valuation has been an important topic of finance research for a long time. The estimation of the true value of a business firm challenged academicians as well as practitioners, company owners, managers, and consulting firms in the past and it will most likely continue be a challenging issue in the future. Companies need their equities valued for various reasons such as borrowing, initial public offering, and merging or being acquired. Valuation is of growing importance especially in emerging countries, such as Turkey, which is a country with a growing economy and with a lot of attraction for foreign investments. The valuation models can be classified into three categories, which can be associated with the income, market, and cost approaches, respectively: discounted cash flow valuation, relative valuation, and contingent claim valuation. There is also a fourth category usually added to these three categories, accounting based valuation (Bertoncel, 2006). Each approach embodies different models and these models often produce significantly different values (Damodaran, 2002). The most widely used model among these is the discounted cash flow valuation model. The aim of the discounted cash flow models is to approximate intrinsic value and the main principle of the models is to find the present value of the future expected cash flows on an asset. To find the present value of an asset the models require the knowledge of the life of the asset, expected annual cash flows over the life of the asset, and an appropriate discount rate as inputs. Based on empirical evidence, these models can be found to work best when the cash flows produced by an asset is positive (Damodaran, 2002). Relative valuation depends on finding similar assets that are priced in a market, determining a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 647 standardized price through multiples, and controlling for the differences between the asset being valued and the similar assets (Damodaran, 2005). Contingent claim valuation is based on option pricing, which regards the asset subject to valuation as a real option and uses option pricing techniques to find the value of it. This model is found to be most useful for the companies in trouble or companies with intensive research and development but with no cash inflows. Accounting based valuation focuses on asset based valuation, and the emphasis is on book value (Damodaran, 2005). The two methods that are compared in this study are the discounted cash flow valuation model and the residual income model, which is a model of a hybrid approach including insights from both the income approach and the cost approach. The residual income model includes in the value of a company not only the discounted future abnormal earnings but also the book value of the company as of the valuation day. These two models are the most examined and compared models to one another. The strength of the discounted cash flow models lies in its corporate finance roots, emphasizing cash flows. Moreover, practical books on valuation assert that cash flows dominate accounting earnings and, therefore, the discounted cash flow valuation model is preferred over accounting based models (AAA FASC, 2001). However, there is also evidence that support the accuracy of the residual income model. Ohlson (1995) develops a residual income model where he provides a framework of how market value is related to three accounting data: earnings, book value, and dividends. The model developed in his paper relies on the clean surplus relationship: The change in the book value equals earnings minus dividends net of capital contributions. The first paper to mention this relation was Preinreich (1938) where the author states “Capital value equals book value plus the excess profits.” Lundholm (1995) claims that this notion was largely ignored in the literature since then and its revival is a major contribution to financial accounting literature. The objective of this paper is to study the reasons behind the different results obtained by two different valuation models by applying the discounted cash flow and residual income models to real life companies. In the next section, we review the empirical literature on the discounted cash flow and residual income methods. The data and methodology of the paper are explained in the section that follows. We present our research results in the section titled “empirical findings.” The last section concludes the paper. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The literature is rich in papers examining the accuracy of the residual income model and questioning the superiority of the discounted cash flow model over the residual income model. One of the earliest empirical studies on accounting based valuation models is by Bernard (1995). He estimates the intrinsic value for a large sample of firms during the 1978-1993 period to demonstrate the validity of the model over short horizons. The study states that the model explains, on average, 68 per cent of the cross- sectional variation in share prices. The author prefers the model for its accuracy and for its reliance on earnings and book value predictions over relatively short time periods as compared with the longer time periods needed in the discounted cash flow models (AAA FASC, 2001). Another study by Lee et al. (1999) estimates the intrinsic value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the period from 1963 to 1996 using the residual income model. The estimates of intrinsic value in the study predict both the future value of the index and the future stock returns to the index. Based on the results of the study, the authors support the use of the residual income model over other valuation models. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 648 One of the papers that support the superiority of accounting earnings over cash flows is a study by Penman and Sougiannis (1998). The authors claim that accrual accounting overcomes a shortcoming of the discounted cash flow models. That shortcoming is that the discounted cash flow models subtract capital investments from operating cash flows to estimate free cash flows, and for some companies this may cause negative free cash flows for many years. Accounting-based valuation models do not fall prone to this shortcoming because they place these investments on the statement of financial position and match the cost of these investments against inflows generated from them through depreciation allocations. However, Lundholm and O’Keefe (2001) state that these two models are derived from the same underlying assumption and the differences in their outcomes imply the difficulty of applying the same input assumptions to different models and conclude that neither of the models is superior to the other.) In response to this paper Penman and Sougiannis (1998) state that “the empirical papers dismissed by Lundholm and O’Keefe provide evindece that GAAP accrual accounting has advantages over cash accounting” and “…the partitioning in Penman and Sougiannis (1998) identifies cases where GAAP accounting performs relatively better (and worse).” Another advantage of the residual income model, and accounting based valuation models in general, is that the discounted cash flow valuation models require burdensome efforts to convert accounting measures into cash flows whereas different accounting choices on conservatism, expensing or capitalizing research and development costs, and different depreciation methods, do not affect the computation of value as long as the clean surplus relationship applies (AAA FASC, 2001). Penman and Sougiannis (1998) compare the dividend discount, discounted cash flow, and residual income models using actual realizations of dividends, free cash flows, and earnings. They report that the residual income model yields smaller valuation errors, as measured against current stock prices, than either of the other two models. Francis et al. (2000) state that the greater accuracy of the residual income model can be due to the sufficiency of book value of equity as a measure of intrinsic value and also because the predictability and precision of abnormal earnings are greater. In their paper, the authors compare the accuracy of the dividend discount model, the residual income model, and the discounted cash flow valuation model and find that the residual income model explains about 71 per cent of the cross-sectional variation in stock prices. According to the tests the residual income model significantly outperforms the dividend discount and the discounted cash flow valuation models. There are other studies in the literature that claim that the residual income model is not superior in explanatory power over other models. Dechow et al. (1999) test the residual income model on a large sample of firms using analysts' earnings forecasts. They show that a simple valuation model, which capitalizes analysts' short-term earnings forecasts in perpetuity, provides greater explanatory power for current stock prices than does the residual income model. The authors do not advocate the superiority of earnings capitalization approach to other valuation models, but they only state that this simple benchmark model outperforms the residual income model in explaining current stock prices. Most of the studies conducted use large samples of firms and provide average results across firms or through time. Kaplan and Ruback (1995) examine the accuracy of the models at the firm level. In their study, the authors compare the accuracy of the discounted cash flow model with the method of multiples in valuing 51 highly leveraged transactions during the 1983-1989 period and conclude that the discounted Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 649 cash flow valuations based on management forecasts of cash flows are within 10 per cent of the realized transaction value and superior to the multiples approach. Accounting academicians mostly prefer residual income methodology because of its direct relation to earnings and book values that are central concepts in accrual accounting whereas discounted cash flow valuation has its roots in finance theory (AAA FASC, 2001). The studies mentioned above, and many others, claim either the superiority of the residual income model over the other valuation models such as the dividend discount model, and the discounted cash flow model, or vice versa, in explaining stock prices and stock returns. The issue is still controversial. Most studies that claim that the residual income model is a better alternative than the other valuation models use sample firms with multiyear security analysts' forecasts of both earnings and dividends. Most studies use current stock price as the benchmark to evaluate the explanatory power of the valuation models assuming that stock prices reflect intrinsic value (AAA FASC, 2001). The goal of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the differing outcomes observed under the residual income and discounted cash flow valuation models by applying them to nine Turkish companies. DATA AND METHODOLOGY In order to compare the discounted cash flow and residual income models on an empirical basis, nine Turkish companies from different sectors are valued using the two models. Some descriptive information for the companies is provided in Table 1. Each valuation process included an industry analysis and a general examination of the company. Information about the operating procedures of the companies is obtained through site visits and meetings with company officials. The forecasts regarding future sales and working capital requirements, used in the valuation process, are discussed with the managements of the companies. Information about future capital investment projects, capital structure and dividend policies are the most realistic estimations made by the managers. The companies were provided with a valuation report at the end of the process. The details about the valuation process are held confidential since the companies did not grant permission for their being published. Table 1: Descriptive Information about the Nine Companies Included in the Study. Company Shareholders’ Equity as of Last Year (million USD) Total Sales Revenue for the Last Year (million USD) Textile Retailer 0.25 16.17 Hygeniec Products Manufacturer 6.04 5.57 Textile Manufacturer 15.19 13.30 Energy Manufacturer 254.88 54.42 Metal Products Manufacturer 25.60 61.19 Metal Products Wholesaler 7.89 23.81 Construction Material Assembler 0.68 3.73 Construction Project Designer 0.16 0.72 Chemical Products Retailer 2.84 1.90 Table 2 presents the discount rates used under the discounted cash flow and residual income models. Since the discounted cash flow model uses free cash flows to firm, the appropriate discount rate is the firm’s weighted average cost of capital. Since the residual income model uses net income to calculate excess returns, the appropriate discount rate is the firm’ cost of equity. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 650 Table 2: Cost of Equity and Weighted Average Cost of Capital Statistics for the Nine Companies Included in the Study. Company Cost of Equity Weighted Average Cost of Capital Textile Retailer 16% 15.00% Hygeniec Products Manufacturer 9% 9.00% Textile Manufacturer 15% 15.00% Energy Manufacturer 12.6% 11.00% Metal Products Manufacturer 13.14% 11.99% Metal Products Wholesaler 13.16% 12.00% Construction Material Assembler 15.74% 15.74% Construction Project Designer 15.60% 14.3% Chemical Products Retailer 15.00% 11.00% The Discounted Cash Flow Model The assumption on which the discounted cash flow models are based is that the reason behind the purchase of an asset is the anticipation of collecting cash inflows from that asset in the future. Thus, in discounted cash flow valuation, the value of an asset is determined by discounting the future expected cash flows to that asset at an appropriate discount rate that reflects the riskiness involved in these cash flows (Damadoran, 2005). The discounted cash flow model can be applied in different ways. The model applied in this study values the company as a whole by discounting the free cash flows of the company using the weighted average cost of capital as the discount rate and then subtracting the value of non- equity stake from the value of the company to reach the value of equity. The value of the company can be expressed as the sum of the expected cash flows from year one to infinity discounted at the weighted average cost of capital employed in the company. The expected free cash flow to a firm in a given year is calculated by using the following formula: Free cash flow to firm = After-tax operating income − (Capital expenditures − Depreciation) – Change in non-cash working capital. For each of the nine companies a forecast period is selected, after consulting with the company managers, and detailed cash flow forrecasts are made for that period. After the forecast period, a steady growth is assumed to perpetuity. The discount rate used is the weighted average cost of capital. The cost of equity component of the discount rate is calculated using the market model. The Residual Income Model Ohlson (1995) develops a residual income model. The model relies on capital budgeting techniques and the net present value rule. The model assumes that a project has value only if it has a net present value meaning that the return on capital invested must exceed the cost of capital invested. Excess return models, in general, use this principle and they state the value of a company in two components: the book value of the capital invested and the present value of the excess returns on the capital invested. The model used in this study can be stated as follows: Value of Equity = Book Value of Equity + Sum of the expected residual incomes in perpetuity discounted at the cost of equity capital employed in the company Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 651 Residual income is expressed as the net income minus the capital charge for each year. Discounting the residual incomes with the cost of equity and adding it to the book value of current equity gives the value of equity according to the residual income model. The book value of equity for each of the years in forecast period is estimated depending on the clean surplus relationship; that is, book value of equity changes depend on the net income of the period and the dividends distributed during a period. As is the case for the discounted cash flow methodology, the forecasts in the residual income model are divided between a forecast period and a terminal value, where the terminal value is calculated based on last years residual income growing at a constant rate in perpetuity. EMPIRICAL FINDINGS Table 3 summarizes the empirical results of the valuation models, the differences between the model outcomes, and the percentage difference. Of the nine company valuations, eight are higher with the discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation method. Only one company in the sample has a higher valuation with the residual income method than with the discounted cash flow method. The percentage differences between the findings with the two valuation methods appear to be quite large. Table 3: The Valuation Results with the Discounted Cash Flow and Residual Income Models. Company DCF Valuation (million of $) RIM Valuation (million of $) Difference (million of $) Difference as a % of DCF Valuation Textile Retail Company 8.62 12.64 -4.02 -46,67% Hygeniec Products Manufacturer 45.98 23.56 22.41 48,75% Textile Manufacturer 30.46 13.22 17.24 56,60% Energy Manufacturer 1.15 471.84 0.75 65,00% Metal Products Manfacturer 87.36 52.87 34.48 39,47% Metal Products Wholesaler 26.44 21.26 5.17 19,57% Construction Material Assembler 18.39 15.52 2.87 15,63% Construction Project Designer 6.32 4.60 1.72 27,27% Chemical Products Retailer 5.57 5.46 0.11 2,06% CONCLUDING COMMENTS Comparing the valuation models has been a controversial issue in the literature. The residual income method is generally preferred by academicians in the accounting field, whereas the discounted cash flow method is the method of choice in the finance field. Empirical studies have reached conflicting results and failed to prove the superiority of one method over the other. In this study, the residual income and discounting cash flow methods are applied to nine Turkish companies and the results are compared. Unlike most previous empirical studies on the issue that use large samples, this study uses a case study approach with data from nine Turkish companies with the forecasts of future operations and cash flows being generated with the help of the managements of the companies. We find that the residual income model results in lower company valuation compared with the discounted cash flow model. This result may be due to certain specific characteristics of Turkish companies. For Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 652 example, due to positive expectations as a result of the political stability and the geopolitical advantages of the country, Turkish companies have made subrtantial fixed asset investment in recent years. Therefore, the depreciation expense is quite high for most companies. The high depreciation expense decreases the net income (an input in the residual income method) and it increases the cash flow (the main input in the discounted cash flow method). Partly because of limited competition among firms, the cost of equity is quite high in Turkey. Since the cost of equity is used as the discount rate in the residual income method, it results in low valuation figures. Since equity capital is only one of the capital components, it only has a partial effect on the weighted average cost of capital, which is used as the discount rate in the discounted cash flow method. In emerging economies, it is a common practice for employers to employ relatives in the company with eligible expenses that would reduce the company’s residual income and would result in a relatively low valuation with the residual income method. These expenses may not affect the company’s cash flows. Therefore, we believe that the discounted cash flow method may give a better valuation result compared with the residual income method in emerging economies. This study should be regarded as a preliminary study with data from an emerging economy. The companies were not randomly chosen and only the companies that agreed to be included in the study were chosen. As a result, the research sample includes only nine companies. Therefore, the results cannot provide statistically meaningful evidence. Yet the aim of the study is to help understand why the two models would yield different results by spending a substantial amount of time with each of the companies to get a thorough understanding. Further studies might be conducted on emerging economies by concentrating on sectors and by using larger samples. REFERENCES AAA Financial Accounting Standards Committee (2001) “Equity Valuation Models and Measuring Goodwill Impairment”, Accounting Horizons, vol. 15(2), p. 161-170. Bernard, Victor L. (1995) “The Feltham-Ohlson Framework: Implications for Empiricists”, Contemporary Accounting Research, vol. 11(2), p. 733-747. Bertoncel, Andrej (2006) “Acquisition Valuation: How to Value a Going Concern”, Our Economy (Nase Gospodarstvo), vol. 52(5/6), p. 116-125. Damodaran, Aswath (2005) “Valuation Approaches and Metrics”, Foundations and Trends in Finance, vol. 1(8), p. 693-784. Damodaran, Aswath (2002) Investment Valuation, New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Dechow, Patricia M.; Hutton, Amy P.; Sloan, Richard G. (1999) “An Empirical Assessment of the Residual Income Valuation Model”, Journal of Accounting and Economics, vol. 26(1-3), p. 1-34. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 653 Francis, Jennifer; Olsson, Per; Oswald, Dennis R. (2000) “Comparing the Accuracy and Explainability of Dividend, Free Cash Flow, and Abnormal Earnings Equity Value Estimates”, Journal of Accounting Research, vol. 38(1), p. 45-70. Kaplan, Steven N.; Ruback, Richard S. (1995) “The Valuation of Cash Flow Forecasts: An Empirical Analysis”, Journal of Finance, Vol. 50(4), p.1059-1093. Lee, Charles M. C.; Myers, James; Swaminathan, Bhaskaran (1999) “What is the Intrinsic Value of the Dow”, Journal of Finance, vol. 54(5), p. 1693-1741. Lundholm, Russell J. (1995) “A Tutorial on the Ohlson and Feltham/Ohlson Models: Answers to Some Frequently Asked Questions”, Contemporary Accounting Research, vol.11(2), p.749-761. Lundholm, Russell; O’Keefe, Terry (2001) “Reconciling Value Estimates from the Discounted Cash Flow Model and The Residual Income Model”, Contemporary Accounting Research, vol. 18(2) p.311- 335. Ohlson, James A. (1995) “Earnings, Book Values, and Dividends in Equity Valuation”, Contemporary Accounting Research, vol.11(2), p. 661-687. Penman, Stephen H.; Sougiannis, Theodore (1998) “A comparison of Dividend, Cash Flow, and Earnings Approaches to Equity Valuation”, Contemporary Accounting Research, vol.15(3), p. 343-383. Preinreich, Gabriel A. D. (1938) “Annual Survey of Economic Theory: The Theory of Depreciation”, Econometrica, vol. 6(3), p. 219-241. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 654 UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUMERS TO USE ONLINE SHOPPING Job Dubihlela, Vaal University of Technology-South Africa Nobukhosi Dlodlo, Vaal University of Technology South Africa ABSTRACT The diffusion of information and the increased complexity of consumers have created a need for marketing organisations to embrace advanced business methods that allow for flexibility and convenience on the part of the consumer. This research explores the factors that influence online shopping behaviour among South African consumers; a new phenomenon in this market. Firms operating in this segment promote and sell their products and services via websites. The online stores are a visible representation of the “digital age” yet despite this, neither the stores nor the relevant consumers enjoy adequate conceptual and empirical analysis. Data were collected from June 2010 through January 2011 from three hundred and forty-three South African consumers (n=343) who purchased groceries from Woolworth (135); Pick n Pay (112) and Edgars (96) through internet shopping. The study found that shopping online appears to be the ultimate in streamlining grocery shopping. Convenience and saving time are the primary motivation for buying groceries online. The limitations of the study are discussed and directions for future research are proposed. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 655 A STUDY ON THE INFLUENCES OF KOREAN EARLY ADOPTERS' PROPENSITY AND LIFESTYLE FOR IT PRODUCTS' PURCHASE DECISION Yeo Hwan Leep, Kyungpook National University Han Jang hyup, Kyungpook National University Kim PanSoo, Kyungpook National University ABSTRACT This parer investigates earlyadopter. Lifestyle at IT Product for Purchase determination retention. The role of lifestyle related to purchase determination retention is analyzed. Criteria and measures for lifestyle are selected based on the literature review and circumstance of IT product. A questionnaire is developed to survey earlyadopter and lifestyle after discussion and revisions with experts. KEYWORDS : Earlyadopter, IT products, Purchase propensity, Lifestyle, Purchasing decisions INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND One of the most popular words in on & off line would be early adaptors. These early adopters have high adaptability for the new technology and have as much of knowledge as the specialists for the products and are shown as the aggressive purchasers who even participate in the project of products of a company (Turnbull & Meenaghan, 2001). Nevertheless the interest for the early adopters is getting increased; there is no systematic study for the characteristics of the early adopters until now. It means that though there are the studies for the expansion according to the specified new media, there is no study that analyzes the early adopters as the social/ cultural phenomena point of view. Korean early adopters are different from the opinion leaders who follow the novelties only based on their financial power. They are the value consumers and the people who seek for the hobbies and interests enthusiastically to stand on the same level of the influencing people. Also they are the coordinates that show the trend of the whole industries, society and culture over the consumption of specified field (Kim, Gu, 2003). Therefore, the studies focusing on the roll of the early adopters in the market is getting out of the simple analysis that accepts the individual medium, but on their life style and values (King & Summers, 1970; Turnbull & Meenaghan, 2001; Choo, 2004). The purpose of this study is to extract the factors as precedent study and empirical analysis by analyzing the inclinations of early adopters who influence the purchasers that buy the products after reviewing the products review or user’s review, and to define the purchasing pattern of the early adopters scientifically and systematically by analyzing the decision factors of purchase empirically. The lifestyle can be regarded as an important concept related to the customer activities. The study for the lifestyle provides the following important information. Firstly, lifestyle becomes the standard for the effective market subdivisions and it explains the customer’s activities intensively, and it could be a help to predict the social tendency by explaining the difference of customer’s choose of commodity, information and brand effectively. Secondly, lifestyle is a symbolic and differentiated behavior style that appears on the general human activities and it is being decided by the personal consumption and has a roll of factor to decide the consumption. Therefore, the study for the lifestyle is important as it is easier to approach to the consumer’s thought and behavior than the other studies and can attain the clear data. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 656 CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT AND HYPOTHESES In order to verify the factors that the inclination and lifestyle of Korean style early adopters (innovators and early adopters) affect on the decision of purchase of IT products, in this study, the model was designed based on the theoretical background and precedent study. Since it is verified that most of the precedent studies affect directly and statistically on the practical purchasing activity, we established the study model as shown on the based on the Hypothesis
that the inclination and lifestyle of Korean style early adopters (innovators and early adopters) will affect
on the decision of IT products purchase positively.

Fig. 1:Study model

Hypothesis 1: The higher inclinations of the Korean style early adopters have, the more they affect on the
decision of IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 1-1. The higher innovativeness the early adopters have, the more they affect on the decision of
IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 1-2. The better characteristics the early adopters have, the more they affect on the decision of
IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 1-3. The higher show-off inclination the early adopters have, the more they affect on the
decision of IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 1-4. The higher self- efficacy inclination the early adopters have, the more they affect on the
decision of IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 1-5. The more early adopters use community, the more they affect on the decision of IT
products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 2: Lifestyle will have the roll of adjusting variables for the inclination of Korean style early
adopters and the decision of purchase.

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Hypothesis 2-1. The higher lifestyle the early adopters have, innovativeness will affect on the decision of
IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 2-2. The higher lifestyle the early adopters have, characteristic will affect on the decision of
IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 2-3. The higher lifestyle the early adopters have, show-off will affect on the decision of IT
products purchase positively.
Hypothesis 2-4. The higher lifestyle the early adopters have, self- efficacy will affect on the decision of
IT products purchase positively.

Hypothesis 2-4. The higher lifestyle the early adopters have, the use of community will affect on the
decision of IT products purchase positively.

Specimen Design And Data Collection

For the case of variables of the model that was used in this study, they were selected based on the records
of studies for the local and foreign early adopters and lifestyle. Therefore, we extracted the inclinations of
Korean style early adopters by surveying the them from the local site as a subject of investigation and
then extracted the factors related to the inclinations and lifestyles of existing early adopters through the
precedent study and then performed the survey. The questionnaires that were structuralized like this were
distributed to the sites that the local early adopters are acting. The statistical analysis was done by using
SPSS 12.0. The survey for the decision of IT products purchase of the Korean style early adopters was
performed for 13 days from the 2nd of Nov. 2008 and the subject of the survey were 500 early adopters
acting in Cool & Joy, Early Adopter, Headphone Club, With iPot and Minibian. Total returned
questionnaires were 353 and we used 303 questionnaires after deleting the unfaithful one for the analysis.

Analyzing The Validity And Credibility

In order to verify the validity of the questionnaires that were used in this study, the factorial analysis was
performed and suggested in the Table 1.

Table 1: The Inclinations Factor Analysis of Korean Style Early Adopters

Study Variables Cronbach`s ⍺ Number of items
The inclination of
early adopters
Self-efficacy 0.922 10
Characteristic 0.81 6
Innovativeness
inclination 0.795 4
Considering
points when
purchasing
0.732 5
Use of community 0.785 3
Show-off inclination 0.643 4

As the result of deduction with the over 1.0 factor of eigenvalue after VeriMax rotation of the whole
inclination questionnaires of the Korean style early adopters, the inclination of the Korean style early
adopters were reduced to 6 components and the accumulation variance reached to 60% which means it
has a high grade of explanation. The credibility verification is a process that shows the degree of internal
consistency between the questionnaires of measuring tools and the Cronbach`s ⍺ coefficient was

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calculated. Though the credibility of measuring tool is secured when the value is over 0.7 in general
standard, but 0.6 also can be used as the minimum allowing value if they are the newly developed
questionnaires or they include them (Nunnally, 1978). As a result of this study, all of the measured value
were in between 0.643～0.922 and since all of them are over 0.6, the credibility could be accepted. As a
result of measurement of credibility of factor analysis of moderating variable, the Cronbach`s ⍺ is also
over 0.6 in questionnaire item which means there is no credibility problem at all.

Table 2: The Factor Analysis of Lifestyle
Study Variables Cronbach`s ⍺ Number of items
Lifestyle 0.612 6

RESULTS

Hypothesis 1 is the one for the inclination of Korean style early adopters and decision of purchase and in
order to analyze the influence of the early adopters’ inclination on the decision of IT product purchase,
the multiple regression analysis between the inclinations of early adopters and decision of purchase was
performed. As a result of analysis, it is significant statistically at 0.05 of significant level. If we review the
significant level of individual inclination, the inclination of early adopters who affect the significant
influence on the decision of purchase is the innovative inclination, inclination of show-off, inclination of
self-efficacy and use of community on the orderly base and the inclinations of early adopters doesn’t
affect the significant influence when the significant level is 0.1.

Table 3: Statistics for Hypothesis 1

Model R R² Revised R² Standard error of measured value
1 .526(a) .267 .252 1.02277

Table 4: Variance Analysis of Variance for Hypothesis 1

Model
Sum of
squares
Degrees of
freedom Mean square F
Significance
probability
1
Linear regression analysis 107.497 6 17.916 17.127 .000
Residuals 296.032 283 1.046
Sum 4.3.529 289
In order to verify the hypothesis for the lifestyle and IT product purchase, we should verify if the decision
of purchase of product can be explained by the correlation of lifestyle and the inclinations of the Korean
style early adopters. We would like to use the hierarchical regression analysis which is being used to
verify the major effect between variables and correlation. The hierarchical regression analysis is a method
to verify the relative effect of individual variables or to measure the influence between the variables.

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Table 5: Regression Analysis for Hypothesis 1

Model Composition Non-standard coefficient Standardized coefficient t
Significance
probability
β Standard

β
1
(Constant) 1.648 .577 2.856 .005
Purchasing

.056 .073 .040 .762 .447
Self-efficacy -.266 .094 -.210 -2.835 .005
Characteristics .017 .070 .015 .249 .803
Innovative inclination .399 .058 .459 6.899 .000
Use of community .106 .045 .135 2.324 .021
Show-off inclination .193 .056 .189 3.475 .001

Table 6: The Result of The Hierarchical Regression Analysis (1)

2nd stage (adjustment) R R² revised Changed amount of statistics
R² changed F changed Degrees of P

R² amount amount freedom
Considering points when purchase .392 .154 .148 .136 45.988 1 .000
Self-efficacy .399 .160 .154 .130 44.52 1 .000
Characteristic .399 .151 .145 .035 45.672 1 .000
Innovative inclination .489 .239 .234 0.046 17.273 1 .000
Use of community .427 .183 .177 .124 43.722 1 .000
Inclination of show-off .417 .182 .176 .079 27.725 1 .000

Table 7: The Result of The Hierarchical Regression Analysis (2)

3rd stage (adjustment) R R² revised
Changed amount of statistics
R² changed
amount
F changed
amount
Degrees of
freedom
P

R²
Considering points when purchase X
Lifestyle
.392 .154 .145 .000 .035 1 .851
Self-efficacy X Lifestyle
.407 .166 .157 .006 2.087 1 .150
Characteristic X Lifestyle
.405 .164 .155 .013 4.296 1 .039
Innovative inclination X Lifestyle
.544 .295 .292 .000 .054 1 .000
Use of community X Lifestyle
.428 .183 .175 .000 .000 1 .991
Inclination of show-off X Lifestyle
.445 .235 .234 .000 4.012 1 .034

As we can see in Table 7, the biggest factor of lifestyle that affects on the decision of purchase is
innovative inclination of early adopters and the next is show-off and then the characteristic. Therefore, we

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could see that the lifestyle affects on the relationship between the inclination of early adopters and
purchasing factors.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

This is the study to see whether the lifestyle affects on the purchase of IT products as an adjusting
variables through the inclinations of the Korean style early adopters. Not likely the other existing studies
for the decision of purchase, this is the study that analyzes the influence of the inclinations of the early
adopters and lifestyle on the decision of purchase. As a result of this study, we could see that the
innovative inclination is the biggest influence that affects on the decision of purchase and the next is the
inclination of show-off, self-efficacy, and then use of community. The matters to be considered and the
characteristics don’t affect on the purchase of IT products. The influences that are shown by the lifestyle
which took the roll of adjusting variables are innovative inclination, inclination of show-off and
characteristic on the orderly base. Namely, we could see that the Korean style early adopters are using the
experiences for the new innovation by purchasing the product practically after they get the information.
Therefore, we need to understand the industrial/ economical value of these people and in order to use
them properly; the political and strategic measures are required. This study has the limit as the precedent
studies for the empirical analysis are insufficient. We experienced difficulties in extracting the factors as
we could hardly find the precedent studies for the local early adopters. We wish many more studies for
the local early adopters to be proceeded in the future.

REFERENCE

Bernay, Elayn K. (1971) “Life Style Analysis as a Basis for Media Selection, in Attitude Research
Reaches New Heights,” eds. Charles W. King and Douglas J. Tigert, Chicago, IL: American Marketing
Association

Choo, J. (2004) “Current Customer Behavior: Focused on Early Adopters based on Technology adoption
lifecycle,” Master of arts in Electronic commerce, Korea University.

Dickerson, D.& Gentry, W. (1983) “Characteristics of adopters and non-adopters of home computers,”
Journal of Consumer Research, 10, 225-235.

Dutton, W., Rogers,M ,& Jun, S. (1987) “Diffusion of social impacts of personal computers,”
Communication Research, 14,219-250.

King W. & Summers, O. (1970) “Overlap of Opinion Leadership Across Consumer Product Categories,”
Journal of Marketing Research, 7. 43-50.

Lin, A. (1998) “Exploring personal computer adoption dynamics,” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic
Media, 42(1), 95-112.

Moore, David G. (1963) “Life Style in Mobile Suburbia,” in Toward Scientific Marketing, ed., Greyser,
Stephen A., Chicago, IL: American Association, 154-164

Scherer W. (1989) “The Video Cassette Recorder and Information inequity,” Journal of Communication,
39(3), 94-103.

Turnbull, W. & Meenaghan, A. (2001) “Diffusion of Innovation and opinion leadership,” European
Journal of marketing, 14(1). 3-33.

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William Lazer (1963) “Lifestyle Concept and Marketing,” In Stephen A. Geyser ed., Toward Scientific
Marketing, Chicago : American Marketing Association, 103-139pp.

Wind, Y. (1971) “Life Style Analysis : A New Approach,” in Combined proceedings of 1971, Spring and
Fall Conference, Chicago, AMA

BIOGRAPHY

Yeo, Hwan Leep PhD, Kyungpook National University in South Korea.

Han, Jang hyup Master’s course, Kyungpook National University in South Korea.

Kim, PanSoo Associate Professor, Kyungpook National University in South Korea.

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CREATING JOINT VENTURE PROJECTS BETWEEN
SME’S AND UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA
CALIFORNIA IN TIJUANA, MEXICO
Eduardo Ahumada-Tello, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Juan Manuel Alberto Perusquía Velasco, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

ABSTRACT

Joint venture between universities and SME’s is obtaining a great deal of importance in education and
learning strategies to achieve economic growth in countries that are in continuing seeking of
modernization and economic development. In the case of Accounting and Management Faculty (AMF) at
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), in early years beginning in 2005, several joint
venture programs have been implemented to help strengthen the relationship among several SME’s and
AMF. This paper refers to one called “Linking program with school credits” (LPSC) that have being
applied to three of the four bachelor degree programs in AMF. The LPSC develop and implemented by
AMF is part of a government program named “Development Program for SME’s”. This program is
taking place in several productive sectors of the Tijuana region. At this time this program offer to
strengthen the knowledge of students; especially those who haven’t have work experience yet. Also is
optional in the curricula and offers the acquisition of several school credits among other benefits to the
student, like give them social service and professional practice mandatory activities of their bachelor
degree program. LPSC has several success cases, and therefore it has a growing number of students and
SME’s taking part of it. The main purpose of this effort is to give consulting and advisory activities to
SME’s that requires it in any part of their main operation activities. From marketing to strategic
planning, from information systems to international commerce, this SME’s receive the aid of this students
guided by a faculty member and present their findings and their work by the end of the semester in front
of a committee conformed by several professors and SME’s manager, and they evaluate the impact of the
project and the level of knowledge that has been develop in each particular case. This paper describes
this activity and present information about the impact that this project has in students and in SME’s in the
region of Tijuana.

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THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF COOPERATION
Zóchitl Araiza Garza, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Elvira Velarde López, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Dariela Sánchez Campos, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the study of the process of intercompany cooperation (CI) in SME´s in the
metalworking industry in the central region of the state of Coahuila in México, specifically provides
interesting results about the benefits gained by cooperating enterprises and their relationship with the
cooperation activities they carry out, obtaining empirical evidence of how a virtuous circle of
cooperation is generated and created in base of those relationships. In this study it was established,
based on statistically significant associations, that cooperation to produce is associated with benefits of
cooperation to produce, to market and to manage; and finally, cooperation to market, it is t to
administere, is associated with benefits of cooperation to market and to manage.

JEL: L14

KEYWORDS: cooperation activities, benefits of cooperation, SME´s, metalworking industry.

INTRODUCTION

In the city of Monclova, the main town in the central region of the State of Coahuila, Mexico, lies the
largest steel mill in the country, Altos Hornos de Mexico, SA de CV (AHMSA). This large steel
company, is the locomotive of development of the region, which are articulated small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in the metalworking industry, as in the production chain are linked both forward and
backward in the steelmaking process. This linking of small businesses with AHMSA in the region gave
rise to a cluster of SMEs in the metalworking industry, where some of them cooperate with each
other, as a competitive strategy.

The intercompany cooperation (CI) is defined by Araiza and Velarde (2008) as the interaction
of independent SMEs with a specific purpose, enabling them to share resources to mutually
beneficial, and posed it as a dynamic process that consists of five stages: i) needs that drive companies
to cooperate, ii) search and selection of partner you are going to cooperate, iii) the structure of the
cooperation agreement, iv) activities of intercompany cooperation and v) the cooperation results, and
highlight, like Fernandez and Vigil (2007) the need to make studies of the dynamic that occur in
a conglomerate.

In response to this need and intended to clarify how things happen in the context of Mexican companies,
this study aims to contribute to generating knowledge about intercompany cooperation (CI) in Mexico,
specifically in this article, we examine the relationship of activities of collaboration (step iv of the
dynamic process of IC) with the benefits obtained to cooperation between small companies (step v the
dynamic process of the CI). The information presented is organized according to the following: once it
presents the literature review conducted on this subject, then shows the methodology used in the study
and finally presents the results and conclusions.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

This research on the study of intercompany cooperation (IC), is based on transaction cost theory, to
explain the existence of cooperation agreements and the theory of resources and capabilities to analyze,
possessed and required resources in companies that hold relationships of CI, as well as valuation and
appropriation of resources committed to the agreement.

Cooperation emerges as a strategic alternative, with the aim of companies improve their competitive
position (Osborn y Hagedoorn, 1997; Boscherini et al., 1998), allowing access to greater resources
without make a fusion (Glaister y Buckley, 1996), with the purpose of responding to the market and get a
common benefit. The cooperation has been studied and typified by many authors, in this study we used
the typology of the CI to Araiza et al., (2010) and Araiza and Velarde (2011) constructed and confirmed
empirically, which is based on the classification schemes of the types of intercompany cooperation of
Lopez and Lugones (1998), Ecribá et al. (2003) and Madero and Quijano (2006). The types considered
in this typology are four and are based on business needs that determine the objective of cooperation: It
cooperation to produce, cooperation for market, cooperation to innovate and cooperation to administer
(see Table 1).

Likewise, in the study of the cooperation between companies, also there has appeared empirical evidence
of the benefits that the companies obtain on having cooperated like that provided by Gómez (2005); Díaz
et al. (2005); Vera-Cruz et al. (2002); (Simonin, 1997); Powell y Koput (1996) y Domínguez (2002). In
this study, based on the empirical evidence obtained by the diverse authors earlier mentioned on the
benefits of the cooperation between company and following its typology of intercompany cooperation
Araiza et al. (2010) and Araiza and Velarde (2011), realized the adaptation to do the extensive above
mentioned typology to the benefits gained by cooperating enterprises in accordance with what it appears
in the Table 1.

Table 1: Types of Intercompany Cooperation and Benefits of the Cooperation

Types of cooperation Benefits of the cooperation
Cooperation to produce. – like ties of collaboration that are
established for the economies of scale securing, to decrease costs
and to improve the quality and productivity of the SME´s.
Benefits of the cooperation to produce: major production,
increase in the quality of the products, decrease of costs of
production and complementation of production processes.
Cooperation to innovate – like the ties of collaboration that are
established between the SME´s to decrease risks, costs and time
principally associates to propitiate and to develop its innovative
potential.

Benefits of the cooperation to innovate: product improvement and
development of new products and processes, incorporation of new
technologies, decrease of costs and time in the development and
technological innovation and risk diminution on the investment in
the development and technological innovation.
Cooperation to market. –like the ties of collaboration that are
established between the SME´s for the search and access to
markets; diffusion, promotion and distribution of its products;
economies of scale securing to gain access to markets and
reduction of costs.
Benefits of the cooperation for market: major diffusion,
promotion and publicity of its products, increase in the sales , I
access to new markets, to maintaining our clients and decrease of
the costs related to the sale of its products.
Cooperation to administer. – like the ties of collaboration that are
established between the SME´s to develop the business
undertaking and to have practical knowledge of management and
access to information about fiscal instruments of credit and
financing and incentive as well as to carry the workpeople
training out.
Benefits of the cooperation to administer: I increase in the yield
on the investment, increase in the cash flow, improve in financing
steps, improve in systems of administration, access to
governmental supports and to fiscal stimulus, it improves in the
training of its workpeople and development of know
collaborative.
This table shows the typology of intercompany cooperation defined by Araiza et al. (2010) and Araiza and Velarde (2011)and the adaptation to
do the extensive above mentioned typology to the benefits gained by cooperating enterprises with base in which the present study was carried
out..

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Derivative of the bibliographical review carried out for the present study raises the following hypothesis:

Ha: Association exists between the intercompany cooperation with the benefits that obtain for
collaborating the SME´s of the metalworking industry of the region center of the State of Coahuila.

METHODOLOGY

The methodological strategy, it was based on a sequential study of two phases with mixed method, in the
first phase a qualitative exploration was realized about the types of IC and the benefits of the
cooperation, and in the second one, the surveys were realized interviewing the businessmen of 50
companies that shaped the sample for expediency of a population of 153 companies. The obtained
quantitative information, they were processed across the statistical bundle SPSS to measure, based on the
grade of importance granted by the businessmen (from 1 to 5, of minor to major), the types of IC that
appear and the obtained to benefits when cooperated, later to determine if association exists between
them. Finally, there were carried out the conclusions and recommendations of the study and the future
investigation lines were defined.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Of 50 companies polled in this study, only 78 % of them admit to have realized some type of cooperation,
by what the results of this section will be determined in base in the information obtained of 39 companies
that collaborate.

The used statistician was X2 and the respective cross tab was prepared with base in the indicators of
intercompany cooperation and benefits that are obtained for collaborating; for this, three ranks was
assigned at the level of importance granted by the businessmen, in accordance with the following values:
low importance (from 1 to 2.49), medium-sized importance (from 2.5 to 3.49) and high importance (from
3.5 to 5). The found value of X2 .639 n (37) is statistics significant at a level of confidence of 99 %,
therefore it is possible to affirm that an association of .639 exists between the intercompany cooperation
and the benefits the companies obtain for cooperating.

The hypothesis is confirmed: Association exists between the intercompany cooperation with the benefits
that obtain for collaborating the SME´s of the metalworking industry of the region center of the State of
Coahuila.

The above mentioned relation happens in accordance with the following thing: the companies that assign
one to him high importance to the intercompany cooperation, also assign a high importance to him to the
benefits obtained by cooperation and of the companies are assign a low importance to him to the
intercompany cooperation, also they assign a low importance to him to the benefits obtained for
cooperating.

Later it proceeded to calculate in a specific way, if some association exists between each of the types of
intercompany cooperation, with the different types of benefits of the cooperation, the results obtained
allow to establish the following associations:

i) each of the types of cooperation that is realized, is associated with benefits of the same type.
ii) the cooperation to produce, only is associated with the benefits of the cooperation to produce.
iii) the cooperation to innovate, only is associated with the benefits of the cooperation to innovate.

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iv) all types of cooperation, are associated with the benefits of cooperation to market and benefits of
cooperation to administer.

CONCLUSION

This study was conducted in small and medium enterprises in the metalworking industry of the region
center of the State of Coahuila in Mexico, therefore regional in range so the conclusions are limited to the
population of companies in the sector study. In this study was established, based on statistically
significant associations, that cooperation to produce is associated with benefits of cooperation to produce,
to market and to manage; cooperation to innovate is associated with benefits of cooperation to
innovate, to market and to manage; and finally, cooperation to market, just as cooperation to administer,
is associated with benefits of cooperation to market and to manage.

The multiple associations between all the types of cooperation and its benefits towards the benefits of the
cooperation for market and benefits of the cooperation to administer that the companies obtain on having
collaborated, that represents to the intercompany cooperation, shaped by all the types of cooperation and
its benefits, can turn into a virtuous circle, which leads the companies to obtaining benefits, therefore,
must be propitiated and cultivated like a strategy on the part of the entrepreneur.

REFERENCES

Araiza, Z, y Velarde, E. (2011). “¿Cooperan las pequeñas empresas? Las necesidades que las impulsan a
colaborar y los tipos de cooperación que realizan”, en E. Velarde y Z. Araiza (Coord.). Nuevos
paradigmas en ciencias administrativas. Ed. Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Primera edición,
México.

Araiza, Z. y Velarde, E. (2008). “Modelo conceptual para el estudio del proceso dinámico de la
cooperación interempresarial en las Pymes”, Administración contemporánea. Revista de investigación, 1
(8): 1-30.

Araiza, Z.; Velarde, E. y Zarate, A. (2010). “Tipología de la cooperación interempresarial: caso de la
industria metalmecánica de Coahuila”, Revista Internacional Administración & Finanzas 3(3): 91-104.

Boscherini, F.; López, M. y Yoguel, G. (1998). “Sistemas locales de innovación y el desarrollo de la
capacidad innovativas de las firmas: un instrumento de captación aplicado al caso de Rafaela”, en Nota
técnica 17/98. IE/UFRJ.

Díaz, A.; Lorenzo, O. y Solís, L. (2005). “SMSB negotiation processes inserted into collaborative
networks”, en Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, v. 34. Cladea Bogotá. P. 25 – 46.

Domínguez, M. (2002). “La cooperación interempresarial. El caso de Puebla”, Ed. Benemérita
Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. Primera edición. México.

Escribá, A.; Sánchez, L. y Sánchez, E. (2003). “Nueva evidencia sobre el uso de la cooperación entre
empresas en España en el período 1994-1999: características y evolución”, ICE Tribuna de Economía
809: 189-207.

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Fernández, V. y Vigil, J. (2007). “Clusters y desarrollo territorial. Revisión teórica y desafíos
metodológicos para América Latina”, en Economía, Sociedad y Territorio, v.VI, 024, p. 859-912.

Glaister, K. y Buckley, P. (1996). “ Strategic motives for international alliances formation” en Journal of
Management Studies, v. 33, 3, p. 301-332.

Gómez, A. (2005). “Fusiones, adquisiciones y alianzas estratégicas de empresas biotecnológicas:
reestructuración y concentración en el mercado de la globalización.” en G. Sánchez (Coord). Innovación
en la sociedad del conocimiento. Ed. Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Primera edición,
México.

López, A, y Lugones, G. (1998). Los sistemas locales en el escenario de la globalización, en Nota técnica
15/98. IE/UFRJ. Brasil.

Madero, J. y Quijano, L. (2006). Las empresas integradoras en Yucatán: Estudio de caso, en X Congreso
Anual de la Academia de Ciencias Administrativas A.C., 3-5 de Mayo 2006.

Osborn, R. y Hagedoorn, J. (1997). “The institutionalizacion and revolutionary dynamics of
interorganizational alliances and networks” en Academy of Management Review, v. 40, 2, p. 261-278.

Powell, W. y Koput, K. (1996). “Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: networks
of learning in biotechnology”, en Administrative Science Quarterly, v. 41, 1, p. 116-146.

Simonin, B. (1997). “The importance of collaborative know-how: An empirical test of the learning
organization”, en Academy of Management Journal, v. 40, 5, p. 1150-1175.

Vera-Cruz, A.; Dutrénit, G. y Gil, J.L. (2002). “Creación de redes como un mecanismo para el desarrollo
de capacidades de los proveedores mexicanos de la maquila: el caso de la industria del maquinado”, en
Lastres et al. (Eds.) Proposicão de políticas para a promocão de sistemas produtivos locais de micro,
pequenas e médias empresas. Rede de Sistemas Produtivos e Inovativos Locais. Universidade Federal do
Rio de Janeiro.

BIOGRAPHY

Zóchitl Araiza Garza, Doctora en Administración, may be contacted in Universidad Autónoma de
Coahuila, in México, his area of interest is the business association and cooperation. E-mail:
araizagarza@yahoo.com.mx

Elvira Velarde López, Doctora en Administración, may be contacted in Universidad Autónoma de
Coahuila, in México. E-mail: elviravelarde@yahoo.com.mx

Dariela Sánchez Campos, student of Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, in México, may be contacted
by E-mail: sarai_dariela@hotmail.com

mailto:araizagarza@yahoo.com.mx

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TRANSPARENCY REPORT AS RED FLAG FOR
QUALITY CONTROL OF THE AUDIT FIRMS – THE
REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA EXPERIENCES
Zorica Bozinovska Lazarevska, Faculty of Economics, University Ss Cyril and Methodius
Maja Stolevska, Audit Authority for Auditing the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA)

ABSTRACT

The complete implementation of the Audit Law from 2005, amongst all imposed an obligation to the audit
firms for presentation of transparency reports. In the period 2007-2010 the audit firms overcome the
barrier and commenced to disclose information regarding their own performance, which for a long time
were treated as confidential. The continuity of four years might seem too short for one to create the great
image of the audit profession conditions in the Republic of Macedonia. But, at the end, the issue about by
whom, how and why was this information used is still open. According to Article 7 of the Statute of the
Institute of Certified Auditors of the Republic of Macedonia (ICARM), the ICARM is competent to
conduct the quality control. In 2009, ICARM for the first time carried out quality control of the audit
firms. Did and in what extent the ICARM used the data from transparency reports in process of selecting
the audit firms subject to the quality control? Is it possible to relate the transparency in the audit firms’
performance and the quality of services they offer to their clients? In this paper, we are going to try to
give an answer to the previously posed questions.

KEY WORDS: transparency report, quality control.

INTRODUCTION

The Republic of Macedonia confirmed its aspirations for membership in the European family, by signing
the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU and its member states. One of the key
prerequisites for gaining the status of candidate country and for obtaining negotiations date was the
harmonization of domestic legislation with the Acquis Communautaire. The audit profession was not an
exception from those requirements. Seven years after the first Audit Law was adopted in 1997, in 2005
was adopted the new Audit Law. This new Law brought in substantial changes into the profession.
Amongst all, the new Audit Law for the first time imposed the obligation to the audit firms for
presentation of transparency reports. The presentation of such reports was to disclose the most delicate
and the most mysterious data about the firms’ performance. What regards the minimum of information
required to be disclosed with the transparency reports, it is totally compatible to the Revised Eighth
Company Law Directive. In the period 2007-2010, the audit firms regularly presented the transparency
reports, thus formally fulfilling the obligation imposed by the Law. But, however besides the continuity
of four years still remains the dilemma whether and to what extent the audit firms perceived these
requirements as a nightmare that could have negative effect over their reality in the disclosure of
information? No less important was the dilemma to whom the data from the reports served and what was
the benefit of disclosing them? Besides these dilemmas, the amendments of the Audit Law in December
2010 enlarged the list of information, which the audit firms are obliged to disclose in the transparency
reports. With these additional information finally was overcome the little gap between Article 40 of the
Eight Directive and the Audit Law.

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Abreast with the transparency, the new Law a special accent, as well, put on the quality control of the
audit firms’ performance. Namely, the audit firms’ performance is to be put under a magnifier of the
ICARM for the purpose of assuring the users of audit services that when conducting the audit engagement
completely are respected the legislative and the professional regulation. The Quality Control Commission
carried out its first quality controls in 2009 and the findings in form of Activities Report were submitted
to the members of the ICARM.
Further in this paper, we will analyse detail the information from the transparency reports, thus trying to
identify the information that might present red flags for activating the quality control of the ICARM. Our
attention, as well, will be focused on the Quality Control Commission findings from performed controls
at audit firms, in order to discover if the light motive in selection of potential auditees are the information
disclosed in the transparency reports.

TRANSPARENCY IN THE AUDIT FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE OBSERVED THROUGH THE
PRISM OF TRANSPARENCY REPORTS

The term transparency was unknown to the domestic auditors until 2005, when the new Audit Law of
2005 for the first time introduced the obligation of the audit firms or the statutory auditor – sole proprietor
to publish in at least one mass media or on their websites, within three months of the end of each financial
year, the annual transparency report. Transparency report shall provide for a permanent insight in
monitoring the rules of the game in the competition on the market by the members of this profession. The
report shall include a wide range of information providing clear picture of the type and the volume of
activities carried out by the audit firm during the year, and the turnover thus realized. More precisely,
pursuant to Article 26 of the Audit Law, annual transparency report shall include the following
information: (1) description of the legal structure and ownership; (2) description of the professional
network and the legal and structural arrangements in the network they belong to; (3) description of the
governance structure of the audit firm or the statutory auditor – sole proprietor; (4) description of the
internal quality control system of the audit firm or the statutory auditor – sole proprietor and a statement
by the administrative or the management body on the effectiveness of its functioning; (5) list of entities
being audited during the preceding year; (6) statement on the policy followed by the audit firm or the
statutory auditor – sole proprietor concerning the continuing education of the statutory auditors and (7)
financial information on the total turnover realized on the basis of audit and on the basis of other fees,
broken down by four categories of audit services, additional services for quality assurance, tax advisory
service and other non-audit services. (Audit Law, Official gazette of the RM, no. 79. p. 99, 21 September
2005). The authorized person at the audit firm, i.e. the statutory auditor – sole proprietor, shall sign
transparency reports as the case may be.

If Article 26 Transparency Report in the Law is compared with Article 40 Transparency report in the
Revised Eighth Company Law Directive, one can conclude that there is high level of harmonization
regarding the issue on compulsory information to be presented in the transparency report. However,
regarding the information requirements to be part of the transparency report, Revised Eighth Company
Law Directive is more rigorous, in particular the following points: (e) an indication of when the last
quality assurance review referred to in Article 29 took place, (g) a statement concerning the audit firm’s
independence practices which also confirms that an internal review of independence compliance has been
conducted and (j) information concerning the basis for the partners remuneration. (Directive 2006/43/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 may 2006 on statutory audit of annual accounts and
consolidated accounts). The appeared differences were overcome with the last amendments of the Audit

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Law in December 2010 and the enlargement of the list of data required to be consisted in the transparency
reports. Namely, according to Article 35 the audit firms in separate segments of their transparency reports
shall disclose data related to: the date of the last quality control over the auditor, statement of independent
operations of the audit firm which confirms that there are an internal procedures for independency
compliance assessment and that they are implemented in practice; as well as the information regarding
the basis for determination of the certified auditor’s fee (Audit Law, Official gazette of the RM, no.
158/2010).

Audit Law entered into force in the course of 2005, imposing the obligation for the audit firms to submit
the annual transparency report in 2007 covering their operations in 2006. Unfortunately, during 2007,
most of the audit firms did not submit annual transparency reports. Having in mind the fact that in 2007
ICARM was engaged in building its architecture and it worked on constitutive acts, while the Council for
Advancement and Oversight of the Audit put efforts to assist ICARM in commencing the functioning, not
adhering to Article 26 of the Law remained suppressed, and the offenders were unsanctioned. First
transparency reports were published in the course of 2008, and they covered the operations of audit firms
in 2007. Number of submitted reports can lead to the conclusion that situation evidently improved in 2008
and, 17 out of 24 audit firms published their annual transparency reports, while the remaining 7 audit
firms did not adhere to this legal requirement. In parallel to adhering to the legal requirements, in 2009,
transparency reports are published, covering the operations in 2008. In 2009, 21 out of the 24 audit firms
published the transparency report within the deadline stipulated by Law. For the first time in 2010, all the
24 audit firms responded to the obligation to present the transparency reports. In 2011, the number of
audit firms has increased to 28, out of with four are newly established. This is the reason why 24 audit
firms have submitted transparency reports; two audit firms in their reports have emphasized the fact that
they are newly established and that they cannot disclose all the data required by the Law, and the
remaining two newly established audit firms did not submit a report.

Submitted transparency reports will be observed in more details in this paper. First part of transparency
reports gives a review on the legal structure and ownership of all audit firms, ICARM members, which
submitted transparency reports in period 2007-2010. Pursuant to Article 24 of the Audit Law, an audit
firm established as company and statutory auditor – sole proprietor, having obtained working license
therefore, can perform audit, as a service. Audit firm is issued working license to perform audit operations
if it fulfills the following requirements: (1) having employed at least two statutory auditors, (2) majority
voting shares in the audit firm owned by the statutory auditors and (3) possession of insurance policy of
general responsibility in the amount determent by the ICARM (Audit Law, Official gazette of the RM,
no. 158, December 2010). Based on the presented legal structure and ownership in the transparency
reports, one can conclude that all audit firms meet the legal requirement to obtain working license in the
field of auditing. Besides this, there are no significant differences in the presentation of data by the audit
firms in the three subsequent years. The only change has been noted in the legal structure and ownership
at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Namely, in 2008 there has been a change in the ownership of this audit firm,
so that from Limited liability company established by one person , it was converted into limited liability
company established by two persons who posses 51% and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC Skopje, owning
49% of the company.

Second segment of transparency reports shows which professional network the audit firm belongs to, the
legal and the structural arrangements therefore. There are differences in the extent of the information
given about the network arrangements, with in some cases very little information on the structure of
central Boards or committees and their functions. As shown in transparency reports, the segment

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explaining the professional network which the audit firms belong to and the legal and the structural
arrangement there from, the Big Four provide more detailed explanations, while the local audit firms just
stress the fact that they act locally on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. If we compare the
information from the transparency reports for the four subsequent years pertaining to this segment, we
may conclude that the majority of the audit firms use almost identical formulations. Special attention
should be given to two major changes. The first change occurred in 2008 when the local audit firm Infos
D became part of the professional network of the Bakker Tilly International. The second change took
place one year later, in 2009, when the local audit firm Macedonian Audit Center joined Moore Stephens.
Besides this, inevitable is the impression that the majority of the local audit firms empathizes the
inclusion into the professional network with the membership in the ICARM. According to the Audit law,
members of the ICARM are all statutory auditors and audit firms that conduct audit in the Republic of
Macedonia. As a difference to the local audit firms, the Big Four in more details describe the membership
in the professional network, as well as the activities they perform within the frames of the network.

Next segment give an overview of the internal quality control system of the audit firm and a statement by
the administrative or the management body on the effectiveness of its functioning. This is a key element
within the reports. Comparison of information from the segment pertaining to transparency reports,
focused on internal quality control system of the audit firm, and the statement by the administrative or the
management body on the effectiveness of its functioning, point out to a heterogeneous approach in
reporting. The Big Four, as well as the audit firms that are part of the international networks, describe in
more details the internal quality control system by orderly positioning the key players in the established
control system. Unlike them, there is clear perception at part of the local audit firms of what the internal
control system is, but due to their lower personnel potential, it is more simplified. Therefore, the reports
state that established and adopted policies and procedures on quality control system are fully harmonized
with the international auditing standards. Unfortunately, there are audit firms that are not familiar with the
concept of setting and functioning of internal quality control system. Such impression is acquired from
reading the explanations on the manner of acting and functioning of the quality control system. However,
despite such trends, these audit firms have concluded, at the end of the report, presenting this segment,
that the system is well established and functioning efficiently. In the reports of 2010 there is evident
progress regarding the fulfillment of the requirements for issuing a statement of effective functioning of
this system by the audit firm’s competent authority. In comparison to the previous three years when this
kind of statement was not part of the reports, some audit firms in their reports of 2010 particularly
emphasized the statement of effective functioning of the quality control systems by a competent authority.
This conclusion unfortunately is not referred to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which in its last reports does
not even have a paragraph with a statement of effective functioning of its quality control systems by a
competent authority. Such developments may be accepted as logical ones, should one take into account
the fact that ICARM is in the initial stage of introducing the system of quality control in audit firms. The
first quality controls conducted by the ICARM activated the alarm in part of the audit firms. Lessons
learnt from the control were as well, reflected in the part of the report related to the quality control.
Consequently, quite real are the expectations that this part of the transparency report will contain more
information. Again, we consider that the fuller presentation provides the better model. Whilst the
minimalist approach arguably meets the legal requirement, in our view it falls well short of meeting the
spirit of transparency reporting. What regards the internal quality control system, we should emphasize
the fact that the statements of the audit firms have not evolved in the period of four years. In their
transparency reports from 2010, the major part of the audit firms simply just transferred the same
formulations from previous years. This segment of the transparency reports should be given more

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attention and it is realistic in future to expect from the audit firms to change this approach of quality
control reporting.

Another quite important segment in the transparency report is the list of auditees at which audit firms
performed audit arrangements. Due to the heterogeneous composition of auditees (part of them are large-,
and the other part are medium-sized enterprises), Table 1 presents the number of auditees in period 2007-
2010 at which the audit firm performed an audit. Audit firms apply different approach when demystifying
the clients at which audit arrangements were implemented. Most of them provide detailed list of all
auditees. Small portion of the audit firms use descriptive approach to indicate the auditees by
summarizing them in certain categories (companies, non-profitable organizations, etc.). Only one audit
firm in 2008 has presented no list of auditees in the report. However, despite such approach, this segment
in the report points out to a positive trend in disclosing information related to client’s identity, which was
considered as business secret in the past and were not subject to public debate. Regardless of the fact that
Independent Auditor Reports were subject to publishing pursuant to the first Audit Law from 1998, it is
exceptionally difficult to relate the audit firms with the specific clients. Hence, how small audit firms,
having limited personnel resources, manage to perform audits at large number of clients has always been
an open issue. Finally, numerous users of audit reports can learn from this segment of the transparency
report about the distribution of potential clients to be audited (pursuant to the Company Law, they are the
large- and the medium-sized enterprises) between the audit firms and how much one participates in the
division of the pie. This information are also a good signal for ICARM to activate its control mechanisms,
should it detect discrepancy between the available personnel potential and the volume of realized
arrangements at certain audit firms. The comparison of data from the last four years shows relative move.
At the majority of audit firms, including the Big Four, did not incur significant changes in the last three
years. Continuous increase in the number of auditees is evident in Grant Thornton, Moore Stephens and
some of the local firms. Small is the number of audit firms, which significantly decreased the number of
clients. Regardless of the transparency level of information disclosure about the auditees, these data
cannot provide an answer to the question whether greater number of auditees means a greater inclusion in
the audit services market. The answer to this question depends on the size of the auditee, as well as on the
fee for the conducted audit. We can get the full image by linking these data not only to the human
resources in the audit firms, but also to the turnover realized from the offered audit services. The division
of the audit services market and the battle for new auditees is frequently related to the offer of lower audit
fees than the ones offered by the competitors. Unfortunately, the lower fees are compromising the quality
of service. Taking into account what was previously discussed, we consider this segment of transparency
reports as a red flag for the ICARM quality control.

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Table 1. Number of auditees in the preceding year
Name of audit firm Number of auditees in the preceding year
2007 2008 2009 2010
1. Ernst&Young Statutory Auditors, Skopje 17 25 29 28
2. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC Skopje 23 28 31 31
3. KPMG MACEDONIA LLC Skopje 46 43 41 48
4. Deloitte LLC Skopje 28 33 30 24
5. Grant Thornton LLC Skopje 22 30 43 47 companies, 5 projects
6. Moore Stephens/ Macedonian Audit
Center, Skopje
47 57 60 59
7. Dimitrov Audit, Skopje 24 33 56 48
8. B&Lj, Boro and Ljupco, LLC Skopje 41 41 47 55
9. Trio-Consulting LLC Gevgelija 69 50 companies, 1 association of
citizens and 5 projects*
56 65
10. Rafajlovski Audit LLC Skopje 2 construction companies, 22
production, trading and services
companies and 1 brokerage house
2 construction companies, 30
production, trading and services
companies and 1 brokerage house
36 1 construction company, 35
production, trading and services
companies and 1 brokerage house
11. Censum LLC Skopje no data in the report no data in the report 37 42
12. Pelagoniska Audit Firm LLC Prilep 36 41 31 34
13. Kojzakliev-Pavleska AD Skopje 6 6 11 16 companies, 5 projects*
14. Kni-Prokom Prilep 15 companies and 2 public
enterprises
15 companies, 5 public enterprises
and 2 projects*
26 33
15. Baker Tilly Macedonia LLC Skopje This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
24 companies and 25 projects* 24 22 companies, 10 projects*
16. Primeko Audit LLC Skopje 30 companies and non-profitable
organizations
30 companies and non-profitable
organizations
17 23
17. Revizions LLC Skopje 5 non-profitable organizations and
1 public enterprise
10 12 11 companies, 4 projects*
18. Audit IAS Skopje This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
12 14 25
19. Efect Plus Audit Firm, Skopje This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
12 20 9 companies, 11 projects*
20. Audit and Consulting firm – ERC – Skopje This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
29 34 34
21. ProAudit Audit Firm, Kumanovo This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
31 33 37
22. European Audit Center, Skopje This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
23 37
23. Elit, Dance LLC Skopje This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
12 17
24. Logist, LLS Kumanovo This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
This audit firm did not publish a
transparency report
17 9
* Projects financed by financial institution and foreign donors.
Source: Transparency reports of the auditing firms, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The next segment of the transparency reports presents the statements on the policy followed by the audit
firms or the statutory auditor – sole proprietor concerning the continuing education of the statutory
auditors. Analysis of the presented information related to the CPD of statutory auditors in the Republic of
Macedonia leads to the conclusion that, if compared to the other segments in the report, they are the least
consistent. The requirement for CPD was introduced for the first time in the Republic of Macedonia with
the Audit Law in 2005. In particular, pursuant to Article 21 of the Law, each statutory auditor is obliged
to attend at least 40-hour training annually within the continuing professional development to upgrade the
knowledge in the field of accounting and auditing, organized by ICARM. Taking into account the fact
that ICARM commenced realizing the program on CPD in March 2009, information presented in the
transparency report at most of the audit firms regarding the monitoring of training of statutory auditors
within ICARM in the course of 2008 can be taken with a pinch of salt. The lack of an organized approach
in conduction of CPD in 2008 is the main reason why the data presented in the transparency reports from

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2007 are not take into consideration. They just emphasize the need for 40 hours CPD, prescribed by the
Law. Part of the audit firms, such as the Big Four, referred to education that is implemented at the level of
the network, which they belong to. Similarly, part of the local audit firms indicated that they organized
training for their employees, and they strived to update their knowledge by involving the employees in
seminars and post-graduate studies in the field of accounting and auditing. This information was not
subject to verification by ICARM or the Council for Advancement and Oversight of the Audit. The
experiences from the training conducted by the ICARM in 2009 show that only 51% of the total number
of auditors has completed their obligation for CPD. The others did not manage fully and there are even
statutory auditors who did not accomplished even 10% of the required hours of training. The reasons for
such a condition partly lay in the bad dynamics of the organized CPD events. ICARM, within the
REPARIS project in accordance with the time available of the foreign experts, organized in total 17 CPD
events, the major part of which were in the time of the most intensive field work of the auditors. Besides
this, all the events took place in Skopje, which created a problem for the auditors from other cities to
attend all the events. Surely, one of the key reasons was as well the rigid requirement of the Law for
accomplishing the required 40 hours in the course of one year, which was not feasible for the
professionals engaged abroad. Taking into consideration the rigidity of the existing CPD requirement,
with the amendments of the Audit Law in 2010, in Article 28 is adopted a more flexible criterion.
Namely, the certified auditor shall attend a training of at least 120 hours for the period of three years, i.e.
to attend a training of at least 30 hours within the frames of CPD. Besides this, more flexible is the
approach of accepting the type of CPD event, which in contrary to the previous solution (the event to be
organised only by the ICARM), now offers an alternative for the auditor to attend trainings organised by
ICARM or by other relevant institution accredited abroad. What is meant under relevant institution
accredited abroad and why is not taken into consideration any other domestic relevant institution, remains
an open issue to which the ICARM should provide a concrete answer as soon as possible. Proper
determination of rules defining the type of CPD event that will be accepted as appropriate is of substantial
significance for the certified auditors, since not attending trainings or the lack of evidence that an
adequate training was attended may lead to withdrawal of the license for certified auditors.

According to Article 35, the audit firms are obliged in their transparency reports to disclose even the most
sensitive information related to the structure of the realized turnovers. The financial information related to
the total audit related turnover and other allowances shall be broken down in four categories: (1) annual
and consolidated accounts audit services, (2) other assurance services, (3) tax advisory services and (4)
other non-audit related services. Considering the fact that according to the presented transparency reports
the structure of realized turnover is dominated by audit related turnover, in Table 2 is given an overview
of the audit firms shares in the audit services market in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Data from
transparency reports speak of dominant share of the Big Four, together with Grant Thornton, of 71% in
2010, 73% in 2009, 70% in 2008 and 68% in 2007 in the total turnover in the Republic of Macedonia
realized based on audit. More detailed analysis of the data points to the fact that in 2007 the dominant
share had PriceWaterhouseCoopers with 30% of the total audit-related turnover. Share of KPMG
MACEDONIA in the structure of realized turnover is evident in 2008, accounting for 21% compared to
the other firms in the group of the Big Four. In the course of 2009, PriceWaterhouseCoopers again
dominates in the audit services market accounting for 21% from the total turnover. Similar is the situation
in 2010 as well, when PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG MACEDONIA have the highest share of the
audit services market. The slice of the audit services cake the domestic audit firms have is minor in the
last four years. Special attention should be paid to the fact that the audit services market, measured by the
total turnover realized in the last four years, is in continuous growth, from 4,076,359 in 2007 to 5,173,630
in 2010. Maybe the period of four years is too short for one to draw a valid conclusion. However, if we go

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into details into the numbers, we may observe slight but significant fluctuations at certain audit firms. The
reasons for such fluctuations should be further investigated in a lot more details, which is outside the
scope of this paper. Such trend is partially a result of the requirement in the Banking Law as of June 2007
for rotation of audit firms each five years. More specifically, Banking Law does not allow the same audit
firm to carry out audit at the same client, i.e. bank, continuously longer than five years. Due to this,
arrangements of the Big Four in the financial sector were changed, resulting in losing large clients at part
of these firms, and as a result, their turnover dropped on this basis. If we link the data related to the
turnover fluctuations with those related to the number of auditees at which the audit firms have conducted
audits in the four analyzing years, we may note that at certain firms which number of auditees has
decreased, the audit-related turnover has increased. The reason for such a situation remains an open issue.
One of the reasons may be the size of the auditee and the fee the audit firms has charger for the service
performed. But, certianly the answer to this and other similir issues, in future, should be provided by the
quality control of the functioning of the audit firms. By all means, through the turnovers realized from
audit and other services one may recongnize the red flag for urgent reaction by the quality control.

Besides the previously discussed, the 2010 amendments require the audit firms to state the date of the last
quality control over the auditor. The data for 2010 are shown in Table 3. More detailed analysis of the
presented data leaves a first impression that there is no consistent approach in disclosing the date when
and by whom the last quality control over the auditor was carried out. In spite of the categorical
requirement by the Law to state the date of the last quality control performed over the auditor in a
separate paragraph of the transparency reports; this is not a case for three audit firms (two domestic audit
firms and PriceWaterhouseCoopers). Namely, their reports lack a separate paragraph related to whether
the quality control over the auditor was carried out, and in case it was, who did it. Eight audit firms, five
of which domestic (local), two of the Big Four (Ernst&Young and KPMG MACEDONIA) and Baker
Tilly in their reports stated that they have not been subject to a quality control during the last year. The
remaining 13 audit firms have been subject to the quality control that was conducted in 2010 by
competent persons from ICARM. From the selected firms subject to the quality control, it can be noticed
that only one is from the Big Four (Deloitte LLC Skopje), whereas the other ones are local audit firms.
What is the motive for the greater suspicion in the quality of the auditor from local firms vis a vis the Big
Four will be concluded from the report and the findings of the Quality Control Commission, on which we
will focus in the following part of this paper. Talking about the quality control over the auditor (which is
relatively new in the Republic of Macedonia and still operates with limited human resources within
ICARM), special attention should be given to the fact that the majority of the audit firms were included in
the assessment carried out in 2010. Proceeding with the same dynamics in the following years, the picture
for the observations related to the quality of auditors’ work in the audit firms operating in the Republic of
Macedonia, will be more complete.

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Table 2 Structural share of audit firms in other turnover realized on the basis of audit services

Audit firm
Audit-related turnover in EURO Percentage
2007 2008 2009 2010 2007 2008 2009 2010
1 Ernst&Young Statutory Auditors,
Skopje
305,447 508,176 525,353 634,168 7% 10% 10% 12%
2 PricewaterhouseCoopers DOOEL
Skopje
1,239,900 669,426 1,092,485 966,396 30% 14% 21% 19%
3 KPMG MACEDONIA DOO Skopje 510,155 1,025,069 938,703 943,541 13% 21% 18% 18%
4 Deloitte DOOEL Skopje 699,936 927,079 653,610 555,970 17% 19% 13% 11%
5 Grant Thornton DOO Skopje 244,663 329,368 563,090 545,582 6% 7% 11% 11%
6 Moore Stephens, Skopje 224,880 195,655 199,512 202,687 6% 4% 4% 4%
7 Dimitrov Audit 242,654 300,946 230,016 262,667 6% 6% 4% 5%
8 B&Lj, Boro and Ljupco, DOO
Skopje
151,512 130,407 141,707 161,837 4% 3% 3% 3%
9 Trio-Consulting DOO Gevgelija 140,605 162,445 93,257 96,787 3% 3% 2% 2%
10 Rafajlovski Audit DOO Skopje 72,325 98,553 121,122 96,585 2% 2% 2% 2%
11 Censum DOOEL Skopje 38,968 79,947 90,039 88,464 1% 2% 2% 2%
12 Pelagoniska Audit Firm DOOEL
Prilep
65,267 83,712 87,365 77,458 2% 2% 2% 1%
13 Kojzakliev-Pavleska AD Skopje 8,488 8,488 14,895 33,760 0% 0% 0% 1%
14 Kni-Prokom Prilep 29,333 53,854 67,447 48,846 1% 1% 1% 1%
15 Baker Tilly Macedonia 43,841 73,951 84,081 73,675 1% 2% 2% 1%
16 Primeko Audit DOOEL Skopje 56,496 55,064 35,737 39,807 1% 1% 1% 1%
17 Revizions DOO Skopje 1,889 12,190 17,328 28,298 0% 0% 0% 1%
18 Audit IAS 0 14,341 27,496 35,041 0% 0% 1% 1%
19 Efect Plus Audit Firm 0 28,151 42,901 43,367 0% 1% 1% 1%
20 Audit and Consulting firm – ERC –
Skopje
0 87,479 65,035 87,479 0% 2% 1% 2%
21 ProAudit Audit Firm, Kumanovo 0 48,423 42,829 55,041 0% 1% 1% 1%
22 European Audit Center, Skopje 0 0 45,146 47,187 0% 0% 1% 1%
23 Elit, Dance DOOEL Skopje 0 27,740 25,203 33,382 0% 1% 0% 1%
24 Logist, DOO Kumanovo 0 0 0 15,607 0% 0% 0% 0%
Total 4,076,359 4,920,463 5,204,359 5,173,630 100% 100% 100% 100%
Source: Transparency reports of the auditing firms, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

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Table 3 Date when the last quality control over the auditor was performed
1. Ernst&Young Statutory Auditors, Skopje So far, no quality control over the auditor has been conducted, in accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law.
2. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC Skopje There is no paragraph for stating whether and when the quality control over the auditor has been conducted.
3. KPMG MACEDONIA LLC Skopje In 2010 no quality control over the auditor has been conducted, in accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law.
4. Deloitte LLC Skopje The last quality control in accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law was carried out in November 2010.
5. Grant Thornton LLC Skopje In accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law, competent representatives from ICARM conducted quality
control in November 2010.
6. Moore Stephens/ Macedonian Audit Center,
Skopje
General quality control was carried out in October 2010 by ICARM. The internal control system was tested and 5
audit engagements performed in 2009, were reviewed.
7. Dimitrov Audit, Skopje The last quality control in accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law was carried out in February 2010.
8. B&Lj, Boro and Ljupco, LLC Skopje There is no paragraph for stating whether and when the quality control over the auditor has been conducted.
9. Trio-Consulting LLC Gevgelija The last quality control was carried out by ICARM in October 2010 for the year ending 31.12.2009.
10. Rafajlovski Audit LLC Skopje There is no paragraph for stating whether and when the quality control over the auditor has been conducted.
11. Censum LLC Skopje ICARM conducted quality control in November and December 2010.
12. Pelagoniska Audit Firm LLC Prilep In accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law, ICARM conducted quality control in December 2010.
13. Kojzakliev-Pavleska AD Skopje In 2010 no quality control over the auditor has been conducted.
14. Kni-Prokom Prilep In 2010 no quality control over the auditor has been conducted.
15. Baker Tilly Macedonia LLC Skopje The last quality control over the auditor and the separate audit engagements was conducted in May 2008 by a
competent person from Baker Tilly International од Лондон.
16. Primeko Audit LLC Skopje ICARM conducted quality control over the auditor in November 2010.
17. Revizions LLC Skopje The last quality control in accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law was carried out in January 2010.
18. Audit IAS Skopje In accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law, ICARM conducted quality control in September 2010.
19. Efect Plus Audit Firm, Skopje No quality control has been conducted, in accordance with Article 20 of the Audit Law.
20. Audit and Consulting firm – ERC – Skopje There is no paragraph for stating whether and when the quality control over the auditor has been conducted.
21. ProAudit Audit Firm, Kumanovo General quality control was carried out in January 2011 by a competent person from ICARM.
22. European Audit Center, Skopje The last quality control over the auditor was carried out in November 2010 by ICARM.
23. Elit, Dance LLC Skopje The last quality control was carried out in October 2010.
24. Logist, LLS Kumanovo There is no paragraph for stating whether and when the quality control over the auditor has been conducted.
Source: Transparency reports of audit companies presented in 2010.

Interesting, as well, is the segment from the transparency report in which competent persons give a
statement of audit firm’s independent work, thus confirming that internal procedures for independency
compliance assessment are in place and that they have been applied. The reports are homogenous in the
part of the statement where almost all audit firms in an identical manner confirm the existence and the
application of internal procedures for independency compliance assessment. In the other hand, only a part
of audit firms (the Big Four and the local’s part of professional networks) more thoroughly describe their
approach in independency compliance assessment in aspect of audit team members and in aspect of
auditors employed in the audit firm. Most frequently this is done by applying procedures for
independency assessment which are performed through an annual compliance assessment and
independency statements by all the employees in the company, as well as independency statements by the
members of the audit team. Taking into account the fact that the auditor’s and the audit firm’s
independence of the client is crucial for quality and impartial performance of the engagement, the quality
control in future should pay more attention to this segment of the report. Republic of Macedonia is a
small country and thus the independency maintenance presents a serious challenge for the audit firms,
especially when fighting for a greater number of clients in the audit services market.

Finally, a new segment in the transparency reports as well is disclosure of the information regarding the
basis for determining the auditor’s fee. Regarding this segment, again it is interesting that
PriceWaterhouseCoopers along with other three local audit firms in their transparency reports have not
included a paragraph of explanation of the basis for determining the auditor’s fee. The other audit firms

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have different approaches. Some give more general criteria such as the complexity of engagement,
hierarchical level in the company, the duration of engagement and etc. Unlike these, others, explain that
the certifies auditors’ fees are determined on two basis: (1) all certified auditors receive a fix salary during
the year in accordance with their labour agreement, (2) the certified auditors that in the same time are
capital partners in the company, receive a dividend as well, according to the share each partner has in the
company’s capital. Whether this is such in the reality of life, is to be confirmed by the ICARM quality
control. The Audit Law requires compulsory publication of transparency report, but unfortunately it does
not include any provisions regarding the consequences of not submitting or of disclosure of data not
corresponding to the real ones. Therefore, the ICARM quality control should be especially attentive in
detection of data not corresponding to the real ones and in their thorough check.

QUALITY CONTROL OF AUDIT FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE IN THE REPUBLIC OF
MACEDONIA – FINDINGS FROM THE CONTROL CONDUCTED IN 2009

According to the provisions of the Audit Law of 21 September 2005, ICARM was competent for
implementation of ISA and IFAC Code of Ethics. The control shall be conducted based on an annual
programme of the ICARM. Amending the Article 19 of the Audit Law in 2010, more precisely were
defined the quality control requirements of the audit services. Namely, within the spectrum of
competences of ICARM specifically is emphasized the responsibility for conduction of quality control of
the certified auditors, audit firms and statutory auditor – sole proprietor on the performed statutory audits
at least once in six years, and check of the certified auditors, audit firms and statutory auditor – sole
proprietor which perform audits on legal entities of public interest, at least once in three years (Audit
Law, Official gazette of the RM, no. 158, December 2010).

The quality control system is very important for ensuring high quality audit services. The high quality of
the audit related services contributes to an increased reliability of the issued financial information, thus
the audit means greater value and safeguard for the shareholders, investors, creditors and other users of
the financial reports. It is because of this, that within the architecture of the ICARM specifically
significant post is dedicated to the Quality Control Commission. According to Article 30 of the Statute of
ICARM, the Commission is consisted of five members with a mandate of three years and possibility for
reelection. Three members of the Commission shall be certified auditors employed in audit firms and/ or
statutory auditor – sole proprietor.

The Quality Control Commission is responsible: (1) to propose the Rulebook for the method and
procedure for quality control of the audit firms and statutory auditor – sole proprietor; (2) for
development and promotion of quality control standards in the audit firms, that shall impose
establishment of policies and procedures for conduction of audits; (3) for development and promotion of
quality control programme which shall be used for assessment of whether the audit firms have established
appropriate policies and procedures for control and whether they comply with them; (4) to submit reports
for the quality controls performed to the Ethics Commission; and (5) other issues related to the quality
control of the audit services. (Statute of ICARM, ICARM 2005)

The quality control system realized by ICARM has the following objectives: (a) evaluation of the
compliance with all regulations, as well as with the requirements of the deontology and ethics and all
professional standards; (b) improvement of the quality of audit work and Institute members, and thus,
strengthening the social status of audit activities and auditors and increasing the social legitimacy of the
audit; (c) Improvement of the reliability of the Macedonian financial market. (Quality Control Report,

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ICARM 2010)

In October 2009, the Quality Control Commission for the first time adopted the Annual plan for quality
control for 2009. Through means of grant by the World Bank, from the French Institute were selected
consultants to help the ICARM in establishment of quality control system. The Quality Control
Commission adopted two questionnaires, Preliminary Data Questionnaire (PDQ) and Annual Activities
Report (AAR), and the Managerial Board of the ICARM approved both.
− PDQ refers to the organization of the audit firm or the statutory auditor – sole proprietor and to the tools
for conduction of audits in accordance with all the regulations, as well as with requirements of the
deontology and ethics and all the professional standards
– AAR represents an annual summary of the charger hours, as well as of the audit allowances for each
engagement of the audit firm or the statutory auditor – sole proprietor and of the basic financial
information of the auditee (total assets, revenues…)
The questionnaires were distributed to all audit firms. As it was already mentioned, the number of audit
firms in the Republic of Macedonia is 24, and the number of statutory auditors – sole proprietors is seven,
i.e. in total 31 with 67 certified auditors. Since each auditor should be subject to the quality control at
least in three years, each year should be controlled approximately 10 audit firms.

Considering the fact that in 2009 for the first time was conducted quality control, its objectives were the
following: (1) control of audit firms and certified auditors; (2) identification of areas of improvement of
the quality of auditors’ work and of the training needs; (3) testing and adaptation of the control process to
the implementation of the control in practice and (5) training to the quality controller. Taking into account
the above stated objectives as well as the time available for the control, the Quality Control Commission
decided that regarding the workload, the year of 2009 would be an exception. Namely, instead of 10, were
selected four audit firms. In each of them was reviewed the internal control and instead of three were
selected two engagements, including at least one public interest entity, where appropriate. The selection
of audit firms subject to control was based on the answers given in the questionnaires, applying the
following criteria:
− 2 average audit firms (from 13 to 30 engagements);
− 1 small audit firm or independent auditors (less than 13 engagements);
− 1 company pertaining to a network
− PDQ answers that were considered as good or acceptable. (Quality Control Report, ICARM 2010)
The criteria applied in the selection of potential companies subject to quality control lead to an
observation that the Commission has not taken into account the information from the published
transparency reports, which for an average competent reader may represent a red flag for activation of the
control mechanisms of the profession. In Report of 2009 (adopted by the ICARM members in 2010), the
Commission puts a special accent on the results of the performed controls broken down in two groups: (1)
diagnosis of the organization and the internal control system of audit firms and (2) conclusion from
examination of the selected engagements. In the first part, diagnosis of the organization and the internal
control system of audit firms, the Commission focuses on several key segments, for which provides
general conclusions. In the table 4, broken down in segments, are presented the results from the controls
conducted.

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Table 4 Diagnosis of the organization and of the internal control system of the audit companies
Audit activity organization
in the company according to
the professional standards
requirements
• The audit activity is described either in a form of manual, working guidelines, rulebook for organizational structure or other document
where briefly are described the audit process steps. The way the audit activity is described meets the professional standards.
• One company uses audit software for performance of the audit procedures in accordance with the professional requirements.
• The way the audit activity is actually organized and performed, depends on the organizational structure of the company, as well. The
companies where the audit team is comprised of two certified auditors perform the audit engagements jointly as a team. The
deficiency in such case is the provision of independent review.
Human resources dedicated
to the audit activity
 The certified auditors attend the training organized by ICARM for continuous professional development. The companies are aware of
the training requirements for the staff of all levels. But not everywhere can be found records per employee for their improvements in
different ways within the company and out of it.
 In the majority of companies there is no formal system for performance evaluation and assessment. In some companies, their results
and the employees merits are summarized in an informal way.
 In companies, except for one company, there is no system for recording the time spent by audit engagement and engaged auditors.
 Companies until now did not have a practice to use the work of experts. In some companies there is a written policy for selection and
use of experts. In one case there is documented consultation by external commercial organization.
Risk assessment • The documentation of the independency of companies and employees by the means of questionnaires and other forms of
independency statements does not represent a usual practice in the companies.
• A review and compliance of audit clients and accountancy or other services clients was performed in cases where the company or its
members are engaged as well in provision of services other than audit of financial statements. Such a review did not indicate any
incompatibility or independency problem.
• The companies have not formalized the protection measures in case of facing specific risks, for example evaluation of conflict of
interest and if needed, undertaking adequate protection measures. The engagement review came across a case where the total fees
generated by the client represent a significant percentage of the total fees of the company.
• Without an evidence of the time spent and existence of relevant time rates of each person being included in performance of
professional services, it may be difficult to support the basic assumption that the organization and the auditor behavior as well as the
services provided to the client are properly planned, controlled and managed.
• Risk assessment procedures are not documented, and the data are collected tardy. The companies rarely identify risk factors related to
the clients’ activity.
Audit engagement
performance
• The main substantive audit procedures are carried out. The operational effectiveness of the controls is not tested. In a small number of
cases walk through tests are applied.
• The selection and application of audit procedures is rarely supported by risks identification and assessment.
• The selected sample is rarely documented.
• The support of the process with standard working process is weak.
• In some cases, the quality control during the conduction of audit engagement is weakened due to lack of reviewer’s independency.
• The documentation of the work done is weak.
Source:. Quality Control Report, Quality Control Commission, ICARM 2010.

Analogously to the first part, in the second part Conclusions from examination of the selected
engagements, the Commission segments its conclusion by separate areas of audit engagements, as shown
in the table 5.

Table 5 Conclusions from the reviews of the selected engagements
Application of the audit
company procedures on
the selected engagements
• The audit company procedures are applied but with the same weaknesses as indicated in the previous part
Assessment of the proper
performance of the
engagement
 Appropriation between the human resources and the engagements
 The companies where the audit team is composed of two certified auditors perform the audit engagements jointly as a team. The
remaining audit companies appoint an engagement team composed of certified auditor(s) and other staff (assistants, senior auditors etc)
regarding the experience with the client or the industry.
 Audit approach
 The audit approach is not documented and is not identification and risk based approach. The main substantive procedures are carried out.
The review indicated to situations when the substantive procedures are not finally completed in order to obtain evidence for the selected sample.
The internal controls effectiveness is not tested, nonetheless for certain engagements walk through tests are performed as a regular procedure.
 Quality of work
 The quality of work only partially fulfills the professional standards requirements. There is a lack of documented conclusions for the
selection and the extent of the tests, the audit work performed and auditors’ judgments. All the audits of listed entities must have documented
quality control review.
 Documentation
 In the majority of cases it is weak and insufficient for the risks, extent of procedures and work done, as well as for the conclusion arising
from the audit work.
 Reports
 The audit reports follow the standard form. In one case it was pointed out that the audit report is missing a reference to the qualification
given by the previous auditor.
Source:. Quality Control Report, Quality Control Commission, ICARM 2010.

For the purpose of improving the observations and overcoming the weaknesses, the Commission gives the
following recommendations:

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− The policies and procedures to be adopted by the audit firm must be completed and followed and must
determine the volume and type of documentation which will provide evidence of the functioning of each
element of the quality control system in accordance with the ISQC1 requirements;
− In its working documents, the audit firm should record information regarding the audit planning, the
nature, timeframe and extent of audit procedures, the results from the audit procedures and the
conclusions drawn from the audit evidence obtained;
− The audit firm should improve the organization of its working documents, so that it will provide an
understanding of the work performed and of the basis on which the main conclusions have been drawn;
− The members of the audit team must attend trainings related to risks and to the audit procedures as a
response to the assessed risks. (Quality Control Report, ICARM 2010)

From the Commission Report on quality controls performed in 2009 may be noticed the lack of sanctions
for the audit firms and certified/ statutory auditors where certain weaknesses were found. This approach is
due to the attitude of the Commission that the first controls should be educative and should bring about
positive vibrations in the audit firms for adjustment of their work to the requirements of the legal and
professional regulation. The sanctions are left for the time to come, in case of repetition of the weaknesses
or rejection to implement the given recommendations.

TRANSPARENCY REPORTS VIS A VIS QUALITY CONTROL

If we try to draw a parallel between the transparency reports and the Quality Control Report, we may
conclude that the transparency and the quality control within the audit profession in the Republic of
Macedonia are functioning as two separate universes. Since the beginning, the obligation for preparation
and publications of transparency reports by the audit firms presented a bureaucracy nightmare. For the
first, they were required to demystify what was previously considered confidential information. There
was a fear about how the public will perceive the presented information and who will be their potential
readers and for what purposes they will use them. However, the barrier that existed in the first year
following the adoption of the Audit Law was soon overcome and the transparency reports became reality.
The nightmare of writing the report was as well overcome in a relatively short period. The audit firms,
with few exceptions, accepted the form and the sequence of elements of transparency reports envisaged
by the Audit Law. Besides this, after four years of their publication still remains open the question
whether and to what extent can be trusted the information disclosed in them. This dilemma especially
arises from the fact that there are no legally envisaged sanctions for those audit firms that will disclose
inaccurate information. Our detailed analysis of the transparency reports published in the period 2007-
2010 demonstrates that the length of the report is dependent on the seriousness of the audit firms
approach. There are one-page reports, but there are as well reports consisted of ten pages. In some of the
reports, the information is disclosed in details broken down in segments, whereas in others there is only
one paragraph leaving a room for the reader to use his/ her imagination and conclude what it is concretely
about. Unfortunately, there are reports in which whether by accident or design are omitted certain
segments making them incomplete and hardly comparable to the other. In significant part of the reports,
the financial information for the turnover realized on the four bases is not disclosed in accordance with
the Audit Law requirements. Taking into consideration the previously discussed issues, we directed our
view to the quality control and to the necessity for it to check this information and point a finger at those
audit firms, which by irregular and inaccurate presentation of information in the transparency reports
manipulate the potential readers.

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The analysis of the Quality Control Report, presented by the Quality Control Commission points out to a
methodological approach when selecting the potential audit firms subject to a quality control, based on
the usage of questionnaires. The red flags that the reader of transparency reports may identify by reading
and analyzing them attentively do not present an activating alarm for the Quality Control Commission.
The number of conducted controls brings a hope that the ICARM through the Quality Control
Commission starts the battle with the audit firms that do not respect the profession rules and is prepared
to sanction and eliminate the auditors who behave in a contrary to the ISA and the Code of Ethics. The
domestic audit profession was not exposed to greater tectonic disruptions arising from the corporate
scandals such as Enron, Parmalat, Worldcom etc. However, this does not mean that in the previous years
the auditors were immaculate. The approach of the Quality Control Commission in the first year to pass
over the bad people in the profession and the disclose the findings as generalized conclusion, should
present a serious signal to the audit firms and to the auditors that the recurrence of the shortcomings will
not remain unsanctioned. A contrary, the tolerance of the shortcomings, especially not sanctioning their
recurrence leaves wide open the door for affirmation of non-professionalism and confidence destruction
of the auditors operations in the public. One report, regardless how detailed it is, cannot create the big
image of the level of performance quality of auditors and audit firms in the Republic of Macedonia. It is
left for the time to show whether the Quality Control Commission will identify the red flags from the
transparency reports in order to activate its control mechanisms and to prevent occurrence of corporate
scandals, for which a part of the responsibility will be addressed to the audit profession. This is
particularly important since the public confidence the audit firms are trying to gain in the last years can be
easily lost if they whether by accident or intentionally “forget” the requirements of the quality standards
when conducting the audit engagements.

CONCLUSION

The transparency requirement has no meaning by itself, unless the data presented in transparency reports
are subject to a more detailed observation by relevant professional authorities. It is because of these
reasons that through a comparative overview of data, disclosed in the transparency reports in the Republic
of Macedonia in the last four years, we tried to point out to certain missing segments, to data not
corresponding to the reality, to unprofessional approach of the audit firms when disclosing the data, as
well as to open suspicions of the reality of presented data. Within the architecture of domestic audit
profession the sole responsible body for quality control performance of the audit firms and certified
auditors is the Quality Control Commission at ICARM. There is a serious challenge in front of it. One
year after its active quality control performance it is unreal for one to expect spectacular findings. But,
what is surprising for sure is the marginalization of the transparency reports data when selecting the
potential quality control subjects. The usage of questionnaires as a methodological approach may be a
useful tool in the selection of the potential quality control subjects. But the continuous presentation of the
transparency reports in the last four years and comparison of data among the audit firms as well as within
the firm itself shows a lot of inconsequence’s and inconsistencies that deserve greater attention by the
Quality Control Commission. The public that comes into contact with the transparency reports must not
and should not be subject to manipulation by the audit firms. Such attempts must and should be prevented
by the Quality Control Commission. This is the only way for the audit profession to keep the confidence
in the public and the users of audit reports will perceive the transparency reports as a result of quality
done job.

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REFERENCES
[1] Stabilization and Association Agreement between Republic of Macedonia and EU and its Member
States, Official gazette RM, No. 28. 13th April 2001.
[2] Auditing Law, Official Gazette RM, 21 September 2005.
[3] Revised New Eighth Company Law Directive 78/660/ECC and 83/349/EEC, Council of the European
Union, Brussels, June 2006.
[4] Country Action Plan, Steering Committee, Skopje, 2006.
[5] Transparency reports of the auditing firms, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, ICARM, Republic of
Macedonia.
[6] Auditing Law, Official Gazette RM, 9 December 2010.
[7] .Report of the Quality Control Commission, ICARM 2010

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CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF MERGERS
AND ACQUISITIONS ON CORPORATE GROWTH AND
PROFITABILITY
Sylvester Feyi Akinbuli, University of Lagos Akoka-Lagos, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

It is a widely held view that a strategic solution to financial distress in corporate organizations is mergers
and acquisitions. This is at best a presumption, which has not been verified through a research study.
Corporate organizations facing difficulties have in recent times often followed or are compelled by
regulators to follow the path of extensive reconstruction through mergers and acquisitions, apparently as
the only option to liquidation. This paper fills the gap by investigating the effects of mergers and
acquisitions on the efficiency, growth and profitability of corporate organizations in the post consolidated
environment of the Nigerian banking industry. The methodology used is a survey of companies
incorporated in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters Act [1990], which have undergone a
merger or an acquisition process. The elements of the survey were selected randomly. A total of ten
incorporated banks were selected using simple random sampling technique. The collected data were
analyzed using key financial ratios. The result found evidence to support that mergers and acquisitions
are not a prima facie solution to the problem of financial distress in corporate organizations. This is
more so when they are regulatory imposed than business environment driven. The study further revealed
that while mergers and acquisitions can drive growth and profitability in some organizations, operating
efficiency suffers at least in the short-term in the post merger and acquisition corporate entity. It was also
found that mergers and acquisitions provided only a temporary solution to financial distress and no
solution at all to operating indiscipline.

KEYWORDS: Merger, Acquisition, Financial Crises, Incorporated Organization, Reconstruction,
Corporate Growth, Profitability.

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Business Organizations are established to achieve certain corporate objectives. Among these objectives is
corporate growth and increase in profitability. Growth is one major yardstick by which the success of a
business firm is measured. Business organizations operate in dynamic environments which includes
financial constraints as a result of economic down-turn. The resultant effect of the resent world economic
meltdown is the huge financial crisis among corporate organizations. One of the strategies that are open to
these organizations for survival is Merger, Acquisition or Consolidation.

Companies have been combining in various configurations since the early days of business. Nevertheless,
joining two companies is a complex process because it involves every aspect of merging companies.
Merger has been defined as the combination of two or more separate firms into a single firm. The firm
that results from the process could take any of the following identities: Acquirer identity or a complete
new identity. Pandey, (2000) opined that Mergers, Amalgamations and Takeovers are important features
of corporate structural changes.

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Statement of the Problem

The economic situation in Nigeria is currently turbulent which results in most organizations facing one
problem or the other. The problems are more pronounced in the banking industry. The problems faced
ranged from loss of market share by many struggling banks, liquidity crisis leading to inability to pay
depositors, operating losses and continuing erosion of capital base. The problems also include low
turnover, low profit, low dividend payout, declining growth rate to high operating cost. It got to a pick in
July 2004 when the then Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Charles Soludo described the
Nigerian Banks as ‘fragile’. He disclosed that Nigerian Banks “as at the end of march 2004, the CBN’s
ratings classified 62 banks as sound/satisfactory, 14 as marginal and 11 as unsound while 2 of the banks
did not render any return during the period”. The Central Bank also reported that 45 banks or more than
one-half of banks in operations recorded loan-deposit ratios of 100 per cent and above and 21 banks failed
to meet the minimum liquidity ratio. A more fundamental restructuring policy was clearly needed for the
banking industry.Based on the foregoing problems, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) came up with
major policy reform that required Banks licensed in Nigeria to increase their paid up capital to a
minimum of N25 billion (Twenty five billion Naira) on or before 31st December 2005. These problems
together with the CBN policy lead to serious financial crisis. It was alleged that the only solution
available to these organizations to get out of the financial crisis is Merger and Acquisition.

Many studies have been conducted on Mergers and Acquisitions but such study was not conducted to
examine the effect of Mergers and Acquisitions on growth, corporate profitability and particularly,
whether it is the best solution to get organizations out of financial crisis. This study will attempt to fill the
gap by examining Mergers and Acquisitions in this area between 2004 and 2008.

Research Question

 Is Merger and Acquisition the best solution to bail organization out of financial crises?

 What is the effect of post Merger and Acquisition on the general performance of the
organization?

 Is there any effect of Merger and Acquisition on share holders of the organization?

 Is there any effect of Merger and Acquisition on management of the organization?

 What is the effect of Merger and Acquisition on corporate profitability?

Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this study are:

 To examine the reasons for merger and the aftermath of merger.

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 Evaluate the financial status during pre and post mergers of the organizations under study with
the principal aim of determining the effect of merger on corporate growth and corporate
profitability.

Literature Review

The International Encyclopedia of social science, vol. 9 & 10 reveals that most countries have no good
record of Merger and Acquisition development. However, it was on record that the first incidence
occurred between 1890 and 1904 in the United State of America. The second incidence was in 1920 at the
end of the First World War. The third incidence occurred at the latter part of the Second World War
(between 1939 and 1945) during which large number of manufacturing and mining firms totaling about
2400 merged. In Nigeria, Merger and Acquisition remain few and unpopular. The earliest known merger
and acquisition that occurred in Nigeria was in 1926 between West African Soap Company Ltd and Van
Der Berg Ltd (producers of margarine)- Shamsudeen (1997). Since then there have been increased
discussion and awareness on Merger and Acquisition in Nigeria. The decade 1995 and 2005 was
traumatic for banking industries in Nigeria which led to distress and general overhauling the industry. In
2004, the regulating body prescribed a minimum shareholders’ fund of 25billion Naira for licensed Banks
operating in Nigerian. This financial crisis led to Mergers, Acquisition or Consolidation in the industry.
The result of this policy was that out of the 89 banks that were then in operation, 75 of them representing
80% merged into 25 banks while the remaining 14 representing 20% that could not finalize the merging
process went into liquidation.

Meaning Of Mergers, Acquisitions And Consolidation

Mergers: A merger is defined as “any amalgamation of the undertaking or any part of the undertakings or
interest of two or more companies or the undertakings or part of the undertakings of one or more
companies and one or more bodies corporate” (CAMA 1990 : S.590). Brian Coyle (2000:2) describes
mergers as the coming together of two companies of roughly equal size, pooling their recourses into a
single business. The stockholders or owners of both pre-merger companies have a share in the ownership
of the merged business…According to Weston and Copeland (1989), Merger means any transaction that
forms one economic unit from two or more previous ones. It occurs when a corporation and or more
incorporated or unincorporated businesses are brought together into one accounting entity. The single
entity now carries on the activities of the previously separated independent enterprises. One or more
companies may also merge with an existing company or they may merge to form a new company. Merger
is also referred to as amalgamation.

Acquisition: Acquisition also referred to as ‘take-over’ means the process of combining two or more
companies and in which one acquires the assets and liabilities of the other in exchange for cash or shares,
goods and or debentures. Section 590 of Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990 refers to acquisition as
“take-over”. It went ahead to define take –over as” the acquisition by one company of sufficient share in
another company to give the acquiring company control over that other company”. The purchase
consideration for an acquisition is paid by largely or entirely in cash. Harold Fritz (1993), described
acquisition to mean all the processes, terms, conditions and fulfillment adopted to purchase a small firm
by a big and well established unit. Acquisitions of companies can be either full or partial. In a full
acquisition, the acquirer buys all the stock capital of the purchase company. In partial acquisition, the
acquirer obtains a controlling interest, normally above 50% but below 100% Pandey (1997: 885) said

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that in acquisition, the target company becomes either a division or a subsidiary of the acquiring
company.

The study titled “Effect of Mergers on corporate Performance in India” conducted by Vardhana Pawaskar
(2001) studied the impact of mergers on corporate performance. It compared the pre and post merger
operating performance of the corporations involved in merger between 1992 and 1995 to identify their
financial characteristics. The study identified the profile of the profits. The regression analysis explained
there was no increase in the post merger profits. The study of a sample of firms, restructured through
mergers, showed that the merging firms were at the lower end in terms of growth, tax and liquidity of the
industry. The merged firms performed better than industry in terms of profitability.

Mansur. A. Mulla (2003) contributing in his case study titled “Forecasting the viability and Operational
Efficiency”, assessed the financial performance of a textile company by using ratio analysis. The study
found that the financial health was never in the healthy zone during the entire study period and ratio
analysis highlighted that managerial incompetence accounted for most of the problems. It also suggested
toning up effectiveness of all facets of management and put the companion a profitable footing.

Various studies have shown that most mergers and acquisitions result in failure, yet the concept remain
popular, Virani, (2009) opined in his study that “Corporate mergers and acquisitions continue to be
popular despite the reported high incidence of its failure rate …, during the last two decades thanks to
globalization, liberalization technological developments and (an) intensely competitive business
environment”. The reasons for the few successes and the many failures remain obscure (Stahl,
Mendenhall and Weber, 2005)

Review Regulatory Framework For Consummation Of Mergers And Acquisitions In Nigeria

The statute which provides the legal framework within which mergers and acquisitions can be carried out
in Nigeria is summarized below:

• The Investment and Securities Act (ISA) No. 45 of 1999.

• The Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990 (as amended)

• The banks and other financial institutions Act (BOFIA) No. 25 of 1991

• The insurance Act 2003

• Companies Income Tax Act cap. 60 of 1990 (As Amended)

• The Rules and Regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), pursuant
to sections 258 and 262 of the ISA (the ISA rules)

Research Design And Methodology

The research design adopted for this study is the survey method. Secondary data were collected from
financial statements, reports and Accounts of the 10 sampled Banks. The collected data were analyzed

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using financial ratio namely: Profitability Ratio, Liquidity Ratio, Capital adequacy etc Personal Interview
was conducted. A total of 20 Chief Executives and Managers of the Sampled Banks were interviewed.

Data Analysis and Discussion

Impact of Mergers & Acquisitions on Corporate Growth: Mergers and acquisitions stimulated strong
growth in the banking sector and the growth indicators in earnings and size of the balance sheet recorded
in the first two years of post consolidation are unmatched anytime in the history of Nigerian banking.
Triple digit growth in asset size, revenue and profit was recorded in the selected banks.

Table 4.1 : The summary of the Impact of consolidation on some bank’s statistics in Nigerian banking
industry

Pre –Consolidation Years Post Consolidation Years
2000 2002 2004 2006 2007
No. of Banks 89 89 89 25 25
No. of Bank Branches 2306 3132 3386 3468 4579
Total Assets’ Base of Banks (N’ Billion) 1,707 2,767 3,392 6,738 10,431
Capital and Reserves (N’ Billion) 395 822 1,050 957 n/a
Av. Cap. And Reserve per Bank (N’ Billion) 443 923 1,180 3,828 n/a
Liquidity Ratio (%) 58 49 42 53 n/a
Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (%) 46 78 85 98 n/a
Source Central Bank of Nigeria’s Statement of Accounts and Annual Reports, cited from Journal of Banking, The Chartered Institute of Bankers
of Nigeria.

The above table shows the number of banks reduced from 89 to 25 while the number of bank branches
increased from 3,382 in 2004 to 4,579 in 2007. This implies that consolidation has led to increase in the
spread of banks in Nigeria as given by the number of bank branches. The table further shows that total
assets base of bank increased from 3,392 billion Naira in 2004 to 10,431 billion Naira in 2007 while total
capital reserves reduced from 1,050 billion naira to 957 billion naira between 2004 and 2006. Though
there was a decrease in capital and reserve, the average capital and reserve per bank increased from N11.8
billion to 38.28 billion during the same period. The liquidity ration increased from 42% in 2004 to 2006
though still below the 2000 figure of 58% and finally, the loan-to-deposit ratio shows an increase from
85%, in 2004 to 98% in 2006. Impact of Consolidation on Individual banks studied

Table 4.2 : First Bank of Nigeria Plc N’ m

Year Gross Earnings Net Profit Total Assets
2004 51,318 11,618 384,211
2005 57,255 13,050 470,839
2006 67,440 17,383 616,824
2007 90,323 18,383 884,804
2008 155,725 36,679 1,528,234
Source: Annual Report & Accounts – Various Years

The operating capacity of each of the banks was significantly increased through a combination of mergers
and acquisitions and new equity capital build up. This increased the revenue and profit capacities of the
banks significantly in two years of post consolidation. Table 4 above showed the impact of consolidation
in First Bank of Nigeria Nig. Plc. First Bank is one of the largest banks in the country lifted the size of
the balance sheet almost one and half times, (i.e. about 147.8%) from N616,824 million in March 2006 to
N1,528,234 million in March 2008. Gross earnings of the bank swelled from N67,440 million to

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N155,725 million during the same period, a leap of 130.9%. The bank’s net profit also advanced by
111.0% from N17,383 million in 2006 to N36,679 million in March 2008.

Table 4.3: United Bank for Africa Plc. N’ m

Year Gross Earnings Net Profit Total Assets
2004 24,510 4,525 212,024
2005 26,089 4,921 250,783
2006 90,447 11,550 884,137
2007 109,457 21,540 1,191,063
2008 169,506 41,239 1,673,333
Source: Annual Report & Accounts – Various Years

United Bank for Africa is another large bank in Nigeria. Its total assets were N884, 137 million in
September 2006 which was raised by 89.3% to N1, 673,333 million in September 2008. Gross earnings
advanced by 87.4% from N90, 447 million to N169, 506 million during the same period. Net profit of the
bank jumped by 257% from N11, 550 million to N41, 239 million during the same period.

Table 4.4: Intercontinental Bank Plc. N’ m

Year Gross Earnings Net Profit Total Assets
2003 21,204 3,112 96,858
2005* 32,795 5,703 203,647
2006 41,517 7,217 369,232
2007 87,920 15,121 704,783
2008 174,615 33,994 1,392,210
Source: Annual Report & Accounts – Various Years *Change of accounting year

Table 4.4 showed the statistics on Intercontinental Bank Nig. Plc. It is also one of the largest banks in the
post consolidated environment. It grew its balance sheet size by 277.1% from N369, 232 in February
2006 to N1, 392,210 million in February 2008. Its revenue base rose from N41, 517 million to N174,615
million over the period an increase of 320.6%. Net profit of the bank also surged upwards from N7,217
million to N33,994 million, a 371% advance.

Table 4.5: Oceanic Bank International [Nig.] Plc. N’ m

Year to Sept Gross Earnings Net Profit Total Assets
2004 12,624 3,288 86,884
2005 24,488 5,897 217,803
2006 44,685 9,559 372,035
2007 74,937 17,532 1,038,437
2008 188,218 9,609 1,246,182
Source: Annual Report & Accounts – Various Years

Oceanic Bank, also one of the leading banks in the Nigerian banking industry, raised its asset base from
N372,035 million in September 2006 to N1.246,218 million in September 2008. Gross income rose by
321.2% from N44, 685 million to N188, 218 million over the period. Net profit grew from N9, 559
million in September 2006 to N17, 532 million in September 2007 before dropping in 2008 as a result of
the impact of financial crisis.

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Table 4.6: Access Bank Nigeria Plc. N’ m

Year to March Gross Earnings Net Profit Total Assets
2004 5,515 638 31,342
2005 7,495 502 66,918
2006 13,359 732 174,554
2007 27,881 6,083 328,615
2008 57,999 15,881 1,045,568
Source: Annual Report & Accounts – Various Years

Access Bank is one of the medium Banks that operate in Nigeria. Growth in operating figures was even
more spectacular in the medium and small banks. Access Bank, for instance, which was a bank of N174,
554 million asset bases in March 2006 closed with a balance sheet size of N1, 045,568 million in March
2008. Its revenue base swelled from N13, 359 million to N57,999 million over the period. The bank’s net
profit multiplied from N732 million to N15, 881 million in two years to 2008.

Table 4.7: Fidelity Bank Plc. N’ m

Year to June Gross Earnings Net Profit Total Assets
2004 5,471 914 27,552
2005 6,159 1,237 34,953
2006 11,931 3,177 121,089
2007 24,859 4,437 218,332
2008 42,660 13,150 535,479
Source: Annual Report & Accounts – Various Years

Fidelity Bank, which was among the smallest banks in the post consolidated operations, registered some
of the highest growth indices. Its asset base rose from N121, 089 million in June 2006 to N535,479
million in June 2008, a growth of 342.2%. The bank raised gross earnings by 257.6% from N11, 931
million to N42,660 and net profit by 313.9% from N3,177 million to N13,150 million during the period.

The growth in revenue and balance sheet figures reflected in all main income lines and asset classes
respectively. High growth in operating figures was industry wide and happened even in the few banks that
did not apply mergers and acquisitions to meet the Central Bank’s requirement. The growth driver in
those other banks was fresh equity injections. However banks that applied mergers/acquisitions and new
equity capital injections generally grew much faster. Therefore, it is safe to infer that there is significant
growth in most of the banks after consolidation. Impact of Mergers & Acquisitions on Bank Profitability

Table 4.8: Banking Industry Performance Ratios [%]

Indicator 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Net Profit Margin 15.0 18.3 20.3 22.4 25.0
Return on Total Assets 2.6 2.2 2.3 3.4 2.5
Return on Equity 20.3 16.4 12.6 15.5 14.9
Net Interest Margin 51.9 59.8 63.5 62.8 65.4
Interest Income/Loans & Advances 24.8 19.0 19.1 15.8 14.5
Interest Cost/Total Deposits 8.1 5.8 4.5 3.8 3.9
Operating Cost Margin 47.7 45.9 47.5 44.3 40.4
Source: Nigeria Banking & Economy, 2007 & 2010

The observed high growth in profit numbers among the post consolidated banks was analyzed further by
examining profitability ratios. We found that the banks maintained a trend of improving profitability

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ratios in the first two years of their consolidation. The ability to convert revenue into profit was
consistently improved between 2006 and 2008. Industry average net profit margin improved from 20.3%
in 2006 to 25% in 2008. The improvement was traced to economy of scale benefits that enabled the banks
to streamline costs generally.

Rates of return failed to match the high growth in profit as a result of huge equity capital injections in
2005 and 2007. However rates of return were slightly better in 2008 for the industry than recorded in
2006. The ability of the banks to improve rates of return even marginally despite huge public offers that
extended into a second round was indeed a feat on the part of the banks.

Net interest margin improved among the banks analyzed, indicating a good ability to grow interest
income ahead of interest expenses. The consolidation process swept off the marginal banks that used to
borrow at penal rates of interest, compelling depositors to accept the low interest structure of the large
banks. Also, during the consolidation period, investors withdrew huge funds from the rest of the economy
to invest in the banking industry.The injection of the huge funds raised the liquidity of banks
significantly, which reduced interest rates on deposit liabilities generally. The boom in the economy in the
post consolidated environment enabled banks to expand their lending operations rapidly, which saw rapid
growth in interest income as well.

Excessive liquidity in the hands of banks in the post mergers and acquisition trading made banks compete
actively on the asset side of the balance sheet. This led to rapid expansion of the loan portfolio, which was
the main driver of the high growth in the size of the balance sheet. The significantly increased lending
capacity of banks and the easier availability of credit even at micro finance level resulted in a general
decline in interest income earned from loans and advances. The banking industry average interest income
from loans and advances declined in the post merger and acquisition environment from 19.1% in 2006 to
15.8% in 2007 and further down to 14.5% in 2008.

The decline in interest income from loans and advances was more than compensated by the massive
increase in the credit portfolio volumes. There was also a corresponding decline in interest expenses due
to the high level of liquidity in the system. The average interest rate paid on the naira of deposit liabilities
by banks declined from 4.5% in 2006 to 3.8% in 2007 and inched up at 3.9% in 2008. The decline in
interest cost was slightly more than the decline in interest income, which resulted in the slight
improvement in net interest margin during the period.

Mergers and acquisitions also provided an opportunity for banks to rationalize operating cost by applying
the economy of scale benefits. While the operating capacities of the merged banks expanded, the cost of
financing the operations grew at a significantly reduced pace. Banks grew revenues faster than costs,
which again explains the general improvement in profit margins. Industry average pre-tax profit generated
per employee grew significantly from N4.7 million in 2006 to N8.2 million in 2008.

The average operating cost margin for the banking industry declined from 47.5% in 2006 to 44.3% in
2007 and further to 40.4% in 2008, the lowest average industry operating cost margin in many years. This
means, banks utilized lower cost to drive bigger operating capacities. In other words the cost of
generating the naira of revenue declined in the post merger and acquisition operations. Impact of Mergers
& Acquisitions on Operating Efficiency

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Table 4.9: Banking Industry Loan Performance Ratios [%]

Indicator 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
% of Classified Loans 15.7 12.7 14.8 11.2 4.5
Loan Loss Reserve/Classified Loans 85.3 82.5 82.5 92.8 108.0
Source: Nigeria Banking & Economy, 2007 & 2010

The impact of mergers and acquisitions on the operating efficiency of banks seems to follow a random
pattern rather than any identifiable general trend. This outcome seems to reflect the unusual circumstance
in which the mergers and acquisition strategy was applied. The policy was applied mainly for regulatory
compliance rather than market or business environment driven. There was also an officially dictated time
of 18 months within which the merger and acquisition process must be completed.

Meeting regulatory compliance appears to have been a more important consideration in choosing merger
partners than improving internal efficiency. Hence banks differed widely in their efforts to integrate the
merged entities into the main operating system. It was comparatively much easier for the large banks that
acquired smaller banks to achieve operating stability in the post consolidated environment than the
smaller banks that either merged or amalgamated. One or two banks that had similar operating structures
before the acquisition found it easier to achieve an integrated operating system than the rest.

The worst affected banks could not issue audited financial statements for two to three years after
consolidation. These comprise mainly the amalgamated banks that set out to build one bank out of several
merger entities with different operating systems and corporate cultural backgrounds. There were others
that were held down by weak partners and therefore could not find their feet long after the conclusion of
the merger or acquisition. In the course of the delay in achieving an integrated operating structure,
operating efficiency suffered severely. The effort to meet high returns promises made to investors in the
process of high equity capital raising programmes did not permit a cautious approach needed to
strengthen internal efficiency. Many banks doubled large-sized loan portfolios within one financial year;
other assets tripled in some cases and investment assets surged almost without limit.

The initial indications were that banks were growing both credit volume with quality at the same time.
The industry average percentage of classified loans declined from 14.8% in 2006 to 11.2% in 2007,
dropping to 4.5% in 2008. This outcome contradicted the normal expectation for rapid portfolio
expansion to lead to deterioration in credit quality. Apparently, signals of an underlying credit quality
problem were ignored until the economy faltered under the global financial crisis.

The improvement in credit quality ratios amid the most aggressive risk portfolio expansion in history is
not considered an indication of efficiency in the post merger and acquisition entities. It is seen rather as an
evidence of reduced efficiency in institutions that began to expand business volume without first
achieving operating stability. Banks competed to grow their loan portfolios aggressively without having
in place effective machinery for recovery of bad assets. This means that mergers and acquisition did not
result in the creation of effective risk management model in banks.

During the financial crisis that followed it was observed that only two banks that applied caution in
growing business volume were least affected by the problem of huge credit losses that hit the banking
industry adversely. The poor risk management quality is traceable to regulatory disposition that governed
the consolidation process. The main objective of the regulatory authorities is to build large banking
institutions that would become visible in the global market place. The Central Bank created some

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incentives such as external reserve management opportunity for banks to build the size of their balance
sheets. Consequently, a number of banks did first and second round large equity raising programmes after
concluding mergers and acquisitions. It is apparent that in the competitive size building endeavour,
operating efficiency suffered greatly.

This position is further corroborated by the finding of Nigeria Banking & Economy 2009 – a banking
industry report that the observed improvement in credit quality of the banking industry was not a
reflection of progress in recovering bad assets. It showed that the improvement is an outcome of a more
rapid growth of the gross loan portfolio than non-performing loans. That situation placed many banks in
precarious positions when a large proportion of hitherto good accounts were swept into the bad debts
portfolios in 2009. A number of banks faced challenges of becoming big almost over night. They faced
the hurdle of how to manage size and defend quality at the same time. Nigeria Banking & Economy had
in 2006 noted that being big and efficient are not known to go together and saw the need for banks to
develop firm strategies to deal with the challenges of becoming large institutions.

According to the report, “most banks are driven headlong by the objective of building the size of the
balance sheet in order to create or enhance visibility in the international market… but how to deal with
the challenges of managing size hasn’t received equal attention”. It warned that banks that fail to build
operating structures that match efficiency with volume growth will face a decline in operating efficiency
and service delivery quality.

Summery of Findings

 Mergers and acquisitions served the objective of regulators to cure the banking system of
financial distress only on a temporary basis. The analysis found that the expectation that building
large banks through mergers and acquisition would provide a permanent solution to financial
crises in the banking industry has not been realized. Mergers and Acquisition in the Banking
industry only provide temporary solution to financial distress in the industry. Two years after the
conclusion of mergers and acquisitions, financial distress returned to the banking sector. Even in
the immediate post merger environment, four of the banks could not find their feet and remained
virtually distressed, warranting regulatory intervention in their affairs.

 It was further revealed that the Central Bank’s policy of consolidation under which mergers and
acquisitions were applied has some fallout that made the industry vulnerable.

 The first is the straight jacket policy of banking consolidation that prevented banks from
specializing in various aspects of the financial services market. The policy thus
eliminated opportunities for niche operations and closed the room for a diversified
banking services market in the country.

Consequently, all the banks focused essentially on the same economic sectors, the same
market segments and customers offering the same products. This made banking services
excessively concentrated to the extent that major customers featured in all the banks. In a
particular case, one customer featured in facilities from various banks to the tune of over
N88 billion. When he got into trouble, all the banks got into trouble with him. The
situation made the business of banking highly vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the
economic cycle.

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 The second fallout of banking consolidation is that the policy was directly set out to build
the banking sector rather than the economy. Resources were withdrawn from the rest of
the economy to build the banking sector. Hence the real sector stagnated while the
financial sector boomed. There were therefore no ready channels for the huge resources
in the hands of banks to get into productive activities. This led to excessive concentration
of banks in the money and capital markets. Such concentration positioned the industry for
a monumental collapse in the wake of the global financial crisis.

 About 70% of those interviewed agreed that the effect of merger and acquisition on
shareholders is that the shareholdings will be diluted and dividend ratio will also be
affected. Also management style and structure will also change.

 A risk management audit conducted by the Central Bank in 2009 revealed serious health
problems in many banks, which necessitated a N620 billion bail-out of the worst affected
banks in September 2009. Massive credit losses were recorded by all the banks in
operation, which wiped off reserves and sank equity capital of a number of banks into
negative, as shown in the table 12 below.

Table 4.10 Capital Deficiencies in Rescued/Weak Banks – December 2009

Bank Equity Capital Nb
Intercontinental Bank – 380.0
Afribank -258.1
Union Bank -238.3
Bank PHB -194.6
FinBank -125.9
Oceanic -115.9
Wema Bank -45
Unity Bank 0.7
Source: Datatrust

The table shows the extent loss to which the individual banks has thrown the equity capital share capital.
All the banks except the Unity bank are having negative capital as at December 2009. The import of this
is that the financial distress, which the regulators sought to cure through mergers and acquisitions, has
returned into the banking system even at a bigger dimension. In the present dispensation, the distressed
banks are much bigger than the small, marginal banks that either merged or were closed and they pose a
far bigger threat of systemic crisis.

The analysis also revealed that the serious health problems of banks have also been traced to the existence
of a high level of indiscipline and fraudulent activities on the part of top level management of banks. A
number of former management executives of banks were deposed by the Central Bank and are presently
facing trial for massive fraudulent deals. The amounts involved are several multiples of the figures for
which any previous bank official has ever been charged.

The expectation of the Central Bank was that big banks will be less inclined to indulge in undisciplined
behavior, fraud or flouting of regulatory rules. The actual position as revealed by this project is that the
bigger the bank, the bigger the size of fraudulent deals, the level of financial recklessness and capacity to
play contrary to the rules of the game.

Recommendations

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The following are the major recommendations of this study.

• The banks should significantly improve their corporate governance so as to ensure successful and
sustainable banking operation that ensure good internal control.

• In the case of financial crises, the Nigerian banking regulators should ensure the economic
environment to decide the merger and acquisition process rather than the regulatory imposed
process.

• The key personnel that will be at the helm of affairs of these banks should be carefully screened,
professionally qualified and must be men of integrity.

• The companies, which underwent merger activity, must keep sufficient current assts to set off
their current liabilities.

• The stake holders of merging companies are advised to analyze the profitability, liquidity and
capital adequacy position of the respective companies before embarking on merger process.

• The regulators (CBN) should take steps to improve the existing bank inspections/ Audit and their
report. Such report must be taken seriously and acted upon without delay.

• Adequate care should be taken to satisfy all conditions necessary for merger to be valid under the
provisions of The Investment and Securities Act (ISA) No. 45 of 1999, the Rules and Regulations
of SEC (Pursuant to the ISA), the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990 (as
amended), the banks and other financial institutions Act (BOFIA) No. 25 of 1991 and Companies
Income Tax Act cap. 60 of 1990 (As Amended).
• Finally, the study is by no means exhaustive, but has examined the effect of merger and
acquisition on profitability, liquidity, capital adequacy and whether it is the best option to bail
organizations out of financial crises. The study was limited to banking industry. Other researchers
could extend the research to other industry and also investigate the effect of merger under
economic meltdown.

CONCLUSION

The process of corporate restructuring through mergers and acquisitions is very relevant when corporate
organizations are in financial crisis. The financial characteristics of the concerned firm play a critical role
in the merger decision process. It is also important that the factors within the business environment rather
than the regulatory imposed policy should be taking into consideration in the merger decision process.
The present study analyzed the financial situation of sampled banks from the view point of profitability,
liquidity and capital adequacy and the determination as to whether merger is the best option to bail out
corporate organization from financial crisis. From the overall analysis, it is found that merger and
acquisition, if well consummated and managed can positively stimulate growth, increase in profitability
and corporate efficiency but it is not the best solution to bail corporate organization out of financial crises.

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REFERENCES

Alex Mandi (2003) Lessons from master acquirers: A CEO Roundtable on making merger succeed,
Harvard Business Review, USA.

Ayeni-Agbaje, A.R. (2002), Financial Accounting: Miscellaneous Accounts. Akin Print, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Bovee, C. L and Thill, J.V (2001:115), Business in Action: Selecting the proper form of business
ownership, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey,07458.

Coyle, B. (2000), Mergers and Acquisitions, CIB Publishing, c/o The Chartered Institute of Bankers,
Kent, United Kingdom.

Datatrust Consulting Ltd (2008) Bank Performance Report 2005, Datatrust Ltd, Fadeyi, Lagos Nigeria.

Datatrust Consulting Ltd (2008) Nigeria Banking & Economy 2008 Going Global, Datatrust Ltd, Fadeyi,
Lagos Nigeria.

Gbede, G O. (2008) Strategic Mergers & Acquisitions, Westbourne Business School, Yaba, Lagos
Nigeria.

Indhumathi, G, Selvam, M, and Babu, M. (2011). The effect of Merger on Corporate Performance on
Acquirer and Target Companies in India. The review of Financial and Accounting Studies, Eurojournals
Publishing, Inc. 2011. http//www.eurojournals.com/REFAS.htm. pp.14-40.

Iyoha, F. O. and Adeyemo, K. (2007), Merger and Acquisition of Banks in Nigeria: An Ethical
Perspective, The Nigerian Accountant, Journal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria,
October/December, 2007 pp22-33.

Mansur, A. M (2003) Forecasting the Viability and Operational Efficiency by use of Ratio Analysis-A
Case Study. Finance India, XVII (3):893-897.

Okwuosa, I. (2005), Advanced Financial Accounting Manual, Arnold Consulting Ltd. Lagos Nigeria.

Olayide, P.A. (2010), Impact of Banking Sector’s Consolidation on Sectoria Allocation of Credit in
Nigeria, Journal
of Banking, Journal of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Vol. 4 No.1 June 2010, Pp25-38.

Osaze, B. (2004), Strategic Management in Nigeria, Text & Cases (3rd.ed), Centre for Management
Development,
Lagos Nigeria.

Pandy, I.M. (2000) Financial Management, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.

Somoye, R.O.C (2008). The performance of Commercial Banks in Post- Consolidation Period in Nigeria:
An Empirical Review, European Journal of Economics, Finance And Administrative Science, Issue No.14
(2009)

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Sudarsanam, P.S (1995). The Essence of Mergers and Acquisitions, Pearson Education Limited, Essex,
England.

Vardhana Pawaskkar, (2001) Effect of Mergers on Corporate Performance in India. Vikalpa, 26 (1): 19-
32.

BIOGRAPHY

Sylvester Feyi Akinbuli, University of Lagos Akoka-Lagos, Nigeria sfakinbuli@yahoo.com

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EVALUATION OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN
THE PUBLIC SECTOR: A NECESSARY CONCEPT FOR
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Sylvester Feyi Akinbuli,University of Lagos, Akoka Lagos-Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The study is an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of confidence placed on public officers in the
management and their stewardship accounting to the citizens. The methodology used is a survey of ten
federal Ministries and ten Parastatal and Government Agencies. The population of the survey was
selected randomly; secondary data contained in books, financial statements and interview were used. The
analysis of the finding/responses showed that accountability in the Nigerian public sector is poor and the
present procedure for accountability need critical review. The study recommends that every government
department, ministry and Agency, should in every financial, produce an interim financial statement that
includes budgetary provision for the period together with a report of performance, variance analysis and
factors inhibiting performance. Such accounts and reports should be published for public comment.

KEYWORDS: Public Accountability; Corporate Governance; Parastatal; Government Ministries and
Agencies; Financial Regulation; Answerability and Enforceability.

INTRODUCTION

Public Accountability is the hallmark of modern democratic governance. Democracy remains a paper
procedure if those in power cannot be held accountable in the public for their acts and omissions, for their
decisions, their policies, and their expenditures. Public Accountability is the basic tenet of democracy
Cook, (1998). Accountability in the public sector throughout the world is being given serious attention in
view of the fact that the government is the highest spender of public fund. Those in authorities assume
fiduciary status with the attendant responsibilities requiring them to render their stewardship accounts to
those for whom the authority is held in trust. The general public is increasingly requiring public officers
to be accountable by demonstrating effective use of public assets and funds in the delivery of services and
pursuit of government objectives (Obazee, 2006).

It is the right of citizens to demand and know the activities of their elected public officers and the elected
public officers ought to voluntarily give account of their stewardship to the public. It was on the basis of
this that the Declaration of Rights and Man and of Citizens incorporated in the preamble of French
Constitution as quoted in Turc (1997:1), thus:

“Society has right to require of every public agent
an account of his administration… All citizens
have a right to decide either personally or through
their representatives, as to the necessity of the
public contribution…. and to know what uses it is put”

In Nigeria, public accountability is the requirement of the law. The Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, 1999 through Section 47 established the National Assembly for the federation which consists
of the Senate and the House of Representatives, while Section 90 of the 1999 Constitution established the

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House of Assembly for each of the 36 states of the federation. Both the National and State houses of
Assembly consists of elected representatives of the people. The Constitution went further to establish the
Executive (Chapter VI Sections 130-152) the Judiciary (Chapter VII, Sections236-259); and the
Legislature (Chapter V Sections47-64); and also established three tiers of Government namely the
Federal, the State and the Local Government. The activities of these bodies are referred to as public
sector. The term ‘public service or sector has been defined as “the service of the federation in any
capacity in respect of the government of the federation…” (Nigerian Constitution 1999).

The public service can be subdivided into three groups namely the core ministries, the second group is the
parastatal and the third is government agencies. Some of the second group is semi-autonomous while
most of the agencies are autonomous subject to the overall control of the government. These bodies are
set up by law to satisfy ever expanding needs and aspirations of the public. They are statutorily
empowered to collect all moneys and harness all resources for the benefit of the generality of the citizens.
The question is has Nigerian Public office holder adhere with the principle of public accountability and
voluntarily account for their activities while in office.There have been assumptions that the duties and
trust reposed on these public officers are not efficiently and effectively performed. Onochie (2002)
pointed out that “there has been total disregard for accountability on the part of public enterprises over the
years. A lot of public enterprises do not bother to produce promptly their annual reports and audited
financial statements due to inefficiency, negligence, and maladministration, for instance, the chairman of
Abisoye panel that look into the operation of the NNPC claimed that:

“NNPC does not respect its own budgets. NNPC does
not respect its own plans……. The unwritten code
in NNPC style of management…. Would appear to be
everyone to himself and God for us all….make hale
while the sun shines and loot all the lootable”
(Abisoye: Newswatch October 21, 1994;10-11)

The responsible ministries have not themselves shown sufficient concern about this laxity. It is therefore,
becomes difficult to monitor performance and take corrective measures before things get to dead-ends.
These assumptions together with various pronouncements have not been verified by scientific research.
This paper seeks to fill this lacuna by evaluating, through scientific research method, the extent of the
practice of effective Public Accountability in the public sector, identifying factors inhibiting
Accountability and proffer probable solution.

Review of Relevant Literature: Accountability is not just another political catchword; it is an
institutionalized practice of accounts giving. Accountability refers to a specific set of social relations that
can be studied empirically. Therefore, Accountability can be defined from this perspective as a social
relationship in which an actor feels an obligation to explain and to justify his or her conduct to some
significant other (Day and Klein 1987:5; Romzek and Dubnick, 1998:6)

The notion of accountability is an amorphous concept that is difficult to define in precise terms. However,
broadly speaking, accountability exists when there is a relationship where an individual or body, and the
performance of tasks or functions by that individual or body, are subject to another’s oversight, direction
or request that they provide information or justification for their actions.

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Therefore, the concept of accountability involves two stages: answerability and enforceability.
Answerability refers to the obligation of the government, its agencies and public officials to provide
information about their decisions and actions and to justify them to the public and those institutions of
accountability tasked with providing oversight. Enforcement suggests that the public or the institution
responsible for accountability can sanction the offending party or remedy the contravening behaviour. As
such, different institutions of accountability might be responsible for either or both of these stages.

The term accountability has been variously defined by different authority Adebayo (1981); Olowokere
1996; Onochie 2001; Kalu 2002. Romzek and Dubnick (1987), Romzek (1996), Sinlair (1996) and Behn
(2001:59) for instance, Adebayo 1981 defines accountability as “. A requirement which subjects public
officers to detailed scrutiny by the legislature over objectives, use of resources and manner of
performance” ; A process whereby one renders an account of his activities to someone who has the power
to ask for it and also evaluate and reward ones performance” (Olowo-okere, (1986) while Onochie (2001)
see public accountability as “the duty to truthfully and transparently do ones duty the obligation to allow
assess to information by which the quality of such services can be evaluated and being responsible and
answerable to someone for some action”

The Research work of Omolehinwa (2001) on the practice of Public Accountability cover mostly the
period of military regime in Nigeria and the finding were that the practice of public accountability is at
the lowest ebb. He concluded that the public officers have no regard for public accountability. Public
money were disbursed without the knowledge of the Minister of Finance, for instance, “the Minister
alleged that it was only after the death of the military leader in June 1998 that he discovered that about
US$450 Million had been withdrawn from the Central Bank between January and May 1998 without the
knowledge of the Minister of Finance.” (Ani, 2000:48).

He substantiated the infectivity of public accountability during the Military era by saying that:

“Not only were the accounts of the last five years of Military
rule not available as at end of the last millennium, the
accounts that were rendered cannot be regarded as reliable
because there is no relationship between the figures given
by the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance.”

This research will seek to compare the position of Public Accountability now with what was obtained in
2001.

Classification of Public Accountability

Accountability can be classify as follows:

• Organisational Accountability: This is a situation where superior officers ask the subordinate to
account for their assignments or activities.

• Political Accountability: This is the focus of this paper. This type of accountability is concerned
with the elected representative, political parties and Public office holders. This is the situation
where elected representatives or appointed ministers are required to give account of their
activities during their tenure in office. Political Accountability usually manifests itself in the
concept of individual ministerial responsibility, which is the cornerstone of the notion of

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responsible government. In parliamentary system with ministerial responsibility and a general
civil service, for instance, as in Britain and the Netherlands, Political Accountability is usually
exercised indirectly through the minister. Public office holders and heads of agencies also appear
before parliamentary committees to account for some of their activities. In Presidential settings
such as United State of America or Nigeria, Public officers and head of agencies are always to the
public and the National Assembly.

• Legal Accountability: Public officers can also be summoned by courts to account for their own
acts, or on behalf of the agency as a whole. Parliament and the judiciary act as legal
accountability. The Parliament holds the executive politically accountable, while the judiciary
holds the executive legally accountable. Parliament in this context is the principal and the official
agent. Parliament as the principal requires the government and its officials, as agents to
implement the laws and policies and programs it has approved…. And holds the government and
officials to account for their performance in this regard.

Parliament is also an agent, in that the electorate (the Principal) elects legislators to enact laws
and oversee government actions on their behalf. The electorates then hold legislators to account at
election time and, in few jurisdictions, through recall, where dissatisfied voters can recall their
elected representative and vote for an alternative.

• Professional Accountability: Professionals also take appointment as public servants; such
professionals include: Chartered Accountants, Doctors, and Engineers etc. These professionals
belong to one association or the other and they are to act in compliance with their ethics and code
of conduct. They are also accountable to their body.

Design and Methodology of Study

The methodology adopted in this paper is the evaluative and expository system. Relevant literatures were
reviewed. Secondary data contained in books, Journals, audited financial statements of Federal Ministries,
Parastatal and Government Agencies were consulted. Accounting Standards, Government Financial
Regulations, Relevant Laws and Internet and other documents were consulted. Observations made over
the years were also relied upon. The information gathered was analyzed, discussed and conclusions were
drawn therefrom.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The scope of the paper was limited to ten Federal Ministries and ten Parastatals and Government
Agencies selected through a simple random sampling techniques. The study was constrained by the
researcher’s inability to pay on spot visit to some of the organization within the sampled framework.
However, it is saved to believe that the practices in those ministries visited are very similar to those not
visited. The research was also constrained by the stiff reluctance of releasing information and necessary
documents by the civil servants in these Ministries.

Objectives of the Paper

The main objectives of this paper include:

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 Examine the duty of trust placed in the public officers,

 Examine the legal framework for performance, policies and Monitoring,

 Review the extent of the application of this policies vis-à-vis the public expectation,

 Drawing conclusions and making recommendations towards improving accountability in the
public sector.

Discussion of the Practice of Public Accountability in Nigeria The practice of Public Accountability in
Nigeria is as depicted in the Public Accountability Model below:

Source: Public Accountability Model Adapted from Mark Bovens Accountability Model

The Public Officers consists of elected officers who include the parliamentarians, the executives, the
judiciary officers, Ministers and Heads of Agencies, departments and Parastatals, for instance, the
Parliament and the Judiciary acts as a horizontal check on the Executive. The Parliament/ Legislature
perform oversight functions on the activities of Public Officers. The Parliament has power to summon any
Public Officer to give account of his activities or answer some questions; example of such function is the
current probe on BPE going on at the National Assembly which has revealed many misdeeds. The
Parliament holds the Executive politically accountable while the Judiciary holds the Executive legally
accountable.

The general public: consists of all the citizens of Nigeria or the electorate to whom the public officers
render their stewardship.

Public Assessment: The public assess the performance of public institutions or public office holders and
make their assessment public through various comments in electronic media, daily news paper and
magazines. They can also do so through their various calls on the appropriate government arm to
investigate the matter. They can pass their assessment to their representatives to be tabled at the floor of
the National Assembly.

Judgment: Appropriate judgment will be passed by the body that evaluates the public officers.

Sanctions: Sanctions can be formal or informal. It is formal where it involves sanctions such as
imprisonment, removal from office, freeze of bank accounts to confiscation or forfeiture of their personal
Judgment
Public
Offi
General
P bli
Public
Assessments

Sanctions
Forma
l
Informal
Real
Virtual

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property and forfeiture of Passport. It is informal where the public officer concern was adversely
criticized in the public which may affect his image and integrity. The public officer may voluntarily
resign his appointment.

Government effort to ensure effective public Accountability

The government knowing fully that it functions through the instrumentality of human beings, some of
who have the propensity to betray (without remorse) the public trusts reposed in them as regards judicious
management of public resources. Mismanagement of public funds could also arise from ineptitude on the
part of the officers entrusted with the management of such funds. It becomes the responsibility of the
government to circumvent mismanagement of public resources (and the concomitant negative effect on
the welfare of the citizenry) as well as enhance public trust in the actions and decision of government; the
government establishes the following agencies to enhance effective public accountability.

 Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
Public Accounts Committee is a committee of the National Assembly responsible for public accounts.
It was established primarily to carry out three basic roles viz:

 To provide a forum in which the accounting officers are called upon to explain in public,
matters on which their departments had been queried by the Auditor General.
 To inform the National Assembly and the general public of defects in the financial
administration and the explanation of the accounting officers when confronted with them; and
 To serve as a vital link between the Auditor General and the National Assembly.

Public Accounts Committee is a principal body responsible for ensuring effective public accountability.
Fayemi (1991) opined that Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was established “to discourage public
servants from erring and to expose those who erred in the management of public funds that the Public
Accounts Committee becomes relevant in the art of governance”. Ogbanu (1999) believed that “the
introduction of PAC can enhance judiciousness in the disbursement of public funds by the public servants
thereby resulting in financial savings which could be channeled to the provision of amenities to improve
or alleviate the sufferings of the citizenry”.

The impact of Public Accounts Committee in the practice of public accountability in Nigeria is enormous,
succinctly, the effect of PAC on Public Accountability includes the following:-

 It encourages a sense of responsibility, answerability and accountability by inculcating some
sense of responsibility and accountability into public servants as failure to do so will attract strict
reprisals from government.

 The introduction of PAC can enhance judiciousness in the disbursement of public funds by the
public servants thereby resulting in financial savings which could be channeled to the provision
of amenities to improve or alleviate the sufferings of the citizenry.
 It enhances public trust in the actions and decisions of the government- Where there is a sense of
responsibility, transparency and accountability on the part of the public servants, public trust in
the actions and decisions of the government will be enhanced, and finally
 It facilitates political and economic stability.

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Despite the foregoing impact, it was discovered that PAC have not been able to meet the expectation of
the public. This was opined by Oshisami and Dean (1997) in their book financial management in the
Nigerian Public sector that the performance of PAC visa-a-vis its statutory roles have not been
satisfactory.

 Economic and Financial Crime Commission
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that
investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 frauds), money laundering and other corrupt
practices in public office. The EFCC was established in 2003, partially in response to pressure from the
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), which named Nigeria as one of 23 countries
non-cooperative in the international community’s efforts to fight money laundering. The agency has its
head office in Abuja.
Part IV of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2002 listed all the
offences on which the commission has jurisdiction. Among these offences is Section 15 which deals with
offences relating to Public Officers.
Pursuant to the mandate given to the commission by the Act, the agency has addressed financial
corruption by prosecuting and convicting a number of high-profile corrupt individuals, ranging from
Nigeria’s former chief law enforcement officer to several bank chief executives. By 2005, the EFCC
arrested government officials including the former Governor of Balyesa State-Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
In September 2006, the EFCC had 31 of Nigeria’s 36 state governors under investigation for corruption. In
December 2007, the Nigerian Federal Government, after extensive investigations by EFCC and other
organizations, cleared the Vaswani brothers of any wrongdoing and invited them back into the country.
In April 2008, the EFCC began the investigation of the very influential daughter of the former Nigerian
President, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello for receiving N10 million ($100,000), stolen from the Federal
Ministry of Health. The former Health Minister and her deputy are currently on trial for stealing over
N30,000,000 ($300,000) from the ministry’s unspent funds .
The body remains one of the active government agencies that is fighting corruption and ensuring public
accountability in Nigeria.
 The role of Accounting Profession in the practice of Public Accountability in Nigeria.
Bala (2003) opined that “Accountability is very crucial in the public and privatized enterprise(s) and
Chartered Accountants have a role to play in ensuring financial accountability. They have to exercise
sound professional judgment so that they do not bear liability for negligence”

The Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) was established by the Act of parliament in
1965. It was charged with the responsibility, among others, to produce credible Chartered Accountants to
manage the finances of the economy and to carry out annually, the audit of both public and private
organizations in Nigeria. The Public Sector Audit Standards compiled by the Auditor Generals defines
‘Audit’ as it applies to the public sector as “ including both financial and performance (value for money)
audit” It further provides that auditors of public sector should issue report at the end of their audit and
include in such reports their findings on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_laundering

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_Action_Task_Force_on_Money_Laundering

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuja

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diepreye_Alamieyeseigha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyabo_Obasanjo-Bello

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o Significant irregularities whether perceived or potential on inconsistency of application of
regulations or on fraud and corrupt practices.

o Non Compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

o Application of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the utilization of public/ entity’s
resources in the execution of its activities.

o The extent to which the organization is achieving its mandate as set by government or as
contained in their enabling /legal instruments.

Furthermore, copies of the management/domestic reports on the audit of the public organization are to be
made available to the appropriate authority together with the audited financial statements.Other
regulations that were put in place to ensure effective public accountability include adherence to: Financial
Regulations, Relevant provision of the 1999 Constitution, Finance (Control and Management) Act, Audit
Act, Annual Appropriation Act and Statement of Accounting Standard issued by Nigerian Accounting
Standard Board. (NASB). For public enterprises, the Auditor General of the Federation is by Sect 85 and
125 of 1999 Constitution empowered to audit the accounts prepared by all government establishments
and issue reports directly to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) who in turn will carefully consider the
report and call the appropriate public officers that have questions to answer to come before it and defend
their activities.

The view of the general public is that the accounting profession has contributed positively toward
effective public accountability even though statistics shown that the Chartered Accountants produced to
date is about 33,000 which are grossly inadequate to successfully manage the finances of the economy
and effectively enhance the practice of Public Accountability. Also various statistics show that fraud in
public offices is on the increase.

The Contribution of the Court

By virtue of Section 6 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 the following courts are established in the
Federal Republic of Nigeria:

1. the Supreme Court of Nigeria;

2. the Court of Appeal;

3. the Federal High Court;

4. the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

5. a High Court of a State

6. the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

7. a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State;

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8. the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

9. a Customary Court of Appeal of a State

The courts established by the Constitution are the only superior courts of record in Nigeria. The
Constitution empowers the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly to establish courts with
subordinate jurisdiction to the High Courts. Courts established pursuant to the Constitution are invariably
inferior courts of record notwithstanding the status of the officer presiding in the courts.

The Supreme Court is the highest court and all decisions from the court are binding on all other courts. In
Nigeria, the state court structure dovetails into the federal court structure at the level of the Court of
Appeal. The Court of Appeal entertains appeals from the decisions of the High Courts, the Sharia Courts
of Appeal and the Customary Courts of Appeal. Appeals from the decisions of the Court of Appeal go to
the Supreme Court. In effect the Supreme Court is not only a Supreme Court on federal matters, it is also
the final court in respect of state laws. The principal functions of these courts are to adjudicate on matters
before them including matters on public accountability. Most of the public officers that failed to
satisfactorily account for their activities while in office end up in court and their matter were
appropriately dealt with and necessary sanctions imposed.

Findings

The data collected were analysed and below is the summery of the findings:
 Political priority of resource allocation and development appears did not meet the public
expectation, for instance, the development so far made in Niger Delta, appears not to satisfy those
people from that area which has resulted in restiveness.

 Various corruptions alleged and prosecuted by law enforcement agents are either delayed in the
justice system or are not concluded or did not see the light of the day.

 The general believe is that when money is appropriated, it must be spent before the financial year
ends. It was discovered in most government department visited that there is huge expenditure
during the latter months of the year (Oct-Dec.), in vote head that has balances. The expenditure
relevant or irrelevant reduces the balances to zero or near zero level. The general believe among
these public officers is that all allocated/ budgeted money must be spent. This is contrary to the
provisions of Government Financial Regulation section 515.

 We noticed that there were inconsistencies in some of the accounting policies in the Ministries
and Parastatals; for instance, the treatment of Grants/ Subventions differs. Some treated it on
accrual basis while others treated it on Cash bases.

 80% of the organizations studied did not prepare and publish budget performance evaluation
report hence the determination of variance and factors inhibiting performance becomes difficult.

 Incidence of fraud which was appropriately dealt with was reported in about 45% of the
organization studied.

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 45% of the organizations visited have not prepared financial statement for the past 4 years, 30%
of those that prepared financial statement were not audited and most of those audited had adverse
reports.

 75% of the organizations account has not submitted their accounts to Public Accounts Committee
for examination.

 Internal Control appears very weak in most of the organization, for instance, there is no accurate
record of government assets and their utilization. Some of the utilizations of the assets are not
strictly in the best interest of the organization.

 70% of the accounts examined did not provide budgetary information as to performance of the
organization.

 Most of the organization is having one abandoned projects or the other with millions of Naira
sunk into such project, for instance, the multi million Naira, Federal Secretariat has been
abandoned and remain idle for over 15 years.

 60% of the organization visited did not strictly comply with Accounting standard, Financial
Regulations.

 55% of the Accounts did not contain information on 5years financial summary thus measurement
of performance over the year becomes very difficult.

 100% of the organizations prepared annual budget but most of the budget were prepared late even
at National level, the financial year will be a quarter spent before the budget is approved.

 70% of the organization failed to strictly implement the budget as approved

 Most of the confirmed corrupt Public Officers reported on pages of News paper and media houses
were not sanctioned. After a long delay and comments, the matter will die a natural death.

CONCLUSION

Public Accountability in Nigeria has not significantly improved since 2001. Most Public Officers are
corrupt and failed to render accounts of their stewardship, The EFCC claimed that it had 31 of Nigeria’s
36 state governors about 86% of the governors are under investigation for corruption. Some of the
government agencies created to enhance public accountability were not effective and their performances
are not satisfactory, hence failed to meet public expectation. Finally, effective Public Accountability is an
essential ingredient for good governance. The present procedures for Public Accountability need to be
reviewed.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 The government should consider the establishment of a commission charged specifically to
monitor every government Ministry, Departments and Agencies and ensure that Accountability is

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effectively carried out. The present procedure whereby the members of PAC have their primary
function as legislation does not allow total commitment to Public Accountability.

 There must be time frame for the commission for the commission to submit report on each
organization.

 The report must be implemented to the last letter and appropriate sanction must be imposed and
effect execution.

 The 1999 Constitution should be amended to give time frame for the Public Accounts Committee
of each house of the National Assembly to consider and report back to the whole house matters
arising from the audit reports. Also that the National Assembly should table the report of the PAC
within 30 days of its submission.

 The findings of the PAC and the conclusion of the National Assembly should be made public.

 The Nigerian Press should have access to all information relating to Public accounts. The
researcher believed that the Freedom of Press Bill just passed into law in Nigeria will
accommodate this provision.

 The Civil Servants or Public office holders should be motivated to have sense of belonging and
national interest at heart contrary to existing procedure where the Civil Servant agitates for a
minimum wage of N18,000 per month which translates to N600 or $4 per day and the
government still drag their feet in approving it . This put the Civil Servant in a tempting position
to defraud or fail to properly accounts for their activities.

 Qualified professional officers should be employed to hold sensitive professional offices such that
Medical Doctor hold the position of Minister for health, Chartered Accountant as Accountant and
Auditor General of the Federation and Minister of Finance, Electrical Engineer appointed as
Minister for Mines and Power contrary to the present situation where round peg are put in a
square hold. These professionals have their names, integrity and the profession they belong at
stake; hence they will do everything possible to render effectively their stewardship.

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BIOGRAPHY

Sylvester, Feyi Akinbuli Distance Learning Institute University of Lagos, Akoka Lagos-Nigeria
E-mail: sfakinbuli@yahoo.com +2348033311383, +2347025715145

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MODELING FOR LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS:
MOLECULAR INTERACTION FRAMEWORK
APPROACH
Matej Janežič, University of Ljubljana-Slovenia
Vlado Dimovski, University of Ljubljana-Slovenia
Milan Hodoscek, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on our recent efforts to develop new modeling approaches for learning organizations
using a molecular interaction framework. This approach will enable us to study the learning organization
by simulation techniques. Basic hypothesis of our work is that the knowledge and permanent education is
the most important factor in the organization’s structure. For these purposes we use the FUTURE-O®
model predictions and implement our new approaches into the model for computer simulations named
FUTURE-O® – DYN model, a new model and a computer program to simulate a learning organization
by implementing the FUTURE-O® model into molecular modeling simulations. Our molecular modeling
approach, the FUTURE-O® – DYN model, will be able to explain the inter- and intra-organizational
relationship based on seven elements of the FUTURE-O® model, and even expand the FUTURE-O®
model and its applicability into practice Based on this new view and definition of the learning
organization we will be able to make some predictions about organization’s best organizational
structure.

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MARKET RESPONSE TO THE COMPOSITION
CHANGE OF ISLAMIC INDEX: THE CASE OF
INDONESIA
Erie Febrian, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Aldrin Herwany, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Adi Primadhi, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Earlier studies on the impact of an announcement of the change in the developed markets’ index
composition prove the existence of market reaction. Some academicians who support imperfect
substitutes hypothesis and price pressure Hypothesisbelieve that the rise of price and volume of stocks
added to an index is due to the increase in the stocks’ demand. The change in demand particularly comes
from the activities of index fund managers who adjust their portfolio to the new index composition.
Meanwhile, some others who support the information hypothesis argue that positive abnormal return
after the announcement of index composition change emerges because of additional information
following the announcement. Investors’ expectation on the liquidity of the newly added stocks may
explain this market reaction. However, whether investors in emerging market will react to the change of
Islamic Index composition still needs to be answered. Further empirical investigation is also required to
explain the determinant factors. This study is aimed at empirically investigating the phenomenon using
Jakarta Islamic Index (JII) daily data in the past 5 years. The study also investigates five conventional
Indices in the Indonesian Stock Exchange, i.e. LQ45, Kompas 100, Bisnis 27, Sri Kehati, and Pefindo25,
and compares the results with those of JII to see whether the nature difference of the two indices explain
the market reaction. To measure the market reaction, we calculate abnormal return, relative abnormal
volume, relative abnormal frequency, and relative abnormal bid-ask spread around the announcement of
index composition change.

KEYWORDs: Market reaction, Market Index, Abnormal Return, Abnormal Volume

BIOGRAPHY

Erie Febrian is an assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics & Business, Universitas Padjadjaran,
Bandung, Indonesia. Email: erie_febrian.fe@unpad.ac.id; erie_febrian@yahoo.com; Office fax # +62 22
2509055.

Aldrin Herwany is the head deputy, Center for Management and Business Studies at the Faculty of
Economics & Business, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia. Email:
aldrin.herwany.fe@unpad.ac.id; and herwany@yahoo.com; Office fax# +62 22 4239954.

Adi Primadhi is a postgraduate student at the Faculty of Economics & Business, Universitas Padjadjaran,
and staf at the Bank Jabar Banten (BJB), Indonesia. Email: adi.primadhi@gmail.com.

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ZAKAH PERSPECTIVES AS A SYMBOL OF
INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL PIETY: DEVELOPING A
REVIEW FROM THE MEADIAN SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM
Fidiana, University of Brawijaya – Indonesia
Iwan Triyuwono, Brawijaya University
Akhmad Riduwan, School of Economic Indonesia Surabaya (STIESIA)

ABSTRACT*

In the Islamic government, almsgiving (zakah) and Baitul Maal is a fiscal economic center. Zakah
mechanism as a source of state revenue has been applied in the Islamic kingdom of Samudera Pasai and
the kingdom of Demak. This practice was liquidated simultaneously with the arrival of colonialism era
and replaced with the tax system. Since then, the mechanism of collection of zakah in Indonesia was not
managed by the government, but left to the community. It means that Zakah is only a symbol of religious
charity. Zakah as a religious symbol would not be meaningful if it is not given meaning. The process of
meaning of a symbol is a mental process that involves consciousness (mind) and mediated by language
and meaning is developed through interaction among individuals in society. This aims of this study is to
explore the meaning of zakah in by developing Mead’s symbolic interactionism perspective based on
mind, self, and society. In this paper I suggest to use spiritual consciousness that is faith (iman/tawhid)
and devoutness (taqwa) because humans are social beings as well as spiritual beings. Besides having the
mind, self is also comes with the divine consciousness. Self with the divine consciousness, means
believing (iman/tawhid) in the transcendent reality (God). The belief in God will motivate self to
simultaneously comply with and be subject to a God-including in fulfilling the obligation of zakah. Self in
faith and devoutness that interact with the community will be instrumental in forming (constructing) and
cementing the meaning of zakah as a symbol of individual piety (obedience to God) and the symbol of
social piety (wealth distribution).

KEYWORDS: zakah, symbolic interactionism, Meadian, individual piety symbol, social piety symbol

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CHINESE CONSUMERS ACCEPTANCE OF LABELED
SEAFOOD
Pei Xu, California State University, Fresno
YC Zeng, Renmin University of CHina
Q Fong, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Y Liu, Renmin University of China

China’s seafood marketers are lately piqued when sales in major retail chains plummet due to weakened
consumer confidence in the quality of seafood they purchase. To help restore public confidence and to
better regulate the seafood market, China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has mandated a national wide
inspection standard. The standard uses a green label to differentiate premium quality seafood from lower
quality products. The top grade (Grade AA) green-labeled seafood commands zero synthetic chemicals
involved in production, and the secondary grade (Grade A) strictly inspects the use of a small list of
certified chemicals. Besides green-labels, an environmental friendly label has been used to address policy
makers’ concerns about seafood sustainability as well as the desire from the public to protect endangered
wild caught fishery species. Price wide, most labeled food charges a premium of 10-50% above the non-
labeled products (Wang, Mao & Gale, 2007; Paull 2008).

Are Chinese consumers aware of the labeled seafood? Many consumers become aquatint with labeled
seafood as a result of frequent visits to seafood retail stores and a high purchase volume made each visit
(China Daily News, 2010; China Food Network, 2011). China’s 2009 per capita annual seafood
consumption was 26 kilograms, four times the U.S. level, and this figure is expected to increase another
40% in 2020, because of the expanding of the middle class population to 0.3 billion, many of them believe
that seafood is healthier than other animal protein.

Anecdotal evidence describes that Chinese prefer labeled to non-non-labeled seafood. If this is true,
China needs to restructure its entire seafood supply chain to emphasize the distribution of labeled
seafood. The government seeks academic analysis to understand whether consumers desire the labeled
seafood; who are potential consumers of the more expensive labeled products; and how to further
improve consumer acceptance. To answer these questions, our study uses survey data collected from
seven districts in Beijing to examine consumer valuations for the green- and the environmental- labeled
seafood to understand how the perception of labeled seafood change with the use of retail stores,
consumption frequency, previous experience, household size, and demographics.

Agricultural economics students administrated personal interviews with seafood shoppers in small, mid-
size and large supermarkets. We found that on average our respondents purchase seafood once per week
with a mean quantity of 3.18 pounds/visit and a mean spending of $3.85/purchase (1USD=6.83 Chinese
Yuan, in November 2009). Overall appearance (6.6/7.0), smell (6.4/7.0), color (6.2/7.0), and flesh texture
(6.1/7.0) were rated as the most important factors affected purchase. Thirty six percent of our
respondents would consider purchasing green-labeled and 27% environmental labeled products. Many
respondents were willing to pay more for green- (80%) and environmental-labeled seafood (71%).
Ninety-seven percent of our respondents believed that it is important to save wild species and consider
sustainability. Eighty-nine percent of them will not purchase protected species and 79% believe that
seafood retailers should provide a “no-overfishing” tag when selling wild species. As expected, our
preliminary statistics shows that surveyed consumers favor labeled seafood and that labeled is used as an
attribute to influence consumption choices.

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Our sample suggests that to further improve the sales of labeled seafood, seafood marketers should
provide educational programs to help consumers understand the information printed on the labels.
Although Chinese consumers are confident about their ability to choose a safe food product (Wang, Mao
and Gale 2007), they require reassurance from a third party labeling agencies or a food retailer to better
judge product quality. Our results revealed that supermarket seafood shoppers are more willing to
purchase labeled products if they understand and trust information printed on the labels. Moreover, a
well organized and better regulated seafood inspection and authorization system is necessary to enhance
Chinese consumer confidence and generate additional purchase of labeled seafood.

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THE IMPACT OF BRAND PLACEMENT AND BRAND
RECALL (IN MOVIES) ON BRAND PREFERENCE,
LOYALTY AND INTENTIONS TO PURCHASE AMONG
YOUNGER CONSUMERS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
FROM MALAYSIA
Bamini KPD Balakrishnan, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
P. Yukthamarani Permarupan, INTI International University
Azlinda Shazneem MD. Shuaib, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Oscar Dousin, Universiti Malaysia Sabah

ABSTRACT

Brand placement in movie is an emerging marketing dimension and strategy. These strategies are widely
applied in films nowadays. The aim of this study is to explain the significant relationship between the
acceptances of brand placement based on consumers’ perception and the brand recall towards brand
preference, loyalty and intention to purchase among Malaysian young movie viewers. An intercept survey
was conducted based on convenience sampling. 500 questionnaires were distributed to the
undergraduates of Malaysian universities with 80 percent of response rate. Four hypotheses were
developed in this research and tested using multiple regression analysis. The result indicated that the
acceptances of brand placement based on consumers’ perception and the brand recall has a significant
relationship with brand preference, loyalty and intentions to purchase. These finding contribute to the
brand managers in the world that brand placement has become a significant marketing tool in reaching
the emerging younger generation consumers. It also indicates that brand placement acceptance and
recall plays a vital role in influencing marketing activities, enabling marketers to create impact towards
the younger generations brand preference in either gross or subtle manner. This research work has a
potential to be a guideline for global brand players in considering marketing activities using
commercialized movies as a medium.

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TYPOLOGY OF EMPLOYEE IMPROVEMENT-
ORIENTED VOICE: EXPLORING WHAT EMPLOYEES
SUGGEST TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANAGERS PASS
ON EMPLOYEE VOICE
Nancy L. Lam, Saint Mary’s College of California

ABSTRACT

Speaking up the hierarchy is often fraught with fear and risk; the set of potential suggestions and ideas
from employees is greater than the set of actual communicated employee improvement-oriented voice.
Yet organizations require bottom-up employee input to innovate, change and make optimal decisions.
This qualitative study explores the typology of employee improvement-oriented voice, or the calculated
communication of ideas and suggestions up the hierarchy with the intention to enhance organizational
processes. Extant research suggests that the content of employee voice can affect the voice calculus and
influence whether or not the speaker voices his suggestions or ideas up the hierarchy. Further,
characteristics of employee voice can affect a manager’s decision to propagate employee voice up, down
and across the hierarchy. Thus, exploring the typology of employee improvement-oriented voice can lead
to a finer-grain understanding of the types of ideas and suggestions that employees pass up the hierarchy,
and the process in which these types of ideas and suggestions can influence the flow of communication
up, down and across the hierarchy. In other words, understanding what suggestions and ideas employees
choose to speak up to their managers can have an importance in unpacking the process of how managers
pass on valuable employee input to other levels of the organization. This study surveyed 135 full-time
working managers to collect data on actual suggestions and ideas voiced by their subordinates. A
typology of employee improvement-oriented voice is put forth, and implications are discussed.

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AN INVESTIGATION OF ANTECEDENTS AND
CONSEQUENCES OF CONSUMERS ATTITUDES
TOWARD AN APPAREL WEBSITE
Zui Chih (Rick) Lee, Susquehanna University
Nancy Hodges, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

ABSTRAC
T

The fast-growing percentage of U.S. consumers shopping and purchasing through the Internet and
retailers have profited from this new channel. Little is known about how a website provides competitive
advantage to a retailer and what makes a website appealing to consumers. In order to address the gap in
research that exists regarding why and how consumers identify with online apparel retailers, the purpose
of this research is to examine the relationship between website attributes, e-service quality and consumer-
company identification for online information search and purchase behavior. More specifically, this
research examines the links between consumer-company identification, perceived usefulness, and attitude
toward a website, and their implications for the behavioral intention of consumers. Behavioral intention
includes the consumer’s intention to search for information and intention to purchase within the online
environment.
Combining elements from Social identity Theory and Technology Acceptance Model, this study
proposes a conceptual model that builds on the Technology Acceptance Model and tests a total of seven
hypotheses developed based on the key constructs and literature. Survey data were collected from a
convenience sample of 291 university students. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the
hypothesized relationships. Findings revealed that six of the seven hypothesized relationships were
supported.

KEYWORDS: TAM model, online apparel shopping, identification, e-service quality

INTRODUCTION

The percentage of U.S. consumers shopping and purchasing through the Internet is growing. To keep
pace, Internet marketing has rapidly increased (Levy & Weitz, 2001). A recent report issued by the
Department of Commerce indicates that online retail sales in 2010 were $165.4 billion (up 14.8% from
2009), and apparel, accessories, footwear and jewelry totaled $23.2 billion, nearly equal to computer
hardware and software sales of $24 billion. The continuous growth of e-commerce makes it critical for
firms to understand consumers’ search behavior and design websites that cater to their needs to gain
market share (Zhang et al., 2007).

Consumers seek products and services that will meet their needs and wants. Generally, when shopping for
products, consumers will compare alternatives using such consideration characteristics as price, service
quality, speed, and certainty (Järveläinen, 2007). Consumers have higher commitment to and purchase
intention with those products and stores that they recognize and identify with (Bhattacharya & Sen,
2003). Whether consumers identify similarly with products online versus those in the traditional store
format is not known. Based on Bhattacharya and Sen’s (2003) conceptual framework of consumer-
company (C-C) identification, a consumer who identifies with a company will exhibit higher product
utilization behavior, greater extra-role behavior (like citizenship) and higher brand awareness (Ahearne et

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al., 2005). Further, C-C identification may exercise a stronger influence on a consumer’s decision-making
process than brand image alone. For example, Google.com is often used to locate knowledge or
information needed on the Internet. Although there are many online search engines, “Google it” is a
common phrase that reflects consumer identification with this particular site. According to Bhattachrya &
Sen (2003), identification occurs when a person’s beliefs about some relevant organization become self-
referential or self-defining. Connecting an organization’s identity to an individual’s identity, C-C
identification helps individuals to satisfy important self-definitional needs (Bhattachrya & Sen, 2003).

In this study, C-C identification is seen as the first step toward shaping the image of the store in the
consumer’s mind, which, according to the Social Identity and C-C identification literature, helps them
decide if they will continue in their shopping or searching on a given website (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003;
Brown et al., 2003). Given the thousands of shopping sites on the Internet, it is not difficult for consumers
to browse. However, the challenge is to get the consumer to browse your website and develop an
identification with it, to make the consumer more likely to revisit the site. Retailers need to help the
consumer identify with their online store, and, in turn, to use it to purchase the product.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Marketing and industry research efforts have been directed toward developing detailed psychological
processes to understand how consumers formulate store loyalty (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003). Each online
store has its own look, or personality, features and traits which have been found to influence consumers’
motives for and interests in browsing and buying (Brown et al., 2003). Consequently, there is a great need
for retailers to focus on attributes that can develop website C-C identification.

In order to address the gap in research that exists regarding why and how consumers identify with online
apparel retailers, the purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between website attributes
(e.g., perceived attractiveness, informativeness), e-service quality (e.g., efficiency, fulfillment, system
availability) and consumer-company identification for online information search and purchase behavior.
More specifically, this research examines the links between consumer-company identification, perceived
usefulness, and attitude toward a website, and their implications for the behavioral intention of
consumers.

In electronic marketing, website loyalty is based on service as well as product performance (Parasuraman
et al., 2005). If the service experience is consistently well executed, then the service provider will create a
“bond” with the customer that the customer might value as much as the service itself. The consumer
might then begin to identify with the store, and once this happens, the store will be identified easily by the
consumer who differentiates the store’s values from that of its competitors (Klein, 1998).

As an electronic marketing channel, the Internet is quite capable of replacing conventional distribution
channels when it comes to communicating information and conducting transactions (Webb, 2002).
However, there are many websites and online stores to choose from. Therefore, good website design and
service are necessary to get the consumers’ attention and begin the identification process. Traditional
retailers, as well as click-only Internet retailers (retailers that exist only online), must appeal to consumers
who are searching for information, comparing prices, and discussing product information online.

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Social Identity Theory

Social Identity Theory was developed by Tajfel and Turner in 1985 to understand the psychological basis
of intergroup discrimination. Tajfel and Turner (1985) tried to identify the minimal conditions that would
lead members of one group to differentiate between outside groups. According to Social Identity Theory,
a person does not have only one “personal self” but several selves that correspond to widening circles of
group membership (Tajfel et al., 1971). A consumer has his or her preferences that represent the
“personal self.” Different social contexts may trigger a consumer’s thinking, feeling, and acting on the
basis of his personal, family, or national “level of self” (Tajfel & Turner, 1985). Moreover, apart from the
“level of self,” an individual consumer might have multiple “social identities.”

Social Identity Theory asserts that group membership actually creates in-group/self-categorization among
consumers and drives them to be more favorable toward in-group members than out-group members.
Tajfel and Turner (1985) found that when individuals were perceived as having group membership, they
sought to increase self-esteem by positively differentiating their in-group as compared with an out-group
on some value dimension. This search for positive distinctiveness indicates that an individual’s sense of
who they are is defined in terms of “we” more so than “I.”

Consumer-Company Identification

According to Social Identity Theory, some relationships are based on a consumer’s identification with a
specific company, and in particular, one that assists him or her in satisfying self-definitional needs. This
identification stems from a consumer’s active and volitional decision to engage in behaviors related to
that company (e.g., shop there) to decide if they favor the company or not (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003).
Individuals often favor organizations that also enhance their social identity. For example, a Harley-
Davidson motorcycle permits a consumer to identify with a brand and a company. Social Identity Theory
articulates that our sense of self typically extends beyond our personal identity, to shape our social
identity (Brewer, 1991; Tajfel & Turner, 1985).

Ashforth and Mael (1989) first connected the relationship between an organization’s role and social
identity by conceiving of the person-organization relationship as “organization identity.” Organization
identification happens when people believe there to be self-referential or self-defining elements relative to
an organization (Pratt, 1998). In other words, you can still purchase Gap apparel even if you are not a Gap
employee. That means people can experience organization identification even if they are not formal
organization members (Ahearne et al., 2005; Pratt, 1998; Scott & Lane, 2000).

Today, business strategy research seeks to further determine why and under what circumstances
consumers develop meaningful relationships with specific companies. Marketers make efforts to sustain
these relationships through consumer equity and intimacy (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003). To achieve this,
companies must satisfy consumers’ needs relative to their social identity. Companies must communicate
images relevant to the consumer. In turn, consumer-company identification distinguishes among potential
segments in the target market (Aaker, 1997).

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HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT

Website’s Attributes and Perceived Usefulness

Perceived Usefulness (PU) is defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a technology
will enhance his or her performance (Davis, 1989). PU has a significant effect on consumers’ behavioral
intention. Thus, website design features such as menus, icons, and links (computer factors), colors,
graphics, and music (human factors), specifically enhance usability (Song & Zinkhan, 2003). In other
words, a well-constructed, attractive website makes it appealing and informative and may increase
consumers’ perception of its usefulness (Chen & Wells, 1999).

For increasing consumer’s perception of usefulness, functions of the website’s ease of use are important
for those consumers who are not familiar with computers or might have higher avoidance behavior
relative to searching for product information through the Internet. Therefore, the availability of necessary
information (e.g., size, price, and payment procedure), forms, and instructions will play a role in
consumers’ formation of perceived usefulness. This study hypothesizes that the consumer will perceive
the usefulness of a website positively if the website design is attractive and informative.

H1: A website’s attributes related to (a) perceived attractiveness and (b) perceived informativeness are
positively related to its perceived usefulness.

Website’s e-Service Quality Attributes and Perceived Usefulness

To deliver superior service quality, online retailers must understand how consumers perceive and evaluate
online customer service. Traditional literature related to service quality concentrated on service delivered
by people, but e-business transactions are largely conducted without human contact. Thus, the instruments
that have been widely used for measuring service quality might not be appropriate or useful to evaluate
the quality of e-service. Parasuraman et al. (2005) developed the (E-S-QUAL) scale to measure the
quality of customer service delivered online. Their scales included four dimensions: efficiency,
fulfillment, system availability, and privacy. All four dimensions were shown to significantly influence
customers’ assessment of service quality. Reliability and validity tests suggested that the dimensions of
efficiency (e.g., navigation, site load time) and fulfillment (e.g., product delivery speed) have the
strongest influence on customers’ perceptions of overall quality and value.

The definition of e-Service Quality consistent with that of Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Malhotra (2005),
is the extent to which an Internet-based service facilitates efficient and effective transactional functions
throughout all phases of a customer’s interactions with it. In Internet shopping, consumers make
purchases without any assistance by service personnel. However, they do expect services to be offered by
a website that optimize their self-service (Globerson & Maggard, 1991). For this reason, in this study,
service quality evaluations are expected to impact consumers’ perceived usefulness of a website and
represent an important construct relative to C-C identification and consumers’ attitude toward a website.
Ultimately, e-service quality should allow online users to access product information, and make an online
purchase in an effective and efficient manner and in a secured environment using advanced technologies.
Therefore, this study hypothesizes that:

H2: A website’s e-service quality attributes related to (a) efficiency, (b) fulfillment, and (c) system
availability are positively related to its perceived usefulness.

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Perceived Usefulness and Website Consumer-Company Identification

The Technology Acceptance Model has its roots in social psychology and presents two key beliefs as
predictors of intention to use a system: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Davis et al.,
1989). Specifically, perceived usefulness is defined as the extent to which using the system will enhance
an individual’s productivity (Davis et al., 1989). In this study, perceived usefulness is predicted to impact
attitude toward a website either directly or indirectly through consumer-company identification.
Cronin and Taylor (1992) noted that a website’s service quality impacts attitude or a consumer’s
long-term overall evaluation of a website. Using a website to browse can enhance consumers’ perceptions
of its usefulness and facilitate a positive attitude toward it. Websites that satisfy consumers’ information
and service needs foster stronger identification by the consumer (Brown & Venkatesh, 2005; Venkatesh
et al., 2003). Therefore, consumers more easily identify and recall websites that meet these needs (Ahuja,
Gupta, & Raman, 2003; Hoffman, Novak, & Peralta, 1999; Ni & Ho, 2005; Zeithaml, Parasuraman, &
Malhotra, 2002; Zhang & Prybutok, 2005; Zhang, Prybutok, & Huang, 2006). A website that is perceived
to be useful attracts and sustains consumers, which facilitates C-C identification. Therefore, this study
assumes the perceived usefulness of a specific website will enhance consumer-company identification
with this website. This relationship is hypothesized as follows:
H3: The perceived usefulness of a website is positively related to website consumer-company
identification.

Perceived Usefulness and Consumers’ Attitude toward a Website

Chen and Wells (1999) indicate that attitude toward a website can predict consumers’ predispositions to
respond favorably or unfavorably to that website. Some researchers also indicate a positive relationship
between perceived usefulness and attitude toward a website (Chen et al., 2002; Hausman & Siekpe,
2009). Besides the TAM, the U&G theory revealed that higher informativeness, entertainment, and low
irritation are factors likely to generate a favorable attitude toward a website (Chen et al., 2002).
Perceived usefulness has been widely employed in studies of technology and has been shown to be
important in influencing intention and use (Hu et al., 2009). Technology characteristics like specific
website features (e.g., functionality, usability) can affect its acceptance or usage by target users (Agarwal
& Venkatesh, 2002). As consumers perceive higher utility associated with a store, they will be favorably
disposed toward it. Thus, the relationship between perceived usefulness and consumers’ attitude toward a
website is hypothesized as follows:

H4: The perceived usefulness of a website is positively related to consumers’ attitude toward a website.

Website Consumer-Company Identification and Consumers’ Attitude toward a Website

According to Social Identity Theory, individuals attempt to maintain their group reputation, motivated by
an underlying need for self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Thus, individuals who strongly identify
themselves with a specific group would make an effort to improve their groups’ standing against other
groups (Riketta & Landerer, 2005). For example, an employee’s positive identification with their
employer entails increasing their job performance (Bartel 2001; Benkhoff 1997; Efraty & Wolfe 1988).
Known as attitudinal or affective organizational commitment, this is defined as the relative strength of an
individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization (Mowday et al., 1982). A
positive relationship has been found between this commitment and a variety of behaviors such as

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performance, attendance, and even purchase intentions (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990; Meyer et al., 2002;
Riketta, 2002; Zhang et al., 2005).

Consumers have a tendency to purchase products relevant to their self identity or organizational identity.
Through shopping for and owning identity-related products, consumers ultimately present the associated
identity (Kleine et al., 1993; Solomon & Schopler, 1982). For example, college students often strongly
identify with a group (Terry & Hogg, 1996), and so their intention to purchase collegiate products may be
created and supported by the sense of belongingness to their respective organization provided by these
products. Similar to product or brand loyalty, consumers will have positive attitudes toward stores,
companies, or websites they like. The sense of belongingness that comprises C-C identification
strengthens a positive attitude and is enhanced by positive product or service experiences. Therefore, a
positive relationship between C-C identification and attitude toward the company’s website is
hypothesized.

H5: Website consumer-company identification is positively related to consumers’ attitude toward a
website.

Consumers’ Attitude toward a Website and Intention to Search for Information via the Website

Seock and Norton (2007) indicated that consumers’ attitudes toward their favorite clothing websites had a
direct, positive effect on their intentions to search for information at those websites and intention to
purchase clothing items from those websites. Additionally, operating through information search
intention, attitudes toward those websites had an indirect and positive effect on intention to purchase
clothing items from non-internet channels after finding the items at the websites.
Intention to use is regarded as an important long-term outcome and indicator of an information
system’s success (Bhattacherjee & Premkumar, 2004), as well as a driver of future behavior (Zeithaml et
al., 1996). During shopping, consumers collect information and knowledge through repeat online usage
(Alba & Hutchinson, 2000; Raju et al., 1995). A consumer’s intention to revisit a website is recognized as
a result of his/her attitude toward using this website and toward online technology (Koufaris, 2002). A
favorable attitude toward a website increases consumer intention to use the online channel to search for
information. Consumers will make repeat purchases, visits, and recommend the website to others more
often if their attitude toward the website is positive (Song & Zinkhan, 2003). In this study, the
relationship between attitude and intention to search for information is hypothesized as follows:

H6: Consumers’ attitude toward a website is positively related to their intention to search for information
via the website.

Consumers’ Intention to Search for Information via the Website and Purchase from the Website

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that perceived usefulness is the primary predictor of
behavioral intention (Venkatesh et al., 2003). By searching for product information on a website, a
consumer is able to assess the quality of the product prior to a purchase, and at the same time, decide if
the website is useful. Because the quality of goods cannot be determined before the actual purchase, the
information provided by the website is likely to influence purchase intention (Bonn et al., 1999; Rowley,
2000; Watchravesringkan & Shim, 2003).

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H7: Consumers’ intention to search for information via a website is positively related to their intention to
purchase from the website.

MEASUREMENT

Instrument Development
A structured questionnaire was developed based on the review of extant literature as an aid to obtain
conceptual and measurement information related to variables being investigated. As a result, the written
questionnaire was comprised of the following variables: website attributes (i.e., perceived attractiveness
and informativeness), e-service quality attributes (i.e., efficiency, fulfillment, and system availability),
perceived usefulness, website consumer-company identification, consumers’ attitude toward the website,
consumers’ intentions to search for information and purchase an apparel product, were measured using a
seven-point, Likert-type scale related to participants’ level of agreement with each statement.

Sample and Procedure

Data were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate students attending the state university in
southern U.S. area in the fall of 2009. Approximately 300 responses were sought from these six classes.
Students who agreed to participate in the study and who were not attending a class that meets in a
computer lab were asked to go to the computer lab. The researcher distributed the survey and provided
step-by-step instruction on how to complete it. Participants were then asked to turn on the computer and
visit the select online apparel website store (American Eagle at www.ae.com.). They were asked to spend
no more than five minutes browsing this particular website. Browsing consisted of reviewing the home
page, as well as product search and selection. Participants were then asked to select a product for
purchase, but not to make the actual purchase. Upon finishing the online browsing activity, they were
then asked to turn off the computer and complete the questionnaire.

Measurement Model Analysis

Factor analysis is concerned with exploring the patterns of relationships among a number of research
variables. These patterns are represented by what are called factors. Examination of the loadings of
variables on each factor helps to identify the character of underlying dimensions. In Structural Equation
Modeling (SEM), each factor is a latent variable in the measurement model. SEM analyses can provide
statistical tests of the goodness-of-fit for a proposed confirmatory factor solution, which is not available
through traditional exploratory factor analysis offered by statistical software such as SPSS.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) provides validation of scales for the measurement of specific
constructs. In the CFA measurement model for this study, the indicators are depicted with Xs and latent
variables labeled as constructs. This model represents the hypothesis that Xi variables assess the construct
of this research. The single-arrows that point from the factor to the indicator represent the presumed direct
causal effect of the latent variable on the observed measure (Kline, 2004, p. 199). The statistical estimates
of these direct effects are called factor loadings. Factor loadings in CFA are generally interpreted as
regression coefficients that may be in unstandardized or standardized form. As is the case in this research,
indicators assumed to be caused by latent variables are called effect indicators.
In CFA, overall model fit indicates the degree to which specified indicators represent the hypothesized
constructs. The three types of overall model fit measures useful in SEM can be represented by the
following indices:

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Seven items were used to measure website attributes. Items with loadings for perceived attractiveness
(e.g., PA-1 = 0.89, PA-2 = 0.83) and for informativeness (e.g., IN-1 = 0.88, IN-2 = 0.83) were observed.
Nineteen items were used to measure e-service quality, including eight items of efficiency (factor
loadings ranked from 0.24 to 0.82), seven items of fulfillment (factor loadings ranked from 0.60-0.93),
and four items of system availability (factor loadings ranked from 0.42 to 0.64). Four items measured the
perceived usefulness factor (factor loadings ranked from 0.74 to 0.89). Website consumer-company
identification includes five items with loadings that range from 0.83 to 0.91. Five items indicating attitude
toward the website include loadings from 0.59 to 0.74. Regarding behavioral intention, intention to search
for information included three items loading from 0.42 to 0.82. Intention to purchase included three items
with loadings from 0.92 to 0.96.

On the other hand, a confirmatory factor analysis of the multi-item scales in the measurement model
shows that each factor loading of the indicators for each construct were statistically significant and
sufficiently high for structural model testing. All standardized factor loadings (Lambda X and Lambda Y)
were greater than .50 (except the SA-1 of the e-service quality construct), which indicates reasonable
convergent validity (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994).

Psychometric Properties

Measurement model analysis was used to assess the psychometric properties to measure reliability and
validity of measurement items. Cronbach’s α and composite factor reliability (CR) were therefore applied
to assess reliability. Specifically, information from the measurement model was used to compute the
average variance extracted (AVE) to measure convergent validity. Discriminant validity was measured by
comparison of the construct’s correlation to other constructs and the square root of AVE.

First, Cronbach’s α was used to assess reliability related to internal consistency between constructs and
set an acceptable level that is more than 0.7 (Hair et al., 1998). Cronbach’s α values ranged from 0.75 to
0.96, and thus indicate high internal consistency among items.

Second, convergent validity and discriminant validity were also examined to assess construct validity.
Convergent validity refers to the degree to which two measures of the same concepts are correlated (Hair
et al., 1998). Convergent validity is demonstrated when different instruments are strongly correlated.
High convergent validity indicates that measurement scales meet the intended concept and the
instruments are measuring what they were intended to measure.

Three standards to measure convergent validity were used: (1) a factor loading value larger than 0.5; (2)
Composite reliability (CR) larger than 0.7; and (3) Average variance extracted (AVE) larger than 0.5
(Bagozzi & Yi, 1988; Fornell & Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 1998). CR was calculated to test the internal
consistency between latent variables. Factor loading values ranged from 0.24 to 0.96, with most results
above .7, and therefore meet acceptable levels. The CR of each construct ranged from 0.60 to 0.96, with
most in the 0.9 range, indicating high internal consistency for most constructs. Average variance extracted
(AVE) values of constructs across the sample exceeded the threshold of 0.5, indicating that constructs
have explained a relatively high level of variance (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). AVE values of each
construct are from 0.36 to 0.89, with most in the 0.5 or greater range, thus meeting acceptable levels, and
providing evidence that convergent validity is acceptable among measurement constructs.

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STRUCTURAL MODEL ANALYSIS AND HYPOTHESES TESTING

Model Testing

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using the full information maximum-likelihood
estimation procedure through LISREL 8.8. The relationships in the model were based on theoretical
associations discussed. Results of SEM indicated that most of the hypothesized paths were significant at
the p < .05 level. Squared multiple correlations (R2) are reported for each endogenous construct as well as path coefficients and z-values for each statistically significant path. To assess model fit, chi-square statistics (χ2), goodness-of-fit index (GFI), Normed fit index (NFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were use As discussed previously, the full model had a χ2 test-statistic of 2571.05 (d.f. = 969; p < .000), and fit indices were GFI=0.71, NFI=0.93, and CFI=0.95. The model’s RMSEA index is 0.08, with a 90 percent confidence interval between 0.077 and 0.084, indicating an acceptable model fit for the data. Most indices indicate that the proposed model fits the data well. The model’s structural equations are displayed below in Figure 1. Hypothesis Testing The patterns of direct effects revealed by the path model as shown in Figure 1 provide somewhat mixed support for the study’s hypotheses. This model specifically describes each path relationship. A positive relationship was found between website attributes and perceived usefulness, and thus H1 was partially supported. Specifically, the positive and direct relationship predicted in H1-a between perceived attractiveness and perceived usefulness was supported by the data (γ11 = 0.34, z = 4.27, p < .001). The positive and direct relationship predicted in H1-b between Informativeness and Perceived Usefulness predicted in H1-b was not supported (γ12 = 0.10, z = 1.19, p > .05).

Hypothesis 2, predicting a positive relationship between e-service quality and perceived usefulness, was
not supported. A positive relationship between efficiency and perceived usefulness (H2-a) was not
supported (γ13 = 0.12, z = 1.07, p > .05). Likewise, a positive relationship between fulfillment and
perceived usefulness (H2-b) was not supported (γ14 = 0.11, z = 1.24, p > .05). Lastly, the positive
relationship predicted between system availability and perceived usefulness (H2-c) was not supported (γ15
= 0.18, z = 1.21, p > .05). Thus H2-a, H2-b, H2-c were not supported.

The positive relationship predicted between perceived usefulness and website consumer-company
identification (H3) was supported (β21 = 0.56, z = 8.62, p < .001) and a large effect (>.5) was found
between these two variables. The positive relationship predicted between perceived usefulness and
attitude toward the website (H4) was also supported (β31 = 0.22, z = 4.27, p < .001) and a moderate effect (>.1) was found between these two variables. H5 predicted a positive relationship between website
consumer-company identification and consumers’ attitude toward the website, and was also supported
(β32 = 0.75, z = 10.93, p < .001) and a large effect (>.5) was found between these two variables.

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Figure 1: Conceptual Path Model

Related to consumers’ behavioral intentions, H6 predicted a positive relationship between consumers’
attitude toward the website and their intention to search for information. This was supported by the data
(β43 = 0.84, z = 7.01, p < .001) and a large effect (>.5) was found between these two variables. Lastly, the
positive relationship predicted between consumers’ intention to search for information within the website
and their intention to purchase was also supported (β54 = 0.81, z = 7.50, p < .001) and a large effect (>.5)
was found between these two variables.

γ13: 0.12 (1.07)
Efficiency
(ξ 3)
Perceived
Attractiveness
(ξ 1)
Perceived
Usefulnes
s
Website
Consumer-
Company

Attitude
Toward
Website
(η3)
Intention
To Search for
Information
( 4)
Intention
To Purchase
(η5)

χ2=2571.05 (d.f.= 969)
χ2/d.f.=2.65
GFI= 0.71
NFI=0.93
CFI=0.95
RMSEA=0.08

γ11: 0.34a (4.27) ***

β21: 0.56 (8.62) ***
H5 β32: 0.75 (10.93) ***
β31: 0.22 (4.27) ***
β43: 0.84 (7.01) *** Β54: 0.81 (7.50) ***
Fulfillment
(ξ 4)
System
Availability
(ξ 5)
Informativeness
(ξ 2)
γ12: 0.10 (1.19)
γ14: 0.11 (1.24) γ15: 0.18 (1.21)
Note: (z-value; two-tailed) *z-value=1.96 (p< .05), **z=2.58 (p<.01), ***z=3.45 (p<.001). 1. Indicator variables, correlations among exogenous variables, and disturbances have been omitted for notational simplicity 2. a Coefficients from completely standardized solution H1-a H1-b H2-a H2-b H2-c H3 H4 H6 H7 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 728 DISCUSSION Hypothesis 1: Relationship between website attributes and perceived usefulness Hypothesis 1 proposed a positive relationship between the perceived attractiveness (H1-a) and informativeness (H1-b) of a website and consumers’ perceived usefulness of the website (see Figure 1). Of the two, H1-a was the only significant coefficient. That is, respondents indicated that they decide whether to browse a website based on perceptions of its attractiveness (e.g., design, layout, colors). This finding is consistent with a study by Seock and Norton (2008) that indicated that attractiveness was important to perceptions of a website’s usefulness. This finding also supports similar findings by Chen and Wells (1999), Moon (2004), and Song and Zinkhan (2003). The information offered by the website (e.g., context informativeness) was found to be less critical to perceptions of a website’s usefulness. That is, H1-b was not supported by the data. These findings suggest that in order to increase consumer’s perceived usefulness of a website, an attractive layout and emphasis on visual design is relatively important. However, even though the relationship between informativeness and perceived usefulness was not significant, the availability of necessary information (e.g., price, payment procedure), forms, and instructions were important to respondents’ perceptions of the website’s usefulness. Hypothesis 2: Relationship between website e-service quality and perceived usefulness None of the hypotheses suggesting the relationship between the three e-service quality dimensions (efficiency, fulfillment, and system availability) and perceived usefulness were significant (see Figure 1). H2-a, predicting a positive relationship between efficiency and perceived usefulness, was not supported. This suggests that the degree of operational ease offered by a website, whether helping consumers to find information or to complete a transaction, may not significantly influence consumers’ perceived usefulness of the website. Likewise, website information layout and loading speed did not significantly enhance respondents’ perceptions of its usefulness. Since on-time order delivery is important when shopping online, it was hypothesized that shipment notification, and package tracking would be important criteria of e-service quality. But the relationship between fulfillment and perceived usefulness (H2-b) was not significant. Furthermore, H2-c predicted a relationship between system availability and perceived usefulness, a relationship that was also not supported by the data. Respondents were not concerned about system function (e.g., crashing or locking out). Relative to their perceptions of the websites’ usefulness, this may be because apparel can be purchased in more than one channel, and thus offers purchase alternatives. It may also be a result of the sample since respondents were university students who are comfortable with computer operation and website navigation. In addition, the survey was completed in a facility supported by the university’s technical support resources, and may therefore have made such considerations seem less important to respondents. Hypothesis 3: Relationship between perceived usefulness and consumer-company identification The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has its roots in social psychology and presents two key beliefs as predictors of intention to use a system: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (Davis et al., 1989). In this study, perceived usefulness was predicted to impact attitude toward a website either directly or indirectly through consumer-company identification. Specifically, H3 predicted a positive relationship between perceived usefulness and website consumer-company identification and this Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 729 relationship was supported, indicating that perceived usefulness of a website can lead to identification with that website. That is, the more consumers perceive the website to be useful, the more likely it is that they will identify with the website. Interestingly, the relationship between perceived usefulness and consumer-company identification was actually stronger than the relationship between perceived usefulness and consumers’ attitude toward website. This study found that a website that is perceived to be useful attracts and sustains consumers, and in turn facilitates C-C identification. Using a website to browse actually enhances perceptions of its usefulness and leads to higher consumer-company identification with the website. Hypothesis 4: Relationship between perceived usefulness and consumers’ attitude toward a website This hypothesis predicted a positive relationship between perceived usefulness and attitude toward a website (H4) and was supported. These findings support those that exist in the literature, including Chen and Wells (1999), Chen et al. (2002), and Hausman and Siekpe (2009). The Use and Gratification Theory suggests that higher informativeness, entertainment, and low irritation are factors likely to generate a favorable attitude toward a website (Chen et al., 2002). This study found that perceived usefulness has a positive impact on consumers’ attitude. However, perceived usefulness was related to respondents’ attitudes toward the website, a similar relationship found by Agarwal and Venkatesh (2002) and Hu et al. (2009). In this study, it is possible that respondents perceived the usefulness of the assigned website based on familiarity with the store and its brand. Hypothesis 5: Relationship between consumer-company identification and consumers’ attitude toward a website In H5, a positive relationship was predicted between website consumer-company identification and attitude toward the website. Consumer-company identification is based in part on Social Identity Theory. This research supports the notion that a website that consumers identify with is likely the one they also have formed an attitude toward. Results are consistent with Kleine et al. (1993) and Solomon and Schopler (1982). Consumers’ sense of belongingness, which facilitates consumer-company identification with the website, strengthens a positive attitude, and is then enhanced by their product or purchase experiences. In this study, consumer-company identification is linked to attitude and in fact had a stronger influence on attitude than did perceived usefulness. This result suggests that consumers identify with the company or brand more than the usefulness of its website. Hypothesis 6: Relationship between consumers’ attitude toward a website and intention to search for information The relationship predicted between consumers’ attitude toward the website and intention to search for information through the website (H6) was supported. These results are similar to other research (e.g., Seock & Norton, 2007) that indicates consumers’ attitudes toward their favorite clothing websites has a positive and direct effect on their intentions to search for information at those websites. Consumers collect information and knowledge through repeat online usage (Alba & Hutchinson, 2000; Raju et al., 1995). A consumer’s intention to revisit a website is recognized as a result of his/her attitude or interests in using this website (Koufaris, 2002). This study’s findings might be an indication that searching for information about apparel online is becoming increasing prevalent among the younger Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 730 generation. Findings of this study provide further support for the idea that a consumer’s attitude toward a website is positively related to their intention to use it to search for information (Song & Zinkhan, 2003). Hypothesis 7: Relationship between consumers’ intention to search for information and intention to purchase As discussed earlier, research findings support the idea that perceived usefulness is a predictor of behavioral intention (Venkatesh & Morris, 2000). In this research, the relationship predicted between consumers’ intention to search for information and intention to purchase through the website (H7) was supported. The findings of H7 support the idea that consumers’ intention to search for information through a website is a significant predictor of their purchase intention. This finding is consistent with Shim et al. (2001) and Watchravesringkan and Shim (2003), as both showed a significant relationship between Internet information search intention and shopping intention. However, this research further examined the relationship between consumers’ intention to search for information and their intention to purchase by examining the perceived usefulness of and attitude toward a website. Results of this study support the positive relationship found between consumers’ attitude and purchase intentions (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990; Meyer et al., 2002; Riketta, 2002; Zhang et al., 2007). CONCLUSION This research examines the antecedents that drive consumers’ intention to search for information about apparel products online. According to the findings, perceived attractiveness is a significant attribute influencing the perceived usefulness of a website. Attractiveness factors, such as color and layout, have an effect on a consumers’ impression of the website. Perception of attractiveness encourages the consumer to use the website to search and purchase. Because of the uncertainty involved in online purchasing, successful websites must also take consumers’ expectations of product and service quality into account. Second, the research examined perceived usefulness and provided an understanding of how consumers evaluate a website as useful. This evaluation is positively related to their attitude toward the website. Because their attitude toward the website was positively related to intentions to use the website to search and purchase from it, it is important that retailers focus on evaluating the potential usefulness of their websites. Easy to locate product information, a color scheme that enhances its attractiveness and a layout that allows consumers to find what they are looking for can all serve to highlight the website’s usefulness. Furthermore, to increase perceptions of website usefulness, websites technology can enhance consumers’ virtual control over the product by presenting multiple product images or three-dimensional images. Retailers may also employ advisors and decision support technologies that interact with their consumers, either in real-time or through e-mail. Third, this study examined the links between consumers’ attitude toward a website and their intention to search and purchase products from that website. Based on the findings, most of the hypothesized relationships were supported. Supporting the TRA and TAM, however, a theoretical implication of this research is that consumer-company identification can be added to the technology acceptance process. The model developed by this study establishes relationships between perceived usefulness, attitude toward the website and consumers’ behavioral intention with external constructs such as website attributes, e-service quality attributes and consumer-company identification, and thus contributes to the original TAM model. It incorporates the conceptual findings of previous TAM research with the introduction of the concept of Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 731 consumer-company identification. It also empirically validates this model with regard to an apparel website. In a practical sense, website design is important in building customer relationships, it facilitates customer support, and can change a visitor into a consumer in the online environment. To succeed, commercial websites must provide an attractive and alternative shopping channel to meet consumers’ needs. Retailers should create marketing strategies that address similarities between the company’s identity and that of the consumer to foster stronger consumer-company identification. That retailer’s website then becomes another channel for profit maximization. Limitations and Recommendations for Further Research This study relied on a pre-selected website provided to respondents. On the one hand, the study was able to examine whether respondents who had never used it identified with the website based on their first impression with it. On the other hand, this website may not be their favorite website, or they may not be interested in the offerings of the website. Second, the research was limited by the fact that it was a single time survey and carried out in a 15-20 minute period. It is likely that different consumers need varying time durations when browsing and searching a website. Thus results may differ if respondents are given the survey to do on their own time. Future research should apply a three time point data collection method which could then allow application of a latent growth model. The analysis might be conducted in two steps. The first step would involve analysis of a change model of just the repeated measures variables. 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Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 735 FINANCE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN AFRICA: A META-ANALYSIS Senia Nhamo, University of South Africa ABSTRACT The relationship between finance and economic growth in Africa has received considerable attention in both theoretical and empirical literature. Despite the increasing volume of literature, empirical evidence remains unresolved due to the disparate results found in the literature. Some researchers find that financial development has a positive impact on growth and others find that there is no relationship between the two variables. In this paper, we review a large body of literature focusing on the relationship between finance and growth in the 52 African countries, from both North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. We address two major questions; 1) whether finance growth literature has established that finance is good for growth. If it has, we estimate the size of the impact. In the process, discrepancies in findings from the reviewed papers are identified and explained. The methodology used is called meta-regression analysis where traditional meta-analysis methods such as the bootstrap, and fixed and random effects meta-regression models are employed. The objective is to find a combined overall effect of finance on economic growth. A conclusion is drawn from large volumes of published empirical literature and the lessons drawn from this review are deemed to be superior to those from a single study. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 736 RUSSIAN STATE FINANCIAL CONTROL: DISTINCTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT Tatyana Antipova, The Institute of Certified Specialists ABSTRACT With globalisation of the economy, qualitative control of public finance is of fundamental importance for all countries to ensure the effectiveness of spending of national budget. This paper discusses the development of the state financial control in Russia. The current state financial control system on the federal level in Russia consists of Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation - AC and it’s executive body - Federal Service for Fiscal and Budgetary Supervision - RFN. This paper shows restricted disclosure of the AC and RFN activities’ results. State financial control in Russia is the so-called government auditing in other countries. All control procedures of state financial control in Russia are performed by inspectors, not auditors. These distinctions are discussed in the paper. KEYWORDS: state financial control, inspectors, audit trail. INTRODUCTION With globalisation of the economy, qualitative control of public finance is getting fundamental importance for all countries to ensure the effectiveness of spending of national budget. Skaerbaek P. (2009) points out: “In consequence of New Public Management (Hood, 1995) and the emergence of performance auditing as an increasingly influential force in the public sector, numerous Auditors’- General Offices have sought to ensure that their activities are consistent with, and supportive of, public sector reforms (Funnell, 2003; Gendron, Cooper & Townley, 2001, 2007; Guthrie & Parker, 1999; Power, 1997, 2003a). Thus, auditors came to realize that they need to engage more closely with the auditee (Pollitt, 2003; Power, 2003a). Such engagement has contributed to a drift in the activities of public sector auditors increasingly becoming involved with policy making, which is not without its problems (Gendron et al., 2001).“ Democratic society needs transparent budgets. If the budget presentation or audit report doesn't respond to the citizens' interests, they are not going to pay attention, but their lack of interest doesn't justify poor content. Admiraal M. (2009) states: «Public sector users are especially interested in nonfinancial information, which reflects the results and effects of government policy. Therefore, the reliability and relevance of this information are highly important» (Admiraal M., Nivra R., Turksema R. (2009)). We need to go from the telephone directory or accounting model of budgeting to a political model of accountability that builds public trust. In addition, only budgets that are accountable and transparent have a chance of reducing political corruption, which flourishes in the shadows. Government audit in Russia perform by bodies of the state financial control. State financial control in Russia is the so-called government auditing in other countries. In Russia nowadays the term “government audit” is not legally approved. The current state financial control system on the federal level in Russia consists of Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation - AC and it’s the executive body - Federal Service for Fiscal and Budgetary Supervision - RFN. And control procedures of state financial control in Russia are performed by inspectors, not auditors. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 737 RESEARCH DESIGN Recently, Russian researchers have studied the ways to improve state financial control. During last five years 8 dissertations have been defended in the field of state financial control (Filippova V., 2005, Salihov Z., 2005, Karepina O., 2006, Saunin A., 2006, Rjabuhin S., 2007, Antipova T., 2008, Ivanova E., 2008, Karpov E., 2009). Such studies are important because it increases the awareness of foreign researchers and investors about the unique problems and dynamic issues facing government audit in a transition economy such as Russia. In particular, it sheds light on the process through which people's democracy evolves and the interaction between the development of democratic politics and government auditing. The informal discussions with participants of seminars on improvement auditors’ professional skills have been used as the data for the analysis. The semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions provided the free-flowing discussions with participants of the seminars. The discussions have taken place in 13 groups (373 inspectors) from all over Russia, where the author carried out training program at 2005 - 2009. These informal sources of data were very useful because they represent attempts to capture the views of participants of the seminars in their "natural settings". Also a large number of official documents relevant to this study have been collected and analyzed. The findings of this paper are significant, because it contributes to the growing literature on how audit offices in various countries engage in performance auditing or other NPM reforms. State-of-the-art of the Russian state financial control system NPM reform in Russia has begun in 2004 when Russian government has issued order N 249, dated 22.05.2004. In particular, the following is mentioned: 1) The adoption and (in general) consistent implementation of interrelated programs: - the Program of Development of Budgetary Federalism in the Russian Federation for the period till 2005; - the Principles for Restructuring the Budget Sector; - the Concept of Reforming the Budget Process in the Russian Federation, 2004-2006; - the Concept of Improving the Effectiveness of Inter-budgetary Relations and the Quality of Management of State and Municipal Finances in the Russian Federation (2006-2008); 2) Use of the “platforms” (or “steps”) technique, as a tool to manage the consistency of reforms and achieve balanced and sustainable progress at each stage; and 3) The financial and methodological support for budget reforms is provided on a competitive basis at sub- national level and for federal spending bodies (The Fund for Reform of Regional and Municipal Finances, and the “Experiment” on introduction of performance-oriented budget planning methods carried out at federal level in both 2004 and 2006). As a result of NPM reforms the political structure of the government in Russia has been changed. The structure operating at the moment is shown on fig. 1. In the same way fig. 1 shows that the political structure in Russia consists of three systems: Legistative, Executive and Judicial Branch. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 738 Figure 1. Political Structure of the Russian Federation THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION GOVERNMENT LEGISTATIVE BRANCH EXECUTIVE BRANCH JUDICIAL BRANCH THE COUNCIL OF FEDERATION President The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation State Courier Service Foreign Intelligence Service Federal Security Service Federal Drug Control Service Federal Guard Service Chief Directorate for Special Programmes Administrative Directorate The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation: of federal courts of general jurisdiction; supreme courts of territorial; district courts; military and specialized courts FEDERAL ASSEMBLY Prime Minister The Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation: federal arbitration courts of okrugs (arbitration cassation courts), arbitration appellate courts and arbitration courts of constituent entities Federal Anti-Monopoly Service Federal Customs Service Federal Tariff Service Federal Service for Fiscal Monitoring Federal Service for Financial Markets Federal Space Agency Federal Agency for the Development of the State Border Infrastructure Federal Agency for Supplies of Arms, Military and Special Equipment and Materiel Federal Agency for Fishery The Federal Service for Alcohol Market Regulations STATE DUMA Deputy Prime Ministers Courts of constituent entities Accounts Chamber Government Executive Office Justices of the peace Ministry of the Interior Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development Ministry of Defence Ministry of Justice Ministry of Culture Ministry of Education and Science Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry of Industry and Trade Ministry of Communications and Mass Media Ministry of Regional Development Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy Ministry of Transport Ministry of Finance Ministry of Economic Development Ministry of Energy All legislatures and executives and judicatures are supported by the federal budget, so they are objects to the state financial control. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 739 For the purpose of exercising control over fulfillment of the federal budget the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation establish the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, the description and procedure of its activities are defined by the Federal Law. (The Constitution of the Russian Federation, Article 101, paragraph 5) The Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation (hereinafter AC) is the standing body of state financial control establishing by the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and accountable to it (Article 1 Federal Law "On the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation"). АС has following main objectives: To control over timely and full execution of the federal budget and federal extra-budgetary funds To verify the effectiveness and expediency of disbursement of state funds and use of the federal property To provide expertise of the drafts of federal laws those have different degree of influence on the formation and execution of the federal budget. In other words, those public funds, resources and federal property that compose the national wealth are subject to control by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation. However, AC lacks practical approaches and tools for monitoring the implementation of fiscal budgets and thus it limits the ability to obtain an insight into the workings of financial systems and budget implementation. Moreover, Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation has the Board, but it is not used by inspectors in practice. Usually AC’ inspectors just follow Federal Law "On the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation" and Budget Code of the Russian Federation (BC RF) [5]. Federal Service for Fiscal and Budgetary Supervision (hereinafter RFN) is subordinate of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Fig. 2 shows that the structure Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Figure 2. Structure of the Ministry of Finance MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Federal Taxation Service Federal Insurance Service The Federal Service for Financial and Budgetary Supervision Federal Treasury Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 740 The Ministry of Finance has the authority for RFN when it comes to issue internal audit manuals for use by all organizations that are wholly or partially financed by the government budget ([2] Ministry of Finance of Russia, 2007). Main objective of RFN is the same as for AC: To control timely and full execution of the federal budget and federal extra-budgetary funds. Therefore, there is a duplication of functions. Both AC and RFN check correctness of all expenditures of federal budget. And moreover, these two bodies of the state financial control don’t co-operate between each other. On contrary, they are two competing organizations. Restricted disclosure of state financial control results The purpose of state financial control of federal budget in Russia is to provide assurance on the legality of fiscal budget implementation and the reliability of its outcomes. State financial control is not designed to detect all cases of fraud, abuse, and program incompliance (i.e., small items may disappear under the control’s radar). Most of the people assume that the principal goal of state financial control is to discover all of these inconsistencies. However, the revealing itself is just additional to the purpose of state financial control. In fact, the absence of evaluation system and reliable, complete and objective data means that the effectiveness of the current systems can never be properly measured. «The effectiveness of government auditing is always difficult to measure in an objective manner. The number of frauds detected, the instances of waste and mismanagement identified, the number of studies into efficiency and cost control etc are pertinent indicators, but the true impact of government audit on the proper control and deployment of public spending can never be reliably and objectively determined» (Yang S., Xiao J. Z., Pendlebury M. (2008). If the government determines the content of the audit report, budget auditing is in effect the government's “self-inspection”. Moreover, as the relationship between the people and the government is that of supervisor and supervisee, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the government audit office to serve two “masters”. In such a conflicting situation, the government audit office can only put the government's interests and requirements first, since the government is its direct “boss”. To serve the government in essence and to the people in appearance is an inevitable choice of the state financial control office under the current system. Objects of control by two Russian bodies of state financial control (AC and RFN) are expenses of the federal budget. Numerical indicators in million Euros are presented in table 1 and Chart 1. Source Data Table 1 - Federal Law on the federal budget for the year [7,8,9,10,11]: Table 4: Federal Budget RF: Revenue & Expense & Proficiency: 2005 – 2009 million € Fiscal Years The exchange rate last working day of year REVENUE EXPENSE PROFICIENCY 2005 1€=34,1850 Rub - 31.12.2005 149 984,76 102 803,79 47 180,96 2006 1€=34,6965 Rub - 30.12.2006 180 966,05 123 493,82 57 472,23 2007 1€=35,9332 Rub - 30.12.2007 216 544,03 166 602,52 49 941,50 2008 1€=41,4411 Rub - 31.12.2008 223 834,10 182 690,11 41 143,99 2009 1€=43,3883 Rub - 31.12.2009 169 118,18 200 198,17 -31 079,99 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 741 Figure 1. Federal Budget RF: Revenue & Expense & Proficiency: 2005 – 2009 State financial control in Russia is designed to detect only those cases of fraud, abuse, or program incompliance that can be considered material (namely, significant enough to affect decisions made based upon the financial statements). Table 2 presents some of the examples. Table 5: Comparison of budgetary expenses and volume of the revealed financial infringements mln € Fiscal year Expense federal budget for fiscal year The sum of frauds detected, revealed for the fiscal year The sum of no-purpose use of the budgetary funds, revealed for the fiscal year AC RFN Sum (col.3 + col.4) Col.5./ Col.2., % AC RFN Sum Col.9./ Col.2., % 2005 102 803,79 3 589 4 939,76 8 528,76 8,3 31,53 198,42 229,95 0,2% 2006 123 493,82 2 372 5 549,56 7 921,56 6,4 77,82 76,45 154,27 0,1% 2007 166 602,52 3 682 4 359,89 8 041,89 4,8 26,99 31,09 58,08 0,03% Thus, in 2005 it was revealed that the amount of frauds made the 8.3 % from total amount of expenses of the federal budget. In particular, 8.3 % (8528,76 / 102803,79 * 100%) of expenses of the federal budget of 2005 have been spent incorrectly. In the year 2006 it was 6.4 % and in 2007 – 4.8 %. THE METHODOLOGY FOR THE STATE FINANCIAL CONTROL In the Russian AC is working on standards, appropriate standards of INTOSAI. RFN uses its own administrative regulations [2]. There is no unified methodology for public financial control. Russia has still not passed a law on state financial control. Methodology that meets international standards should be created as a series of appropriate and lawful techniques. Methodology - a set of techniques and methods, subject to the practical implementation of specific tasks. Methods of state financial control must serve the end result - verify proper and efficient use of the federal budget. Accordingly, the methodology of state financial control - a combination of screening procedures, appropriate methodology of state financial control and determines how compliance with the established principles of the use of budgetary resources, and legal grounds defined in the allocation of these funds. As Steinhoff (2008) writes, all of the steps are predicated by management at the highest levels being committed to the program - in other words "getting it" - that these types of programs are state financial control, where the public is expecting full accountability for and sound use of its tax. Without this -50,000.00 0.00 50,000.00 100,000.00 150,000.00 200,000.00 250,000.00 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 REVENUE EXPENSE PROFICIENCY Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 742 commitment, it is doubtful that forensic auditing programs will reach their potential as a tool to help fight fraud, waste and abuse. However, when characterizing the process of making things auditable as one of ‘fact building’ it mainly characterizes the auditing process as one where inspectors apply various methods to verify the data of various disclosures. It is necessary to establish a viable, ongoing forensic methodology. Methodology for state financial control can be represented in the form of four blocks: I. Definition of organizational and legal status; II. Financial audit; III. Performance audit; IV. Writing and signing of opinions (the act). I. Definition of organizational and legal status Definition of the organizational and legal status forms the part of the opening act of the state financial control. The procedure starts with an initial orientation. Here the inspector determines goal, roles, and rules of the control. During the orientation stage, the inspector has to become familiar with the study, by receiving all the audit trail components along with an explanation of the recordkeeping system. Following, the inspector will have to look in detail in all the materials provided in the audit trail. In this case, the audit trail is complete, and understandable, entailing it is structured according to clear systematic interrelations among the components. Verification period and dates are transferred to the introductory part of the act of identification which are the basis for state financial control. According to the results of the first part the following technique is necessary to evaluate the accounting in the selected organizations - the primary observation, the measurement, the current group, and the final compilation of economic activity - in terms of their compliance with current legislation and the features of the organizations. II. Financial audit In order to conduct a financial audit, the following procedure should be taken: to check the compliance of accounting and reporting with regulatory and legal framework; to analyze the preparation and content of reporting; to verify the revenues and expenses, and the assets and liabilities. For the inspector to be able to perform the audit, the auditee needs to prepare beforehand a so-called audit trail, in which the whole procedure of data gathering and analysis is documented, including both raw data material, categorized data material, and the findings (Akkerman S. et al., 2008). III. Conduct performance audit The next stage is the timeline of the control, the aims of the audit procedure and the criteria for renegotiation. Then in the major stage, the inspector assesses the trustworthiness of the study in terms of the specific quality criteria. The main procedures of performance audit methodology should be linked to key strategic directions of the inspectors and to provide in the form of the circuit shown in Fig. 3. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 743 Figure 3: Scheme of methods of performance audit METHOD OF PERFORMANCE AUDIT Assess the achievement of social outcomes Estimation of direct results of the Evaluating the effectiveness of resource use Integral assessment of Determination of the final social outcome Assessment of quality of services rendered, work performed Evaluation of resource availability Assessing the adequacy of management Assessing the level of customer satisfaction Evaluation of the duration and timing services Evaluating the effectiveness of the use of assets Performance analysis Assessment of the availability of performance Evaluation of dynamic and optimal process of Analysis of the effectiveness of personnel management IV. Writing and signing of opinions (the act) Finally, the inspector writes an act and discusses it with the auditee. The format of the act is regulated of the Ministry of Finance [2]. This may lead to a renegotiation (and possibly to a new audit procedure). The final inspector’ report in Russia is the act. Act contains a substantiated assessment. Act indicates the following issues: base validation, purpose, object, object control, timing of audit summary of the test object, characteristic of violations, the findings of the audit. Act appropriate to partition is defined in the program. Report must be complete, accurate, unbiased, credible and concise. The act considers to be completed if it contains all the necessary information about the audit objectives, and ensures adequate understanding of the reported information and if the act does not require any additional requests of materials in the course of realizable events Accuracy of information is achieved, if there are no doubts that have been cast upon the authenticity of this act by the auditors and the auditees. Inaccurate information may adversely affect the reputation of the supervisory authority. Objectivity of the information supposes that the presented evidence is fair, as well the independence of auditors involved in the monitoring process. The validity of the act indicates that the findings are in consistence with arguments and conclusions and recommendations are based upon the facts presented. All violations must be confirmed by reference to regulations. Conciseness requires that the act should be not lengthy than it is necessary to provide information about the results of validation checks. Unnecessary details distract from the merits of the case and may even conceal the true-worthy message and misleading. It should avoid unnecessary repetition. At the end of act preparation it is necessary to check whether all the certified copies of original documents confirming the facts of financial violations are attached to the act and that all references are made. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 744 The methodology of state financial control should be continuously improved. Technologies are constantly evolving, developing new programs. Taking into consideration the current situation the methodologies of state financial control should be updated and adapted in accordance with changing conditions of the control environment. Development The experience from other countries suggests that government auditing, as part of a political structure, rarely develops on its own. Rather, its development is closely related to the development of democratic politics and the perfection of political structures. Peters K.M. (2008) writes: “Future progress in federal financial management isn't likely to be substantial until agencies invest in improved finance and accounting systems, turn to other, more qualified agencies for financial services they cannot perform well themselves, and adopt uniform business processes.” For effective state financial control in Russia will need the following: • the statutory procedures for annual independent external audits of fiscal accountability with the issuance of opinions. Conclusions must be issued by certified professionals; • effective information management systems to ensure proper monitoring and management, including the compliance of budget legislation; • availability of and compliance with procedures established by law for the review of budgetary legislation and responsibility for any violation of it; • availability of and compliance with formal, transparent and corruption resistant procedures for making decisions on the use of budgetary funds, including in procurement; • regularly review and assess the quality of financial management, support measures for improvement; • The development and application of mechanisms of internal control and auditing. This approach assumes that the proposed methods, rules and procedures should be used flexibly. It is recognized that budgeting, result-oriented are also important to evaluate the performance of public officials and public servants and the extent to which they are responsible for their activities and their results. The establishment of operating budgets based on the calculation of resource requirements and expected results have the potential to achieve this in a way that may have been the absence of the past. Number of resources provided should depend on the expected results. That is, when failure to reach the established results, the amount of financial support through the budget must be reduced. It is also necessary to establish liability of officers for achieving certain results. Otherwise, the responsibility is undermined. In order to reach the before-mentioned, the reporting system must be developed, fixing the achievement of the results and its dynamics at least for last two years. This reporting system should be checked on an integrated basis throughout the budget cycle. Russian state financial control reforms then should have focus on: * Reduce improper payments. The priority is to identify the reasons, development of plans to eliminate errors, increase accountability and collaboration with external stakeholders. * Write-off of unusable real estate. This requires a complete inventory of all federal property. * The exact matching of transactions between government agencies. This is a major stumbling block in providing opinions to the government as a whole. * Strengthening of internal controls. The institutions should be established a system of internal controls to avoid the numerous minor violations. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 745 CONCLUSION Based on the experience of other countries and on the state-of-the-art of public financial control in Russia, we can draw the following conclusions. 1. In Russia there is a need to revise the federal model of financial reporting and accounting standards. At the moment, chief accountants of public institutions have to take more than 100 different forms in their annual reports. Revision of the model of federal financial reporting should include reducing the number of reporting forms and simplification of procedures for its delivery. In this reporting standard must be changed to improve readability, clarity of wording to ensure transparency of the actual movement of the budget and accountability of the federal government. 2. Production of reliable financial statements should be viewed as a byproduct of effective business processes and financial management systems. The main goal is to improve the financial management system that the financial information from these systems can be used to control the institutions more effectively and efficiently, day-to-day. Well-designed and operating an integrated financial management system to significantly reduce the cost and amount of financial reporting. 3. Both management and the inspectors of the state financial control should seek what they need to understand the responsibilities and tasks of each other. Inspectors should be able to put yourself in the drafters, who may face some unique challenges that require flexibility. Management must appreciate what it means for inspectors to vouch for the evaluation of financial statements and sign your name and professional reputation on the bottom line. Inspectors should be useful and constructive in fulfilling their roles, as well as the compilers should have the appropriate standards. REFERENCES Accounting and Financial Reporting for Encumbrances (2009), Governmental GAAP update service, Volume 09, Issue 14, pp.1 – 9. Administrative regulation executions by Federal Service for Fiscal and Budgetary Supervision of the state function on control and supervision of observance of the legislation of the Russian Federation at use of means of the federal budget, means of the Social Security Funds, and also the material assets which are in the federal property by order № 75n of the Ministry of finances of the Russian Federation dated 04.09.2007. Admiraal M., Nivra R., Turksema R. (2009), “Reporting on Nonfinancial Information”, International Journal of Government Auditing, Tom 36, Iss., 3, pp. 15 – 21. Akkerman S., Admiraal W., Brekelmans M., Oost H. (2008) “Auditing Quality of Research in Social Sciences”, Quality & Quantity, 42:257–274. Budget Code of the Russian Federation (BC RF). Carmen C. P., Hernandez A. M. L., Bolivar M. P. R. (2005) Citizens’ access to on-line governmental financial information: Practices in the European Union countries, Government Information Quarterly. 22, 258–276. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 746 The Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated 09.04.2007 № 41-FZ "On the federal budget for 2005"; The Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated 03.04.2008 № 36-FZ "On the federal budget for 2006"; The Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated 03.12.2008 № 228-FZ "On the federal budget for 2007"; The Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated 28.12.2009 № 382-FZ "On the federal budget for 2008"; The Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated 03.10.2010 N 255-FZ "On the federal budget for 2009". Gauthier S. J. (2009), Better Understanding the Financial Statement Audit, Government Finance Review, Том 25, Iss. 3; pp. 44 – 49. Jane B., Laughlin R. (2003) Control and legitimation in government accountability processes: the private finance initiative in the UK. Critical perspectives on accounting. 14, 23–48. Mihret D.G., Yismaw A.W., (2007), Internal audit effectiveness: an Ethiopian public sector case study, Managerial Auditing Journal, Том 22, Iss. 5; pp. 470 - 484. Peters K.M. (2008) Balancing Act. Government Executive. Том 40, Iss. 9; pp. 7 – 14. Principles for good governance of public finance - Background paper to the document presented by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation to the meeting of Ministers of Finance of the Group of Eight. Pumphrey L.D., Crain G. (2008), Do the existing financial reporting and auditor reporting standards adequately protect the public interest? A case study. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management. Том 20, Iss. 3; pp. 375 – 386. Raaum R.B., Morgan S.L. (2010) Performance auditing: a Measurement Approach. 2nd Edition. Rubin I. (2009), Bringing Transparency to Municipal Budgets, Public Manager, Том 38, Iss. 1; pp. 13 – 16. Russian Federation: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes — Data Module, Response by the Authorities, and Detailed Assessment Using Data Quality Assessment Framework. May 2004, IMF Country Report No. 04/134. Skaerbaek P. (2009) Public sector auditor identities in making efficiency auditable: The National Audit Office of Denmark as independent auditor and modernizer. Accounting, Organizations and Society. 34, 971-987. Smith K.A., Cheng R., Smith O., Schiffel L. (2008), “Performance reporting by state agencies: Bridging the Gap Between Current Practice AND the GASB-Suggested Criteria”, The Journal of Government Financial Management, Том 57, Iss. 2; pp. 42 – 48. Smoker K.A., Mammano K.A., (2009), The Revision of Federal Form 990: A Move Toward SOX-like Reform in the Nonprofit Sector? The CPA Journal, Том 79, Iss. 7; pp. 52 - 56. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 747 Steinhoff J.C. (2008), FORENSIC AUDITING: A Window to Identifying and Combating Fraud, Waste and Abuse, The Journal of Government Financial Management. Vol. 57, Iss. 2; pp. 10 – 15. Steinhoff J.C., Dacey R.F. (2008), “The Government Management Reform Act of 1994: A Retrospective of Achievements and Remaining Challenges and a Look to the Future”, The Journal of Government Financial Management, Tom 57, Iss. 4, pp. 10 - 15. Yang S., Xiao J. Z., Pendlebury M. (2008) Government auditing in China: Problems and reform. Advances in Accounting, incorporating Advances in International Accounting. 24, pp. 119-127. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 748 BALANCED SCORECARD ATTRIBUTES: KEY DETERMINANT AND THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS Wasatorn Shutibhinyo, Chulalongkorn University ABSTRACT This study sheds some light on Balanced scorecard (BSC) by exploring BSC attributes, key determinant and the perceived benefits. BSC consists of four attributes – translating strategy into operation terms, aligning the organizational units to the strategy, communicating strategy to employees and providing feedback and learning. Regarding determinant study, based on data collected by survey from 81 Thai listed companies, this paper finds that top management support is positively associated with each BSC attribute. Top management support is a vital factor facilitating the implementation of each BSC attribute. Moreover, for 37 BSC users, all BSC attributes are the sources of perceived benefits in various aspects – overall benefits, planning, control and communication. JEL: M190 and M490 KEYWORDS: Balanced scorecard, Strategy-focused organization, Perceived benefits INTRODUCTION Balanced Scorecard (BSC) devised by Kaplan and Norton in 1992 and has attracted considerable interest worldwide and becomes one of the most important developments in management accounting (Atkinson, et al., 1997). BSC consists of four key attributes – translating strategy into operation terms, aligning the organizational units to the strategy, communicating strategy to employees and providing feedback and learning. According to Strategy-focused organization (SFO), top management support is claimed to be a key factor for BSC implementation. To date, none have straightforwardly examined the relation between top management support and each BSC attribute. Regarding the perceived benefits of BSC, several studies show positive outcomes; however, they have some limitations. Firstly, most papers investigate the contribution of BSC implementation, not separate attributes of BSC. Only one paper (De Geuser et al., 2009) separately examines whether each BSC attribute is the source of organizational performance. Secondly, several studies examine only a single aspect of BSC implication and focus more on overall benefits and satisfaction. Thirdly, to the best of my knowledge, none has directly explored the perceived benefits in terms of planning, control and communication. Hence, this current paper aims to fill the research gap by exploring the BSC attributes among Thai listed companies and investigating whether top management support is associated with those BSC attributes. In addition, various aspects of perceived benefits – overall benefits, planning, control and communication – are analyzed. Based on 81 returned questionnaires, the empirical results demonstrate that, regardless of BSC application, top management support is positively associated with each BSC attribute. This confirms Kaplan and Norton’s claim regarding the importance of this factor and extends the prior literature by highlighting the importance of this key determinant in facilitating the application of each BSC attribute in the organization. Taken self-assessed responses as given, thirty seven firms are BSC users. The tests for perceived benefits show that all BSC attributes are the sources of BSC contribution in all aspects – overall Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 749 benefits, planning, control and communication. This underscores the implication of BSC in diverse dimensions. This paper is divided into five sections. The first section is the introduction discussed earlier. The second section presents a brief literature review, followed by the research methodology. The fourth section shows the empirical results. The last section concludes the paper. LITERATURE REVIEW Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Strategy-Focused Organization (SFO) Balanced scorecard is initially devised by Kaplan and Norton as the multi-dimensional performance measurement system with a collection of financial and nonfinancial measures. BSC is now transformed into a strategic performance measurement system (Kaplan and Norton, 1992; 1996; 2001a; 2001b; 2008). BSC relates to Strategy-focused organization (SFO) in the sense that BSC is a tool and a part of SFO (Kaplan and Norton, 2008). BSC incorporates various important attributes; SFO principles consists of BSC attributes and top management support as shown in Table 1 Table 1: BSC attributes and SFO principles S F O p r in c ip le s B S C a tt r ib u te s Explanation Translating strategy into operation terms (Strategy) This is a foundation of BSC and consists of three sub-attributes – (1.1) Multiple perspectives, (1.2) Measures derived from strategy, and (1.3) Cause-and-effect relationships among the strategic objectives or measures. Aligning the organizational units to the strategy (Alignment) It is important to align business units’ and functional units’ strategies to the corporate-level strategy in order to generate the corporate synergy, which causes a collection of business units to create value than if each unit operates autonomously. Communicating strategy to employees (Communication) Communicating and educating ensure that employees understand firm’s strategy and scorecard. This intrinsically and extrinsically motivates employees to perform their works in the ways that contribute to the success of the strategy. Providing feedback and learning (Feedback) Strategy should be linked to the budgeting process by setting targets for the strategic measures and by screening the strategic initiatives for achieving such targets. In addition, the feedback and learning process that enables strategic refinements or makes strategy a continual process. Top management support Support from top management, including involvement and resources allocation, is the most important condition for implementing and sustaining BSC. Key determinant: Top management support In general, top management helps generate organizational supports both time and resources for implementing innovation in the organization (Chenhall, 2003; Roger, 2003); this is true in the case of BSC (Kaplan and Norton, 2008). Although Chen et al. (2006) find negative impact of top management support on BSC application, many studies and anecdotal evidence have supported the significance of this driver (e.g., Braam and Nijssen, 2008; Kaplan and Norton, 2008). It should be noted that firms are not required to implement BSC; they may apply BSC concept intentionally or unintentionally. Hence, some BSC attributes might be applied in the organization and at the different degrees. As Kaplan and Norton have raised the importance of top management support in facilitating the implementation of BSC, it can imply that top management support should also ease the implementation of each BSC attribute. This leads to the following hypotheses: H1a: Top management support is positively associated with translating strategy into operation terms. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 750 H1b: Top management support is positively associated with aligning the organizational units to the strategy. H1c: Top management support is positively associated with communicating strategy to employees. H1d: Top management support is positively associated with providing feedback and learning. The perceived benefits of BSC application Previous research on implication of BSC has mostly revealed significant consequences of BSC application in terms of employees’ satisfaction (Ittner et al., 2003; McWhorton, 2001), perceived organization’s performance compared to competitors (e.g., Hoque and James, 2000), perceived performance improvement (e.g., DeBusk and Crabtree, 2006; De Geuser et al., 2009), the integration of management processes, and perceived benefits of BSC relative to its costs (De Geuser et al., 2009). Although the positive expost-attitudes toward using BSC have been revealed in most studies, few examine various aspects of BSC contribution simultaneously. In addition, most studies have not concerned the impacts of each BSC attribute on BSC contribution. Only one paper separately examines whether each BSC attribute is the source of organizational performance. De Geuser et al. (2009) test whether four features of BSC and top management support are the sources of BSC contribution. They find that attribute 1 (Strategy) and 4 (Feedback) seem to be the key sources of overall improvement; while attribute 2 (Alignment) and 3 (Communication) show marginal impact. Top management support does not influence any perceived organizational performance. As mentioned earlier, BSC is one of the most important developments in management accounting, particularly in strategic planning and control (Atkinson et al., 1997). Based on Kaplan and Norton’s claim, organizations using BSC can focus on achieving their strategic objectives and measures, cascading the corporate strategy into aligned and integrated strategies at lower-level units, communicating the strategy to ensure that everyone working towards common goals, and adjusting strategy when needed. Hence, for BSC users, each BSC attribute should enhance the perceived benefits in terms of overall benefits, planning, control, and communication. The following hypotheses present the postulated relationship between each BSC attribute and the various aspects of perceived benefits. H2a: Translating strategy into operational terms is positively associated with the various aspects of perceived benefits – overall benefits, planning, control and communication. H2b: Aligning the organizational units to the strategy is positively associated with the various aspects of perceived benefits – overall benefits, planning, control and communication. H2c: Communicating strategy to employees is positively associated with the various aspects of perceived benefits – overall benefits, planning, control and communication. H2d: Providing feedback and learning is positively associated with the various aspects of perceived benefits – overall benefits, planning, control and communication. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 751 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Data and Survey instrument Samples in this cross-sectional survey research are 508 firms listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Market Alternative Investments (MAI). Since 81 questionnaires are returned, the response rate is 15.94 percent. This low response rate is not unusual for the survey in Thailand (Pholnaruksa, 2007). A survey package (a questionnaire with cover letter and a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope) was mailed out to CFO in May and June, 2011. The questionnaire was firstly developed based on the foundation concept of BSC. Consequently, the questionnaire is revised based on the pre-tested results and comments from academics and the CFOs of the pre-tested firms. Regardless of the BSC usage, questionnaire requires respondents to specify the degree of which each BSC attribute is embedded in their firms’ performance measurement systems (ranging 0-100). To strengthen the construct validity, each BSC attribute has multiple questions. After identifying whether or not they are BSC users, only BSC firms are required to specify the degree of perceived benefits of BSC implementation in various aspects – overall benefits, planning, control and communication. Model specifications and variables Table 2: Models and variables for determinant and perceived benefit tests Models H1 iii TOPBSCATT εββ ++= 10 (1) H2 iii BSCATTBENE εββ ++= 10 (2) Variables iTOP top management support iBSCATT each BSC attribute iBENE each aspect of perceived benefits iSTRAT strategy iALL overall benefits iALIGN alignment iPLAN planning iCOMM communication iCON control iFEED Feedback iCOM communication The model (1) and (2) are employed for examining H1 and H2, respectively. The average percentage score of each BSC attribute is calculated for each firm. The findings demonstrate that top management support is positively and significantly associated with each BSC attribute at 0.01 level. Thus, H1a, H1b, H1c and H1d are all supported. This confirms Kaplan and Norton’s claim regarding top management support as a key factor for implementing BSC in the organization and extends the prior research by providing that top management support is vital factor influencing the implementation of each BSC attribute. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 752 Table 3: Data for determinant and perceived benefit tests Variables Avg Min Max SD Cronbach’s alpha N of questions Data for H1 (all samples, N=81) Strategy iSTRAT 71.64 3.13 100.00 17.66 0.938 8 Alignment iALIGN 70.25 3.75 100.00 19.06 0.902 4 Communication iCOMM 69.58 3.75 100.00 18.77 0.880 4 Feedback iFEED 73.04 5.63 100.00 18.30 0.961 8 Top management support iTOP 76.57 14.00 100.00 16.33 0.959 5 Data for H2 (BSC users, N=37) Strategy iSTRAT 76.74 37.63 100.00 14.99 0.938 8 Alignment iALIGN 73.05 30.00 100.00 18.96 0.948 4 Communication iCOMM 73.71 30.00 100.00 16.28 0.842 4 Feedback iFEED 76.72 43.75 100.00 15.42 0.958 8 Top management support iTOP 79.43 50.00 100.00 11.58 0.939 5 Overall benefits iALL 75.41 50.00 100.00 14.06 N.A. 1 Planning iPLAN 77.51 50.00 100.00 13.36 N.A. 1 Control iCON 77.03 50.00 100.00 13.72 N.A. 1 Communication iCOM 73.38 10.00 100.00 17.99 N.A. 1 RESULTS Table 4: The results of determinant test (N=81) Dependent iSTRAT iALIGN iCOMM iFEED Independent iTOP 0.856 *** 0.996 *** 1.001 *** 0.869 *** Intercept 8.772 -6.051 -5.771 7.778 Adj.R2 42.1% 35.2% 49.3% 40.9% H1a is supported H1b is supported H1c is supported H1d is supported ***,**, and * indicate significance at the 1, 5 and 10 percent levels respectively. The results in Table 5 demonstrate that, for BSC users, each BSC attribute is positively and significantly associated with each aspect of perceived benefits. This supports the benefits of BSC implementation as well as extends the prior studies by exploring that each BSC attribute is a source of such benefits. CONCLUSIONS This paper simultaneously underscores the vital determinant and the positive effects of BSC implementation. Specifically, this research explores the BSC attributes and finds that top management support is a key factor influencing the implementation of each BSC attribute. Furthermore, regarding BSC users, all BSC attributes are the sources of perceived benefits in various aspects – overall benefits, planning, control and communication. Regarding the limitation, self-response bias is commonly concerned for survey research. As the application of BSC is examined at the corporate level, not business unit level, the results should be carefully interpreted. According to future research, other determinants and quantitative impacts of BSC implementation should be examined with a concern of BSC attributes. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 753 Table 5: The results of perceived benefit tests (N=37) Panel A iALL iPLAN iCON iCOM Independent iSTRAT 0.621 *** 0.662 *** 0.641 *** 0.663 *** Intercept 27.752 *** 26.706 *** 27.815 *** 22.489 ** Adj.R2 42.2% 53.9% 47.7% 28.6% H2a is supported. Panel B iALL iPLAN iCON iCOM Independent iALIGN 0.518 *** 0.425 *** 0.549 *** 0.588 *** Intercept 37.560 *** 46.463 *** 36.928 *** 30.451 *** Adj.R2 47.3% 34.6% 56.4% 36.6% H2b is supported. Panel C iALL iPLAN iCON iCOM Independent iCOMM 0.634 *** 0.637 *** 0.676 *** 0.801 *** Intercept 28.644 *** 30.594 *** 27.174 *** 14.311 * Adj.R2 52.6% 59.0% 63.4% 51.2% H2c is supported. Panel D iALL iPLAN iCON iCOM Independent iFEED 0.514 *** 0.491 *** 0.620 *** 0.495 *** Intercept 35.978 *** 39.823 *** 29.435 *** 35.356 *** Adj.R2 29.8% 30.2% 47.2% 15.7% H2d is supported. ***,**, and * indicate significance at the 1, 5 and 10 percent levels respectively. REFERENCES Atkinson, A. A., Balakrishnan, R., Booth, P., Cote, J. M., Grout, T., Malmi, T., et al. (1997). New directions in management accounting research. Journal of Management Accounting , 70-108. Braam, G. M., & Nijssen, E. J. (2008). Exploring the antecedents of balanced scorecard adoption as a performance measurement and strategic mangement system. workingpaper. Chen, H., Duh, R., & Lin, J. C. (2006). The determinants of implementation stages of balanced scorecard. International Journal of Management and Decision Making , 356-376. Chenhall, R. H. (2003). Management control systems design within its organizational context: Findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future. Accounting, Organizations and Society , 127-168. De Geuser, F., Mooraj, S., & Oyon, D. (2009). Does the balanced scorecard add value? Empirical evidence on its effects on performance. European Accounting Review , 93-122. DeBusk, G. K., & Crabthree, A. D. (2006). Does the balanced scorecard improve performance? Management Accounting Quarterly , 44-47. Hendricks, K., Menor, L., & Wideman, C. (2004). The Balanced Scorecard: To adopt or not to adopt>.
Ivey Business Journal , 1-7.
Hoques, Z., & James, W. (2000). Linking balanced scorecard measures to size and market factors: Impact
on organizational performance. Journal of Management Accounting Research , 1-16.

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Ittner, C. D., Larcker, D. F., & Randell, T. (2003). Performance implications of strategic performance
measurement in financial services firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society , 715-741.
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1992). The Balanced scorecard – measures that drive performance.
Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). The Balanced scorecard: Translating strategy into actions.
Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001a). The strategy-focused organization: How balanced scorecard
companies thrive in the new business environment, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press..
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001b). Transforming the Balanced scorecard form performance
measurement to strategic management. Accounting Horizon , 87-104; 147-160.
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2008). The execution premium: Linking strategy to operations for
competitive advantage. Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.
McWhorton, L. B. (2001). The balanced scorecard: An empirical analysis of its effect on managers’ job
satisfaction and performance evaluations. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Kentucky.
Pholnaruksa, I. (2007). Implementation levles of activity-based management and the effects on
profitability of Thai manufactuing firms. Thailand: doctural Dissertation. Department of Accountancy,
Chulalongkorn University.
Roger, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5 ed.). New York: The free press.

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THE RELEVANCE OR IRRELEVANCE OF CORPORATE
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) TO ENHANCE
GOVERNMENT-BUSINESS RELATIONS IN SOUTH
AFRICA: A THEORETICAL EXPOSITION.
Abel J. Diale, Tshwane University of Technology

ABSTRACT

The notion and practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has received and continues to attract
massive attention from business across the globe as a mechanism of business organizations to position
themselves as socially responsible entities. This attention can be attributed to the pressures brought about
by globalization and, in the developing world, the increasing burden faced by governments to provide
comprehensive social services. This initiative has received mixed reactions from various sectors of the
business practitioners and researchers, while governments globally have enhanced the environment within
which business could explore this initiative. In South Africa, a sizeable number of business organizations
are embracing this notion partly due to an array of legislative measures; e.g. Affirmative Action; Broad-
based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE); Skills Development, as well as the King Report on
Corporate Governance in South Africa (King Report III, 2009). The paper interrogates whether CSR is a
relevant mechanism to enhance government-business relations in globalized world, or an appeasement by
the private sector to cuddle favors on governments to loosen their grip on stringent conditions on business
practices?

KEY WORDS: Corporate Social Responsibility, Governance, Public Administration, South Africa

INTRODUCTION

Contemporary South Africa is a state and a country of contradictions. It is a country well-endowed with
natural resources, relatively cheap labor and; a well-established corporate sector. The political
emancipation in 1994 was met with much fun-fare and promises and expectations of economic freedom.
What escaped the political and economic discourse of the majority of the citizens was the damage
inflicted by business practices on the most vulnerable of the society. The majority were looking and
expecting the state to provide services that were denied during the colonial and infamous apartheid
system, without taking the challenge to the corporate sector. The transformation of the state was meant to
bring a better life, with government expected to redirect the resources where they were needed, but the
underlying ideology underpinning the reform initiatives had other consequences. Looking into the role the
corporate sector could play to alleviate poverty, the notion of corporate social responsibility entered the
fray, but as the discussion would demonstrate, not much could be expected in view of the voluntary
nature of its practice in South Africa. This is a theoretical paper, it will start by exploring governance and
public administration and how is has been transformed and continue to be challenged by the corporate
sector; also the notion of corporate social responsibility will be analyzed and; a synopsis of the South
African scenario.

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GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A CONTESTED TERRAIN IN
GOVERNMENT-BUSINESS RELATIONS

The role and size of government in the economy and the society in general has been and, continue to be
fiercely contested. This is due to the global waves of public sector reforms for the past three decades. This
was due in part, to the unrelenting challenge to the traditional ways of thinking about government and,
efforts to refute the conventional wisdom on governance and public administration (Farazmand: 2007;
Diale, Maserumule, Mello: 2007; Caulfield: 2006). These efforts culminated in the emergence of
reformist initiatives, coerced and self-initiated, such as “agencification”, privatization, contracting-out,
public-private partnerships and what Farazmand (2007) refers to as the orthodoxy of New Public
Management (NPM).

These initiatives are predominantly attributed to the neo-liberal revival in the 1970’s after the economic
crisis which followed the massive rise in oil prices (Batley & Larbi: 2004). This neo-liberalism paradigm
was further expanded to the countries of the developing world through donor agencies, multilateral
institutions like the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the two main institutions
which became the main propagators of the “Washington Consensus”; a panoply of precepts to do with the
liberalization, privatization and stabilization of economies, and the reduction of the role and scale of the
public sector. This led to the development and expansion of the notion of globalization and global
reforms, a global quest of multinational corporations to claim global leadership on western capitalism, a
process which Farazmand (2007) refers to as “Globalization of the Corporate Capitalism”. In this case,
the private sector was positioned to play a leading and dominant role in public life of any state, regardless
of its political, social, economic or cultural imperatives, (Minogue: 2003).

In the quest for adjusting the role of the state in the developing countries, some critical aspects come to
bear; they are: (1) the question of ownership – who conceives, drives and support reform? (2) the
uniformity of application – the main tenets of state withdrawal and adjustment was first developed to
adjust to fiscal crisis in advanced welfare states, were applied to countries with very different
circumstances whose only common feature was debt and, (3) the adjustment has often been implemented
in an unbalanced way, leading to deeper crisis and poverty at least in the short term, (Batley & Larbi:
2004, Minogue: 2003).

The fundamental points of relevance to administrative reform are several but, according to Faranzmand
(2007: 364) the most important of which is a globally implemented comprehensive set of reforms should
(a)facilitate the process of change and continuity in world capitalism toward a more cohesive and well-
coordinated global organization of corporate capitalism, (b) shrink the size and reduce the functions of the
state and governments worldwide, whereas at the same time, expand the role, functions, and scope of
activities of the business-private sector dominated by the corporate organizational arrangements; (c)
position the societies / countries for favorable operations of the global corporate capitalist systems by
deregulations of environment, relaxation of labor laws, and deregulation of workplaces, (d) dismantle the
welfare administrative state and replace it with the corporate welfare state; (e) establish a system of global
corporate dependency through “agencification” – outsourcing and contracting; (f) establish a global
corporate hegemony with the power concentrated in the West. It is in the context of the above exploration
that, the energy invested in the global reform movement for the last three or so decades was not only on
the pretext that; state organs were incapable (inefficient) of delivering, in the best possible manner, those
goods and services for the general welfare of the society. Instead, every efforts were made to ensure that

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the initial ideological claim of inefficiency by the state apparatus were to be extended to even the core and
heart of governments around the world, a situation described by George Monbiot (2001) as “The Captive
State” wherein the entire public sphere has been taken over for profit and capital accumulation by the
corporate business organizations.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: A POSTULATE FOR ETHICAL AND
RESPONSIBLE IN BUSINESS OR PRAXIS OF EVIL?

Jamali & Mirshak (2006) postulate that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) got heightened interest as
a result of the advent of globalization and international trade, which reflected in increased business
complexity and new demands for enhanced transparency and corporate citizenship. The concept among
others has attracted the following expressions; it is commitment of business to contribute to sustainable
economic development, working with employees, their families and the local communities (Blowfield &
Frynas: 2005: 501), the fundamental idea being that business corporations have an obligation to work
towards meeting the needs of a wider array of stakeholders. CSR, according to these authors, is founded
on a stronger recognition of the role of business as an active partner in a world of scarcity and dwindling
resources (Jamali & Mirshak: 2006: 244).

The notion of CSR has not been uniformly embraced, with lingering diverging views about its potential
usefulness and applicability. This is mainly because government, civil society and business all to some
extent see CSR as a bridge connecting the arenas of business and development, and increasingly discuss
CSR programs in terms of their contribution to development (Blowfield & Frynas: 2005, Jamali &
Mirshak: 2006: 244). The discussion on CSR is not the homogeneous, coherent concept that is often
presented as being. Indeed, one concern is that the use of the term has become so broad as to allow people
to interpret and adopt it for many different purposes (Fig: 2005, Banerjee: 2008, Windsor: 2006). This
vagueness, according to Blowfield & Frynas (2005), restricts CSR’s usefulness both as an analytical tool
and as a guide for decision makers. However, an inclusive definition as an umbrella term for a variety of
theories and practices recognize the following; (a) that companies have a responsibility for their impact
on society and the natural environment, sometimes beyond legal compliance and the liability of
individuals; (b) that companies have a responsibility for the behavior of others with whom they do
business; and (c) that business needs to manage its relationship with wider society, whether for reasons of
commercial viability or to add value to society.

According to Banerjee (2008), CSR is nothing else other than an emancipatory rhetoric, defined by
narrow business interest and serve to curtail interests of external stakeholders. It is an ideological
movement that is intended to legitimize the power of large corporations. The argument is that, whereas
the primary relationship between business and society has been and continues to be an economic one,
rising public concern about the social the social and environmental impacts of their business activity, this
discourse represents and construct the relationship between business and society based on corporate
interests, not societal one. In any case, Banerjee (2008: 61) maintains, corporate rationality dictates the
nature and scope of acceptable CSR practices engineering the inevitable compromise of making a
business case for corporate social responsibility. Further, the rhetoric of corporate social responsibility
also seems to confuse democracy with capitalism in that, multinational corporations have assumed the
role of “carrier of democratic values” and have often taken the role of governments in the countries of the
third world as in the case of Shell in Nigeria (Banerjee: 2008). The following section is an attempt to
unpack the intents, purpose and outlook of corporate social responsibility, the South African version.

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE COUNTRY AT THE
MERCY OF THE CORPORATE INDUCEMENT.

The case of South Africa is an interesting episode. Prior to the 1994 democratic dispensation, the business
sector (in particular mining and agriculture) was at the fore front of the up-keep of the now defunct
Apartheid system of government in areas of migrant labor system, dehumanizing single-sex hostels, the
racial division of labor and discriminatory salary system, among others. The sector had an uninhibited
free ride in conducting its business eschewing the social, moral and ethical imperatives as per the
prescripts of the corporate social responsibility agenda.

As Fig (2005: 599-600) further points out, big businesses helped out in sanctions-busting operations,
received subsidies and paid taxes to the apartheid state and provided services, technologies and weapons
directly used for oppression of the majority black population and any other grouping that was considered
unfriendly to the regime at the time. If one were to use the analogy of corporate social responsibility
punting big business to be moral and responsible agents (as outlined by Carroll : 1979 and Wood: 1991)
out of their own free will, then morality and responsibility defining corporate social responsibility should
be having a different connotation to that of South Africa’s big business of the time. Or alternatively, as
some would want the world to believe in the post-1994 miracle of the Mandela presidency, has big
business undergone a radical transformation to depict the image as described within the literature and
discourse of corporate social responsibility? The answer to this question is a complicated one, but an
attempt will be made to get an evasive answer.

It needs to be pointed out that, the post 1994 democratic government under the African National Congress
(ANC), was prepared and coached for the management of the country by the very corporate sector / big
business that propelled the apartheid government. Literature is abound in this regard where in big
business, having realized the inevitable about the apartheid system, began consultations with the
government-in-waiting in Lusaka regarding the prospects of economic direction under their rule (Fatton:
1984, Andreasson: 2006, Fig: 2005). What is evident is that South Africa under the ANC rule did not
shed much of the neo-liberal and capitalist orientation as it persisted under the apartheid system and; the
business community which made profits on the back of human rights violations was unconditionally
embraced and absolved of any culpability, without the victims being compensated. What was more
shocking and baffled even the worst of skeptics, any litigation by victims of corporate injustices were met
with opposition from the post-apartheid government. The neo-liberal and capitalist orientation referred to
above could be observed from the cosmetic transformation initiatives on the economic front. This could
be seen from (a) the abandonment of the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) a development
oriented redistribution program in favor of the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) a
monetary program induced by the world’s financial sector; (b) the introduction of the Broad Based Black
Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) which facilitated the creation of the few black capitalists, majority of
whom are politically connected the ruling elite; (c) sweeping privatization; (d) deregulation and; (e) trade
liberalization. This was a clear sign and indication of the government that, contrary to initial policy
positions of redistribution, the private sector was assured that that would not likely to happen. It is no
wonder that even the notion and practice of corporate social responsibility was and continues to be
redefined and informed by global trends and attitudes (see Corporate Social Responsibility – As practiced
by South African and German Companies).

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To give a glimpse of the CSR in South Africa, it would be worthwhile to give a prelude to such efforts as
postulated by the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the document does
not even have a concise definition of what CSR mean, instead an array of views are expressed including
those of the European Commission (EC), International Standards Organization (ISO). The emphasis is on
“a balanced approach for organizations to address economic, social and environmental issues in a way
that aims to benefit people” (Boddenberg & Aletter:nd: 12). The system as applied in South Africa is
completely voluntary in that, companies are not compelled to have CSR policies, if they do have such
policies, they will determine the principles which companies are following and the programmes they have
put in place suitable to their own specific criteria, they can take a variety of formats and may address any
issue. The abysmal history of corporate South Africa during apartheid and the subsequent years of the
new dispensation as Fig (2005: 601) puts it; eschews the notion of “corporate social responsibility”,
despite the wide usage of this term among practitioners and the literature. Instead, it favors concepts
“corporate social investment” and “corporate citizenship”: concepts that ask no questions about legacy,
memory, history, justice, or moral and ethical responsibilities. According to Banerjee (2008: 62-63) the
concern that corporate citizenship discourses could have the effect of reducing governmental scrutiny of
corporate practices because they promote a particular form of self-governance, which has the potential of
opening of what is referred to as “pathways to greed”, given the enormous power that large multinational
companies wield. What has also become a regular practice from some companies whose actions the
environment has been at the receiving end, the practice of “green-washing” as perfected by for example,
Sappi, Mondi, (see Fig: 2005: 599-617). Sappi for example, has a reputation as green-oriented, because of
the resources it devotes to widely distributed nature publications and other numerous environmental
projects.

It is in the light of the above exposition that, a country like South Africa, with its history of social,
political and economic discrimination, propelled by the corporate sector, there is a need for a thorough
examination and interrogation about the expected role by the corporate sector in bringing about genuine
change to the communities that bore the brunt of their indiscretion. The role of government cannot be
over-emphasized in this case since most of the reform initiatives are to a greater extent, informed by the
private sector interests in their quest for global economic domination. Regardless of the varied views on
what fundamentally is constitute socially responsible private sector, the reality on the ground is that, the
vocabulary of corporate social responsibility will remain. As the practice is currently unfolding, the
power-relation between the government and the private sector are skewed and unbalanced in favour of the
corporate sector, governments have been stripped off most of their sovereign powers and responsibilities.
This is in part due to the multilateral agreements and treaties that have over the years been pursued by
institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organizations.

CONCLUSION

The contention of this paper is that corporate social responsibility can and has the potential to create
healthy government-business relations, provided it is not utilized for political expediency. As the
exposition has attempted, South Africa with its chequered history will require tremendous amount of
efforts in bringing the corporate sector on board for its developmental agenda. This exploration, for it to
make a meaningful contribution to body of knowledge on the corporate social responsibility and public
administration, necessitates a empirical study to gauge and determine the extent of commitment by
private business toward the developmental of South Africa.

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REFERENCES

Andreasson S, (2006) “The African National Congress and its Critics: Predatory Liberalism, Black
Empowerment and Intra-Alliance Tensions in Post Apartheid South Africa”, Democratization, vol. 13 (2,
April).

Banerjee SB, (2008) “Corporate Social Responsibility: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, Critical
Sociology, vol. 34 (1).

Batley R & Larbi G (2004) “The Changing Role of Government: The Reform in Public Services in
Developing Countries”, Palgrave macmillan.

Blowfield M & Frynas JG (2005) “Setting new agenda: critical perspectives on Corporate Social
Responsibility in the developing world”, International Affairs, vol. 81 (3).

Caulfield JL (2006) “The Politics of Bureau Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Public Administration and
Management: The International Journal of Management Research and Practice, Vol. 26 (1, Feb).

Diale AJ, Maserumule, Mello DM (2007) “Public Sector Administrative Reforms and Accountable: A
Marriage of Inconvenience”, Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 42 (7, Nov).

Farazmand A, (2007) “Global Administrative Reforms and Transformation of Governance and Public
Administration, in Handbook of Globalization, Governance, and Public Administration, Faranzmand A &
Pinkowski J (eds), Taylor & Francis.

Fatton Jnr. R (1984) “The African National Congress of South Africa: The Limitations of a Revolutionary
Strategy”, Canadian Journal of African Studies, vol.18 (3).

Fig D, (2005) “Manufacturing amnesia: Corporate Social Responsibility in South Africa”, International
Affairs, vol. 81 (3).

Jamali D & Mirshak R, (2006) “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and Practice in a
Developing Country Context”, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 72 (3, May).

Minogue M (2003) “Smart Solutions or Fatal Remedies? The Politics of Public Management Reform”.
Paper presented the Winelands Conference.

Republic of South Africa (nd) “Corporate Social Responsibility in South Africa: As practiced by South
African and German Companies”. Department of Social Development, South Africa.

Windsor D, (2006) “Corporate Social Responsibility: Three Key Approaches”, Journal of Management
Studies, vol,43 (1, Jan)

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AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION AT A CROSSROAD
Maskooki, Kooros, Western New Mexico University
Kevin Maskooki, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

ABSTRACT

The seeds of modern American higher education were originally planted during the 17th and 18th
centuries. It was patterned after the British concept of the liberal arts education. Initially, U.S. colleges,
like their British counterparts, were generally elitist church-sponsored private colleges. The mission of
these institutions was to develop societal leaders who learned the art of living and leadership in order to
run the country. These institutions provided a classical education for the wealthy elite of society. The
elitist private colleges gradually became out of place. America needed entrepreneurs, a highly skilled
labor force in medicine, nursing, engineering, farming, and crafts; the necessary ingredients, which the
status quo educational system could not supply. With less than 1% of the U.S. population having access to
higher education, the rest of the population was shut out of this opportunity. There was a dire need for a
new educational system and an emergence of a new social paradigm. Hence, the land grant university
concept was developed to “serve the society”.

Despite the higher education’s enormous contributions to the welfare of the American society,
increasingly, the status of public higher education has become compromised, in recent years. There
seems to be a national bewilderment regarding the role of higher education in America. This issue has
accelerated in the wake of the current financial crisis. Questions are raised regarding the essence and
role of higher education in the United States; does higher education serve the individual and societal
needs and expectations? Should college curriculum concentrate on training students in marketable fields
of study and drop programs in arts and classics? Should American higher education be accessible to all
people, or should we market it to a select few who are either exceptionally bright or wealthy?
Interestingly, similar confusion about the mission and role of the university in the American culture
existed in the 19th century that led to the creation of the land grant university

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STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING YOUR RESEARCH
QUALITY
Terrance Jalbert, University of Hawaii-Hilo
GETTING AN IDEA
 Maintain a running list of your ideas.
 Every time you have a few minutes, go to your list and ask yourself, in the next 30 minutes how
can I advance one of these ideas.
SELECTING A PARTNER
 There are advantages to working on your own.
 Select someone with the right characteristics
 Hard Worker
 Willing to do their share of the work
 Someone with time to conduct research
 Intelligent
 Mutual Interests
 Cooperative
 Likely to reciprocate
 Good research partners are hard to find. Don’t abuse a good research partner.
 Start only one paper at a time with a new research partner.
 Be patient with your research partner. They have a life and due to births, illnesses and other life
events, they may not be on your schedule.
 Recognize on some projects you will do most of the work. On others, your partner may do most
of the work.
 Use caution when selecting one of the professors from your Ph.D. program as a research partner.
HOW MANY AUTHORS ON A PAPER?
 Two or three authors are good.
 Four authors is not good but can be ok.

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 More than four authors looks bad.
WRITING YOUR MANUSCRIPT
 Use only Microsoft Word to type your document.
 Using free Word clones causes significant problems in the publication process.
 Files created in another program and copied or saved as a Microsoft Word file cause significant
problems in the publication process.
 Unless the journal specifically requests otherwise, use the standard Microsoft Word equation
editor.
 Use only Microsoft spreadsheets and Microsoft
drawing programs.
 Back up your files on a daily basis.
 Organization
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Literature Review
 Data and Methodology
 Results
 Concluding Comments
 Title
Descriptive and no more than 15 words.
Write a strong title
Strong Words:
Empirical, Evidence
Weak Words:
Analysis, Case
Use Key Words from your Discipline

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Think about what will look good on your vita.
ABSTRACT
 General Introduction to your paper
 The goal is to precisely communicate to the reader what the paper is about.
 Not more than 200 words
 Do not use acronyms
 Generally do not cite other papers in the abstract
INTRODUCTION
 A brief introduction to the problem being addressed.
 Include some summary statistics of the magnitude of the problem.
 One paragraph discussion of the general state of the literature.
 What you are going to do in the paper to advance the literature.
 A few lines indicating how the remainder of the document is organized.
LITERATURE REVIEW
 As a general rule do not cite magazines.
 Use scholar.google.com
 SSRN www.ssrn.com
 Narrow your literature review down to those articles that directly relate to the issue you are
addressing in your paper.
 Make sure that everything you cite in the text is included in your reference section.
 Make sure that everything you reference is cited in the body of the text.
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
 Where the data was obtained from?
 Time period covered in the analysis?
 Frequency of the data observations?

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 Variables that the data were collected for?
 Summary statistics.
 Hypotheses that are being tested.
 For regressions, specify the equation being estimated in the text of the document.
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
 For Surveys indicate
 Questions included in your survey? (Consider including the survey instrument as an
appendix to the paper)
 When was the survey conducted?
 Where was the survey conducted?
 What was the response rate?
 What are the total number of usable observations?
 Did you received human subject research permission from your University?
RESULTS
 Make sure to introduce each table and figure you present in the text of your document.
 Walk the reader through the results.
 Select an observation in your table and explain that observation to the reader.
 Incorporate data into MS Word tables.
 Segregate your data when possible to get additional results,
by gender, age, country, region, year, industry, before and after a crises.
TABLES
 Don’t create small one or two line tables.
 Include information directly in the document text.
 Combine several small tables into a single table with multiple panels.
 Do not use exponential notation (3.2E-5).
 Display appropriate precision

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0.0021, 1.134, 10.22, 100.6, 1,049
Table Description
 Make sure to include a 3-6 line description below your tables. The reader should be able to
understand what is contained in the table without referring back to the text of the document.
 This description is not to replace the discussion in the text, but to supplement the discussion in the
text.
 Redundancy is ok in this case.
This table shows the results of the regressions on CEO compensation using data from 2004. The
estimated equation is: CEO Compensation=a + b1(CEO age) + b2(years with company). The first figure
in each cell is the regression coefficient. The second figure in each cell is the t-statistic. ***, ** and *
indicate significance at the 1, 5, and 10 percent levels respectively.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
 Reiterate the goal of your paper.
 Briefly describe the test methodology and data.
 Briefly summarize your major findings.
 Discus how managers might benefit from the results.
 Discuss any limitations of your work.
 Provide suggestions for future research.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 Do acknowledge anyone that has helped you with the paper.
 Colleagues, Administrators, Funding Agencies, Assistants, Reviewers, Editors.
 It is a nice courtesy to the reviewers and editor.
 It subtly communicates to colleagues the journal is
peer reviewed.
 Few people will be insulted if you acknowledge them but should not have.
 Many will be insulted if you do not acknowledge them but should have.
 Make sure to indicate that any remaining errors are the authors responsibility.

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 If someone has contributed substantially to your paper consider making them a co-author on the
paper rather than just acknowledging them.
BIOGRAPHY
 Your biography should indicate your employer, your publication history, contact information and
any other important information.
 Do not make your biography excessively detailed.
 Tom Tetertall, Ph.D. is Professor of Management at the University of East Hawaii. He is also an
arbitrator for the Human Ethics Commission. His research appears in journals including:
Diversity Review, Management Styles, and Latino Business Review. He can be contacted at:
University of East Hawaii, COB, 400 W. 2nd St., Kauai Hawaii, 96333, USA, email:
tomt@NHI.edu.
FORMATTING
 Editors are looking for papers that are high quality. But they also look for papers that will not
add an excessive burden to their work load.
 They look for authors that will be pleasant to work with on revisions and in the publication
process.
 A properly formatted and written paper communicates to the editor that you will be pleasant to
work with, thereby increasing your chance of publication.
 Check the journal style guidelines to make sure you have the paper formatted properly.
 Be sure figures and tables are editable in Word
 Anything created or imported as an image is problematic.
 Anything that is scanned needs to be recreated.
 Make sure that figures and tables are legible.
 If you are unable to edit it in MS Word it should be recreated.
 When copying from Excel into word make sure to use the “Paste Special”, “Paste as
Chart” Command so it can be edited in MS Word.
 Avoid one-sentence paragraphs.
 Avoid one-paragraph sections.
 If you have subsections underneath a main section, start the main section by indicating how the
subsections are laid out.

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 Bullet lists do not appear well in journals.
 Longer lists should be placed in a table. Then reference the table in the text of the
document.
 Shorter lists should be incorporated directly into the text.
 Make sure your references are formatted according to journal guidelines.
 Do not use text boxes
 Do not use section breaks.
 Do not use text levels
WRITING
 Use the grammar checker in MS Word.
 Use an advanced writing editor:
 Stylewriter **
 Whitesmoke.
 Write in third person active voice when possible.
 Give it to a friend to read.
WORKING WITH THE EDITOR
 Submission
 Leave your document set for 1-2 weeks between completion and submission. Give the
document a final read before submission.
 Indicate in your submission correspondence that the paper is not under review elsewhere
and has not been published elsewhere.
 Never EVER submit a document to two journals simultaneously.
 Correspondence
 Don’t ask the editor every week for a status update. (every 2-3 months is sufficient)
 If you are close to a tenure or promotion decision, do let the editor know. Editors are
human and will commonly try to get the review completed prior to the promotion
decision date.

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 Use submission numbers in all correspondences.
 Be courteous when corresponding with the editor.
 Publishing is to a certain degree political. Be willing to review papers for the journal.
 Reputation
 Your reputation is very important, so make sure you leave the best possible impression,
even if your paper is rejected.
 Our industry is small. Editors remember if you were especially easy or especially hard to
work with.
Nonresponsive Editors
 After 3 months, ask if there is any additional information you can provide.
 After 6 and 9 months request that the editor send a reminder to the reviewers.
 After 1 year send the editor a status check email.
 After one year and two weeks, if the editor has not responded, send them a letter withdrawing
your paper from publication consideration and try elsewhere.
REVIEWER AND EDITOR COMMENTS
 Respond to revise and resubmit requests as quickly as possible, but take sufficient time to
complete the requested changes.
 Set the revised manuscript down for a week and reread the paper before submitting it.
 Do not send the exact same version back to the editor without having addressed the reviewer
concerns.
 Do not respond rudely.
 Prepare a document that indicates how you have addressed each of the reviewers concerns.
 Your document should review each change the reviewer has requested and your response to each
request individually.
 Reviewer Comment: In your data section please indicate the number of observations.
 Author Response: Thank you for your suggestion. We have incorporated a sentence indicating
the number of observations on page 22 as follows. “The data included 2,436 usable
observations.”

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 In the event you are not able to address a reviewers concern. Explain carefully why you are not
making the changes, and request the reviewers understanding. Acknowledge the issue in the
paper and note it as a limitation, or area for future research.
ACCEPTANCES
 Make sure to read the page proofs carefully.
 Pay any fees due.
 Publishing is expensive, but it is a necessary evil.
 You have invested a great deal of your time in the research, the publication fee is a small
part of your total investment in the project.
 Expect some time between acceptance and publication.
REJECTIONS
 Rejections happen.
 Don’t be discouraged by a rejection. Rejections are part of the process.
 Make any changes that the editor and reviewers suggest and submit the paper to a different
journal.

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SPANISH PROCEEDINGS

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CARACTERIZACIÓN Y MODELADO DE REDES:
ÍNDICES FINANCIEROS MUNDIALES
Linda Margarita Medina Herrera, Tecnológico de Monterrey CCM.
Ernesto Pacheco Velázquez, Tecnológico de Monterrey CCM.

RESUMEN

En este artículo revisaremos las principales herramientas que permiten analizar las características
estadísticas y topológicas de redes financieras. Presentamos un estudio de la correlación de los
principales índices financieros mundiales mediante un árbol de expansión mínima construido en un
periodo de 6.5 años. Se encuentra que índice francés CAC 40 constituye el centro de masa del árbol. Los
índices son clasificados dependiendo de su distancia al centro de masa. Finalmente se muestra un
análisis de los conglomerados formados por los índices.

JEL: C02, C22, C38, C45, C61,C81,D85

PALABRAS CLAVES: Redes Financieras. Econofísica. Correlación. Árboles de expansión mínima.

CHARACTERIZATION AND MODELING OF NETWORKS: GLOBAL

ABSTRACT

We review the main tools, which allow for statistical and topological characterization of financial
networks. The correlation between de main world financial indexes is studied by using a minimum
spanning tree built over a period of 6.5 years. It is found that France’s CAC 40 index is the center of mass
of the tree. Indexes are classified depending on their distance from the center of mass. Finally, we show
an analysis of the clusters formed by the indexes.

JEL: C02, C22, C38, C45, C61,C81,D85

KEYWORDS: Minimal spanning tree. Econophysics.Weighted networks. Correlations. Financial index.

INTRODUCCIÓN

En los últimos años han aumentado las investigaciones en temas relacionados a la globalización de la
economía mundial, sin embargo es mucho lo que queda por estudiar sobre sus orígenes y consecuencias.
Grandes crisis y colapsos económicos y financieros de un país son, en muchas ocasiones, atribuibles a
acontecimientos recientes en otros países. Se ha visto que los efectos de la crisis de Asia se transmiten a
América Latina por canales comerciales y financieros; de igual manera, la crisis hipotecaria de Estados
Unidos golpeó las bolsas internacionales.

En este trabajo se presenta un estudio de la correlación de 45 de los principales índices financieros
mundiales, mediante la construcción y el análisis de un árbol de expansión mínima. Mediante el cálculo
del vértice central del árbol y otras medidas importantes en las redes, se determina el índice que presenta
mayor relación con los demás y los conglomerados que se forman entre ellos.

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REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA

Los trabajos fundamentales en redes financieras aparecen a finales de los ochenta. El concepto de grafos
en el ambiente de mercados financieros fue introducido por Mategna, Bonano y otros (1989) como un
método para encontrar arreglos jerárquicos de acciones a través del estudio de conglomerados de
compañías. Los árboles de expansión mínima han sido usados para optimizar portafolios (Bonano, 2004)
usando el hecho de que los activos del portafolio óptimo de Markowitz están prácticamente todo el
tiempo en las ramas externas del árbol.

Algunas medidas topológicas han sido definidas, con el fin de caracterizar los árboles y clasificar los
vértices dependiendo de sus distancias a un vértice especial que simula el centro de masa del árbol (M.
Barthélemy, A. Barrat, R. Pastor-Satorras, 2005). Algunos estudios empíricos han mostrado que estas
medidas son altamente susceptibles a las crisis del mercado y que clasifican los sectores económicos de
acuerdo a su importancia relativa en el árbol (Medina, L. Mansilla, R. ,2007) y (Medina, L. Díaz, B.
,2011).

Árboles De Expansión Mínima

El árbol de expansión mínima se construye a partir de la matriz de correlación 𝐶𝑖𝑗, de tamaño NxN, de los
precios de cierre de los índices de los diferentes países seleccionados (N=45 en nuestro estudio). La
matriz se construye de acuerdo a la siguiente fórmula:

𝐶𝑖𝑗 =
1
𝑇
∑ 𝛿𝑥𝑖(𝑡)𝛿𝑥𝑗(𝑡)𝑇𝑡=1 (1)

donde T es el número de días cotizados (longitud de las series de tiempo) y 𝛿𝑥𝑖(𝑡) son los rendimientos
normalizados de cada índice. El rendimiento 𝛿𝑋𝑖(𝑡)

del índice financiero 𝑆𝑖(𝑡) se define como 𝛿𝑋𝑖(𝑡) = ln 𝑆𝑖(𝑡 + ∆𝑡) − ln 𝑆𝑖(𝑡). Para poder detectar
similitudes en el patrón de los rendimientos en diferentes países, es necesario normalizar los rendimientos
utilizando la media ⟨Xi(t)⟩ y la varianza (volatilidad) empírica de cada serie. De esta manera:

𝛿𝑥𝑖(𝑡) =
𝛿𝑋𝑖(𝑡)−⟨𝛿𝑋𝑖(𝑡)⟩
�𝛿𝑋𝑖
2(𝑡)−⟨𝛿𝑋𝑖(𝑡)⟩2
(2)

Para construir el árbol de expansión mínima, se usará la distancia euclidiana 𝑑𝑖𝑗 = �2(1 − 𝐶𝑖𝑗). Debido a
que −1 ≤ 𝐶𝑖𝑗 ≤ 1 , se tiene que 0 ≤ 𝑑𝑖𝑗 ≤ 2. Note que si dos índices están perfectamente
correlacionados (𝐶𝑖𝑗 = 1) la distancia entre ellos es 0, y, si están “anticorrelacionados” (𝐶𝑖𝑗 = −1) su
distancia es 2.

Un árbol de expansión es una gráfica de N objetos (vértices o nodos) unidos por N-1 arcos que permiten
ir de un vértice a cualquier otro. Si cada arco representa una distancia o costo, o en general si a cada arco
se le asocia un peso (número real), la suma de los pesos de todos los lados de un árbol, será el peso total
del árbol. Un árbol de expansión mínima es un árbol de expansión que minimiza el peso total del árbol.
Revisaremos brevemente las diferentes medidas y parámetros que nos permitirán una primera
caracterización estadística de los árboles.

Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012

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Grado del vértice: El grado del vértice i, es el número de nodos que están conectados directamente al
nodo i, esto es, el número de elementos que integran la vecindad de i , (V(i)).
Fortaleza del vértice: la fortaleza del vértice si se define así:

𝑠𝑖 = ∑ 𝑑𝑖𝑗𝑗∈𝑉(𝑖) (3)

La fortaleza del vértice integra la información de su conectividad y de la importancia de los pesos de sus
vértices conectados.

Nivel del vértice: El nivel vij es la suma de los arcos que hay que pasar sobre el árbol para ir del vértice i
al vértice j.

El Promedio de ocupación: es la distancia promedio del vértice vi a los demás vértices, esto es:

𝑙(𝑣𝑖) =
1
𝑁
∑ 𝑣𝑖𝑗𝑛𝑗=1 (4)

El nodo con promedio de ocupación más baja es el centro de masa del árbol.

El vértice central: El vértice central es considerado como el padre de todos los vértices del árbol o
también como la raíz del mismo. Este se usa como punto de referencia en el árbol, contra el cual la
posición de los demás vértices es relativa. Hay un poco de arbitrariedad en la elección del vértice central,
sin embargo los siguientes criterios pueden ayudar a escoger al mejor candidato: El vértice de mayor
grado, el vértice de mayor fortaleza y/o el centro de masa.

El Árbol Empírico

Las series de tiempo que conforman la base de datos para este estudio están formadas por los precios de
cierre diario de 45 índices: América del Norte (6), América del Sur y el Caribe (7), Europa Occidental (8),
Europa Oriental (7), África (6), Asia y Australia (11) en el periodo comprendido entre 01/01/2005 y
27/09/2011. El árbol de expansión mínima fue construido con el algoritmo de Kruskal y la gráfica usando
el software para redes pajek.

De acuerdo a la Tabla 1, los índices que obtienen mejor clasificación corresponden al CAC 40 de Francia,
el HSI de Hong Kong, el AS51 de Australia y el S&P500 de USA. Cada uno de ellos lidera un
conglomerado geográfico importante. De acuerdo al grado, fortaleza y promedio de ocupación, el vértice
central es el índice CAC 40. Es importante notar que las tres medidas coinciden al elegir El grado y la
fortaleza del vértice pueden ser influenciados no sólo por variables económicas y financieras sino por
cuestiones geográficas y horario de apertura de las bolsas.

El nivel del vértice parece ser una medida más adecuada en este contexto para seleccionar el vértice
central. La Figura 1 Muestra el árbol de expansión mínima de los índices financieros. El centro de masa
del árbol se lo disputan Francia y Hong Kong. En el árbol se distinguen claramente tres grandes
conglomerados: el de América del Norte, liderado por S&P500 de USA, El de Europa Occidental liderado
por CAC40 de Francia y el de Asia y Australia liderado por HSI de Hong Kong.

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Un cuarto conglomerado, el más pequeño de todos, corresponde a países Suramericanos, que parecen
tener más influencia de los índices Europeos que de los Norteamericanos. Los índices de países Africanos
no forman conglomerados al igual que los índices de los países de Europa Oriental. Los resultados
obtenidos por el índice venezolano lo clasifican como un índice atípico.

Un estudio posterior podrá incluir árboles de índices en el tiempo, con la intención de observar los
cambios en la taxonomía del árbol con las crisis del mercado y la influencia del horario en el vértice
central.
Tabla 1: Medidas para seleccionar el Vértice Central del árbol

Pais Indice Grado Fortaleza Prom. Ocupación
USA 2 S&P500 4 1.92 4.60
Brasil BOVESPA 2 1.44 3.50
UK FTSE 250 4 3.00 2.85
Francia CAC 40 12 7.70 2.40
Portugal BVLX 3 2.86 2.94
Polonia WIG 3 2.50 2.52
Hungría BUX 2 1.99 3.24
Sudáfrica JALSH 1 0.76 3.59
Hong Kong HSI 6 5.31 2.81
Corea del sur KRX100 2 1.53 3.54
Australia AS51 5 4.89 3.29
Esta tabla muestra los índices que obtuvieron los valores óptimos por región. Los cinco mejores clasificados son el CAC40, HSI de Hong Kong,
el AS51de Australia, El FTSE250 del Reino Unido y el S&P500 de USA. El CAC40 es el vértice con mayor grado y fortaleza y menor promedio
de ocupación, lo cual lo convierte en el vértice central del árbol.

México aparece influenciado mayormente por USA, pero también por Brasil quien obtuvo una buena
clasificación dentro de los índices Suramericanos.

Fig.1. El árbol de expansión mínima muestra a Francia como vértice central y cinco conglomerados geográficos. El conglomerado central está
liderado por el CAC40 de Francia.

CONCLUSIONES

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El índice CAC40 es el vértice central del árbol, el centro de masa. El árbol muestra cuatro
conglomerados, que coinciden con sectores geográficos. Los conglomerados son liderados por el CAC 40
de Francia, el HSI de Hong Kong, el AS51 de Australia y el S&P500 de USA, siendo los índices de
mayor influencia entre los estudiados.

REFERENCIAS

R.N. Mantegna, Hierarchical structure in financial markets, (1999) European Physical Journal B 11 193–
197.

G. Bonanno, G. Caldarelli, F. Lillo, R.N. Mantegna, Topology of correlation-based minimal spanning
trees in real and model markets, (2003) Physical Review E 68 046130.

G. Bonanno, N. Vandewalle, R.N. Mantegna, Taxonomy of stock market indices, (2000) Physical Review
E 62 R7615.

J.P. Onnela, A. Chakraborti, K. Kaski, J. Kertesz, A. Kanto, Dynamics of market correlations: Taxonomy
and portfolio analysis, (2003) Physical Review E 68 056110.

W.S. Jung, S. Chae, J.S. Yang, H.T. Moon, Characteristics of the korean stock market correlations,
(2006) Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications 361 263–271.
R.N. Mantegna, H.E. Stanley, An Introduction to Econophysics: Correlations and Complexity in Finance,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2000.

M. Tumminello, T. Aste, T. Di Matteo, R.N. Mantegna, Correlation based networks of equity returns
sampled at different time horizons, (2007) EPJB 55 209–217.

M. Barthélemy, A. Barrat, R. Pastor-Satorras, A. Vespignani, Characterization and modeling of weighted
networks, (2005) Physica A 346 34–43.

Medina, L. Mansilla, R. (2007) Un árbol de expansión mínima en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, Revista
de Administración, Finanzas y Economía (Journal of Management, Finance and Economics) (2007) vol.
1, issue 2, pages 116-124

Medina, L. Díaz, B. Caracterización y modelado de redes: el caso de la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores.
(2011) Revista de Administración, Finanzas y Economía (Journal of Management, Finance and
Economics) vol. 1, issue 1.

J. Saramaki, M. Kivela, J. Onnela, K. Kaski, J. Kertesz, Generalizations of the clustering coefficient to
weighted complex networks, Physical Review E 75(2007) 027105.

BIOGRAFIA

Linda Margarita Medina Herrera es doctora en Administración con especialidad en Finanzas, posee
maestría y licenciatura en Matemáticas. Es miembro del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores en México.
Departamento de Física y Matemáticas. Tecnológico de Monterrey, CCM. Del puente 222 Col. Ejidos de

http://econpapers.repec.org/article/egarafega/

http://econpapers.repec.org/article/egarafega/

http://econpapers.repec.org/article/egarafega/

http://econpapers.repec.org/article/egarafega/

Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012

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Huipulco Tlalpan, 14380, México, D.F. México. Phone (55) 54832190. Fax +52(55) 54832163.
linda.medina@itesm.mx

Ernesto Armando Pacheco Velázquez es doctor en Administración con especialidad en Administración de
Operaciones, posee una maestría en Ingeniería Industrial y maestría y licenciatura en Matemáticas.
Profesor universitario autor de diversos artículos de investigación arbitrados, instructor de diversos cursos
de educación continua empresas y consultor. Departamento Ingeniería Industrial. Tecnológico de
Monterrey CCM. Del puente 222 Col. Ejidos de Huipulco Tlalpan, 14380, México, D.F. México. Phone
(55) 54832190. Fax +52(55) 54832163. epacheco@itesm.mx

mailto:linda.medina@itesm.mx

mailto:epacheco@itesm.mx

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DESARROLLO DE UN MODELO PARA LA MEJORA
TANTO DE LA OFERTA DE PRODUCTOS COMO DEL
SERVICIO AL CLIENTE A TRAVES DE UN CALL
CENTER BANCARIO PROPIO COMO UN CANAL NO
TRADICIONAL DE SERVICIO Y VENTA DE
PRODUCTOS FINANCIEROS
Ruth Cavazos Arroyo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Cuauhtémoc Puente Muñoz, Universidad Panamericana

RESUMEN

Esta investigación desarrolla un modelo para la mejora tanto de la oferta de productos bancarios como
del servicio al cliente a través de un call center propio. El trabajo de campo se realizó a través de una
investigación no experimental y descriptiva, con información de una de las cuatro instituciones
financieras y bancarias más grandes de México a través del estudio de la operación del call center, del
Interactive Voice Response y el desempeño de los agentes telefónicos. Los resultados muestran que el
valor estratégico debe centrarse en las variables de apoyo al servicio, la lealtad y la recomendación;
asimismo el monitoreo y la colocación de productos resultan estratégicos para el desempeño óptimo de
los agentes y con ello poder convertirse en un centro de utilidades, respecto a otros canales tradicionales
y no tradicionales.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Contact center, Servicio, modelo estructural, ventas.

ABSTRACT

The subject of the present research is to develop a model to enhance the banking product portfolio offer
and the customer service rendered through an in-house or building in house call center. The fieldwork
was undertaken using a non-experimental and descriptive research, by analyzing data information from
one the largest financial institutions in Mexico to evaluate not only the call center´s core and the
interactive voice response´s operations but the telephone agent’s performance. The result of the final
research indicate that the strategic value should be focused not only in basic service components, loyalty
and recommendation, also on quality service monitoring and product allocation to obtain better agent´s
performance which will facilitate the movement or transformation from a cost center to a profit center
and differentiate it from other non-traditional channels (i.e. ATM´s, internet banking, mobile telephone
and mobile agents force).

INTRODUCCION

La Banca en México es un sector dinámico que se encuentra en constante evolución ya sea por los
cambios en el entorno o por la entrada de nuevos competidores tradicionales y no tradicionales. Su
evolución hay estado marcada por el cambio tecnológico y hacia una mayor globalización de las
operaciones financieras. En forma tradicional las sucursales han sido el principal punto de contacto con
los clientes, sin embargo, actualmente las instituciones financieras encuentran en los canales alternos

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(internet, cajeros automáticos, SMS o mensaje corto, personal como fuerza móvil y call centers) un medio
estratégico, eficiente y oportuno para establecer y fortalecer la relación con los actuales y potenciales
clientes. Este trabajo de investigación empírica se enfoca al desarrollo de un modelo para la mejora de la
oferta de productos del servicio de un call center de una de las cuatro mayores instituciones bancarias en
México. La importancia de un call center como canal alterno representa un área de oportunidad dado el
alto potencial de uso por parte de los clientes y la posibilidad de las empresas financieras de convertirlo
en un centro de utilidades al sustituir el servicio ofrecido en las sucursales, lograr esto requiere el análisis
profundo de tres elementos: los agentes, el servicio de tecnología a través del Interactive Voice Response
(IVR) y el servicio ofrecido a través del call center.

REVISION DE LA LITERATURA

La banca mexicana ha pasado por diversas etapas, es en la actualidad cuando más penetración de mercado
existe y más competencia por atraer y mantener a los clientes. En México existen 8717sucursales
bancarias y la industria emplea a 139,021 empleados en bancos y tienen 50.15 millones de cuentas de
captación (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, 2007). Por entidad federativa, con un mil 462
sucursales en operación, el Distrito Federal ocupa la primera posición, seguida del Estado de México con
781, Jalisco con 730 y Nuevo León con 615. En conjunto estas cuatro entidades concentran el 42.7% del
total de las sucursales. Por su parte, Tlaxcala y Campeche son las entidades con menor número de
sucursales en la actualidad con 49 y 55, respectivamente. Cabe indicar que del total de las sucursales en
operación, BBVA Bancomer posee el 20.8% con un total de un mil 754, le sigue Banamex con el 17.9%,
HSBC con 16.0%, Azteca con 12.4% y Banorte con el 11.8% cada uno. Incluyendo a Santander, estas
seis instituciones concentran 7 mil 584 sucursales, lo que significa el 90.2% de la red nacional.

Sin embargo, Aránguiz y Hernández (2007) muestran a través de un estudio realizado sobre la banca en
México que los clientes de la industria están lejos de sentirse satisfechos. Por ejemplo, el 51% estima que
la información que brindan las instituciones financieras es poco o nada transparente, uno de cada tres
desconoce el Costo Anual Total (CAT) de su tarjeta de crédito y en relación a la atención de los call
centers la media de la atención recibida es de 3.31 indicando que el servicio prestado es calificado como
regular y el valor agregado de los servicios recibidos ha sido calificado como “a medias” (2.69).
Diseño De La Investigacion
El presente trabajo de investigación se llevó a cabo con información de una de las cuatro instituciones
financieras y bancarias más grandes de México que cuenta con casi 1,400 sucursales, más de 5,500
cajeros automáticos y aproximadamente 8 millones de clientes. El Grupo Financiero en México es una
subsidiaria directamente controlada desde el extranjero, siendo además uno de los principales grupos
financieros a nivel mundial con más de 125 millones de clientes y alrededor de 10,000 oficinas en 83
países y territorios.
METODOLOGÍA

La presente es una investigación no experimental en la cual no se construye ninguna situación, sino que se
observan situaciones ya existentes, no provocadas intencionalmente en la investigación por quien la
realiza. Asimismo, es un estudio transaccional porque se recolectaron los datos en un solo momento. Su
propósito es describir los constructos y variables relacionados con aspectos clave de un Call Center
bancario y su incidencia e interrelación en un momento determinado en el tiempo. Además, es un estudio
descriptivo que tiene como objetivo indagar la incidencia de las modalidades o niveles las variables

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estudiadas del Call Center del “banco”. Esta investigación se basa en tres herramientas para la obtención
de los datos de análisis.

Muestreos

Respecto a la evaluación de los servicios del call center de “El banco”, se seleccionaron aleatoriamente
250 encuestas de cada uno de los dos meses y fueron entregadas al investigador. Finalmente se obtuvieron
los datos de desempeño de 48 agentes en agosto. Debe considerarse que varios de estos agentes son datos
repetidos entre un mes y otro. Es por esto que solamente se tomaron los datos del mes de agosto. Para la
evaluación de los servicios relacionados al call center se cuenta con 500 encuestas.

RESULTADOS

Análisis Descriptivo De Los Servicios Del Call Center

Esta primera parte de la investigación se llevó a cabo con información del servicio del Call Center, de
acuerdo a los resultados del análisis descriptivo se puede observar que la evaluación más baja (7.2) se da
con la rapidez, es decir, existe un área de oportunidad en el tiempo de atención del ejecutivo; siendo otras
de las variables mal evaluadas la recomendación (7.6) con la mayor variación con respecto al promedio
(3.0) y varianza (9.2), la accesibilidad y la seguridad. Por otro lado, la empatía muestra el mejor promedio
de evaluación (9.1), además de la menor desviación (1.7) así como la varianza (2.8), lo cual indica que los
agentes son amables y amigables con los clientes. Asimismo, las variables de operación del servicio
mejor evaluadas fueron el conocimiento y la efectividad, ambas con valores en desviaciones y varianzas
mejores que el resto de las variables operativas como la accesibilidad y la rapidez. Por otro lado, las
variables de apoyo al servicio muestran diferencias en la parte de la desviación y varianza, ya que la
empatía presenta una desviación baja (1.7) y la seguridad muestra uno de los valores más lejanos al
promedio (2.6).

Modelo Estructural

Se han utilizado ecuaciones estructurales para poner a prueba el modelo. Los resultados para el modelo
muestran un ajuste bueno (χ²= 1.38, df= 1, p= 0.2, RMSEA = .03 y IFI = .99). Todos los coeficientes son
significativos. Los coeficientes individuales para el modelo de call center muestran un efecto significativo
y positivo de la “operación del servicio” en satisfacción general, recomendación del servicio, y lealtad
(.73, .14, .23, p < .05, respectivamente). “Apoyo al servicio” también tiene un efecto positivo y significativo en la lealtad y recomendación del servicio (.40 y .17, p < .05, respectivamente). La satisfacción general afecta la lealtad y la recomendación del servicio de manera positiva y significativa (.26 y .09, p < .05, respectivamente). Por último, la lealtad también tiene un efecto positivo y significativo en la recomendación del servicio (.58, p <.05; figura 15 para todos los coeficientes). Modelo final para la mejora de la oferta de productos bancarios como del servicio al cliente a través de un call center propio A continuación se presenta el modelo completo después de haber analizado estadísticamente las relaciones de las variables. El modelo de call center se mantiene intacto. Sin embargo, en el modelo de IVR presenta dos modificaciones ya que se eliminaron las relaciones de operación y apoyo al servicio hacia la recomendación porque resultaron no significativas. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 785 Figura 1: Modelo final propuesto para mejora de la oferta de productos bancarios como del servicio al cliente a través de un call center propio Fuente: Elaboración propia DISCUSIÓN DE LOS RESULTADOS La cadena de valor de un call center bancario está compuesta de procesos tecnológicos, infraestructura, capital humano, servicios internos y operaciones. Esta sección discute los resultados encontrados de la medición de algunos de estos procesos con la finalidad de identificar su valor estratégico y su aportación a la estrategia enfocada en costos.La evaluación del servicio a través de canales no tradicionales -call center- implica la correcta identificación de las variables de apoyo y operación del servicio que permitan lograr la recomendación, fortalecimiento de la relación con clientes existentes, así como la penetración de nuevos clientes. De acuerdo a los resultados relacionados con la operación del servicio, dos variables requieren mayor atención que son: la rapidez y la accesibilidad lo cual implica que los usuarios del call center encontraron que el tiempo y la facilidad para atender su llamada es largo. De acuerdo con Friedman (2007), los servicios de call center siempre son aptos para mejorar en cuanto a la rapidez, lo cual involucra presiones relacionadas con la responsabilidad a incrementar los niveles de calidad (Kaplinsky y Morris, 2000). Con respecto a la vulnerabilidad de la accesibilidad, la institución financiera corre el riesgo de que los clientes regresen al canal tradicional de atención (ventanilla) lo que implicaría un incremento de costos por transacción (Rajagopal y Rajagopal, 2007). Adicionalmente que los empleados de ventanilla, no promoverán los canales alternos de contacto debido a la desconfianza generada (Harket, 1998). Las dos variables evaluadas de forma positiva y que constituyen los pilares en la operación del servicio del banco bajo análisis, debido a que son las que mayor peso tienen en el modelo estructural son: conocimiento y efectividad. La efectividad apalanca el modelo del call center de la institución financiera contribuyendo a evitar el re-trabajo y se encuentra fuertemente relacionada con la variable de apoyo denominada solución a la primera llamada (FCR). La segunda variable de apalancamiento de la operación del servicio es el conocimiento que opera mediante la toma de decisiones de los agentes para resolver problemas o inquietudes de los clientes (Jack et al., 2006). CONCLUSIONES Y RECOMENDACIONES Esta investigación ha propuesto y validado un modelo para la mejora tanto de la oferta como del servicio al cliente a través de un call center bancario propio como un canal no tradicional de servicio y venta. La Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 786 eficiente operación y gestión de tres dimensiones definen la generación de valor para incrementar el margen de ventas a través de un call center bancario: Interactive Voice Response (IVR), call center (telefónico) y agentes (telefónicos). Dentro de un call center e IVR bancarios existen tanto variables de operación como de apoyo al servicio. Para el call center se han identificado accesibilidad, rapidez, conocimiento y efectividad como parte de las variables de operación, las últimas dos son las que muestran mayor incidencia. Por otro lado, empatía, seguridad y solución a la primera llamada son las principales variables de apoyo, siendo la empatía la de mayor importancia. Tanto en el call center como en el Interactive Voice Response bancarios la satisfacción incide sobre la lealtad y la recomendación del servicio. Sin embargo, clientes satisfechos no necesariamente contribuyen a incrementar la rentabilidad de este canal alterno. Se requiere principalmente de la lealtad como un elemento estratégico que conduzca tanto a la repetición de la experiencia como a la recomendación del servicio para la generación de utilidades e incremento de ingresos en el canal. Una fortaleza del call center propio versus el call center tercerizado es la posibilidad de impactar en mayor medida en la lealtad de los clientes a través de la eficiencia del tiempo de respuesta y el incremento de mejoras en los servicios de apoyo. BIBLIOGRAFÍA Aránguiz, G. y Hernández U. (1 octubre de 2007), La banca saca malas calificaciones, Expansión, consultado el 7 de octubre de 2007, disponible en: http://www.cnnexpansion.com/negocios/encabezado Asociación de Bancos de México, ABM (2007), La Banca en México, Historia 1830-1910, Historia 1982-1996 y Función de la Banca, accesado el 3 de febrero de 2008, disponible en: http://www.abm.org.mx Harker, ; Hunter, L., (1998), Designing the Future of Banking: Lessons Learned from the Trenches, Financial Institutions Center, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Kaplinsky, R.; Morris, M. (2000), A Handbook for Value Chain Research. Institute of Development Studies. University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Rajagopal; Rajagopal, A., (2007), Emerging perspectives on Self Service Technologies in Retail Banking, Department of Marketing, Business Division, ITESM. Artículo sin publicar. RECONOCIMIENTO Los autores agradecen los comentarios de los árbitros y editores de IBFR. Los cuales contribuyeron a mejorar la calidad de la investigación. BIOGRAFIA Ruth Cavazos es doctora en Dirección y mercadotecnia por la Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla. Se desempeña como catedrática de tiempo completo en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Contacto: rcavazos@fca.unam.mx Cuauhtémoc Puente es doctor en Planeación Estratégica y Tecnologías de Información por la Universidad de Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla. Es profesor de asignatura de la Universidad Panamericana. Contacto puentecuauhtemoc@yahoo.com.mx Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 787 IMPACTO PUBLICITARIO DEL MARKETING MÓVIL EN UN ENTORNO TRADICIONAL: CASO CIBERNAUTAS DE LA REGIÓN COSTA SUR DE JALISCO, MÉXICO Roberto González Monroy, Universidad de Guadalajara César Amador Díaz Pelayo, Universidad de Guadalajara RESUMEN El uso de las TIC´s en el ámbito empresarial hoy en día ha evolucionado la forma de realizar mercadotecnia en las empresas, así como en sus formatos. El empleo de estas tecnologías y el Internet han creado innovadoras plataformas de trabajo. El desarrollo de la telefonía móvil ha marcado una nueva era también en el diseño de estrategias publicitarias, pero sobre todo el uso de la telefonía móvil a escalas inimaginables ha permitido el desarrollo de lo que se conoce en la actualidad como marketing móvil; una forma del denominado marketing de relaciones. En diversos estudios a nivel nacional e internacional se ha demostrado que los medios digitales no son recomendados para todos los productos y servicios, y por ende para todos los mercados. La digitalización de las estrategias sobre todo en publicidad se recomienda sea de forma gradual, con el fin de que el consumidor aprenda y acceda a los nuevos formatos. Algunos factores como; las diferencias culturales, hábitos de consumo, el poder adquisitivo, etc. Pueden crear las actitudes de aceptación o rechazo hacia este medio publicitario. La recomendación de los expertos es integrar herramientas on y off line a través de un plan de marketing digital el “Blended Marketing”. PALABRAS CLAVE: Marketing Digital, Marketing Móvil, Blended Marketing. ADVERTISING IMPACT OF THE MOBILE MARKETING IN A TRADITIONAL ENVIRONMENT: CASE WEBSURFERS OF THE REGION SOUTH COAST, JALISCO, MEXICO. ABSTRACT The use of the IT in the business environment nowadays has evolved the form to carry out marketing in the businesses, as well as in its formats. The employment of these technologies and the Internet have created work platforms innovators. The development of the mobile phone system has marked a new one was also in the design of advertising strategies, but above all the use of the mobile phone system to unimaginable scales has permitted the development of what is known currently as mobile marketing; a form of the called marketing of relations. In diverse studies to national and international level has been shown that the digital media are not recommended for all the products and services, and therefore for all the markets. The digitization of the strategies above all in publicity is recommended of gradual form, in order to that the consumer learn and they agree to the new formats. Some factors as; the cultural differences, habits of consumption, the purchasing power, etc. They can create the attitudes of acceptance or refusal toward this advertising Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 788 middle. The recommendation of the experts is to integrate tools on and off line through a plan of digital marketing the "Blended Marketing". JEL: M31, M37 KEYWORDS: DIGITAL MARKETING, MOBILE MARKETING, BLENDED MARKETING. INTRODUCCIÓN Con los cambios vertiginosos en los últimos años en el uso de tecnologías de la información éstas cada vez cobran más relevancia dentro de las empresas con la finalidad de coadyuvar en las estrategias de marketing. Es un hecho aceptado por todos que la revolución digital y las nuevas tecnologías están transformando nuestras vidas tanto desde el punto de vista personal como profesional. El cambio afecta a los hábitos y necesidades del consumidor y a los planes de negocio de las compañías y, por lo tanto, lo que finalmente evoluciona y se complica es el modelo a partir del que interactúan ambas partes (Deza, 2005). Es importante por tanto, acceder a los potenciales clientes desde todas las vías de comunicación existentes, incidiendo especialmente en aquellas que aún no han sido explotadas plenamente, con lenguajes incipientes, para convertir la novedad en notoriedad y el asombro en punto de captación. Ideales son, por tanto, las nuevas tecnologías informativas ya que cumplen todos estos requisitos (Caldevilla, 2007). Si bien es cierto a través de los últimos años se ha visto un cambio significativo en el comportamiento de la sociedad. Sobre todo en aspectos como lo es el consumo en donde hoy en día los consumidores se encuentran cada vez más informados sobre cualquier tipo de producto, esto se ha dado gracias a la magnífica red de la información llama Internet. Con lo anterior se ve reflejado como el uso de la tecnología ha evolucionado el consumo de bienes y servicios. Tal es el caso de la telefonía móvil en donde se observa como las empresas dedicadas al desarrollo de teléfonos móviles han vuelto a estos más inteligentes dando un salto a lo que hoy conocemos como “Smartphone”. Con esto queda claro que tanto evoluciona el medio como la estrategia. Es así como los mercadólogos han comenzado a explotar estos avances pasando del simple mensaje de texto en donde se anunciaba una promoción hasta lo que hoy vemos como los códigos QR, la geolocalización, aplicaciones, entre otras. Por lo cual las campañas se vuelven más interactivas y permiten generar una conexión con el cliente tratando de obtener una respuesta por parte de él. Lo planteado en párrafos anteriores da como surgimiento a la siguiente pregunta de investigación ¿Cuál es el impacto de la publicidad móvil en un mercado tradicional? REVISION LITERARIA Kotler y Armstrong (2001) mencionan que el marketing es la función comercial que identifica las necesidades y los deseos de los clientes, determina qué mercados meta puede atender mejor la organización, y diseña productos, servicios y programas apropiados para atender a esos mercados. Sin embargo, el marketing es mucho más que una función aislada de los negocios: es una filosofía que guía a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 789 toda la organización. La meta del marketing es crear satisfacción de los clientes de forma rentable, forjando relaciones cargadas de valor con clientes importantes. La mercadotecnia ha ido evolucionando a la par de la economía, la globalización, la cultura, la tecnología entre otros factores macroeconómicos que afectan la forma de hacer negocios. Una de las herramientas que utilizan las organizaciones hoy en día es el uso de la mercadotecnia relacional, directa o interactiva o bien marketing 2.0, según Corbae, Jensen y Schneider (2003) es introducido para denominar una nueva forma de mercadotecnia que persigue construir con los clientes relaciones duraderas basadas en la confianza en dos niveles distintos: (1) en el nivel racional, mediante buenos productos, que posean la calidad y el precio adecuado y (2) en el nivel emocional, mediante una comunicación interactiva de doble vía que permita establecer y fortalecer está relación de confianza con los clientes. Autores como Bruner, Harden y Heyman (2001) lo consideran un nuevo enfoque que surge de la evolución natural de las anteriores formas de mercadotecnia. Así, mientras la mercadotecnia tradicional o marketing 1.0 dirigido a las masas emplean los medios de alta difusión como la radio, la prensa y la televisión, la mercadotecnia relacional o interactiva (marketing 2.0) se fundamenta en acciones que se dirigen a cada usuario de manera particular, ofreciéndole información personalizada y de su interés, y que emplea las nuevas tecnologías e Internet para llegar de forma individualizada a un enorme número de clientes. El marketing móvil emplea un medio interactivo que permite desarrollar comunicación directa y personalizada con cada cliente, sin limitaciones geográficas, ni temporales. Además, a través de un mismo canal es posible realizar distintas interacciones con los clientes: publicidad e información, preventa, configuración de pedidos, compras, servicios de posventa, etc. (Landeta, 2008). (Fonseca, 2011) explica que el auge de los móviles está en todo su esplendor en la mayor parte del mundo y todavía no ha llegado México. Es impresionante que en un país de casi 112 millones de personas existan más de 90 millones de celulares y 30 millones de usuarios para internet, según datos de INEGI, Nielsen y Cofetel respectivamente. Asimismo Fonseca puntualiza algunos datos en los que expone porque las empresas deben de dar el siguiente paso a la estrategia móvil. • Las apps son los nuevos Bilboards. Existen más de 4 billones de smartphones vendidos a nivel mundial. Hoy por hoy, una de cada tres personas que tienen uno lo usan antes de levantarse. El 86% de ellos los usan mientras ven la televisión. El promedio de uso diario es 2.7 horas. • Youtube ha reportado que 200 millones de las visitas diarias que tiene, son desde un dispositivo móvil. Y todavía nadie se queja de la publicidad de Youtube.com • Un tercio de los usuario de Facebook accesan desde su dispositivo móvil en comparación con el 50% de los usuarios de Twitter. • El porcentaje de búsqueda de información, referencias o productos desde un dispositivo móvil es más del 55% y un tercio de los usuarios que fueron expuestos a la publicidad no intrusiva desde su móvil dio un click en el anuncio. Además las búsquedas reportadas en Google por México han crecido 23% de marzo del año pasado a este. Claramente los mexicanos comenzamos a consumir contenidos. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 790 • El crecimiento dentro de los rangos de edad de quienes poseen un teléfono inteligente en México ha crecido como mínimo un 3%. • El estimado de descargas alcanzado en 2011 es de 17.7 billones, con un crecimiento de más del 117% alcanzado en 2010 a nivel global. • Los usuarios promedio de iphone tienen 65 aplicaciones mientras que los usuarios de android 35 aplicaciones y los de blackberry 15. Es importante decir que las aplicaciones de android son gratuitas en más del 50% de los casos en tanto el iphone sólo el 25% es gratuito. Blackberry se quedó atrás siendo la tienda con menos aplicaciones gratuitas y mayor sobreprecio, donde el promedio por costo de aplicación es de poco más de $8 dólares, en comparación los tres de android y iphone. • Las ganancias mundiales para las tiendas virtuales sobre pasan los 15.1 billones de dólares a nivel mundial. Y aunque pareciera que todo ese dinero se queda en las tiendas no es así; en el caso de Apple y Google, se quedan con un 30% de las ganancias y Blackberry con el 20%, lo que genera una ganancia del 70% para los desarrolladores o las marcas. Esta imagen muestra la cantidad de usuarios mexicanos que usan los medios digitales. METODOLOGÍA Tabla 1. Ficha Técnica UNIVERSO Estudiantes de todos los programas educativos ofertados en el Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur TAMAÑO MUESTRAL 343 alumnos ERROR MUESTRAL 0.05 (p = q = 50) NIVEL DE CONFIANZA 95% DISEÑO MUESTRAL Aleatorio simple TRABAJO DE CAMPO Junio 2011 Esta tabla muestra los datos estadísticos generales que se determinaron para realizar la investigación. Para efectos de la investigación conclusiva y la realización del estudio se tomó como universo a los 3,198 alumnos del Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur de todos los programas educativos ofertados. La técnica de muestreo empleada fue probabilística Gutiérrez (2005), obteniendo una muestra de 343 estudiantes a encuestar de forma aleatoria, correspondiente al 10.72% del universo. Como instrumento de recolección de datos se utilizó el cuestionario y para su tratamiento y la contrastación de la pregunta de investigación se utilizaron tablas de frecuencias. De igual forma por ser variables cualitativas y ordinales se empleó la prueba estadística U de Man – Whitney en el caso del análisis de impacto de publicidad móvil para el Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 791 género (Dos muestras independientes) y la prueba de Kruskal Wallis para el análisis de la procedencia (k muestras independientes) (Casas, 2010). RESULTADOS Tabla 2. Comodidad del usuario ante el marketing móvil. Frecuencia Porcentaje Válidos Siempre 9 2.6 Casi siempre 31 9.1 Ocasionalmente 62 18.2 Rara vez 152 44.2 Nunca 85 24.7 Total 339 98.7 Perdidos Sistema 4 1.3 Total 343 100.0 En la variable comodidad se observa que el 44.2% de los encuestados expreso que rara vez siente comodidad al recibir algún mensaje promocional. Por lo que el rechazo hacia la publicidad móvil se inclina hacia un factor de desagrado. Tabla 3. Respuesta a mensajes promocionales. Frecuencia Porcentaje Válidos Ocasionalmente 22 6.5 Rara vez 94 27.3 Nunca 223 64.9 Total 339 98.7 Perdidos Sistema 4 1.3 Total 343 100.0 El 64.9% manifestó nunca responder el mensaje. Asimismo, sin obtener una respuesta por parte del consumidor no se da cumplimiento al último paso dentro del proceso de comunicación que es la retroalimentación. Tabla 4. Oportunidad para una futura compra. Frecuencia Porcentaje Válidos Casi siempre 9 2.6 Ocasionalmente 49 14.3 Rara vez 112 32.5 Nunca 169 49.4 Total 339 98.7 Perdidos Sistema 4 1.3 Total 343 100.0 El hecho de recibir un mensaje promocional a través del móvil para considerar una futura compra fue rechazado por parte de los usuarios. Manifestándolo el 49.4%. Tabla 5. Costo de respuesta a la estrategia móvil. Frecuencia Porcentaje Válidos Ocasionalmente 18 5.2 Rara vez 27 7.8 Nunca 294 85.7 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 792 Total 339 98.7 Perdidos Sistema 4 1.3 Total 343 100.0 Se observa como los usuarios de telefonía móvil son sensibles al hecho que implica un costo por responder a un mensaje publicitario. Es así donde el 85.7% de la muestra nunca responde a éste por el cargo que genera. Tabla 6. Intromisión a la intimidad. Frecuencia Porcentaje Válidos Siempre 54 15.6 Casi siempre 45 13.0 Ocasionalmente 71 20.8 Rara vez 98 28.6 Nunca 71 20.8 Total 339 98.7 Perdidos Sistema 4 1.3 Total 343 100.0 Al momento de medir la intromisión de la privacidad de los usuarios por parte de las empresas ante estrategias publicitarias móviles, estos se mostraron indiferentes ante tales acciones. Dando como resultado un 28.6%. Tabla 7. Uso legal de los datos. Frecuencia Porcentaje Válidos Siempre 31 9.1 Casi siempre 27 7.8 Ocasionalmente 40 11.7 Rara vez 67 19.5 Nunca 174 50.6 Total 339 98.7 Perdidos Sistema 4 1.3 Total 343 100.0 Una las situaciones que ha imperado en estos tiempos es el uso legal de la información de los datos. Para lo cual la muestra testeada manifestó que las empresas hacen una práctica negativa sobre los datos. Así lo determinó el 50.6%. Tabla 8. Irritabilidad de los usuarios. Frecuencia Porcentaje Válidos Siempre 94 27.3 Casi siempre 36 10.4 Ocasionalmente 102 29.9 Rara vez 71 20.8 Nunca 36 10.4 Total 339 98.7 Perdidos Sistema 4 1.3 Total 343 100.0 El 29.9% de los encuestados consideran el uso de mensajes publicitarios en medios móviles ocasionalmente molestas. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 793 Tabla 9. Impacto de la mercadotecnia móvil sobre la variable de agrupación sexo. Al momento de realizar la prueba estadística se determinó evaluar la variable sexo con la finalidad conocer el impacto publicitario de la mercadotecnia móvil. Para lo cual se comprobó que para ambos sexos no existe una diferencia sobre el impacto de estas estrategias comerciales aplicadas a la telefonía celular. Tabla 10. El marketing móvil en contraste con la variable procedencia. ¿Consi deras legal el uso que hacen de tus datos las empres as, para hacerte llegar publici dad? ¿Con sider as los mens ajes prom ocion ales en tu móvil ? ¿Cue ntas con teléfo no móvil ? ¿Estás dispuesto a pagar por recibir mensajes promocio nales en tu móvil? ¿Qué tipo de contrato tienes? ¿Qué tipo de operador de telefonía móvil utilizas? ¿Respondes siempre a las estrategias promociona les recibidas en tu móvil? ¿Te genera molestia o irritabilidad la recepción de mensajes publicitario s en tu móvil? Cuando recibes mensajes te sientes cómodo En tu opinión, ¿consideras que los mensajes que hacen llegar las empresas a través de tu móvil es una intromisión a tu intimidad? Chi-cuadrado .845 1.426 .100 .272 14.498 .206 .541 2.366 1.777 2.129 gl 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Sig. asintót. .655 .490 .951 .873 .001 .902 .763 .306 .411 .345 Se observa que para todas las variables no hay diferencia en el comportamiento que se presenta hacia la publicidad móvil, a excepción de la variable correspondiente al tipo de contrato que, ya que el resultado fue de .001, es decir, el tipo de contrato que preferentemente tienen los usuarios de un mercado tradicional es tarjeta de prepago la cual puede limitar las estrategias del marketing móvil. CONCLUSIONES Con esta investigación se puede observar como el impacto de estrategias de maketing móvil hacia los consumidores generan un cierto desagrado en términos de costos, esto debido a que la mayoría de los ¿Consid eras legal el uso que hacen de tus datos las empres as, para hacerte llegar publicid ad? ¿Consider as los mensajes promocio nales en tu móvil? ¿Cuentas con teléfono móvil? ¿Estás dispuesto a pagar por recibir mensajes promocio nales en tu móvil? ¿Qué tipo de contrato tienes? ¿Qué tipo de operador de telefonía móvil utilizas? ¿Respond es siempre a las estrategia s promocio nales recibidas en tu móvil? ¿Te genera molestia o irritabilid ad la recepción de mensajes publicitari os en tu móvil? Cuando recibes mensaje s te sientes cómodo En tu opinión, ¿consider as que los mensajes que hacen llegar las empresas a través de tu móvil es una intromisió n a tu intimidad ? U de Mann- Whitney 543.000 623.500 672.000 645.000 640.000 662.000 663.000 582.500 650.000 635.000 W de Wilcoxon 949.000 1029.500 1078.00 0 1821.000 1046.00 0 1838.000 1839.000 1758.500 1056.00 0 1811.000 Z -1.503 -.571 -.756 -.495 -.802 -.388 -.116 -.994 -.251 -.409 Sig. asintót. (bilateral) .133 .568 .450 .620 .422 .698 .907 .320 .802 .683 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 794 mensajes promocionales que se hacen llegar al móvil pretenden obtener una respuesta por parte del usuario llegando a rechazar o a tomar dicha acción. De igual manera se observó cómo los encuestados manifestaron que el uso de su información para hacerles llegar mensajes promocionales se toma de manera ilegal con la finalidad de lucrar con ésta. Asimismo, queda claro que la privacidad o seguridad de los datos es aún un factor que genera un alto impacto para aceptar este tipo de estrategias. Las empresas deberán de evaluar este tipo de estrategias con la finalidad de hacerlas más rentables y generar un retorno de la inversión. Con ello se requiere sensibilizar al usuario hacia una aceptación al marketing móvil. Para esto organizaciones comienzan a diseñar campañas más interactivas que no se limiten solo al uso de los mensajes, sino que apuestan por aquellas en donde se ve reflejada la creatividad de los mercadólogos. La creación de contenidos en internet ha disparado en gran medida la interacción con los cibernautas. Asimismo, estos contenidos se requieren ser trasladados a lo que hoy es un medio portable como el celular. Ahora el reto de las firmas es persuadir al usuario para generar una comunicación a través del uso de medios móviles, sin que éste pueda juzgarla como intrusiva. Para esto las marcas deberán tener bien claro su poder de jurisdicción sin que el usuario se vea amedrentado. Este medio se ha convertido en una puerta hacia la intimidad del consumidor, que en lo sucesivo los auspiciadores deberán de considerar antes violentar su privacidad con algún tipo de estrategia comercial. Sobre todo en mercados que presentan una tendencia de consumo tradicional y no evolucionado, como lo es el caso de Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, México y su Región. El blended marketing es una opción de ir incorporando de manera gradual los nuevos formatos, en combinación con los formatos clásicos a los cuales están habituados los usuarios de ésta Región. REFERENCIA Bruner, R., Harden, L. &Heyman, B. (2001).Web Marketing. Web Marketing 2.0, Apogeo, (pp. Cap. I y 2). Milán. Caldevilla, D. (2007). Nuevas lecturas del concepto de publicidad a partir de las TIC. Questiones Publicitarias. VOL. I, Nº 15, 2010, PP. 35-51. Casas, J. (2010). Pruebas no paramétricas. Estadística para Ciencias Sociales. 1ra. Edición, Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces, (pp. 250 – 257). México. Corbae, G., Jensen, J.B., & Schneider, D. (2003). Strategies for closer customer relatio-ship. Marketing 2.0., Springer. S/D Deza Pulido, M. (2005). Mobile Marketing: No sin mi móvil. MK Marketing+Ventas (208), 16-18. Fonseca, E. (28 de 06 de 2011). Informabtl. Recuperado el 12 de 11 de 2011, de http://www.informabtl.com/2011/marketing-movil-2.php Gutiérrez, H. (2005).Muestro aleatorio. Calidad total y productividad, pp. 337-339, editorial Mc Graw Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 795 Hill. México. Kotler, P., y Armstrong, G. (2001). Marketing. México: Pearson Educación. RECONOCIMIENTOS Nuestro agradecimiento a las autoridades del Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur por las facilidades y apoyo brindado para la realización del trabajo. BIOGRAFIA Roberto González Monroy es Licenciado en Administración por la Universidad de Guadalajara, actualmente se encuentra en el proceso de tesis para obtener el grado de Maestro en Dirección y Mercadotecnia por la Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, es profesor de asignatura en el Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara. Se puede contactar en roberto.gonzalezm@cucsur.udg.mx Cesar Amador Díaz Pelayo es Doctor en Mercadotecnia por la Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla y Profesor Asociado C en el Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara. Se puede contactar en cesaram@cucsur.udg.mx Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 796 LA EMPRESA MEXICANA EN EL EXTERIOR. UN PRIMER ACERCAMIENTO Jorge Luis Alcaraz Vargas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo Rubén Molina Martínez, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo Oscar Hugo Pedraza Rendón, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo RESUMEN Este estudio es un primer acercamiento a la comprensión de la expansión de las empresas mexicanas al exterior, a partir de la vinculación de la emisión de inversión extranjera directa al exterior con el desarrollo económico del país medido por el producto interno bruto. Obteniendo de manera no concluyente una relación positiva entre el desarrollo económico nacional y la multinacionalización de la empresa mexicana. Sin embargo, el nivel de desarrollo no ha sido el adecuado para fomentar un nivel apropiado de multinacionalización de la empresa mexicana (Durán & Úbeda, 2009). A pesar de los importantes avances que se han logrado, existen una gran cantidad de carencias, empezando por el hecho de que en México no existe información disponible sobre la emisión de inversión extranjera directa a nivel estatal, ni a nivel nacional. Esto es una claro indicio de que se deben incrementar los esfuerzos para generar cambios estructurales, de esta manera incrementar el desarrollo económico del país y con ello la emisión de empresas mexicanas al exterior. PALABRAS CLAVE: Multinacionalización, inversión extranjera directa, desarrollo económico, producto interno bruto. THE MEXICAN ENTERPRISE ABROAD. A FIRST APPROACH ABSTRACT This is a first approach to understand the foreign expansion of Mexican ventures, bonding the foreign direct investment outward with the country economic development measured by gross domestic product. The results show in a non-conclusive way the positive relation between the national economic development and the multinationalization of Mexican ventures. Nevertheless, the development degree has not been appropriate to encourage the right degree of Mexican ventures multinationalization. (Durán & Úbeda, 2009). Despite the strides that have been made, still there is a huge amount of lacks, beginning because the fact that in Mexico does not exist available information about the foreign direct investment outward at states level, not even at national level. This is a clear indication that it should be increased the efforts to generate structural changes, in this way increase the country economic development and thus foreign expansion of Mexican ventures. JEL: F21, F23 KEYWORDS: Multinationalization, foreign direct investment, economic development, gross domestic product. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 797 INTRODUCCIÓN La expansión de las empresas es una situación muy importante desde el punto de vista del mejoramiento estructural del país en cuestión y la relación que tiene con este fenómeno. Este crecimiento está tomando cada vez más importancia, a tal grado que se han generado una variedad de desarrollos teóricos con la finalidad de dar explicación a estos fenómenos. En este sentido, el presente documento es un primer acercamiento a la expansión de la empresa mexicana hacia el exterior vinculando su desarrollo económico con la emisión de inversión extranjera directa a mercados exteriores. En este documento también ha permitido realizar una revisión de distintos marcos explicativos de la Empresa Multinacional. REVISIÓN LITERARIA El primer marco de referencia para poder dar explicación a la empresa multinacional es el Paradigma Ecléctico de Dunning, el cual contempla tres tipos de ventajas, a saber, propiedad, localización e internalización (OLI, por sus siglas en inglés) que nos pueden ayudar a la comprensión de la empresa multinacional mediante la generación de IED (Dunning, 1981), (Dunning, 1988). No obstante, por sí solo no puede explicar la internacionalización de las empresas de países emergentes, ya que estas carecen en gran medida de las ventajas OLI, de tal manera que es posible complementarlo desde un punto de vista de un nivel creciente de integración, basado en principios de redes de producción internacional (asociación estratégica) (Bonaglia, Goldstein, & Mathews, 2007). Además, la adecuada combinación de las ventajas de propiedad e internalización (empresa) y las de localización (país) permitirá realizar la mejor inversión directa. En este entendido dinámico, la Senda de Desarrollo de la Inversión (IDP, por sus siglas en inglés) es un buen aliado (Durán J. J., 2006), y de a cuerdo a Durán (2002), dada la naturaleza de los procesos de internacionalización, es recomendable usar planteamientos eclécticos para su análisis. Otra marco explicativo, es el que trata a la internacionalización como un proceso incremental y lo aborda con el enfoque escandinavo, también conocido como Modelo de Uppsala, el cual ve a la internacionalización como un proceso gradual y por etapas, cada una de las cuales favorece a la empresa en la obtención de nuevos conocimientos y experiencias a nivel internacional, esto facilita una vinculación más fuerte con los mercados externos (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977). Algunos otros desarrollos teóricos son: el Modelo de Dimensiones de Internacionalización de Welch y Loustarinen’s (1988), La Escala de Grado de Internacionalización de Daniel Sullivan (1994), el Enfoque Estratégico de Mendoza & Vives (2008), quienes también mencionan el Enfoque Americano, la Teoría Organizacional del Conocimiento (Luo, 1999), (Tsang, 1999), (Erramilli, 1991), (Luo & Peng, 1999), la Teoría de la Nueva Empresa Internacional (Baum, Schwens, & Kabst, 2010). METODOLOGÍA En este trabajo se desarrolla una caracterización y descripción de la manera más clara y precisa posible de la evolución que ha tenido la expansión de la IED de México, es decir, la generación de Multinacionales al exterior de este país. Lo anterior relacionado con su desarrollo económico. No obstante, es necesario hacer algunas especificaciones antes de continuar.En México, los organismos que tienen disponible información sobre la inversión extranjera directa a nivel nacional, estatal, sectorial son el INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía), SE (Secretaría de Economía), BIE (Banco de Información Estadística), Banxico (Banco de México) principalmente. Sin embargo, únicamente se registra (o al Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 798 menos es la única disponible) la IED que ingresa a México, y como hemos especificado, para este apartado, es fundamental la emisión de IED de México al exterior del país. No obstante, existen organismos internacionales que sí tienen los registros de la salida de inversiones, en este caso particular, de México. Tales como BM (Banco Mundial) y el que utilizamos en esta investigación, UNCTAD. RESULTADOS Es bien sabido que los países desarrollados presentan el mayor dinamismo en lo que se refiere a IED y son los que mayor cantidad de EMNs tienen. Sin embargo, la situación de economías en desarrollo en temas de empresas multinacionales está creciendo cada vez más (Vives & Mendoza, 2008). Un claro ejemplo es el de China que debido a la gran participación mundial de empresas asiáticas. Este país es el que mayores cantidades de IED emite en el grupo de los BRIC (Brasil, Rusia, India, China) Agregando al grupo de los BRIC la presencia de México, en la figura 1 se observa que está casi a la par de India en lo que se refiere a salida de IED. No obstante, India demuestra tener una tendencia al crecimiento mayor que México. Y en el caso de los países emergentes del continente americano Brasil es el que emite mayor cantidad de IED. México le sigue en orden de importancia. Figura 1: Salida de IED (stock) BRIC+Mex. Es importante resaltar que las EMN-ME (Empresa Multinacional de Mercados Emergentes) no solo están buscando economías desarrolladas para establecer sus operaciones (por sus ventajas de localización), sino también están invirtiendo en países en vías de desarrollo (Bonaglia, Goldstein, & Mathews, 2007). Ahora bien, relacionando el stock de salida de IED, como medida de la multinacionalización de la empresa mexicana, y el PIB pc, como medida del desarrollo económico de un país (Durán J. J., 2006), (Dunning, 1981), (Molina & Alcaraz, 2010), se ha obtenido lo siguiente. En la figura 2, aunque no es concluyente, se observa la relación que existe entre la multinacionalización de la empresa mexicana a través de la emisión de la IED y el respectivo desarrollo económico nacional. 0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 1200000 1400000 19 80 19 82 19 84 19 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 20 06 20 08 M ill on es d e dó la re s Años Brasil China India México Rusia Fuente: Elaboración propia con datos de UNCTAD. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 799 En la década de los noventas se ve una situación muy inconstante y de estancamiento en términos de emisión de IED, lo cual es congruente con respecto a las tendencias de crecimiento de México en términos de apertura comercial, IED, reformas, entre otras. Por otra parte, esta situación errática en la salida de IED sugiere que el nivel de desarrollo no ha sido el adecuado para fomentar un nivel apropiado en la multinacionalización de la empresa mexicana (Durán & Úbeda, 2009). Figura 3: Emisión de IED Mexicana y Desarrollo Económico. CONCLUSIONES Desde la perspectiva mexicana y como lo hemos observado, aun falta un tramo muy grande en términos de cambios estructurales que atienden a ordenes políticos. En este sentido, Narula & Dunning (2000) expresan que la política industrial dirigida a industrias seleccionadas para crecimiento por medio de inversión intensiva en activos creados, como educación y capacidad tecnológica, puede acelerar el movimiento de los países a través del IDP, es decir, motivar el desarrollo estructural y como consecuencia de ello el económico. Relacionado con lo anterior, nos damos cuenta que las características del país local tienen un papel muy importante en la emisión de capitales, ya que en gran medida determinan la posición competitiva de la empresa nacional o multinacional en mercados internacionales (Georgiou, Anastassopoulos, & Filippaios, 2009). En este sentido, es fundamental la generación de políticas y la promoción de estrategias para que las empresas locales superen las barreras de la internacionalización (Hessels & Parker, 2009). No obstante lo anterior, serán necesarias investigaciones más rigurosas con la finalidad de determinar si los resultados no concluyentes de este trabajo son coincidentes con los nuevos desarrollos. 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 St oc k de s al id a de IE D p c PIB pc 19 89 19 95 199 2 199 9 20 03 20 06 20 08 20 09 20 00 19 80 19 83 19 86 Fuente: Elaboración propia con datos de UNCTAD. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 800 REFERENCIAS Baum, M., Schwens, C., & Kabst, R. (2010). (Forthcoming) A typology o international new ventures: empirical evidence from high tecnology industries. Journal of Small Business Management (JSBM). Bonaglia, F., Goldstein, A., & Mathews, J. A. (2007). Accelerated internationalization by emerging markets' multinationals: the case of the white sector. Journal of World Business , 42 (4), 369-383. Dunning, J. H. (1981). Explaining The International Direct Investment Position of Countries: Towards a Dynamic or Developmental Approach. Weltwirtshaftlicher Archive , 30-64. Dunning, J. H. (1988). The eclectic paradigm of international production: a restatement and some possible extensions. Journal of international bussines studies , 19 (1), 1-31. Durán, J. J. (2006). El auge de la empresa multinacional española. Boletín Económico ICE , 2881, 13-33. Durán, J. J. (2002). Estrategias de localización y ventajas competiticas de la empresa multinacoial española. Información Comercial Española (799), 41-53. Durán, J. J., & Úbeda, F. (2009). Inversión directa y empresa multinacional en Andalucía. Revista de Estudios Empresariales (2), 99-116. Erramilli, M. (1991). The experience factor in foreign market entry behaviour of service firms. Journal of International Business Studies , 22 (3), 479-501. Georgiou, C., Anastassopoulos, G., & Filippaios, F. (2009). Internationalisation and corporate competitiveness: Measuring the effect of external environment on the case of greek multinationals. 35th European International Business Academy (EIBA) Annual Conference. Valencia. Hessels, J., & Parker, S. C. (2009). Constraints, internationalization and performance: A cross.country analysis of European SMEs. 35th European International Business Academy (EIBA) Anual Conference. Valencia. Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J.-E. (1977). The internationalization process of the firm: a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitment. Journal of International Business Studies , 8 (1), 23-32. Luo, Y. (1999). Time-based experiencie and international expansion: The case of an emerging economy. Journal of Management Studies , 34 (4), 505-534. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 801 Luo, Y., & Peng, M. W. (1999). Learning to compete in a transition economy: Experience, environment, and performance. Journal of International Business Studies , 30 (2), 269-295. Mendoza, X., & Vives, L. (2008). De la intenternacionalización a la multinacionalización de la empresa: marcos teóricos para su análisis estratégicos. Primer informe anual del observatorio de la Empresa Multinacional Española, Barcelona. Molina, R., & Alcaraz, J. (2010). La evolución de la inversión extranjera directa en México. INCEPTM , 5 (9), 241-262. Tsang, E. W. (1999). Internationalization as a learning process: Singapore MNCs in China. Academy of Management Executive , 13 (1), 91-101. UNCTAD. (2010). World Investement Report 2010. Vives, L., & Mendoza, X. (2008). Análisi transversal de una muestra de empresas españolas en su proceso de internacionalización. Primer informe anual del observatorio de la Empresa Multinacional Española, Barcelona. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 802 PROPUESTA DE REFORMA FISCAL INTEGRAL EN MÉXICO Fidel Antonio Mendoza Shaw, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora Rosa Isela Lopez Cuevas, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora Jose Ezequiel Robles Encinas, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora RESUMEN Para generar el bienestar social que México necesita se debe de recaudar por arriba del 15% del Producto Interno Bruto. Las reformas fiscales que se han implementado en los últimos 40 años no han logrado superar el 10% de recaudación. Aproximadamente el 60% de la población económicamente activa está en la informalidad de acuerdo a los resultados del censo del Inegi en el año 2010. En la informalidad es donde en vez de pagarse impuestos se pagan “cuotas”; además de un sistema fiscal complejo para calcular y cumplir con los impuestos. Los estados y municipios han optado por endeudarse en vez de asumir los costos políticos de eficientar el nivel de recaudación.Como resultado de la última reforma aprobada en el año del 2010 para efectos del año 2011 tuvieron como resultado disminuir la competitividad del país con el enfoque de una mayor recaudación tributaria otra vez entre los contribuyentes cautivos en la economía formal y que conforman el 40% de la Población Económicamente Activa (PEA). Las nulas propuestas de una reforma integral fiscal origina la informalidad en que se encuentra el otro 60% de la PEA, según análisis de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). INTRODUCCION El gasto corriente en el sector público en México ha opacado los esfuerzos por aumentar la recaudación tributaria no petrolera de acuerdo con estadísticas de la Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP). Este gasto cerro en 2010 en 1.95 billones de pesos, es decir, 468 mil 863 millones más que lo registrado en 2007. Y por otro lado la recaudación tributaria, que incluye ingresos derivados de impuestos además de derechos no petroleros y cualquier otro cobro que realiza el gobierno, llego a 1.98 billones de pesos en 2010, 382 mil 317 millones de pesos más también que en el año de 2007. Este fenómeno se produjo no obstante que durante el sexenio se han implementado dos reformas fiscales y en marzo del año pasado inicio el Programa Nacional de Reducción del Gasto Publico. El gasto corriente establece el pago de pensiones, transferencias a programas sociales, materiales y suministros del gobierno y el pago de la nómina a todos los funcionarios de la administración pública. El incremento en el gasto corriente se ha dado principalmente en los subsidios a programas sociales y en las pensiones. Una práctica común es que las soluciones a los grandes problemas del país se hayan dado a partir de conocimientos generados en países desarrollados que cuando llegan y se publican en México ya son obsoletos (Garcíacastillo y Cruz, 2010). PROPUESTAS La Eliminación Del Impuesto Empresarial A Tasa Única (IETU) Se estimó recaudar con este impuesto 300 mil millones de pesos y solo se recaudó la sexta parte es decir aproximadamente 50 mil millones de acuerdo a información del SAT. También se ha generado una complejidad administrativa porque se tiene que determinar el ISR según lo devengado y otro el impuesto, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 803 el IETU, con base en el flujo de efectivo. Por otra parte, Estados Unidos que es el principal socio comercial de México de donde proviene el 90% de la inversión extranjera reconoce este impuesto como acreditable únicamente sobre bases temporales debido a que la Corte estableció que es ISR. Un Esquema Fiscal Competitivo Y Acorde Al Contexto Internacional La base de recaudación es en impuestos indirectos en otros países; es decir gravan el gasto, el consumo. Los impuestos directos los que gravan el ingreso son relativamente bajos y son muy pocos o no tienen impuestos que gravan el patrimonio. En México se grava al revés. El grueso de la recaudación proviene de los ingresos, del ISR Así las cosas y considerando que estamos implantados en la globalización, podremos entonces entender que no solamente los empresarios están compitiendo con el resto del mundo en el tema económico, sino que también, nuestro país está compitiendo, entre otras muchas cosas, con su esquema fiscal. Nuestra propuesta es que se generalice la tasa del IVA al 16% para todas las operaciones gravadas; mantener la tasa del 11% para la región fronteriza, y que la tasa del 0% del IVA prevalezca solo para las exportaciones. De igual manera, eliminar las exenciones que no tengan una justificación social o económica y brindar trato equitativo entre los sectores productivos, así como simplificar la estructura de la Ley del IVA para facilitar la aplicación y cumplimiento de sus disposiciones; precisar conceptos y evitar la complejidad del sistema de acreditamiento. Un Impuesto Mínimo Complementario Del ISR Y De Fácil Calculo Hacienda podrá recaudar parte de la misma base gravable determinada para efectos de ISR, según se trate de una deducción o un ingreso respectivamente aun cuando no se genere la obligación de pago del ISR por actividad empresarial. A la nueva base gravable así determinada, se le aplicaría una tasa inferior a la tasa general aplicable y el excedente del ISR mínimo estaría sujeto a un régimen de acreditamiento retroactivo o prospectivo similar al aplicado en el Impuesto al Activo (Impac). Establecer un esquema real de estímulos fiscales Para detonar la inversión nacional y extranjera, así como el empleo y el ahorro, se tienen que simplificar los requisitos y ser acumulable. México está perdiendo inversionistas porque de Asia y Centroamérica vienen a buscarlos para que inviertan en aquellos lugares, y lo que les ofrecen son estímulos fiscales y cláusulas de cumplimiento sea quien sea. Simplificación de las disposiciones fiscales: Para la determinación, cumplimiento y pago de los impuestos se debe de simplificar cada proceso al máximo con lo que se lograría aumentar la base contributiva y mejorar la recaudación. Seguridad jurídica: Es un reclamo de la sociedad que se emitan disposiciones claras y sencillas ajustadas al marco constitucional vigente por lo que para facilitar la justicia fiscal es una condición necesaria y promueve la atracción de inversión nacional y extranjera. Regresar Al 28% La Tasa Del Impuesto Sobre La Renta (ISR) La media de los países integrantes de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE), entre ellos México, es del 26%. Planeación fiscal de largo plazo Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 804 Se debe de buscar la permanencia de las disposiciones fiscales para seguridad de los contribuyentes e inversionistas. Ampliar la base de contribuyentes: Realizar una coordinación más efectiva entre Federación, Estados y Municipios para que se cumpla con el mandato constitucional de que todos los mexicanos con capacidad para hacerlo debemos contribuir para el gasto público. Cultura fiscal: La actitud es determinante para el desarrollo de los pueblos, por lo que las nuevas generaciones se deben educar desde la infancia para mantener en nuestro país una cultura, un civismo fiscal por lo que es conveniente que en todos los niveles educativos se incluyan temas relacionados con el fomento de una cultura fiscal. Recaudación efectiva por parte de estados y municipios: Actualmente los estados recaudan en promedio solo el 10% del total de ingresos que perciben, y lo hacen sin modificar leyes. Tienen facultad para imponer gravámenes pero con fines clientelares, y actualmente en lugar de mejorar la recaudación están optando por el endeudamiento. Independencia Del Sistema De Administración Tributaria (SAT) El SAT originalmente estuvo contemplado de manera independiente de la Secretaria de Hacienda, no solo una ventanilla. No debe de depender de los titulares en turno o de decisiones políticas si no que su actuar debe de estar fundamentada en consideraciones estrictamente profesionales. CONCLUSION De 2007 a 2010, los ingresos tributarios del gobierno provenientes de fuentes diferentes al petróleo se incrementaron en 23.8%, en tanto que el gasto corriente del sector público lo hizo en 31.5%. Por lo tanto el problema se agrava porque no se han generado cambios suficientes en el sistema fiscal que permitan que la recaudación tributaria no petrolera despunte y permita balancear mejor las cuentas del gobierno. Debido a que México necesita múltiples reformas para hacer más competitiva su economía, los estudioso de la Administración Pública deberán enfocar sus investigaciones en la elaboración de Casos que permitan que el gobierno logre: ser más productivo; se vincule más a mecanismos de mercado; se oriente al servicio; se descentralice; y, rinda cuentas por resultados (Kettl 2000). BIBLIOGRAFIA Gacíacastillo y Cruz Rafael. Epistemología de la Administración. Departamento de Administración de la UAM, 2010. Kettl, D, The Global Public Management Revolution. A report on the transformation of governance; Brookings Institution Press, Washington, 2000. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 805 ANALISIS DEL IMPACTO DE CRECIMIENTO EN LAS PYMES QUE SE DESARROLLARON BAJO UN ESQUEMA DE INCUBACION. CASO ENCUBADORA EMPRESER – SONORA Emma Vanessa Casas Medina, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora Erika Olivas Valdez, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora RESUMEN Esta investigación tiene el objetivo de realizar un análisis del crecimiento de las pequeñas empresas cuyos planes de negocios fueron creados dentro del esquema de incubación y que hoy en día forman parte del mercado laboral, en los cuales se les brindo capacitación, asesoría técnica y en algunos casos se canalizo a instituciones para obtener un financiamiento. Utilizando un diseño descriptivo mediante la participación de 44 empresas incubadas en el programa de Incubadora EmpreSer en la Ciudad de Hermosillo, Sonora, en el año 2010 y la misma cantidad de empresas no participantes en el programa, cuyos principales indicadores de desempeño en crecimiento (SEBRAE), organización, posicionamiento e innovación en sus actividades. PALABRAS CLAVES: Pymes, competitividad, Incubadoras de empresas. JEL: M10 This investigation has the objective to realize an analysis of the growth of the small companies whose plans of businesses were created within the incubation scheme and which nowadays they comprise of the labor market, in which I offer qualification them, technical consultant's office and in some cases narrow channel to institutions to obtain a financing. Using a descriptive design by means of the participation of 44 companies incubated in the program of EmpreSer Incubator in the City of Hermosillo, Sonora, in 2010, and the same quantity of companies that did not participate in the same program, whose main indicators of performance (SEBRAE), in growth, organization, positioning and innovation in its activities. INTRODUCCION En la actualidad, los ambientes económicos, políticos, culturales, sociales están experimentando cambios que se producen cada vez con mayor intensidad en comparación con otros períodos históricos. Una de las sectores que no fue la excepción es el empresarial en el cual se implantaron nuevos conceptos como son calidad total, productividad, innovación y la competitividad como forma de supervivencia de las empresas. Esto origino que exista una competencia para mayor y exigente ya que influyen directamente en todos los sectores pero uno de los más susceptibles por su naturaleza es el de las micro y pequeñas empresas en relación otros sectores. Ferrari, Martinelli y Joyal (2000), tienen un papel cada vez más importante para las economías mundiales. Tanto es así que se han creado diversos mecanismos para apoyar tanto las iniciativas del gobierno como por instituciones, la creación y desarrollo de micro y pequeñas empresas. Uno de los mecanismos alternativos de la creación de nuevas empresas es la incubación de empresas, las cuales son plataformas de impulso, para preparar un plan de negocios donde Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 806 se te asesora en el proceso de creación, proporcionado consultoría en las diversas áreas que necesita manejar al ser empresario (Sistema Nacional de Incubación de Empresas, [SNIE], 2011). En algunos de ellos te ofrecen espacios físicos, programas de desarrollo de habilidades y herramientas para lograr una exitosa empresa cubriendo áreas de oportunidad desde el periodo Previo, durante y posterior a su estancia dentro de la incubadora (Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey [ITESM], 2011). En México existen 3 modalidades de Incubadoras de Empresas reconocidos y que apoyan a toda la gama de Pequeñas Empresas en formación que están requiriendo apoyo y son: Tradicionales, de Tecnología Intermedia y de Alta Tecnología (SNIE, 2011). De las cuales 209 incubadoras de negocio operan 67 de manera tradicional, 132 con base tecnológica y 10 de alta tecnología Las estadísticas recientes mencionan que la apertura de los recientes negocios que sólo entre 20 y 40 por ciento de los proyectos que no se generan en incubación sobre viven, el 85% de las firmas que nacen en dentro de una incubadora se mantienen en el mercado. (Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora [ITSON], 2011). Para lo cual este estudio, se pretende evaluar el desempeño de las empresas evaluadas al término de un año después de haber concluido con su proceso, para lo cual se recurrió a las empresas incubadas por Empre Ser, en el año 2011, donde se realiza una comparación con empresas similares para determinar si han llegado a sus metas en comparación de otras empresas similares no encubadas. Empre Ser es un organismo que opera con recursos fiscales del Estado y la Federación, con la certificación de la Secretaría de Economía con el modelo de Incubadora tradicional para el desarrollo de planes de negocios en la apertura de empresas, que brinda asesoría gratuita y capacitación para emprendedores que deseen iniciar una empresa con una visión competitiva. (EmpreSer, 2011) Ayuda por medio de asesorías gratuitas a la elaboración de planes de negocios, capacitación y adiestramiento en áreas de mercadotecnia, recursos humanos, procesos administrativos, finanzas, fiscal, legal, simulación de negocios así como el taller de creatividad e innovación, asesorías y vinculación con financiamientos, vinculación con socios accionistas y alianzas empresariales. Sin embargo estas valoraciones hasta ahora han sido estrictamente resultados de sus propias incubadoras y también de sus propias empresas egresadas (Junior Grisci 1995, Furtado 1998, Fiat y otros, 1999 y Lellis, 2000). Sin embargo el estudio pretende realizar una comparación con otras empresas que no han pasado por el proceso. Ho. Las empresas graduados de estos proyectos obtienen mejores resultados que otras empresas que no lo han pasado por la formación del programa. METODOLOGIA La investigación exploratoria, de acuerdo con (Hernández, Fernández y Baptista, 2010), se desarrolla con el objetivo de proporcionar una visión general del tipo de aproximación, diseñada de manera No Experimental, considerada del tipo transversal - causal y tiene la unidad de medida: las empresas encubadas, las cuales participaron en el programa de EmpreSer, en Hermosillo, Sonora en el año 2010 y las empresas que no fueron incubadas. La evaluación del desempeño se utilizó el método comparativo con dos grupos de enfoque (Roesch, 1999), con empresas que tuvieran similitudes en cuanto producción, producto, un ano de constitución, número de empleados y sector básicos. El muestro que se llevó a cabo fue probabilístico con una población tamaño de la población de 112 empresas incubadas en el 2010, error máximo aceptable del 5%, porcentaje estimado de la muestra 10% al 90% y con un nivel de confianza del 5%, el tamaño de la muestra fue de 44 según el programa STATS, lo que resulta adecuado para el modelo estadístico.Las empresas que construyeron la muestra de este Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 807 estudio estuvieron representados por una parte como se muestra en la Tabla 1. su mayoría por el sector de Autoservicios (abarrotes y alimentos), seguida por oficios varios, textil y otros (los cuales solo tiene una mención, como son: artículos de construcción, agropecuarios, boutiques, educación, miscelánea, plásticos, cuidado personal, artículos para el hogar, turismo restaurantes y bares y por ultimo cuidado médico). Las empresas participantes son mipymes, con capital nacional, con un máximo de 10 empleados y en su mayoría son empresas familiares. Y por otra empresas no encubadas que se invitaron a participar se buscaron que cumplieran con características similares y que tuvieran la disposición de participar en este estudio. Tabla 1: Características de la muestra. Empresas Incubadas (EI) Empresas NO Incubadas (ENI) Concepto Clasificación Frecuencia Porcentaje Clasificación Frecuencia Porcentaje Sector Auto servicios oficios varios, textil Otros 24 3 2 15 47 10 7 37 Auto servicios oficios varios, textil Otros 16 4 1 23 36 9 2 54 Tamaño Micro pymes 44 100 Micro pymes 44 100 Mercado Nacional Extranjero 43 1 98 2 Nacional 44 100 Tipo de empresa Familiar Socios 39 5 87 13 Familiar Socios 35 9 80 20 Tabla 1. Detalla las características principales de la muestras al sector donde el 47% de la muestra está dedicada al sector Autoservicios (alimentos y auto servicios), tamaño de acuerdo a la clasificación de la Secretaria de Economía, el mercado meta, el tipo de empresa, el mercado y en el caso de las ENI, el 23% se encuentra en el sector de otros es decir, artículos de construcción, agropecuarios, boutiques, educación, miscelánea, plásticos, cuidado personal, artículos para el hogar, turismo restaurantes y bares y por ultimo cuidado médico. Se utilizó el mismo instrumento búsqueda de "Diagnóstico de la Competitividad Industrial para la Micro y Pequeña Empresa" desarrollada por SEBRAE en 1995 y adaptada por el autor, cuyas dimensiones e indicadores representantes de las principales dimensiones del desempeño corporativo en el cual se analizó los siguientes: 1. Factor de Productividad: Facturación anual / Nº de trabajadores 2. % de Piezas Defectuosas: Piezas falladas + Piezas retrabajadas/ Total de piezas producidas 3. Q = Cantidad necesaria para producir un determinado producto q = Cantidad incorporada al producto final 4.-% de utilización de Capacidad Instalada (promedio anual) 5.-Interrupciones o Paradas no previstas o no programas (días por año) 6.-% de Personal Calificado a Nivel Superior Nº personas calificadas + Nº Personas de Universidades Total de Trabajadores 7. Formas de Entrenamiento de personal realizadas 8.-Formas de Beneficios e Incentivos a trabajadores Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 808 9.-Formas de captación de Sugerencias 10.-Investigaciones sobre las necesidades de los Clientes (formas realizadas) 11.-Formas de servicios ofrecidos a los Clientes 12.-Programas de Calidad con Clientes y Proveedores 13.-Conocimiento y utilización de Normas Técnicas 14.-Tipo de Instrumentos o Herramientas de Control Gerencial, Financiero y Contable utilizadas. (Wurst, 2010) Una vez que la recolección de datos y comprobación se comenzó a medir asignándosele un punto a cada pregunta planteada y finalmente, los puntos totales de cada empresa, permite la evaluación. La presentación y el análisis de los resultados se organizaron en las dimensiones de los indicadores del desempeño y sus adoptados lo que permitió evaluar el cumplimiento de las empresas. . RESULTADOS Los resultados encontrados en la muestra del estudio presenta información sobre la situación de las empresas que participan en el programa de incubación a un año de haber concluido dicho programas en comparación a empresas en la misma situación que no participaron el mismo. Encontrando una similitud en los sectores y tamaño. Sin embargo podemos encontrar que en las EI, una de esas micro empresas se está dedicando al comercio exterior (exporta). El 100% las empresas cuentan con acceso a internet, correo u otro medio de comunicación, sin embargo una ellas promociona sus artículos mediante su página web. Productividad En materia de Factor de Productividad: se encontró que hay una gran similitud entre ambos grupos, sin embargo en la grupo ENI se encontré la mayor productividad en relación a la facturación / mano de obra, y la más bajo se presentó en las EI. La tasa de defectos, otro indicador importante en el manejo del desempeño, nos muestra que el grupo donde se encontró el mayor índice de defectos es en el EI con un 14% en una de sus empresas, es importante aclarar, que en la mayoría de las empresas no llevan un control específico sobre defectos, así la este indicador un poco confiable. La tasa de desperdicio de materia prima durante el proceso de producción de las empresas tenía una tasa promedio de 59% en las IE y las ENI 67 % también impresionante. Al igual que el punto anterior el indicador en este tipo de clasificación de empresa, es un poco confiable ya que no llevan un control estricto y además muchos de las empresas no lo generar por la naturaleza de sus productos. Como se refiere a la capacidad instalada de las empresas en el estudio verifica que empresas de todos las EI utilizan el 100% de la capacidad, lo que indica están optimizando mejor los recursos existentes, por lo tanto tienen mejor el rendimiento de las empresas estudiadas, ya que las ENI utilizan su capacidad entre un 70 y 100% de su capacidad. En Interrupciones o Paradas no previstas o no programas (días por año), ambos grupos no presentaron algún problema en ese rubro. A continuación en la tabla 3, se muestra los resultados en materia de productividad los dos grupos. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 809 Tabla 3:Productividad. EI ENI Factor de Productividad 93 % 97% La tasa de defectos 68,4 % 60% La tasa de desperdicio 59% 67% Interrupciones o paradas 0% 0% la capacidad instalada 100% 83 % En esta tabla anterior, muestra el concentrado de productividad de los principales indicadores, encontrando un similitud. Recursos Humanos El % de Personal Calificado a Nivel Superior, el 73% de la población de EI cuenta con estudios universitarios o truncos, los ENI, el 65% de la población cuanta con preparación a ese nivel. Mucho de estos indicadores tienen que ver con el giro de la empresa por ejemplo autoservicios, boutiques etc.Con respecto a la aplicación y las formas de capacitación, desgraciadamente el 87 % de las empresas entrevistadas de ambos grupos de estudios no le invierten a la capacitación externa, sin embargo los mismos empleados realizan estas actividades de forma indirecta. Y solo el 13% han asistido por lo menos a una en el periodo del 2010. Dentro del rubro de beneficios e incentivos que brindan las empresas se detectó que las principales prestaciones son las que se brindan por ley como son seguro médico, apoyo a vivienda y el servicio de guardería, solo el 35 % por cuestiones fiscales proporciona vales de comida. El uso de mecanismos para captar sugerencias de los empleados es otro indicador importante para analizar la relación empresa / empleado. Parece que 92 % empresas en el estudio de los mecanismos se utilizan para capturar sugerencias mediante reuniones formales e informales. Clientes El uso de mecanismos para captar información de los clientes es también importante. Sin embargo, 84% de empresas no utilizan los mecanismos definidos para el control de esta información, lo realizan de manera informal, destacando los medios para obtener la información visitas a las empresas o correos.El 92 % de las empresas participantes en este estudio de ambos grupos no cuentan con un programas de Calidad con Clientes y Proveedores establecido, si bien es cierto se realiza de manera informal pero no existe una estructura que lo respalde. En Materia de conocimiento y utilización de Normas Técnicas, el 78 % de los entrevistados no aplican una norma de calidad en sus procesos, como son ISO, Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, HACCP, etc, incluso 7 empresas del ENI y 4 empresas de EI desconocían los conceptos. Información financiera El 100 % de ambos grupos lleva un control inventario de materias primas, bancos y la planificación de costos. Todavía se refieren, el control dinero en efectivo (libro) y control de inventario de productos terminados. Tenga en cuenta que los instrumentos control de gestión respecto a la cifra utilizada por las empresas. Sin embargo el 66.7% de la contabilidad la lleva el dueño de la empresa, el resto la lleva un contador externo e interno en las empresas EI y en las ENI, 73% de la contabilidad la lleva el mismo dueño. El 93% de los EI, expresaron que uno de los principales intereses de formar parte del programa de incubación son los contactos con las organizaciones gubernamentales para el apoyo de un financiamiento. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 810 CONCLUSIONES Considerando la importancia de las incubadoras para apoyar la creación yel desarrollo empresarial, enfrenta una serie de retos para el funcionamiento de sus programas en general y en relación a los indicadores obtenidos una empresa egresada de una incubación tiene mejores resultados que los no participaron. A partir de este cuestionamiento, que se estructura el presente trabajo de investigación. En un intento por comprobar el rendimiento de las empresas egresadas de Empreser, y demostrar sus fortalezas en relación a empresas que no forman parte de este programa, para lo cual, se decidió hacer un análisis comparativo con otras empresas hasta que una evaluación por el rendimiento sólo tiene sentido si se la puede comparar con el de otra empresa, sector o incluso incluso con otro período de tiempo. Si bien es cierto, que de un número considerable de empresas que entran al programa mueren en el camino, hay otras empresas que han crecido considerablemente a ser grandes empresas, de las cuales se le financian los recursos a través de un tercero con la finalidad de que pueda empezar sus actividades. Como recomendación, se debe de tener cuidado con los sectores que se manejan en las incubadoras, ya que son perfiles bajos, con poca inversión, tecnología y sobre todo valor agregado. BIBLIOGRAFIA Ferrari, F., Martinelli, P. E Joyal, A. Uso Da Informação E Capacidaded De Innovación De Las Pme Brasileiras. In Xxi Simposio De Gestión E Innovación Tecnológica: São Paulo, 2000: Anais, Pgt/Usp. Junior, G, Administración De Incubadoras De Empresas De Base Tecnológica. Disertación (Maestría en Administración) – Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Porto Alegre. UFRGS, 1995. Incubadora Empre Ser, Extraído de www.empreser.com, consultado en 15 de febrero del 2011. Hernández, Fernández y Baptista, (2010), Metodología de la investigación, Mc Graw Hill. Instituto Tecnológico del Sonora (ITSON, 2011), Extraído de: http://antiguo.itson.mx/publicaciones/contaduria/Septiembre2008/modelo Consultado el 29 de septiembre de 2011. ROESCH, A. Proyectos de estrategias de administración. Atlas, 1996. Sistema Nacional de Incubación de Empresas, Extraído de: ttp://www.siem.gob.mx/snie/DefinicionesSNIE.asp, consultado el 29 de septiembre del 2011. Wurst, A. (2010) Los indicadores de desempeño de la competitividad a nivel de unidades productivas y empresas artesanales, Extraído de: http://www.artesaniasdelperu.gob.pe/archivos/descargas/promoartesania/Indicadores_desempenio , consultado el 18 de septiembre del 2011. BIOGRAFÍA M.A.N. Emma Vanessa Casas Medina, egresada del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora, en Comercio Internacional, estudio la maestra en Administración de Negocios en la Universidad del Valle, profesora de tiempo completo en el Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora en la carrera de Comercio Internacional y actualmente estudia el, Doctorado en Logística y Dirección de la Cadena de Suministro. Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla. emma.casas@cesues.edu.mx. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 811 MA. Erika Olivas Valdez, Egresada de la Universidad de Sonora, en Licenciatura en Economía, y estudio la maestría en el Colegio de la Frontera del Norte, actualmente se desempeña como Profesor Investigador de Tiempo Completo en el Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora en la Licenciatura de Comercio Internacional. Eolivas14@hotmail.com MA. Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales, egresado de la Universidad de Sonora, en Ingeniería Industrial y de Sistemas, Maestría en Administración de la Universidad de Sonora y actualmente es Profesor Investigador de Tiempo Completo en el Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora en la Licenciatura de Comercio Internacional y la Licenciatura en Contaduría. luisim00@hotmail.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 812 ANÁLISIS DEL IMPACTO DE LA APLICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA GUÍAS ESCOLARES EN LA UNIVERSIDAD: CASO CESUES HERMOSILLO. Emma Vanessa Casas Medina, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora. Norma Lorena Arenas Mozqueda, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora. Susana Ayde Sender Áviles, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora. Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora. RESUMEN Esta trabajo tiene el objetivo de determinar el impacto académico en los estudiantes del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora con la implementación del “ Programa de apoyo académicos” el cual consiste en que alumnos de muy buen rendimiento académico llamados Guías apoyen a sus compañeros que muestran alguna problemática en materias específicas de la carrera y conocer la contribución tanto para los guías, alumnos beneficiados y profesores, que participaron en el programa durante el año escolar 2009 – 1 al 2011 - 2 En este estudio se realizó una investigación descriptiva analizando la pertinencia en el desarrollo académico de los estudiantes; así como detectando los nichos de oportunidades para el buen funcionamiento del mismo en los próximos años. PALABRAS CLAVES: Alumnos, guías, programa de apoyo académico. ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STUDENTS GUIDES PROGRAM IN THE UNIVERSITY. CASE CESUES HERMOSILLO This work has the objective to determine the academic impact on students from the Center of superior studies of the State of Sonora who are involved with the "academic support program" the program consists in students of good academic performance called guides that support fellow students with problems in specific academics areas of the carrier and understand the contribution both. The guides benefit students and teachers, who participated in the program during the year 2009 – 1 to 2011 - 2 In this study the investigation conducted a descriptive research analyzing the relevance of the educational development of students, in the detecting opportunities for the proper functioning of the following year. JEL: I20, A20, A23, A30, A31, I20, I21, I23 KEYWORDS: Students, guides, academic support program. INTRODUCCIÓN Debido a los grandes cambios que han influido en la transformación de la educación superior como son: la globalización económica, la revolución de las comunicaciones y la información, las Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES), a nivel licenciatura, se han visto en la necesidad de transformar su visión de la educación y eliminar paradigmas en cuanto a la formación de sus estudiantes, considerando que la Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 813 atención personalizada de éstos puede ayudar a abatir los graves problemas de deserción y el rezago estudiantil (UPN, 2007), los cuales son de los factores principales que afectan el logro de una alta eficiencia terminal en las instituciones. ANUIES (2002 a) en su Programa Institucional de Tutorías, informó en cifras generales y dentro de sus estadísticas nacionales, que de cada 100 alumnos que empiezan sus estudios universitarios, solo entre 50 y 60 alumnos terminan sus créditos de sus planes de estudios, y al finalizar el periodo de la carrera profesional, solo 20 alumnos obtienen su título profesional. En materia de titulación, 10% solamente, es decir, dos egresados, lo hacen a la edad considerada como deseable (24 ó 25 años); y los demás, lo hacen entre la edad de los 27 y los 60 años (Díaz de Cossío, 1998, citado en ANUIES 2002 a); Chaín (1999, citado en ANUIES 2002 a), indica que aproximadamente 25 de cada 100 estudiantes que ingresan al nivel universitario abandonan sus estudios sin haber acreditado las materias del primer semestre; además, un gran porcentaje de ellos inicia su carrera con altos índices de reprobación y con bajas calificaciones, situaciones que traen como consecuencia que el 36% de los alumnos al tercer semestre, deserten, cifra que se va alarmando conforme pasan los semestres, hasta alcanzar el 46% al término del periodo de formación profesional (Márquez, J. y Jiménez B., 2007). Atendiendo estas problemáticas que se ven inmersas las IES, la Asociación Nacional de Universidades de Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES); propone la operación de un programa denominado Desarrollo integral de los alumnos, que tiene por objetivo: Apoyar a los alumnos del Sistema de Educación Superior (SES), con programas de tutorías y desarrollo integral, diseñados e implementados por las Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES), de suerte que una elevada proporción de ellos culmine sus estudios en el plazo previsto y logre los objetivos de formación establecidos en los planes y programas de estudio.(ANUIES, 2000b). En conclusión, tanto el marco internacional como el nacional coinciden en la necesidad de modificar el paradigma educativo actual, por aquel en el que la formación de los estudiantes sea integral, es decir, que desarrolle valores, actitudes, habilidades, destrezas y aprendizaje significativo. Ante esta situación, el Centro de Estudios Superiores (CESUES), creó la Coordinación de Servicios Estudiantiles, la cual implementó en varios programas, como el Programa Institucional de Tutorías (PIT), el Programa de Salud Universitaria (PSU) y en el Programa de Apoyo Académico (PAA), estrategias que respondan a las demandas actuales de los estudiantes, con la intensión de generar más y mejores egresados que, al mismo tiempo, puedan lograr una incorporación exitosa al mercado de trabajo. Antecedentes de la Coordinación de Servicios Estudiantiles en CESUES. La estructura creada por El CESUES, incluye dentro de su Coordinación de Servicios Estudiantiles, varios programas como el Programa Institucional de Tutorías (PIT), el Programa de Salud Universitaria (PSU), Deportes, Cultura, Programa medioambiental y el Programa de Apoyo Académico (PAA); éstos con la intención de ofrecer una formación más integral a sus estudiantes. METODOLOGÍA Para efectos de esta investigación, se realizó un estudio de carácter descriptivo, en función de resultados y un análisis a partir del apoyo de la estadística descriptiva, el diseño de la investigación es no experimental y trasversal con un periodo de análisis de cuatro ciclos escolares que comprenden los Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 814 periodos del año 2009 a 2011, en el cual se analizó el progreso de cada uno de los estudiantes participantes en el PAA, seleccionándose los referentes métricos apropiados, se adecuaron al contexto, para diseñar los criterios para llevar a cabo la investigación. En el que se hizo una revisión y delimitación del instrumento de medición final, así como su proceso de validación. Características de los alumnos asesorados Para efectos estadísticos, los alumnos asesorados conforman la población de este estudio, tipo no probabilístico, debido a que se dispuso del 100% de los datos a estudiar, ya que es requisito para finalizar el programa, era el realizar un análisis del desempeño académico de cada uno de los participantes y sus desempeño en las materias asesoradas. El criterio de selección de alumnos participantes como beneficiados del programa, son alumnos que en su haber estudiantil, han reprobado una materia por lo menos dos veces o bien, sean candidatos a reprobar en este caso son detectados y canalizados por el profesor, psicólogo, médico o el tutor en los ciclos escolares en los cuales se les brindo el servicio y las carrera de procedencia, las cuales son: Licenciado en Comercio Internacional (LCI), Licenciado en Administración de Empresas Turísticas (LAET); Licenciado de Nutrición Humana (LNH); Licenciado en Contabilidad (LC); Licenciado en Entrenamiento Deportivo (LED); Ingeniero en Horticultura (IH); Licenciado en la Enseñanza del Inglés (LEI); Ingeniero en Geociencias (IG); Ingeniero Ambiental Industrial (IAI) y; Licenciado en Ecología (LE). RESULTADOS Para esta investigación fue necesario realizar una evaluación del desempeño del estudiante en su periodo de participación de su materia, en el cual los resultados fueron los siguientes: Bajo el supuesto de que el comportamiento y el PAA funcionara con una distribución normal, se puede afirmar que existe un 95% de probabilidad de que este programa siga operando con éxito y esperando que el grado de aprobación de los alumnos asesorados oscile entre un 81% y un 100% considerando un intervalo de confianza construido con una desviación estándar para el periodo 2009 – 2 al 2011 -1 de acuerdo a los resultados obtenidos proporcionados por el departamento de control escolar. En la Figura 1. Se detalla el porcentaje de aprobación de los participantes en ese periodo por programa educativo. Figura 1. Porcentaje de aprobación por Programa Educativo en el periodo 2009 – 2 al 2011 – 2. La tabla anterior muestra los porcentajes de aprobación de los alumnos, indicando que las carreras de Licenciatura a la Nutrición Humana y Licenciatura en Contaduría son las que obtuvieron el mayor porcentaje y la carrera de Ingeniería en Geociencias tuvo el menor porcentaje. Fuente: Elaboración Propia. 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1 le lae Ih ig lci le led lnh lai lc 0.8875 0.88 0.935 0.8525 0.9025 0.905 0.8575 0.98 0.915 0.98 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 815 En esta gráfica, se observa que los programas educativos de Comercio Internacional y Nutrición Humana son materias con un grado del 98% de aprobación después de haber tomado la asesoría sin embargo, la Ingeniería de Geociencias obtuvo 85% de grado de aprobación. Las materias que se tuvieron ese problema fueron en el área básicas y sin embargo el porcentaje es significativo. En relación a los guías, 59 asesores que participaron, se atendieron a 2186 alumnos, de los cuales atendieron en un promedio de 37 alumnos, siendo las carreras de LNH y LAI las que obtuvieron la mayor productividad en relación a la cantidad de alumnos atendidos por guías y a su vez, el promedio de aprobación después de haber concluido el PAA. CONCLUSIÓN Con los resultados expuestos, se puede concluir que el PAA ha contribuido a que el 91,1% de los alumnos que participaron en este programan tenga un alto índice de aprobar las materias que han venido reprobando en su carrera. Programa ha ayudado a los alumnos que cursan asignaturas, en segunda oportunidad o en algunos casos hasta la tercera ocasión, a mejorar su situación académica sin la necesidad de desertar o quedarse rezagados en su formación, así como el beneficio que han tenido los guías, al especializarse y a su vez transmitir los conocimientos a sus propios compañeros y a la institución a disminuir considerablemente los índices de deserción o rezago. Es imposible elaborar un listado de alumnos que se encuentren en riesgo de abandono de estudios, debido a que este criterio se podría decir, es voluntario y, en este caso, influyen en el estudiante múltiples factores que van desde la falta de recursos económicos, los problemas psicológicos, problemas personales y/o familiares, falta de vocación o simplemente la decisión de dejar los estudios para dedicar su tiempo a cualquier otra actividad. Para realizar este análisis fue importante considerar a los alumnos inscritos en el semestre respectivo, ya que un estudiante que se encuentra en “riesgo de ser baja definitiva” este semestre, al acreditar la asignatura, automáticamente deja el estatus de “riesgo”. Ya que el reglamento escolar marca que si reprueba por tercera ocasión es Baja Definitiva. Hay que aclarar que el programa tiene sus deficiencias, los cuales serán otro tema de estudio, como son los espacios físicos, horarios, disponibilidad de tiempo por parte de los maestros, organización y etc. De manera general, estas son las actividades que se realizan en el PAA y se puede hacer un análisis cuantitativo sobre los servicios brindados a los estudiantes en función de la matricula total, lamentablemente es imposible realizar la misma medición de manera cualitativa, pues los logros académicos de los estudiantes están en función de las clases impartidas por los profesores, el trabajo realizado por los tutores, asesores académicos, guías, psicólogos, médicos y el impacto de los servicios administrativos de la institución; esto en conjunto, es lo que permite al estudiante tener una formación completa y sería subjetivo determinar que un porcentaje del éxito o fracaso de un estudiante es en mayor o menor medida responsabilidad del PAA; lo que si es importante mencionar es que, este programa al igual que el resto de los programas dependientes de la Coordinación de Servicios Estudiantiles, contribuyen a la formación integral de los estudiantes. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 816 BIBLIOGRAFIA ANUIES. (2000a). Programas Institucionales de Tutorías. México, D. F. Extraído de: http://www.anuies.mx/servicios/destrategicos/libros/lib42/17.htm. Consultado el 05 junio del 2011. _________, (2000 b). Deserción, Rezago y Eficiencia Terminal en las IES. Propuesta metodológica para su estudio. Extraído de: http://www.anuies.mx/servicios/destrategicos/libros/libros98.htm. Consultado el 05 junio del 2011. Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES, 2010). Programa de Apoyo Académico, México. CESUES. _________, Programa de Tutorías Institucional (PTI), Manual del Tutor (2009). CESUES. Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (2011). Artículo Tercero. México. Extraído de: http://www.ordenjuridico.gob.mx/Constitucion/cn16 . Consultado el 21 de septiembre del 2011. Díaz de Cossío, (1998). Libros selectos. Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES). Extraído de: http://www.anuies.mx/servicios/destrategicos/libros/lib42/39.htm. Consultado el 21 de septiembre del 2011. La Ley General de Educación (LGE, 2006). Articulo 7. México. Extraída de http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/ref/lge.htm. Consultada el 25 de septiembre del 2011. Ley de Educación para el Estado de Sonora (LEES, 2007). Articulo Primero. Estado de Sonora. Extraído de: http://www.sec-sonora.gob.mx/documentos/LEYDEEDUCACION . Consultado el 21 de septiembre del 2011. Márquez, J. y Jiménez B. (2007). Propuesta de Evaluación al Programa Institucional de Tutorías (PIT). Extraído de: http://www.upd.edu.mx/varios/simpdidac2007/simp16 . Consultado el 19 de septiembre del 2011. BIOGRAFÍA Emma Vanessa Casas Medina, es Maestra en Administración de Negocios de la Universidad del Valle de México. Profesora Investigadora de Tiempo Completo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), adscrita a la Carrera de Comercio Internacional. Se puede contactar en la Unidad Académica Hermosillo, CESUES, Contacto vía correo electrónico: emma.casas@cesues.edu.mx. Norma Lorena Arenas Mozqueda, es Maestra en Educación de la Universidad del Valle de México. Profesora Investigadora de Tiempo Completo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), adscrita a la Carrera de Comercio Internacional. Contacto vía correo electrónico: lorryam@hotmail.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 817 Susana Ayde Sender Avilés, es Maestra en Logística de la Universidad de Valladolid, España. Administrativo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora y Profesora de Asignatura en el Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora, Contacto vía correo electrónico: susana.sender@gmail.com Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales es Maestro en Administración de la Universidad de Sonora. Profesor Investigador de Tiempo Completo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), adscrito a la Carrera de Comercio Internacional. Se puede contactar en la Unidad Académica Hermosillo, CESUES, en Ley Federal del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora, México. Contacto vía correo electrónico: luisim00@hotmail.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 818 PLANES NACIONALES DE DESARROLLO Y LOS SECTORES PRODUCTIVOS DE MÉXICO Omar Ernesto Terán Varela, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Enrique Espinosa Ayala, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Ranulfo Pérez Garcés, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca María de Lourdes Hernández Aragón, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca RESUMEN Las políticas públicas siempre han sido establecidas por los planes sexenales de gobierno, cada gobierno que toma posesión por cada seis (6) años, formula su propio Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (PND) con conformes a sus propósitos y enfocados a los sectores productivos del país. En el país existen tres sectores productivos el primario que trata de la alimentación de la población, el secundario y terciario que son los de servicios y transformación respectivamente, y los PND que están enfocados apoyar a dichos sectores, donde los Planes Estatales de Desarrollo (PED) son los que llevan a cabo ciertas acciones para que se cumpla el PND, y el Plan Municipal de Desarrollo que es el Bando Municipal que se encarga de los territorios. En México cada sexenio se ha pronunciado por formular los objetivos que persigue el país y se establecen los lineamientos de crecimiento de acuerdo a los sectores productivos. En donde se establece que acciones se deberán de llevar a cabo para impulsar su desarrollo. Por lo que la investigación tiene como objetivo realizar un diagnóstico de cómo han impactado dichas políticas públicas en el desarrollo de las regiones. PALABRAS CLAVES: Políticas Públicas, Planes Nacionales de Desarrollo (PND), Sectores Productivos. JEL: H83 ABSTRACT Public policies have always been set by six-year plans of government, every government that takes over for every six (6) years, makes its own National Development Plan (NDP) in accordance with its purposes and focus on the productive sectors.The country has three sectors is the primary food of the population, the secondary and tertiary services are and transformation respectively, and the NDP who are focused support to those sectors where the State Development Plan (EDP) are carrying out certain actions to ensure compliance with the NDP, and the Municipal Development Plan is the Municipal Band which is responsible for the territories.In Mexico every six years has spoken to formulate the objectives of the country and establishing guidelines for growth according to the productive sectors. In establishing that actions must be to carry out to promote their development. So the research is to make a diagnosis of how those policies have impacted on the development of the regions. KEYWORDS: Public Policy, National Development Plans (NDP), Productive Sectors Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 819 INTRODUCCIÓN Por ello se analizan los tres planes de desarrollo; El Plan Nacional de Desarrollo el cual es establecido por el presidente de los Estados unidos Mexicanos, FELIPE DE JESÚS CALDERÓN HINOJOSA, se presenta, en cumplimiento al Artículo 26 de la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos y cual señala que corresponde al Estado organizar un sistema de planeación democrática del desarrollo nacional que imprima solidez, dinamismo, permanencia y equidad al crecimiento de la economía para la independencia; corresponde al Ejecutivo Federal conducir la planeación nacional del desarrollo, mediante la ordenación racional y sistemática de las acciones que buscan lograr un desarrollo equitativo que proporcione mejores niveles de vida para todos. El PND 2007-2012 se sustenta en cinco ejes rectores; estado de derecho y seguridad; economía competitiva y generadora de empleos; igualdad de oportunidades; sustentabilidad ambiental, y democracia efectiva y política exterior responsable; por lo tanto el Plan asume como premisa básica la búsqueda del Desarrollo Humano Sustentable, como el proceso permanente de ampliación de capacidades y libertades que permita a todos los mexicanos tener una vida digna sin comprometer el patrimonio de las generaciones futuras. Por tanto este Plan Nacional de Desarrollo tiene como finalidad establecer los objetivos nacionales, las estrategias y las prioridades que durante la Administración deberán regir la acción del gobierno. El PDEM que es establecido por Enrique Peña Nieto; Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de México 2005-2011, El Plan de Desarrollo del Estado de México 2005-2011 es un documento que sintetiza los anhelos y aspiraciones de nuestra sociedad; El Plan de Desarrollo reviste una enorme importancia, ya que constituye el documento rector de las políticas públicas que se habrán de implementar en el Estado de México, para brindar Seguridad Integral a cada mexiquense, capaz de propiciar un ambiente de acuerdos y consensos; que conduzca el esfuerzo social para concretar acciones, programas y proyectos que impacten positivamente en la calidad de vida de los mexiquenses. La Seguridad Integral es un concepto que se sustenta en tres pilares fundamentales: Seguridad Social, la Seguridad Económica y la Seguridad Pública. La fundamentación jurídica que da cuerpo y razón de ser a la estructura de este Plan de Desarrollo del Estado de México, parte del artículo 139 de la Constitución Política del Estado Libre y Soberano de México, del contenido de este artículo se desprende, como ley reglamentaria, la Ley de Planeación del Estado de México y Municipios, en la cual se dispone, en el artículo 22, que: “Los planes de desarrollo se formularán, aprobarán y publicarán dentro de un plazo de seis meses para el Ejecutivo del Estado [...] contados a partir del inicio del período constitucional de gobierno y en su elaboración se tomarán en cuenta las opiniones y aportaciones de los diversos grupos de la sociedad [...]”. El Plan de Desarrollo Municipal de Amecameca 2009 – 2012, establecido por el Dr. Juan Sánchez Demetrio, actual presidente municipal; se orienta hacia la construcción de un gobierno municipal honesto, eficiente y eficaz, que a través de un nuevo modelo de gestión pública, basado en la planeación estratégica, la gobernabilidad y la participación ciudadana, busca fortalecer el papel de Amecameca en el concierto estatal y regional, elevar la calidad de vida de las y los habitantes del Municipio, procure mantener un medio ambiente sano, diversificado y competitivo, así como reencauzar la vida pública en el Municipio ajustada al Estado de Derecho. El artículo 116 del mismo ordenamiento legal, dispone que el Plan de Desarrollo Municipal deba ser elaborado, aprobado y publicado, dentro de los primeros cuatro meses de la gestión municipal. Su vigencia se circunscribirá al período constitucional o hasta la publicación del plan de desarrollo del siguiente período constitucional de gobierno.Periodos presidenciales de 1982 a la fecha. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 820 1. Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (1982-1988): De la Madrid llegó al poder en una de las épocas más difíciles del país, mucho debido a su antecesor José López Portillo, quien nacionalizó la banca tres meses antes de salir del poder. Como resultado, la inflación subió a un promedio de casi 100% cada año, el desempleo creció a 15% entre 1983 y 1985 y hubo caídas drásticas en producción, sobre todo en industrias gubernamentales. Ante la severa crisis económica, se establecieron los Pactos de Crecimiento Económico con los diversos sectores sociales, mediante los cuales el gobierno subsidiaba parte de los precios de los productos básicos y los productores/distribuidores se comprometían a no aumentarlos. En 1983 promovió la creación del Sistema Nacional de Subcontratación, mediante el cual las empresas paraestatales orientarían su demanda hacia el mercado interno, fundamentalmente en apoyo a la pequeña y mediana industria. Y se le dio especial apoyo por su participación de casi 85% en las industrias del papel, madera, alimentaria, textil y minería. En 1991 se decreta la Ley Federal Para el Fomento de la Microindustria y la Actividad artesanal; tiene por objeto fomentar el desarrollo de la microindustria y de la actividad artesanal. 2. Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1989-1994); Para 1988, la industria micro, pequeña y mediana estaba integrada por 119,914 empresas, las cuales empleaban a casi1, 591,466 personas, representando el 98% del total de establecimientos de transformación, absorbiendo más del 50% de la mano de obra del sector y aportando el 44% de la producción de la industria manufacturera, proporción equivalente al 12% del PIB. Bajo este contexto se desarrolla el Programa para la Modernización y el Desarrollo de la industria Micro, Pequeña y Mediana (PMDI) para promover los instrumentos y acciones en apoyo a este tipo de empresas. 3. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (1995-2000): Se promovió el Programa Integral de Promoción del Uso de Tecnologías Informáticas para la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresas con el propósito de promover el uso de herramientas informáticas e incrementar la competitividad. A lo largo del sexenio, se continuó con el esquema de empresas integradoras con el objeto de elevar la competitividad de la micro, pequeña y mediana empresa. Se firmó el Convenio de Cooperación Institucional entre la SECOFI y los fideicomisos instituidos en relación con la agricultura (FIRA), mediante el cual se asesoraron 50 proyectos de empresas integradoras de los sectores agrícolas, pecuarios y piscícolas. 4- Vicente Fox Quesada (2001-2006): Ley para el desarrollo de la competitividad de la micro, pequeña y mediana empresa. La ley tiene por objeto promover el desarrollo económico de la nacional a través del fomento a la creación de las Mi Pymes y el apoyo para su viabilidad, productividad, competitividad y sustentabilidad, con la finalidad de fomentar el empleo y el bienestar social y económico de todos los participantes en la Mi Pymes. Con base en la estratificación establecida por la Secretaria de Economía, de común acuerdo con la Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público y Publicada en el Diario Oficial de la federación se logra estratificar por sectores el tamaño de las MIPYMES, en la cual se incluyen productores agrícolas, ganaderos, forestales entre otros. El desarrollo de los sectores productivos; durante la administración de Vicente Fox los tres grandes sectores de la actividad económica dieron muestra de reactivación, esto según cifras de INEGI, siendo el sector primario el cual registro un mayor crecimiento. Durante el primer trimestre del 2004, con una población económicamente activa en descenso, el sector primario: agricultura, ganadería, silvicultura y pesca aumento 4.6 por ciento respecto al valor de la producción del mismo periodo del 2003. El sector terciario o de servicios tuvo un crecimiento de 4.1 por ciento sobre el nivel del primer trimestre de 2003, este se mantuvo en crecimiento constante durante esta administración gubernamental impulsando principalmente por la telefonía tradicional, la celular y las comunicaciones satelitales. En el sector secundario o industrial se incrementó 3.2%. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 821 5.- Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (2007-2012): En el PND 2007 2012, establece una nueva estratificación basada en la cantidad de empleados y ventas anuales, dicha estratificación solo mencionan a los sectores productivos secundarios y terciarios, sin tomar en consideración el sector primario, en el acuerdo por el que se establece la estratificación de las MIPYMES, publicado el 30 de junio del 2009, que tiene por objeto promover el desarrollo económico nacional a través del fomento a la creación de MIPYMES, en el apoyo para su viabilidad, productividad, competitividad y sustentabilidad, así como incrementar su participación en los mercados, en un marco decrecientes encadenamientos productivos que generan mayor valor agregado nacional, y que de común acuerdo con la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público se considera necesario establecer la estratificación, con el fin de evitar la discriminación en contra de empresas intensivas. Sectores productivos de México: Los sectores económicos son la división de la actividad económica de un estado o territorio, atendiendo al tipo de proceso productivo que tenga lugar. Los sectores económicos se han clasificado de las siguientes maneras: Sector primario o agropecuario: comprende las actividades a la mera extracción de recursos de la naturaleza, son que estos hayan sido transformados por la acción humana. Se refiere a la obtención de materia prima para fabricar otros bienes, y está integrado por cuatro subsectores o ramas: agricultura, ganadería, silvicultura y pesca, por lo que este sector también se conoce como agropecuario. Sector secundario o industrial; se refiere a las actividades que producen bienes a gran escala y de manera continua: implican la utilización de procesos industriales y se pueden dividir en extractivas, como en los casos de la minería y el petróleo, y manufactureras cuando transforman los recursos naturales para convertirlos en bienes de consumo, intermedios y de capital, razón por la que la industria manufacturera también se conoce como de transformación. La construcción, aunque se considera parte del sector secundario, suele contabilizarse a parte, pues reúne características que le confieren identidad propia. Sector terciario o de servicios: abarca las actividades destinadas a satisfacer la demanda de los servicios de comercio, transporte, comunicaciones, medios de información, educación, banca, publicidad. etc. se distinguen de la producción de bienes en cuanto a que, por su propia naturaleza los servicios son actividades humanas intangibles y no productos materiales como aquellos correspondientes a los dos primeros sectores. (México, estructuras política, económica y social: gloria m. delgado de cantú) Estratificación de empresas, publicada en el diario oficial de la federación 30 junio de 2009. Tabla 1: Clasificacion por Numero de Empleados clasificación por números de empleados tamaño industria comercio servicios microempresa 0-10 0-10 0-10 pequeña empresa 11-50 11-30 11-50 mediana empresa 51-250 31-100 51-100 gran empresa 501 en adelante 101 en adelante 101 en adelante. Tabla 2: Sector Agropecuario sector agropecuario microempresa 0-5 pequeña empresa 6-20 mediana empresa 21-100 gran empresa 101 en adelante Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 822 De acuerdo a la Clasificación Mexicana de Actividades y Productos (CMAP), el sector agropecuario incluye tres subsectores. Agricultura, Ganadería y Caza, Silvicultura, y Pesca Fuente: “Micro, pequeña, mediana y gran empresa. Censos económicos de 1999. Estratificación de los establecimientos”, en INEGI, México, 1999, p. 12 Los rubros Industria, Comercio y Servicios incluyen los siguientes sectores económicos: 1) Industria: Minería, Manufactura, Electricidad y Agua y Construcción. Incluye un total de 16 subsectores económicos. 2) Comercio: Comercio. Incluye un total de dos subsectores económicos. 3) Servicios: Servicios Financieros y de Alquiler, y servicios comunales y sociales, hoteles y restaurantes y profesionales. Incluye un total de trece subsectores económicos. De acuerdo a la Clasificación Mexicana de Actividades y Productos (CMAP), el Único sector excluido de esa estratificación de las MIPYMES, fue el agropecuario. Y para tal sector se propuso la siguiente clasificación: REVISIÓN LITERARIA Partiendo De Lo Anteriormente Expuesto, Se Tomaran Como Referencia Los Datos Del Sexenio De 1982 A La Fecha. Sexenio Del Presidente Miguel De La Madrid Hurtado, Se Publica En El DOF Del 26 De Enero De 1988, Por Decreto Se Establece Que Las Microindustrias En Operación Podrán Inscribirse En Forma Gratuita En El Padrón Nacional De La Microindustria, Y Que Para El 22 De Julio Del 1991, Se Formula Por Decreto La LEY FEDERAL PARA EL FOMENTO DE LA MICRO INDUSTRIA Y LA ACTIVIDAD ARTESANAL, En Donde Se Establece Por Primera Vez La Estratificación De Las MIPYMES, Como Microindustrias Y Actividad Artesanal, Sin Determinar La Cantidad De Empleados Que La Integren, Donde Se Involucra A Los Tres Sectores Productivos Del País. En El Sexenio Del Presidente Carlos Salinas De Gortari, Se Establecen Los Reglamentos De Promociones Y Ofertas Durante El PND 1989 1994, Que Establece La Necesidad De Adecuar El Marco Jurídico De La Actividad Económica Para Evitar La Regulación Excesiva Que Impone Costos Elevados, Limita La Competencia Impulsando Los Precios Al Alza, Discrimina Entre Diversos Agentes Productivos, Desalienta La Productividad Y Propicia Una Asignación Ineficiente De Los Recursos. Es hasta el sexenio de Vicente Fox Quezada se logra estratificar por sectores el tamaño de las MIPYMES, donde toma en consideración a las actividades económicas del país, y lo establece en función de la cantidad de empleados, por lo que se promulga la Ley para el Desarrollo de la Competitividad de las MIPYMES, así como el Consejo Nacional para la Competitividad, la cual fue publicadas el 06 de junio de 2006, que tiene como objeto promover el desarrollo económico nacional a través del fomento a la creación de MIPYMES, asimismo, establece artículos y reglamentos para su funcionamiento. Una de las últimas leyes promulgadas para el desarrollo de las MIPYMES se da en el sexenio de Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, en donde en el PND 2007 2012, establece una nueva estratificación basada en la cantidad de empleados y ventas anuales, dicha estratificación solo mencionan a los sectores productivos secundarios y terciarios, sin tomar en consideración el sector primario, en el acuerdo por el que se establece la estratificación de las MIPYMES, publicado el 30 de junio del 2009, que tiene por objeto promover el desarrollo económico nacional a través del fomento a la creación de MIPYMES, en el apoyo para su viabilidad, productividad, competitividad y sustentabilidad, así como incrementar su participación en los mercados, en un marco decrecientes encadenamientos productivos que generan mayor valor agregado Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 823 nacional, y que de común acuerdo con la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público se considera necesario establecer la estratificación, con el fin de evitar la discriminación en contra de empresas intensivas. De acuerdo a lo anterior, la actividad productiva del país está constituida por tres sectores económicos: Primario (agropecuario y minero), Secundario (industrial) y Terciario (servicios). 1.- Sector Primario: Actividades económicas relacionadas con la transformación de los recursos naturales en productos primarios no elaborados. Usualmente, los productos primarios son utilizados como materia prima en las producciones industriales. Las principales actividades del sector primario son la agricultura, la minería, la ganadería, la silvicultura la apicultura, la acuicultura, la caza y la pesca. 2.- Sector Secundario: Actividades que implican la transformación de alimentos y materias primas a través de los más variados procesos productivos. 3.- Sector Terciario: Actividades económicas que no producen bienes materiales de forma directa, sino servicios que se ofrecen para satisfacer las necesidades de la población. (Wikipedia Foundation Inc., 2010). METODOLOGÍA La metodología aplicada en el desarrollo de la investigación es de tipo cualitativo debido a que la investigación propone establecer estrategias de búsqueda bibliográficas y referenciales en bases de datos e internet de manera retrospectiva que permiten lograr ver como en México cada sexenio se ha pronunciado por formular los objetivos que persigue el país y se establecen los lineamientos de crecimiento de acuerdo a los sectores productivos. Por lo que la investigación tiene como objetivo realizar un diagnóstico de cómo han impactado dichas políticas públicas en el desarrollo de las regiones así como lograr rescatar información de donde ha quedado el sector primario dentro de la estratificación. Es de tipo descriptivo debido que al análisis realizado referente a los sectores productivos y a los PND, PED Y PMD. Es de tipo no experimental, debido a que recolecta los datos directamente en un solo momento de los documentos investigados, sin manipular o controlar alguna variable y la recolección de datos. Consideraciones Finales Las leyes y establecidas de manera recurrentes en los PND, PED y PMD, que hablan específicamente de la viabilidad, productividad, competitividad y sustentabilidad, así como incrementar su participación en los mercados, y se han incrustado como prioridades en los planes de desarrollo con el propósito de lograr el desarrollo endógeno territorial de los municipios, estados y nacionales, que al día de hoy no han sido concretados de manera eficiente en su ejecución que beneficie la competitividad de las MIPYMES, lo que ha provocado que la competitividad del país de una u otra forma haya perdido escalones, debido a que los programas de apoyo aunque se han incrementado, no se han destinado de manera eficiente para que cumpla con su propósito. Asimismo, hay que tomar en consideración que hubo un momento en el tiempo en la cual los lineamientos que se establecieron desde 1988 para la estratificación de las MIPYMES en donde se contemplaban los tres sectores productivos y que en las últimas reglamentaciones solo se han tomado como referencia para la estratificación los sectores secundarios y terciarios BIBLIOGRAFÍA Compendio jurídico PYMES (2009). ISEF. México. Plan Estatal de Desarrollo, Estado de México 2005-2011. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 824 Planes Municipales de Desarrollo 2009-2012. Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007- 2012, Gobierno de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos 2007. http://www.mexicomaxico.org/Voto/Competitividad2.htm http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/censos/ce2009/pdf/Mono_Micro_peque_medi ana http://asoea.azc.uam.mx/f_uam_mipymes/ponenc2f/0026 . “Micro, pequeña, mediana y gran empresa. Censos económicos de 1999. Estratificación de los establecimientos”, en INEGI, México, 1999, p. 12 http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/censos/ce2009/pdf/Mono_Micro_peque_medi ana (México, estructuras política, económica y social: gloria m. delgado de cantú) http://asoea.azc.uam.mx/f_uam_mipymes/ponenc2f/0026 http://www.mexicomaxico.org/Voto/Competitividad2.htm http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/censos/ce2009/pdf/Mono_Micro_peque_mediana http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/censos/ce2009/pdf/Mono_Micro_peque_mediana http://asoea.azc.uam.mx/f_uam_mipymes/ponenc2f/0026 http://asoea.azc.uam.mx/f_uam_mipymes/ponenc2f/0026 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 825 ENTORNOS VIRTUALES APLICADOS A LA EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR BASADOS EN LA METACOGNICIÓN Omar Ernesto Terán Varela, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Monserrat Alonso Galicia, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Martha Elba Ruíz Riva Palacio , Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Ranulfo Pérez Garcés, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca RESUMEN El uso de entornos virtuales aplicados a la educación superior basados en la metacognición, se ha cimentado como una alternativa para lograr la innovación en las mediaciones que tradicionalmente se han venido implementando en la educación para la formación del estudiante. La presente investigación propone realizar un diagnóstico de los diversos medios virtuales que permitan analizar procesos y entornos en las aulas virtuales, con el fin de generar espacios que respondan a las necesidades reales de los estudiantes, así como determinar los estilos de aprendizaje con el propósito de adoptar sus propios esquemas cognitivos implementando una acción formativa en la enseñanza, tomando en cuenta factores que determinan la calidad educativa, entre otros, dichos factores respondan a una serie de principios que engloban a todos aquellos aspectos que deben ser considerados a la hora de evaluar los entornos formativos. El estudiante deberá adquirir competencias que están vinculadas al uso de las TIC’s, que se ha generado en el incremento de la innovación, producción y transferencia del conocimiento, que se le exige, por lo que el uso de herramientas virtuales van acompañadas de habilidades metacognitivas, que permitan afrontar eficazmente, las demandas sociales, educativas y culturales. PALABRAS CLAVES: Entornos Virtuales, Metacognición, TIC’s, Competencias, Aulas virtuales. ABSTRACT The use of virtual environments applied to higher education based on metacognition has cemented itself as an alternative to achieve innovation in mediation have traditionally been implemented in education for student training.This research proposes a diagnosis of the various virtual environments that allow analysis of processes and environments in virtual classrooms, in order to create spaces that meet the real needs of students, and to identify learning styles in order to adopt their own cognitive schemes implemented a training in teaching, taking into account factors that determine the quality of education, among others, these factors respond to a series of principles that encompass all aspects that must be considered when evaluating the training environments. The student will acquire skills that are linked to the use of TIC’s, which has generated increased innovation, production and transfer of knowledge that is required, so that the use of virtual tools are accompanied by metacognitive skills, that can cope effectively, social demands, educational and cultural. JEL: M0 KEYWORDS: Virtual Environments, Metacognition, TIC’s, Skills, virtual classrooms. INTRODUCCIÓN Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 826 Ciertamente la incorporación de las TIC’s y el desarrollo de un espacio europeo de educación superior hacen que la universidad se mueva en una nueva dirección. Las nuevas propuestas universitarias abogan por que el estudiante sea centro y protagonista del proceso de aprendizaje y se sustituya la importancia de la enseñanza y la adquisición de conocimientos por la importancia del aprendizaje y la adquisición de competencias (González y Wagenaar,2003). Los nuevos entornos virtuales y las herramientas interactivas proporcionan nuevos conceptos educacionales lo cual las redes permiten crear estructuras de comunicación que facilitan y optimizan la información y conocimientos. Es así como los nuevos espacios de aprendizaje electrónico se van abriendo y exigen innovaciones inminentes en el planteamiento pedagógico de las acciones formativas que tenemos hasta estos momentos. Al presentar cambios con los entornos se sufren cambios significativos en la enseñanza superior la cual algunas cuentan solo con apoyo de aulas presenciales, y son pocos los docentes que innovan sus aulas. Tanto alumnos como los docentes se enfrentan a un cambio al utilizar herramientas diferentes por lo tanto necesitamos la disposición. “Las últimas tendencias en educación propugnan el trabajo en grupo como metodología predominante, en la cual los alumnos son los protagonistas del trabajo en el aula. La interacción que se produce en el aula no sólo es la de profesor-grupo. Es fundamental también tener en cuenta la interacción entre el alumno y el profesor y la de los alumnos entre sí. En múltiples ocasiones los estudiantes aprenden más de sus compañeros (del compañero experto) que del propio profesor.” (Santamaría, 2005: 2) REVISIÓN LITERARIA La sociedad red es una sociedad cuya estructura social está construida en torno a redes de información a partir de las tecnologías de la información. Internet en ese sentido no es simplemente una tecnología; es el medio de comunicación que constituye la forma organizativa de nuestras sociedades; es el corazón de un nuevo paradigma socio técnico que constituye en realidad la base material de nuestras vías y de nuestras formas de relación, de trabajo y de comunicación. El aprovechamiento de las herramientas que nos brinda la Web, plataformas gratuitas y accesibles, resulta una ventaja altamente competitiva para trabajar de forma colaborativa en el aula, favoreciendo la motivación y el interés de los alumnos por su propio aprendizaje. Uno de los retos básicos de la educación actual es preparar a las personas para ser capaces de participar plenamente en una sociedad de la información en que el conocimiento es fuente crítica de desarrollo social y económico (Cornell, 1999). El paradigma que está emergiendo en este nuevo siglo es el del aprendizaje en red basado en la interactividad global, el aprendizaje colaborativo y el acceso a las actividades y recursos educativos (Harasim 2000). El entorno virtual facilita no solo que estos procesos de cooperación se puedan llevar a cabo atendiendo a la vez necesidades individuales de espacio y tiempo, dando respuesta a una forma de aprendizaje más autónoma y más liberada por el propio estudiante. Los docentes, en la actualidad, se enfrentan con el doble desafío de no sólo tener que saber utilizar las nuevas herramientas y entornos virtuales, sino además sacar el mejor provecho pedagógico de ellas. Si se utilizan como simple depósito de información para que los alumnos tengan a su disposición la información sobre el curso o de un aula en particular, no vemos que se produzca mucha diferencia. No se introduce ninguna innovación pedagógica por el hecho de utilizar el correo electrónico u otro entorno virtual interactivo cualquiera, en vez de los medios clásicos de comunicación. Ahora bien, si aprovechamos los nuevos entornos y dispositivos interactivos para potencializar el diálogo y el trabajo y el aprendizaje colaborativo, podremos lograr lo que siempre soñaron los educadores que defendieron el aprendizaje activo. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 827 Cuando nos referimos al uso de los entornos virtuales y herramientas interactivas utilizados en la Educación, normalmente pensamos en la modalidad a distancia o blended learning. Sin embargo, la modalidad de enseñanza presencial también puede beneficiarse del cambio cualitativo que se puede producir al introducir las TIC`s en los procesos de aprendizaje: favorece el trabajo colaborativo, permite compartir las mejores prácticas, permite en definitiva mejorar la comunicación y la interacción. El entorno virtual facilita que puedan llevar a cabo a la vez necesidades individuales de espacio y tiempo, dando respuesta a una forma de aprendizaje más autónoma y más liberada por el propio estudiante. Es así como los nuevos espacios de aprendizaje electrónico se van abriendo y exigen innovaciones inminentes en el planteamiento pedagógico de las acciones formativas que tenemos hasta estos momentos. Para adquirir los objetivos competenciales de la asignatura, la metodología propuesta es el trabajo por equipo el cual permite a los estudiantes la adquisición gradual de las habilidades y competencias en TIC’s. La propuesta del proyecto para formar el entorno y formar las actividades propuestas para adquirir estas habilidades y competencias son las siguientes: • Formación del grupo de trabajo y establecimiento de los primeros acuerdos • Identificación de concreción de los temas a trabajar • Planificación del trabajo del grupo en pro de los proyectos • Autoevaluación del funcionamiento del grupo CONSIDERACIONES FINALES La presentación de la información en los entornos virtuales de aprendizaje debe atender a los principios de usabilidad, accesibilidad y adaptabilidad, como mecanismo para facilitar la visualización de los contenidos didácticos, por lo cual se necesita una serie de elementos que hagan del entorno formativo un escenario atractivo que propicie la permanencia del estudiante en el mismo: • Organización de la información, Debe facilitar al estudiante visualizar rápidamente todos los contenidos, ofreciendo espacios que despierten la atención y el interés del usuario. • Legibilidad, Se hace referencia a la claridad con la que se presenta el texto, atendiendo a una serie de principios, tales como el tamaño de la fuente suficientemente grande para que se pueda leer. • Vinculación, los elementos hipertextuales deben de ser fácilmente reconocibles dentro del escenario formativo. • Tiempo de respuesta, la presentación a los estudiantes de los contenidos en los entornos debe ser ágil, de tal manera, que no supere los diez segundos ya que el este es el límite de las personas para prestar atención mientras esperan. • Elementos multimedia (imágenes, fotografías, video, sonido y animaciones); deben acompañar a la información si poseen cierta calidad técnica, evitando recargar la página web con este tipo de elementos, puesto que repercutirá negativamente en los tiempos de respuesta. • La navegación; los interfaces de navegación deben ayudar a los usuarios a responder sus dudas. • Accesibilidad, facilitar el acceso a la información a todos los estudiantes, debe de ser nuestro objetivo principal cuando diseñamos nuestra asignaturas. Para ellos debemos efectuar un breve repaso de todos los recursos que ofrecemos, para determinar en qué medida pueden ser empleados por aquellas personas que tienen algún tipo de dificultad. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 828 • Adaptabilidad, este se centra en la adecuación estética de los escenarios de las características de los estudiantes, con el objetivo de ofrecerles un entorno de aprendizaje legible, amigable, fácil manejo que construya positivamente a facilitar su proceso formativo. Los escenarios formativos deben permitir al usuario tener un dominio absoluto no sólo de los materiales, sino también del entorno formativo. En este sentido, la interacción en la formación de la red, debe propiciar la interrelación entre: Estudiantes, Docentes, Materiales y Entornos. Para ello, debemos ofrecer un sistema de navegación accesible e intuitiva que permita al estudiante interactuar libremente con el entorno y los materiales elaborados y recogidos en este, de tal manera que, se pueda acceder y profundizar en los contenidos de la asignatura con mayor facilidad. Mediante las diferentes herramientas de comunicación, es posible facilitar el intercambio de información y la participación activa, ya que pueden servir para desarrollar diferentes acciones formativas encaminadas a generar un trabajo colaborativo, potenciando con ello, las habilidades socio-afectivas entre los estudiantes (Del Moral y Villaluestre, 2003). Así es como surge la necesidad de adoptar nuevos modos de valorar los aprendizajes adquiridos por los estudiantes, alejados de los métodos de evaluación propios de la enseñanza convencional. En este sentido autores como Dichy, Segers y Dierick (2002) plantean cinco métodos combinados de evaluación de los aprendizajes: 1.- Evaluación por portafolio; una carpeta individual donde cada estudiante va introduciendo aquellos trabajos más representativos de su progreso. 2.- Prueba General; se centra en la resolución de problemas, tanto a nivel individual como grupal. 3.- Autoevaluación; el estudiante valora el grado de consecución de sus propios aprendizajes. 4.- Evaluación de iguales; serán los discentes quienes valoren los conocimientos, actividades y aportaciones de sus compañeros 5.- Co- evaluación; la valoración de los aprendizajes adquiridos se realiza conjuntamente entre el docente y los estudiantes. Las practicas evaluativas deben mantener una coherencia con el resto de elementos del diseño instruccional. BIOGRAFIA Terán, Varela Omar Ernesto, Profesor del Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca, Profesor de Posgrado de la Facultad de Contaduría y Administración de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Carretera Amecameca Ayapango Km 2.5 Estado de México oteranv@hotmail.com Alonso Galicia Monserrat, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Carretera Amecameca Ayapango Km 2.5 Estado de México, Mond366@hotmail.com Estudiante del 7to Semestre de la Licenciatura en Administración del Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Ruíz Riva Palacio, Martha Elba, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca, Carretera Amecameca Ayapango Km 2.5 Estado de México, prometeoruiz@hotmail.com. Estudiante del 7to Semestre de la Licenciatura en Administración del Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 829 Pérez Garcés, Ranulfo, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca, Carretera Amecameca Ayapango Km 2.5 Estado de México, ranulfouaem@hotmail.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 830 PROYECCIÓN DEL PERFIL DE VALORES DEL LIC. EN NEGOCIOS INTERNACIONALES Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, UABC María Belén Murillo Pedraza, UABC Ana Cecilia Bustamante Valenzuela, UABC Sandra Julieta Saldívar González, UABC Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martínez, La Salle RESUMEN En un mundo cambiante y lleno de retos se necesita del profesionista con conocimientos y capacidad para resolver la problemática que se le presente; sin embargo, en el mismo nivel de importancia están los valores con los que esté revestido y en los cuales cimienta sus decisiones. La búsqueda constante de la competitividad y del éxito hace parecer que existe una crisis de valores o que no hay valores. Identificar el perfil de valores del futuro profesionista permitirá a las universidades establecer estrategias que ayuden a formar una consciencia en la toma de las mejores alternativas con responsabilidad, ética, cuidado del medio ambiente, el compromiso y amor por el prójimo. Se aplicó un instrumento al total de la población estudiantil del programa de Licenciatura en Negocios Internacionales, que proporcionó información para establecer estrategias que permitan reforzar los valores de nuestros estudiantes para formar profesionistas que logren transmitir lo aprendido a su entorno familiar y laboral en beneficio de la sociedad. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 831 LOS VALORES EN LOS ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS, UN COMPROMISO DE LAS INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR EN MÉXICO .CASO: ALUMNOS DE LA CARRERA DE LICENCIADO EN INFORMÁTICA, FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS Sandra Julieta Saldívar González,Universidad Autonoma de Baja California María Belén Murillo Pedraza, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Ana Cecilia Bustamante Valenzuela, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martínez, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Patricia Guadalupe García Cabrales, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California RESUMEN Los valores son los principios guías en la vida de las personas, seleccionan y justifican acciones, evalúan a las personas y a los eventos (Knafo A. y Schwartz, 2004). Si los valores son guías, principios y formas de actuar entonces juegan un papel muy importante en la vida del estudiante, en consecuencia el compromiso de las Instituciones de Educación Superior es fomentar los valores en sus estudiantes como una de las responsabilidades más trascendentales, se trata de formar profesionistas comprometidos con la sociedad y dispuestos a dar su mejor esfuerzo para el bienestar común. La Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas menciona en su Misión “formar íntegramente a profesionistas altamente competitivos de acuerdo con la orientación humanista y social de la UABC”. Con el propósito de conocer el perfil valorar de los estudiantes se realizó este estudio donde se encuestaron a 266 alumnos de la carrera de informática, para conocer que tan identificados con los valores de lealtad, respeto a la autoridad, solidaridad, tolerancia, respeto a las normas, auto exigencia y disciplina. El objetivo de es crear y fomentar acciones que permitan reforzar estos valores entre los alumnos y con ello cumplir con responsabilidad social de formar profesionistas socialmente comprometidos. Valores, Compromiso, Estudiante, Instituciones de Educación Superior INTRODUCCIÓN Unas preocupaciones de las Instituciones de Educación Superior no solo el aspecto profesional sino el aspecto valoral se trata de que en las universidades los alumnos no solo adquieran los conocimientos específicos de la actividad profesional que han elegido sino que desarrollen y fortalezcan sus valores como seres humanos. La Faculta de Ciencias Administrativas de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California adopta el modelo de competencias en sus programas de estudios de las carreras de Licenciado en Contaduría, Licenciado Administración de Empresas y Licenciado en Informática a partir del año 2001. El modelo por competencias enfatiza el fortalecimiento de los valores, es decir promueve los valores en todas y cada una de las asignaturas de los diferentes planes de estudio. Puesto que el compromiso de la Universidad con la sociedad no es solo generar profesionistas con capacidades para solucionar los problemas que enfrente la misma. Sino profesionistas comprometidos con la sociedad y seres humanos que transmitan sus valores tanto a su entrono laboral como a su familia, seres cercanos y a la sociedad. La pregunta entonces es ¿Lo estamos haciendo bien?, para responder a esta pregunta es necesario conocer el perfil valoral de nuestros estudiantes y aun más allá sería deseable conocer su perfil Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 832 al ingreso y al egreso para medir el impacto en que la universidad como eje transformacional haya tenido en el alumno. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo conocer y describir el perfil valoral de los estudiantes de la carrera de Informática de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, asi mismo describir el perfil valoral entre hombres y mujeres. Con el resultado de esta investigación se busca crear estrategias y programas que permitan fortalecer los valores de los estudiantes como parte de su formación integral así como cumplir con la responsabilidad de entregar a la sociedad individuos socialmente comprometidos. REVISIÓN LITERARIA Primeramente se tiene que definir que son los valores, de acuerdo con los expertos los valores sirven como principios guías en la vida de las personas, seleccionan y justifican acciones, evalúan a las personas y a los eventos. El aspecto crucial que se distingue entre los valores es el tipo de meta motivacional que ellos expresan (Knafo A. y Schwartz, 2004). Para (Gellermann, Frankel, y Ladernsan, 1990) citado por Hultman, (2005), afirman: “un valor es un estándar de importancia básica sobre las creencias”. Un sistema de valores se encuentra dentro de un orden de valores a lo largo de un continuo de relativa importancia. Los valores juegan un rol ejecutivo en la personalidad y en la cultura organizacional, sirven como criterio para la toma de decisiones y ajustan prioridades. Los valores son para las personas, lo que los instintos son para los animales. Hultman, (2005: 33); “Sin la capacidad para formular y actuar sobre los valores, la vida desde el nivel humano no puede existir”. Si los valores son guías, principios y formas de actuar entonces juegan un papel muy importante en la vida del estudiante, en consecuencia el compromiso de la universidad de fomentar los valores, es uno de los más trascendentales, porque se trata de formar profesionistas comprometidos con la sociedad y dispuestos a dar su mejor esfuerzo para el bienestar común. El modelo por competencias adoptado por la Universidad, promueve los valores en cada una de las asignaturas de los diferentes planes de estudios de tal forma que estos sean parte integran de la formación de nuestros estudiantes. El Modelo Educativo en la UABC es la base sobre la cual se diseñan y desarrollan sus planes y programas académicos. La finalidad del Modelo Educativo de la UABC es explicar la teoría en que se sustenta el proceso pedagógico de la institución. Este modelo posee un sustento en la educación a lo largo de la vida, un enfoque constructivista, es humanista, tiende a la preservación de los valores universales, valora el esfuerzo, la búsqueda permanente de la excelencia, la comunicación, la participación responsable, el liderazgo fundado en las competencias académicas y profesionales, una actitud emprendedora, creativa e innovadora, la pluralidad, la libertad y el respeto como espacio entre todos sus miembros, parte de la misión institucional, identificando las funciones de docencia, investigación, vinculación, extensión y gestión institucional. Existe una relación muy importante entre el Modelo Educativo y formación de valores entre algunas de las características que son importantes recalcar es que es un modelo que da una educación para toda la vida y al igual que los valores, se trata de que los estudiantes tengan las bases de su formación profesional y su formación como seres humanos y esta prevalezca a lo largo de su vida (Modelo de Competencias, Formación Básica UABC, 2001). El modelo curricular basado en competencias profesionales que actualmente priva en la UABC tiene como propósitos los siguientes: a) Centrar el aprendizaje en el alumno b) Alcanzar una formación integral del estudiante c) Favorecer la interdisciplinar en tránsito hacia la transdisciplinaría d) Mantener actualizados y pertinentes los contenidos e) Favorecer la movilidad estudiantil f) Cerrar brechas entre la universidad y la sociedad Gracias a este modelo que promueve la formación valoral como tema y eje transversal a los planes de estudio. Se ha logrado cambiar el paradigma de que la educación superior son solo conocimientos Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 833 necesarios para realizar alguna actividad profesional como en antaño; y buscar la formación integral para toda la vida de los de nuestros estudiantes durante su paso por la universidad. (Modelo de Competencias, Formación Básica UABC, 2001). METODOLOGÍA Esta investigación es de carácter descriptivo. Se aplico un instrumento 40 reactivos en la escala de Likert. Con una escala de 1 Nada, 2 Poco, 3 Regular, 4 Mucho y 5 Muchísimo. A un total de 266 alumnos que cursan la carrera de informática, con un margen de error del 5% y un nivel de confianza del 95%. Los valores que se evaluaran son: lealtad, respeto a la autoridad, solidaridad, tolerancia, respeto a las normas, auto exigencia y disciplina. . Instrumento elaborado por Dr. Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martínez, Universidad La Salle. RESULTADOS De acuerdo a los resultados obtenidos los cuales arrojan que los alumnos encuestados el 34.93% son sexo femenino mientras que el 65.07% son del sexo masculino. La edad de los jóvenes fluctúa entre los 18 y 32 años donde el 55.48% se encuentran entre 18 y 22 años de edad, el 43.84% están entre los 23 y 27 años y solo el .68 entre los 28 y 32 años. Autoexigencia: Para medir la auto exigencia se cuestiono a los estudiantes, la pregunta, P2 Me esfuerzo por hacer todos mis trabajos escolares de forma excelente, donde el 21.23% indicaron que se esfuerzan muchísimo, el 43.84% contestaron que se esfuerzan mucho, el 32.88% regular y solo el 2.05% poco. De la pregunta: P5 En mis trabajos y tareas sobrepaso las expectativas de mis maestros, solo el .7% indicaron que nada, el 15.8% poco, el 53.4% regular, 27.4% se esfuerzan mucho por sobre pasar la exigencia de los maestros y el 2.7% se esfuerzan muchísimo. Por último de la pregunta P30 Voy más allá de lo esperado en mis actividades escolares, el .7% respondió nada, el 9.09% poco, el 33.66% regular, el 41.96% mucho y solo el 12.59% muchísimo. Disciplina:Los jóvenes consideran que: P8 La mejor manera de alcanzar los objetivos escolares son con orden y perseverancia, 35.62% contesto muchísimo, el 39.73% mucho, el 21.23% regular y solo 3.42% lo considera poco importante. De la pregunta, Con Disciplina puedo terminar mis tareas y trabajos en forma y tiempo, el 30.14% contesto muchísimo, el 43.15% mucho, el 22.60% regular, el 3.42 poco y solo el .7% considero que no es necesario. Y de la pregunta P37 Soy ordenado en las actividades escolares con el fin de alcanzar rápidamente los objetivos, el 24.48% considera que es muchísimo muy ordenado, el 44.76% contesto mucho, el 25.17% regular y solo el 5.59% poco. No Integridad:Respecto al anti valor No Integridad se aplicó la pregunta P1 Ante alguna gran oportunidad, puedo hacer a un lado mis principios. El 67.81% indico respondió nada, el 21.92% regular, 7.53% mucho y el 2.74% muchísimo. P4 Ante una propuesta indigna pero conveniente a mis intereses, puedo dejar de tomar en cuenta mis principios, para esta respuesta el 58.9% contestó nada, indicando que no dejarían atrás sus principios, no obstante el 23.29% contesto regular, el 13.70% mucho y el 4.11% muchísimo, afirmando que con ello si dejarían atrás sus principios por una buena oportunidad. Lealtad: El valor de la Lealtad se midió con la pregunta p16 Muestro fidelidad con los principios y valores que rigen mi universidad, el 26.03% respondió muchísimo, el 28.08% regular, mucho contestaron un total de 40.41%. La siguiente pregunta de este valor es p25 La facultad donde estudio cuenta con toda mi lealtad. El 37.67 respondió muchísimo, el 38.36% mucho, el 20.55% regular, el 2.74% contesto poco y solo .7% nada. Respeto a la autoridad: Para evaluar el respeto a la autoridad se pregunto a los estudiantes P9 Considero importantes las indicaciones de mis maestros en mi actividad académica, de los cuales el 34.93% contesto Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 834 muchísimo, el 44.52 mucho, 19.86% regular y solo .68% respondió poco. P26 En mi actuación escolar reconozco como importantes las tareas asignadas por mis maestros, donde el 50.35% respondió mucho, el 17.48% muchísimo, el 30.07% regular y el 2.10% poco. Solidaridad: Para el valor de la solidaridad se cuestiono a los alumnos con las siguientes preguntas, P7 Soy solidario para apoyar a otros con sus necesidades por medio de las brigadas que realiza la FCA, el 11.64% se considera muy solidario, el 27.40% solidario, 41.78 regularmente solidario, 14.38% poco solidario y 4.78% nada solidario. P32 Estoy comprometido con los acuerdos y compromisos establecidos por la UABC, 20.28% contesto que está muchísimo muy comprometido, el 39.86% está muy comprometido, el 34.97% regularmente comprometido, el 3.50% poco comprometido y el 1.4% no está nada comprometido. Tolerancia: Las preguntas 11, 21 y 22 se aplicaron para medir el valor de la tolerancia. Donde p11 Incluso cuando no estoy de acuerdo, respeto lo que otros piensan, el 39.73% respondió muchísimo, 36.30% mucho, el 21.23% regular y solo el 2.74% mostro poca tolerancia. P21 Cuando desarrollo proyectos con distintas personas, acepto otras formas de pensar, el 37.67% respondió muchísimo, el 42.47% mucho y el 18.49% regular y solo 1.37% contesto poco. Y P22 Soy capaz de entender a los demás aún cuando no comparta la misma idea, el 35.62% respondió muchísimo, el 41.10 mucho, el 19.18% regular, el 2.74% poco y nada el 1.4%. Respeto a las normas:Sobre el respeto a las normas se cuestionó con P39 Es importante seguir las normas y lineamientos de la que universidad estipula el 30.77% respondió muchísimo, el 39.16% mucho, el 25.87% regular, poco el 3.50% y nada .7%. Y P29 Actuó bajo los lineamientos de la FCA establecidos para el bien común, 16.78% contestó muchísimo, el 43.36% mucho, el 35.66% regular y solo el 4.20% poco. CONCLUSIONES Con estos resultados podemos identificar el más de la mitad de los estudiantes se esfuerzan mucho por presentar sus trabajos de forma adecuada aunque solo un 14% de la muestra se exigen más allá de las expectativas de sus maestros y de lo esperado. Un valor que los jóvenes tienen fuertemente arraigado es el valor de la solidaridad, al menos un 65% de los alumnos tienen un compromiso social de solidaridad, sin embargo se espera que el 100% de los alumnos adquiera este compromiso para apoyar a los más desfavorecidos y habrá que trabajar con ese 35% que no está comprometido totalmente. También se pudo observar que los estudiantes comprenden y manejan el valor de la tolerancia más del 70% son capaces de aceptar otras ideas que no sean las propias. Además del 60% de los jóvenes consideran que la disciplina es un factor clave para alcanzar sus objetivos pero solo 25% de ellos son muy disciplinados y el 45% medianamente disciplinados.Un aspecto que sin duda es un foco de atención que más del 30% de los estudiantes dejaría sus principios a un lado por obtener un beneficio, ya que muchos de los delitos inician con una primera vez y después se vuelve costumbre. Del valor de respeto a las normas más del 60% se siente identificado con el respecto a las normas como un bien común. El 96% de los jóvenes realmente tienen un gran sentido de lealtad respecto de su universidad y facultad. Cabe mencionar que más del 78% de los jóvenes tienen respecto a la autoridad en la figura de sus maestros. Los valores son esenciales para una buena convivencia, la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas tiene el compromiso de fomentarlos en los jóvenes, los resultados de este estudio nos obligan a darle seguimiento y a fomentar los valores débiles y evaluar otros valores esenciales para un profesionista comprometido con la sociedad. BIOGRAFÍA Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 835 Hultman K. (2005). Evaluating organizational values. Organization Development Journal, pp. 32. Vol. 23. Number 4. Modelo de Competencias (2001), Departamento de formación Básica, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Schwartz, S. y Knafo A. (2004). Identity formation and parent – child value congruence in adolescence. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. pp. 439 – 458. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 836 SEGUIMIENTO A LOS EGRESADOS, FUNCIÓN SUSTANTIVA DE LAS DEMANDAS DE UN MERCADO LABORAL Hilario de la Torre Pérez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Raquel Olivia Roa Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sandra Julieta Saldivar González, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Gloria Muñoz del Real, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Reyna Isabel Roa Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Patricia Guadalupe García Cabrales, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California RESUMEN El seguimiento a egresados, es de creciente interés por parte de las Instituciones de Educación Superior, la Secretaria de Educación Pública y la Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior. Los principales aspectos que buscan conocer son: primeramente el nivel de inserción de egresados en el mercado laboral, enseguida el desempeño profesional de egresados y por último la opinión de estos respecto de la formación recibida y su utilidad en los espacios laborales. La Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas de la UABC, cuenta con sus programas de estudios acreditados, ésta exige la evaluación de los mismos, donde la forma de evaluarlos es a través de sus egresados y la opinión de estos. El presente estudio tiene como propósito indagar respecto de las trayectorias laborales, y las expectativas de nuestros egresado; se aplicó encuesta a los egresados titulados de las carreras: Informática y Negocios Internacionales engrasados en los periodos 2008 al 2010, recabando información que permitirá evaluar el plan de estudios, conocer si los egresados realmente ejercen su profesión, así como identificar las necesidades reales del mercado laboral, y por su puesto mantener contacto con ellos y establecer un vínculo entre el sector laboral y la universidad. INTRODUCCIÓN La Universidad Autónoma de Baja California al formar profesionales en todos y cada uno de sus diversos planteles, pretende responder a las diversas necesidades que los ámbitos empresariales, gubernamentales, políticos y de servicios de nuestro país requiere actualmente; Esta formación se encuentra directamente ligada a las actividades económico-social de la población, lo que conlleva a una educación profesional integral en constante movimiento y actualización tecnológica, científica y por supuesto con calidad humana; la Universidad en la búsqueda constante de apoyar e ir de la mano con la evolución del entorno mundial, ha realizado diversas adecuaciones en sus planes de estudio, donde no solo alimenta una formación humanista y crítica, sino también busca proporcionarles las herramientas tecnológicas y los conocimientos científicos mas actualizados que posibilite e impulse el desarrollo y evolución del profesionista, permitiéndoles obtener una visión mas real y clara del futuro laboral en el que participaran y que será el requerido para el desarrollo nacional. El desarrollo de las habilidades estudiantiles, encuentran en el Plan de Desarrollo Institucional del 2003- 2006 un sustento de existencia, es decir, la curricula profesional conformada por materias inherentes al perfil profesional se ven enriquecidas por conceptos humanísticos, sociológicos y filosóficos que aportan al alumno una preparación integral como profesional y como ser humano, esta modalidad que no es nueva, pero si innovadora en su aplicación ayuda a los jóvenes recién titulados a sentirse fortalecidos en Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 837 actitud, así como en la conjugación de sus conocimientos teórico-prácticos, mismos que los apoyaran en la integración laboral dentro y fuera de la comunidad a la que pertenecen. Los sistemas de educación superior, reconocen las competencia desarrolladas por los alumnos que se encuentran en su formación profesional, actualmente la movilidad estudiantil que promueven las Universidades acreditadas, proveen a los estudiantes la posibilidad de ampliar su visión académica, laboral y social, La Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Institutos de Educación Superior (ANUIES) a partir del año de 1972, recomienda a la acreditación para esta Instituciones, logrando con esto beneficiar la educación de su alumnado. La Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas (FCA), campus Mexicali, cuenta ya con la acreditación de las carreras analizadas en este estudio; Este logro, compromete a nuestros egresados y titulados a impactar en su desempeño profesional, existe la idea de que el gran número de profesionales dedicados a la Informática o a la administración de negocios no encuentran espacios laborales relacionados con su preparación profesional, este mito, podrá ser sustentado o bien desechado mediante este análisis. Esta información de trayectoria laboral egresados titulados otorgara la posibilidad de comparar el perfil de egreso de las Licenciaturas en Informática y Negocios Internacionales con las necesidades la reales que viven los profesionales del ramo. Al mismo tiempo se pretende identificar el nivel de inserción de los egresados titulados de estas carreras, describir la opinión de estos respecto de la formación recibida y su utilidad en los espacios laborales. Con el resultado de esta investigación se busca “construir un plan de acción que exponga la importancia de coadyuvar los perfiles de los planes de estudio” y mantener un vinculo entre los egresados, el sector laboral y la universidad. Planteamiento del Problema: La actividad desempeñada en el medio laboral, por los alumnos titulados de las licenciaturas en Informática y Negocios Internacionales, corresponde a la planeación del perfil de egreso académico de su área profesional. REVISIÓN LITERARIA La Educación Superior en México desarrolla planes de estudio encaminados a la preparación profesional de sus alumnos al concluir sus estudios y a la integración de estos en el mercado laboral de su competencia. “Debemos recordar que toda Institución de Educación Superior debe cumplir tres funciones fundamentales: de Input o entrada, de producción y de output o salida. (Ruiz Iglesias, Magalys, pg.16), enfocando mayor atención en el nivel de salida. Este nivel se concreta en la declaración de la Misión de cada Institución de Educación Superior; Misión que justifica la existencia en la sociedad de instituciones de esta envergadura. Una Institución de Educación Superior inician la planeación de sus programas de estudio al relacionar las necesidades de su entorno con la preparación requerida para la solución de estas, sin embargo, los alumnos que participan en las comunidades universitarias ya cuentan, como individuos, con su esencia natural, inquietudes, anhelos, aspiraciones, habilidades, preparaciones previas, etc.., mismas que deberá ser consideradas para concretar con éxito su formación profesional. "No podemos confundir el modelo de sociedad con el concepto de hombre. Del modelo social, surge un programa universitario, pero el concepto de hombre arranca la primera función de la universidad" (Llano Cifuentes, Carlos, 1994). Luego entonces, entenderemos como currículo a la planificación, construcción o proceso que se ejecuta como contenidos que deben ser enseñados y aprendidos en un determinado curso. El curriculum se entiende como un “proyecto sistematizado de formación y un proceso de realización a través de una serie estructurada y ordenada de contenidos y experiencias de aprendizaje articulados en forma de propuesta Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 838 político educativa que propugnan diversos sectores sociales interesados en un tipo de educación particular con la finalidad de producir aprendizajes significativos que se traduzcan en formas de pensar, de sentir, valorar y actuar frente a los problemas complejos que plantea la vida social y laboral, en particular la inserción en un país determinado”. (González, 1995). En este concepto se aprecia su enfoque globalizador, en tanto considera al currículo como proyecto y como proceso. Como un proyecto de formación educativo integral, concebido científicamente, que se articula coherentemente con un proceso de realización que responde a las necesidades reales del profesional y del medio laboral. El Currículum se define como; “el proyecto que determina los objetivos de la educación escolar, es decir, los aspectos del desarrollo y de la incorporación a la cultura que la escuela trata de promover y propone un plan de acción educativo para la consecución de esos objetivos” (DCB, pag.21). "Las competencias profesionales definen el ejercicio eficaz de las capacidades que permiten el desempeño de una ocupación, respecto a los niveles requeridos en el empleo. Es algo más que el conocimiento técnico que hace referencia al saber y al saber hacer. El concepto de competencia engloba no solo las capacidades requeridas para el ejercicio de una actividad profesional, sino también un conjunto de comportamientos, facultad de análisis, toma de decisiones, transmisión de información, etc., considerados necesarios para el pleno desempeño de la ocupación". "La competencia profesional es la construcción social de aprendizajes significativos y esenciales para el desempeño productivo en una situación real de trabajo" (Ruiz, pag.46). “La educación debe contribuir al desarrollo integral del ser humano y, por ello, la Universidad, como centro del conocimiento, debe otorgar la debida importancia a la investigación e innovación tecnológica para contribuir, en la medida de sus posibilidades, al proceso de la ciencia y la tecnología, propiciando mediante la función de extensión la posible cooperación para contribuir al crecimiento de la pequeña y mediana industria, como una opción adicional al desarrollo” (Dillon, 2000). En el Siglo XXI ya no es suficiente con culminar un ciclo educativo en el que solamente se adquieren conocimientos de las disciplinas tradicionales, y menos aún si se abusa de la memorización de conceptos e información que a lo largo del tiempo se desvanecen. En el México de hoy, es indispensable que los jóvenes egresen con una serie de competencias que contribuyan a desarrollar su capacidad de desplegar su potencial, tanto para su desarrollo personal como para el de la sociedad. .(SEMS, SEP 2008). “Hay una gran distancia entre ese joven que está saliendo de la universidad y las exigencias que debe cumplir cuando va a las empresas, al proceso de trabajo” . Esto refleja claramente la situación que están viviendo los egresados de las instituciones universitarias dentro del mundo laboral, quienes constatan la existencia de un gran trecho entre un título, el aprendizaje verdadero y el desempeño laboral. (De López 2001). METODOLOGÍA Se aplicó un instrumento de medición de 54 reactivos a los egresados de las carreras de Licenciado en Informática y Licenciado en Negocios Internacionales mediante una investigación transversal que abarcara el periodo del 2008-1 al 2010-1. Para la aplicación de la encuesta se tomo el padrón oficial de egresados y se selecciono a los alumnos titulados de cada generación. Se aplicaron 37 para los Licenciados en Negocios y 46 encuestas para los egresados de la carrera de Licenciado en Informática. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 839 Para realizar en análisis estadístico se utilizo el programa SPSS, donde se crearon una base de datos y se procedió a capturar las encuestas y se generaron las graficas. Una vez que se generaron las gráficas se realizó el análisis de las mismas y las conclusiones de la investigación. RESULTADOS Como resultado de nuestra muestra podemos observar que el 85% son del sexo femenino, encontrándose que el 100% de la muestra se encuentran laborando desde su egreso y ejecutando su profesión; el 80% son empleados y el 20% son propietarios independientes de sus propios negocios. El 45% tiene de antigüedad de 2 a 4 años en su espacio laboral, mientras el 55% de 2 años hasta 6 meses. El sector económico o industrial en el cual se encontraron incrustados laborando es mayor mente Comercial, de Industria y Ganadería, así como Bancaria, desempeñando el 50% actividades administrativas o de ventas, mientras el 45% se encuentra realizando asesorías especializadas o técnicas, capacitación o desarrollo de productos. La mayor parte (70%) ha obtenido su empleo por medio de recomendaciones familiares de amigos o en bolsas de trabajo, el 15% derivados de los espacios donde realizaron prácticas profesionales o estancias de aprendizaje y 13% tiene su negocio propio. Es importante mencionar que el 55% señala que su actividad laboral coincide solo mediatamente con sus estudios de licenciatura; el 60% refiere que el contenido de su carrera fue insuficiente para darle una formación básica y un 95% coincide en que el haber realizado en su proceso académico las Practicas Profesionales y las estancias de aprendizaje, contribuyeron en gran medida a su formación profesional. Finalmente sugieren que dentro del procesos enseñanza –aprendizaje, debería aumenta el uso de material audiovisual de apoyo, así como los tiempos estipulados para realizar sus Practicas profesionales y estancias de aprendizaje, así como disminuir las horas de teoría y pizarrón. Por otro lado consideran que las áreas en que deben mejorar la carrera de LNI es en las aportaciones teórico-practicas, que se generen especialmente en las materias de: Legislación Aduanera, Interacción en empresas y empresarios, Proyecto del SAP y SPSS, Comercio y Procesos de negocios; dándole así el 4to. lugar a las aéreas financieras y de logística, administración de proyectos, técnicas de negociación, simulador de negocios y materias en otro idioma y proponiendo como 5to. y 6to. lugar las áreas de programas en la industria, entorno económico y formas de pago internacional. Respecto de los alumnos egresados titulados de la carrera Informática entrevistados el 61.54% es hombre, mientras que 38.46% son mujeres, de los cuales 2.56% viven en unión libre, 12.82 son casados y 84.62% son solteros. Esta encuesta arrojo que el 100% de los entrevistados al igual que los egresados de los LI se encuentran laborando. El 76.92% es empleado, 15.38% es propietario mientras que el 7.69% es trabajador independiente. Mismos que indican que el 38%.46 trabajan en el sector público mientras que el 6.54% trabajan en el sector privado. Cabe mencionar que de la forma que obtuvieron el trabajo fue gracias a su participación en los programas de estancias de aprendizaje, por recomendación cuando realizaron su servicio social profesional, por las relaciones de empleos anteriores, recomendación de compañeros de la generación y por bolsa de trabajo. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 840 No obstante la coincidencia de su trabajo con su formación profesional, el 48.72% tiene coincidencia total con su trabajo, el 28.21% tiene mediana coincidencia, con baja coincidencia es el 15.38% y nula coincidencia el 7.69%. En las aéreas que se desempeñan son: analistas, maestros, programación, supervisión, soporte técnico, supervisión que son los relacionados con la carrera mientras que los no relacionados están subgerente de área, ejecutivo de cuentas, planeación y coordinador de área. El 94.87% coincidió que las prácticas profesionales y el servicio social apoyo consideran que si contribuyeron en su formación profesional, mientras que solo el 5.13% consideran que no contribuyeron. También indicaron que debe haber aumentar los proyectos de investigación y prácticas dentro de la carrera con un 87.18% de los encuestados, en tanto que el 12.82% consideran que deben seguir igual. Con respecto al apoyo audiovisual el 84.52% sugieren que aumente y que el 15.38% consideran que debe seguir igual. Con referente al contenido teórico de las materias el 15.38% considera que debe aumentar, el 41.03% que debe seguir igual mientras que el 43.59% debe disminuir. CONCLUSIONES La muestra de jóvenes titulados de la carrera de LNI y LI, nos indica que se sitúan laboralmente en tiempos cortos después de titularse. Los egresados de LNI se encuentran laborando en alguna institución comercial, industria ó ganadera, mientras que los alumnos de LI, se encuentran laborando en espacios del sector público, despachos de servicios de redes y comunicaciones, empresas maquiladoras entre otros. Respecto la forma de obtener su empleo la mayoría de los egresados de LNI y LI, expresaron que fue por recomendación. Los LNI se encuentran desempañándose en actividades administrativas y de ventas, seguidas por las de asesorías especializadas o técnicas, por otro lado los egresados de la carrera de LI desempeñan actividades de soporte técnico, instalación de equipo, análisis, desarrollo, empleado diseño y docencia. La mayor de los egresados de LNI manifiesta que solo medianamente su actividad laboral coincide en sus estudios de licenciatura, en por lo contrario los LI consideran que tiene mediana y gran coincidencia con su actividad laboral, no obstante los egresados de ambas carreras expresaron que el contenido de su formación básica no logra ser suficiente, mientras que la parte práctica de su proceso académico donde se ensamblan las prácticas profesionales y las estancias de aprendizaje son muy valiosos para su formación profesional. Sugieren aumentar en el plan de estudios la utilización actualizada de los medios audiovisuales de aprendizaje, primordialmente y en estos tiempos apegada a la realidad laboral, así como aumentar los espacios de tiempo a realizar de prácticas profesionales y estancias de aprendizaje, mismos que les permite incurrir en lo que será su espacio laboral al concluir sus estudios y les otorga una mayor confianza y seguridad al entrar en él. Los egresados de LNI, proponen una mejora en contenido y actualización de algunas materias de su plan de estudios como son: Legislación Aduanera, Interacción en empresas y empresarios, Proyecto del SAP y SPSS, Comercio y Procesos de negocios; de igual forma las áreas financieras y de logística, administración de proyectos, técnicas de negociación, simulador de negocios y materias en otro idioma. Por su parte los egresados de la carrera de LI siguieren que se deben incluir en las materias para mejorar el plan de estudios las Certificaciones ISO, Administración Gerencial, Certificación Cisco, Dueño Web, Mercadotecnia, Redes, Comunicaciones, Moprosoft y docencia. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 841 Con estos resultados se cuenta con elementos para hacer las adecuaciones necesarias en los planes de estudios y así contribuir fundamentalmente a formar y preparar a nuestros estudiantes para el entorno laboral actual en el cual incurran, de manera tal que les permita ser más competitivos y útiles a la sociedad. Además también se adquiere la responsabilidad de dar seguimiento a los egresados gracias a los datos recabados para poder ofértales los espacios para que sigan capacitándose. Sin duda los egresados siguen siendo responsabilidad de las instituciones de educación superior y son una rica fuente de información, vinculación y aportación para enriquecer los planes de estudios que ofertan las universidades. BIBLIOGRAFÍA Ruiz Iglesias, Magalys (2010). Profesionales competentes: una respuesta educativa: (cómo puede la educación superior desarrollar un modelo educativo que contribuya a cumplir la misión institucional en función de la calidad del egresado). México: Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Ortiz Cárdenas, Tania; Hernández Díaz, Adela; Rodríguez Ortega, Ada Gloria (2008). Diseño de un perfil de formación posgraduada de los profesores universitarios de las SUM. Cuba: Editorial Universitaria. Subsecretaría de Educación Media Superior, de la Secretaría de Educación Pública de México (2008). Competencias Genéricas y el Perfil del Egresado de la Educación Media Superior. Piña Osorio J. M., Pontón Ramos C. B. (2006). La eficiencia terminal y su relación con la vida académica: el posgrado en sociología y ciencia política de la UNAM. México: Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa. Verdugo Saldivar, M.E., Urias Montes, V. P. (2009). Antecedentes a Nivel Nacional, Internacional y Proceso de Acreditación de una Institución Educativa Mexicana.. Consultado en 08, 02, 2010 en http://fca.mxl.uabc.mx/newSite09/institucion/01/DIRECTOR . Gonzalo Muñoz, V., Monclus E. (2010). Dimensiones y variables de las políticas y modelos de formación para el empleo. Madrid, España: Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 842 EVALUACIÓN DEL MEJORAMIENTO DE LOS INDICADORES FINANCIEROS EN LAS EMPRESAS DEL SECTOR CARBÓN Y SUS DERIVADOS EN COLOMBIA Tomás Fontalvo Herrera, Universidad de Cartagena José Morelos Gómez, Universidad de Cartagena Juan Carlos Vergara Schmalbach, Universidad de Cartagena RESUMEN En este artículo se presentan los resultados obtenidos durante el desarrollo del proyecto de Investigación, aplicación del análisis discriminante para evaluar el mejoramiento de los indicadores financieros en las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia, en el que se realizó inicialmente una descripción detallada de la evaluación de los sistemas organizacionales, la evaluación de los indicadores financieros, los indicadores de liquidez, indicadores de actividad e indicadores de endeudamiento. El concepto de análisis discriminante en la evaluación del impacto de los indicadores financieros en las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados a nivel nacional. Lo que permitió a través de una perspectiva cualitativa, descriptiva propositiva y cuantitativa analizar los indicadores que mejor discriminan como resultado de la evaluación de los indicadores seleccionados en los años 2004 y 2009. De la función discriminante obtenida y de los estadísticos analizados se puede concluir que los indicadores de Razón corriente y Razón liquida mejoran de un periodo a otro. PALABRAS CLAVES: Análisis discriminante, indicador, liquidez, actividad, endeudamiento. JEL: G17, M10 ABSTRACT This article presents the results obtained during the research project development, application of discriminant analysis to evaluate the improvement of financial indicators in the coal companies and their derivatives in Colombia, which was initially a detailed description of evaluation of organizational systems, assessment of financial indicators, indicators of liquidity, activity indicators and debt indicators. The concept of discriminant analysis in evaluating the impact of financial indicators in the coal companies and their products nationwide. What allowed through a qualitative perspective, proactive and quantitative descriptive analysis of the indicators that best discriminated as a result of the evaluation of the indicators in 2004 and 2009. Discriminant function obtained and analyzed statistical indicators can be concluded that the current ratio and liquid ratio improved from one period to another KEYWORDS: Discriminant analysis, indicator, liquidity, activity, debt. JEL: G17, M10 INTRODUCCIÓN En este artículo se presenta la definición y conceptualización de los sistemas organizacionales, la evaluación de los indicadores financieros, los criterios para la aplicación del análisis discriminante en la Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 843 evaluación del impacto de los indicadores financieros en las empresas del sector carbón y su derivado en Colombia a través de la utilización de la técnica análisis discriminante. Para lo cual se seleccionaron los indicadores financieros tomando como referencia los años 2004 y 2009, comprobando si mejoran significativamente de un periodo a otro. REVISIÓN LITERARIA Para el desarrollo de este artículo de Investigación se trabajó con los referentes conceptuales asociados con Evaluación de Sistemas Organizacionales, evaluación de los indicadores financieros, indicadores de liquidez, indicadores de actividad e indicadores de endeudamiento. Los criterios para la aplicación del análisis discriminante en la evaluación del impacto de los indicadores financieros en las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia y el análisis discriminante para evaluar el mejoramiento de los indicadores financieros. Evaluación De Sistemas Organizacionales La Evaluación de organizaciones supone un cuerpo de conocimientos teóricos y metodológicos, así como un conjunto de habilidades aplicadas. Para esta Investigación este cuerpo de conocimientos los constituye los fundamentos de Análisis Discriminante Multivariado (ADM), que permite analizar cómo se afectan los indicadores financieros en las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia, en la evaluación de los indicadores seleccionados. Asimismo evaluación significa estimar la magnitud de un hecho, proceso o servicio, en el cual el análisis debe enfocarse hacia el estudio cuidadoso que animan a los involucrados en la situación problemática, a la evaluación de las variables controlables (internas al sistema), a la evaluación de las variables incontrolables (ambiente), al estudio de las interrelaciones entre variables y la superación de los límites del sistema en la empresa, en el proceso de la evaluación del mejoramiento de los indicadores financieros. (Martínez, 2002; Fernández, 2008). Indicadores De Liquidez Ortiz (2011, pp. 118), “señala que los indicadores de liquidez surgen de la necesidad de medir la capacidad que tienen las empresas para cancelar sus obligaciones a corto plazo. Sirven para establecer la facilidad o dificultad que presenta una compañía para pagar sus pasivos corrientes con el producto de convertir a efectivo sus activos corrientes”. Se trata de determinar qué pasaría si a la empresa se le exigiera el pago inmediato de todas sus obligaciones a menos de un año. Razón Corriente: La razón corriente es uno de los indicadores financieros que nos permite determinar el índice de liquidez de una empresa. La razón corriente indica la capacidad que tiene la empresa para cumplir con sus obligaciones financieras, deudas o pasivos a corto plazo. Razón de liquidez: Las razones de liquidez le señalan la capacidad de una empresa para cumplir con sus obligaciones financieras, incluyendo deudas, nominas de sueldos, pagos a proveedores. Etc. Indicadores de actividad: Estos indicadores, llamados también indicadores de rotación, tratan de medir la eficiencia con la cual una empresa utiliza sus activos, según la velocidad de recuperación de los valores aplicados en ellos. Se pretende imprimirle un sentido dinámico al análisis de la aplicación de recursos, mediante la comparación entre cuentas de balance (estáticas) y cuentas de resultado (dinámicas). Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 844 Rotación de activos: La relación de rotación de activos está diseñada para medir la efectividad con la que una compañía maneja sus activos. Una empresa enfrenta decisiones fundamentales respecto a cuánto debe invertir en los activos como sus cuentas por cobrar, inventarios y activos fijos, y luego tiene la responsabilidad de usar de manera efectiva dichos activos. Indicadores De Endeudamiento Los indicadores de endeudamiento tienen por objeto medir en qué grado y de qué forma participan los acreedores dentro del financiamiento de la empresa. De la misma manera se trata de establecer el riesgo que corren tales acreedores, el riesgo de los dueños y la conveniencia o inconveniencia de un determinado nivel de endeudamiento para la empresa. Apalancamiento A Largo Plazo El apalancamiento a largo plazo indica la participación que tienen los pasivos no corrientes dentro del patrimonio de la empresa. METODOLOGÍA Esta es un trabajo de Investigación, en donde se utilizó un análisis cualitativo, descriptivo propositivo y cuantitativo, soportada en un Análisis Discriminante Multivariado (ADM).para contrastar si en dos periodos distintos se puede evidenciar la evolución de los estado financieros como resultado de la Gestión financiera, para lo que se estudiaron los rubros requeridos de los estados financieros de las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia. (Vuran, 2009). Asimismo, se tomó como fuentes de información la Superintendencia de sociedades de Colombia y las Cámaras de Comercio de Colombia, Características de las empresas y estados financieros de las empresas que los proyectaron. De donde se tomaron los diferentes rubros de los estados financieros de las organizaciones objeto de estudio. La población de esta Investigación está conformada por 14 empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia en los últimos cinco años, comprendido entre el segundo semestre del 2004 al primer semestre del 2009. RESULTADOS A continuación se estructura y propone el modelo para evaluar si existe mejoramiento de los indicadores financieros en las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia, en los años 2004 y 2009. A través de los indicadores de liquidez, actividad y endeudamiento determinando si los cambios que sufren son significativos de un año a otro. Y si los indicadores discriminan.La tabla 1 muestra las variables e indicadores utilizados para evaluar el mejoramiento de los indicadores financieros en las empresas sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia. Tabla 1: Variable e indicadores utilizados para realizar el análisis de discriminante Variable Indicador RC Razón Corriente RL Razon de liquidez RA Rotación de activos ALP Apalancamiento largo plazo Esta tabla muestra la relación de variables e indicadores para realizar el análisis discriminante en el sector Carbón y sus derivados a nivel nacional. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 845 Selección De Las Variables Que Mejor Discriminan Para determinar que variables independientemente discriminan mejor en el periodo seleccionado de “2004” y “2009” se estima la distancia D2 de Mahalanobis y el Lambda Wilks para cada una de ellas, su correspondiente razón F y nivel de significancia para rechazar la hipótesis nula que las observaciones provienen de la misma población. Se va a considerar un nivel de significación de 0,05 para los estadísticos F para entrar y F para eliminar. Como se mencionó anteriormente el criterio de selección de las variables es el de la distancia D2 de Mahalanobis, las variables que mejor discriminan en la evaluación de la gestión financiera de las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados en Colombia, son PA, RL, RA, APL (Razón corriente, razón de liquidez, rotación de activos, apalancamiento a largo plazo). Constituyendo está la función discriminante, el resultado final del modelo se muestra en la Ecuación siguiente. Z = RC (0,394) + RL (1,321) + RA (- 0,147) + ALP (- 0,013) (1) La capacidad de clasificación del modelo fue buena dando como resultado un error Tipo I de 35,7 % y un error Tipo II de 28,6 % para una efectividad de clasificación de 67,9 %, se muestra en la Tabla 6. Tabla 6: Resultados de la clasificación AÑO Grupo de pertenencia pronosticado Total 2004 2004 Original Recuento 2004 9 5 14 2009 4 10 14 % 2004 64,3 35,7 100 2009 28,6 71,4 100 La tabla muestra el resultado de la clasificación del modelo para los años 2004 y 2009 de las empresas del sector Carbón y sus derivados a nivel nacional CONCLUSIÓN En esta investigación se elaboró un modelo para establecer como mejoraron los indicadores financieros en los años 2004 y 2009 a través de los indicadores seleccionados. La precisión de clasificación del modelo es de 64,3% y del 71,4% para las empresas antes y después de la evaluación de los indicadores financieros mientras que presenta un 67,9 % promedio de clasificación correcta para los dos años analizados. Se pudo evidenciar que efectivamente los indicadores de Razón corriente (RC) y Razón de Liquidez (RL) mejoraron significativamente de un periodo a otro (2004 a 2009), lo que no ocurrió para los indicadores de Rotación de activos y Apalancamiento de largo Plazo. De igual forma la investigación permitió establecer una función objetivo para el sector Carbón en Colombia, con lo que se puede estudiar y analizar que indicadores discriminan mejor y así poder tomar acciones a futuro. REFERENCIAS Fernández, J. (2008). Liderazgo empresarial en tiempos de cambio según Sun Tsu. Harvard Deusto Business Revierw, 104. Martínez, A. & Mario, E. (2002). Ideas Para el Cambio y el Aprendizaje en la Organización, una Perspectiva Sistémica. Universidad de la Sabana, 58. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 846 Ortiz, H. (2011). Análisis financiero aplicado. Colombia: Universidad Externado de Colombia, 118. Vásquez, X., Guerra A. & Ahmed, I. (2008). Aplicación de métodos multivariados: una respuesta a las limitaciones de los ratios financieros. Universidad de Granma, 44. Vuran, B. (2009). Prediction of business failure: A comparison of discriminant and logistic regression analyses. Istanbul University journal of the school of business administration, 38(1), 47-65. BIOGRAFÍA Tomas Fontalvo Herrera, Magister en Administración de Empresas de la Universidad Nacional, Ingeniero Industrial, Ingeniero Químico, Especialista en Gerencia de la Calidad y Especialista en Finanzas. Docente de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Cartagena, adscrito a la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas en el programa de Administración Industrial. Dirección Piedra de Bolívar. Avenida del Consulado Calle 30 No. 48-152 Apartado Aéreo No. 1382.Telefax 6754457. Cartagena, Colombia. Correo electrónico: tfontalvoh@unicartagena.edu.co. José Morelos, Magister en Administración de Empresas de la Universidad Nacional, Ingeniero Industrial, Especialista en Gestión Gerencial. Docente de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Cartagena, adscrito a la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Dirección Piedra de Bolívar. Avenida del Consulado Calle 30 No. 48-152 Apartado Aéreo No. 1382.Telefax 6754457. Cartagena, Colombia. Correo electrónico: jmorelosg@unicartagena.edu.co Juan Carlos Vergara Schmalbach, Magister en Administración de Empresas de la Universidad Nacional, Ingeniero Industrial, Docente de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Cartagena, adscrito a la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas en el programa de Administración Industrial. Dirección Piedra de Bolívar. Avenida del Consulado Calle 30 No. 48-152 Apartado Aéreo No. 1382.Telefax 6754457. Cartagena, Colombia. Correo electrónico:jvergaras@unicartagena.edu.co. mailto:tfontalvoh@unicartagena.edu.co mailto:tfontalvoh@unicartagena.edu.co Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 847 PROYECTO DE MERCADOTECNIA TURÍSTICA PARA LA CREACIÓN DE UN AERÓDROMO DEPORTIVO EN LA REGIÓN VITIVINÍCOLA EN BAJA CALIFORNIA, MÉXICO Francisco Adrián Garfias García, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California José Gabriel Ruiz Andrade, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Omaira Cecilia Martínez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California RESUMEN En la región comprendida por los municipios de Tijuana, Rosarito y Ensenada Baja California México, se han realizado varios intentos por contar con instalaciones en donde se pueda practicar la aviación ultraligera como deporte de aventura, estos han sido incipientes y sin una metodología fundamentada que permitan su desarrollo y crecimiento. Aunado a la falta de un estudio serio sobre el tema, se encuentra el aspecto de inseguridad y narcotráfico en la región que por su cercanía con los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica, ha propiciado un incremento en el uso de aeronaves y pistas clandestinas para el contrabando de drogas hacia ese país. INTRODUCCIÓN La presente investigación busca crear un instrumento que permita valorar la factibilidad para la creación de un aeródromo deportivo en una de las zonas turísticas de mayor relevancia como lo es la ruta del vino en el Valle de Guadalupe, en el Municipio de Ensenada, Baja California. Las ventajas geográficas del Valle de Guadalupe derivan en el sentido de contar con un suelo propicio para la construcción de un aeródromo y a su vez contar con una protección natural contra las corrientes de viento provenientes de la costa del océano pacifico. Otra ventaja que tiene la zona es ser uno de los puntos turísticos más reconocidos en Baja California, ideal para la práctica de turismo de aventura y su alto flujo de turistas nacionales y extranjeros. METODOLOGÍA El mercado de los usuarios de aviones ultraligeros se estima en veinte y tres aviones ultraligeros localizados en los Municipios de Rosarito, Tijuana, Norte de Ensenada, Mexicali y San Felipe al sur de la frontera. Al norte de la frontera el mercado de aviones se estima en sesenta aviones ultraligeros y experimentales ubicados en los aeropuertos de Brown Field y Nichols Field. Existe un padrón de aproximadamente veinte y cinco a treinta pilotos de aviones ultraligeros al sur de la frontera y entre sesenta y setenta en el condado de San Diego y sus alrededores, quienes actualmente pagan entre ochocientos pesos y dos mil pesos mensuales por conceptos de renta de hangar, servicio de mantenimiento de nave y uso de pista. Los ingresos por concepto de uso de pista, renta de hangar, reparación y feria anual de aviación deportiva, son muy significativos y justifica por tanto la creación de un espacio que atienda la demanda de ese mercado aeronáutico. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 848 Como competencia directa, se encuentra en San Felipe, identificado como Aerodinamic de México, S. A. de C. V. en donde actualmente se encuentran volando dos aviones ultraligeros; asimismo y como competencia indirecta, se encuentra un grupo de pilotos aficionados de este deporte que se encuentran volando de manera no reglamentada en la región costera entre los municipios de Rosarito y Ensenada; asimismo, se encuentra el aeródromo privado de Nichols en Otay Lake, en donde existen algunos aviones ultraligeros volando, sin embargo, también se cuentan con restricciones para operación y vuelo de aeronaves ultraligeras. CONCLUSIÓN Si bien en la región existen instalaciones que brindan servicios aeroportuarios, de resguardo de aeronaves y reparación de las mismas, estos no se encuentran enfocados al sector de mercado perteneciente a la aviación deportiva del tipo ultraligero, por lo que la investigación muestra estrategias de mercadotecnia que sirvan de apoyo para determinar la viabilidad del proyecto. Actualmente el organismo encargado de emitir permisos de operación para aeródromos privados es la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, y tiene autorizados en el estado de Baja California, México únicamente nueve aeródromos, de los cuales ninguno se encuentra operando para la práctica de la aviación deportiva en la región El hablar del Valle de Guadalupe en Ensenada Baja California, es hablar de una zona con gran potencial para el turismo por su geografía y su tradición vitivinícola, motivo por el cual puede ser acondicionado un aeródromo privado que proporcione servicios a la aviación deportiva en específico del tipo ultraligero. En México existe un creciente interés por el turismo de aventura, por lo que instalaciones bien acondicionadas y en regla para la práctica de aviación deportiva, complementaría de manera adecuada la oferta turística de la región. Respecto a la región, existen algunos intentos por parte de pilotos y aficionados a la aviación deportiva por establecer instalaciones que permitan la práctica de este deporte en la región, específicamente en el área cercana a Rosarito, Baja California; sin embargo, estos no han sido formalmente establecidos ni cuentan con instalaciones y permisos adecuados para su operación. REFERENCIAS Carpenter (2005). A Professional Approach to Ultralights, Rainbow Aviation. United States of America. Copladem y Ceypse (2006). Programa de Desarrollo Regional Región del Vino. Disponible en: http://www.imipens.org/IMIP_files/PDRVINO2006 Dychter, A. (1994). Proyecto de Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-025-SCT-1994 que regula los requisitos operacionales que deben reunir las aeronaves ultraligeras para volar en el espacio aéreo mexicano. Disponible en: http://www.femppa.org/femppa/NOM-25ultraligeros.html INEGI, Encuesta Nacional de Ocupación y Empleo (2010). Disponible en: http://www.inegi.org. mx/lib/olap/consulta/general_ver4/MDXQueryDatos.asp?c=10826 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 849 Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes. Permisos otorgados por la Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Trasportes. México. Disponible en: http://www.sct.gob.mx/ uploads/media/Permisos_de_ Empresas_Aereas Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 850 PLAN DE MERCADOTECNIA PARA DIVERSIFICACIÓN DE MERCADOS EN SERVICIOS LEGALES AMBIENTALES Patricia Blanco Vargas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California José Gabriel Ruiz Andrade, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Ricardo Verján Quiñones, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California RESUMEN El presente estudio de caso tiene por objeto la realización de un plan de mercadotecnia para diversificar la prestación de servicios legales que actualmente se ofertan, hacia otro sector del derecho. Se analiza la viabilidad para ofrecer servicios legales en materia de derecho ambiental; diversificación que va dirigida hacia un mercado meta previamente seleccionado por el Corporativo, el cual pertenece al sector electrónico de maquiladora. Dentro del presente estudio de caso, se identifican las necesidades propias de dicho mercado, tanto para la prestación de servicios legales en materia de derecho ambiental, como para identificar y determinar las características y variables que hacen al mercado meta seleccionar un determinado prestador de servicios legales ambientales. INTRODUCCIÓN En la actualidad las empresas en general enfrentan un ambiente altamente competitivo, lo que las ha obligado a estar mejor preparadas. Debido a ese ambiente cambiante y competitivo, además de asegurar una supervivencia dentro del mercado, es que surge la necesidad imperiosa de desarrollar planes y estrategias que contribuyan a mejorar, prever y superar los diferentes factores que pudieran generar situaciones adversas en la negociación y sus planes futuros. Por otro lado, la situación económica por la que atraviesa México, obliga a que las empresas hagan un gasto inteligente de sus recursos financieros, materiales y humanos, aprovechando para ello las oportunidades y ventajas competitivas disponibles a su alcance. Precisamente por este motivo y en virtud de que la empresa se beneficia al conocer sus ventajas y oportunidades para ser más competitiva, se torna importante el presente estudio, que permita a las organizaciones tomar decisiones más asertivas, así como redirigir sus recursos en forma más eficiente e inteligentemente. El objetivo de la presente investigación es realizar un plan de mercadotecnia para el Corporativo sujeto de estudio, que permita la captación de clientes en el área del derecho ambiental, la cual sea viable, efectiva y eficiente, dirigida hacia un nicho de mercado meta previamente analizado. LITERATURA REVISADA Es importante mencionar que no se encontró literatura específica sobre estudios previos para diversificación de mercados en el área de prestación de servicios jurídicos en materia ambiental, por lo que la literatura revisada es sobre metodología, forma y procedimientos para realizar estudios de mercado, así como para la elaboración de planes de mercadotecnia. Armstrong (2001), Hartline (2006), Kotler (2003), Lambin (2002), Rendón (1996), Vargas (2005), Dankhe (1998), Hernández (2003), Canals (2001), Goold (1999), Kinnear y Taylor (1993), Código de Comercio y la Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 851 METODOLOGÍA Datos La información obtenida sobre la organización se obtuvo directamente de la empresa objeto de estudio. La metodología empleada para la elaboración de este plan de mercadotecnia, se tomó de la bibliografía previamente citada. Modelo La presente investigación primordialmente se ha enfocado en la elaboración de un plan de mercadotecnia, analizando para ello a Armstrong (2001) para conocer las estrategias de crecimiento de mercado, las formas de penetración y desarrollo de mercado; a Hartline (2006) para conocer en qué consiste la toma de decisiones en la estrategias de marketing, conocer las diferentes estrategias de marketing y la segmentación de mercado meta; a Kotler (2003) para conocer las diferentes estrategias de marketing y sus elementos, así como diversos conceptos de la mercadotecnia; a Lambin (2002) para conocer y comentar el caso práctico de la empresa del Señor Luis Hernández; a Rendón (1996) para conocer y comentar el concepto de derecho corporativo; a Vargas (2005) para obtener la definición de derecho ambiental; a Dankhe (1998) para lo relativo a las características y perfiles importantes de personas, grupos y comunicaciones; a Canals (2001) y Gold (1999) para identificar lo que se entiende por crecimiento y la expansión que realiza una empresa hacia nuevos mercados; a Kinnear y Taylor (1993) quienes explican cómo se debe definir el tipo de muestra, así como la consulta de diversas leyes y códigos vigentes en México. RESULTADOS Y CONCLUSIONES La matriz B.C.G. (Boston Consulting Group) es una herramienta que sirve para identificar y planificar estrategias donde se analice la cartera del negocio, permitiendo a la Dirección del Corporativo, evaluar aquellos que son clave y que constituyen su cartera de negocios (ver tabla 2). Tabla 2: Análisis de la cartera de negocios del Corporativo. Matriz de Crecimiento - Participación tasa de crecimiento de mercado alto ESTRELLA Juicios Hipotecarios, debido a que siempre han generado alta participación. DILEMAS Incursionar dentro en un nuevo nicho de mercado dentro del derecho ambiental, en la ciudad de Tijuana. bajo VACA LECHERA Convenios judiciales Generan mayor fondo y utilidad en corto plazo. PERROS Asuntos civiles en área familiar, y laboral. matriz b.c.g. FUERTE DEBIL CUOTA DE MERCADO: RELATIVA Fuente: Elaboración propia, 2010 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 852 La Competencia En este rubro el concepto de marketing establece que para lograr el éxito, una empresa debe satisfacer las necesidades y los deseos de los consumidores mejor que como la hacen sus competidores (ver tabla 3 y tabla 4). Tabla 3: Análisis de competencia parte A. Nombre del Competidor Ubicación geográfica Mercado Meta Servicios que ofrece Estrategia de venta Precio Eco Urbe Asesoría Ambiental Colonia Chamizal, Tijuana Pequeñas empresas, en su mayoría oficinas particulares Asesorías y capacitación a empleados Ofrece paquete empresarial Mensualidad fija, por los servicios que se requieran. ENT Asesorías Ambientales Ave. Jalapa Col. Neidhart Maquiladoras en general. Asesoría a nivel industrial Asesoría en clasificación y disposición de Residuos peligros, descargas y ambiente laboral Ofrece comisión por contratación Pago por evento, a crédito, costo por servicio se desconoce. Ecological, Asesoría Ambiental Otay, Tijuana Industria Agropecuaria Asesoría solo en industria agropecuaria Recomendación Pago por evento, servicio a crédito, Asesores Ambientales, Martínez y Asociados Villa Fontana, Tijuana Maquiladoras y Pymes Asesorías de cumplimiento legal y auditorias normativas Calidad en servicio, atención, honestidad, seriedad, rapidez, Pago por evento, crédito Laboratorio Ambiental Sigma, Consultores ambientales Garita de Otay Pymes y Maquiladoras Análisis clínicos Asesoría cumplimiento normativo, auditorias legales Único laboratorio certificado por EMA, CRETI, NOM-39, Pago por evento, crédito Despacho Luna Z. Centro Tijuana Particulares en General Jurídicos a P. Físicas y Morales N/A Se desconoce *Pequeña; de 1 a 29 clientes ** Mediana; de 30 a 59 clientes*** Grande; de 60 o más clientes Fuente: Elaboración propia, 2010 Tabla 4: Análisis de competencia parte B. Experiencia desde Capacidad Medios publicitarios Canal de Venta Fortalezas Debilidades 2003 *Pequeña Correo electrónico, tarjetas y Secc. Amarilla Tijuana y Playas de Rosarito Conocimiento del mercado Ingenieros químicos y contadores que hacen servicios legales. 2003 *Mediana Secc. Amarilla Tijuana, Mexicali, Tecate, Playas de Rosarito Clientes grandes, experiencia en mercado Subcontrata servicios legales, no son abogados 2007 *Pequeña Anuncio en Secc. Amarilla Tijuana, Playas de Rosarito, Tecate. Alta especialización en su área No incluye servicios legales. 2002 *Pequeña Ninguno Tijuana, Tecate, Playas Rosarito Experiencia, confianza de su mercado ingenieros químicos, que prestan servicios legales 1998 ***Grande Secc. Amarilla Estatal Experiencia en el ramo Es laboratorio su actividad principal. 1983 *Pequeña Secc. Amarilla. Anuncia servicios legales en general e incluye D. Ambiental Tijuana Experiencia como abogado No se enfoca a un mercado en específico en materia ambiental *Pequeña; de 1 a 29 clientes** Mediana; de 30 a 59 clientes *** Grande; de 60 o más clientes Fuente: Elaboración propia, 2010 La tablas 3 y 4 proyectan cómo actualmente en la ciudad de Tijuana existe una demanda en la prestación de servicios legales en materia ambiental, tanto para asesorías como auditorias legales y cumplimiento de normatividad ambiental, servicios que no están siendo atendidos por profesionales en esta materia, siendo Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 853 quienes ofertan y cubren esta demanda de servicio, por laboratorios e ingenieros químicos, lo que representa una oportunidad para el despacho en cuestión. REFERENCIAS Armstrong, P. K. (2001). Principies of Marketing.(O. e. 2001, Ed., & M. d. Anta, Trad.) México: Pearson educacion de México, S. A. de C. V. Hartline, M. D. (2006). Estrategia de Marketing. México: Thomson Editores, S. A. de C. V. Hernández, A. H. (2008). Formulación y Evaluación de Proyectos de Inversión. México: Edamsa Impresiones, S.A. de C.C. Kotler, P. (2003). Los 80 conceptos esenciales de marketing de la "A a la Z". (M. i. know., Trad.) Madrid: Pearson Educacion, S.A. Lambin, J. J. (2002). Casos prácticos de Marketing. Madrid: McGraw Hill/Interamericana de España, S.A. Rendón, M. G. (1996). Sociedades Mercantiles. México: Harla. Vargas, C. (2005). Introducción al Estudio del Derecho Ambiental. México. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 854 ESTUDIO DE FACTIBILIDAD PARA LA COMERCIALIZACIÓN DE ZARZAMORA EN MERCADOS INTERNACIONALES Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. Natalia Guadalupe Romero Vivar, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. Rosalina Jaime Meuly, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. Beatriz Alejandra Hurtado Bringas, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. RESUMEN La zarzamora es un cultivo que se ha venido expandiendo durante los últimos años en diferentes zonas del país, siendo la región de Michoacán, donde se ha alcanzado el mayor desarrollo, debido a lo favorable en sus condiciones climáticas, de suelo y agua que prevalecen en la región. Existen varias entidades federativas que aportan a la producción nacional de zarzamora, como Jalisco, México, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Chihuahua y Baja California, los cuales produjeron junto con Michoacán más de 340 mil toneladas de zarzamora. El mercado de la zarzamora, es principalmente para uso en fresco, y su uso industrial se enfoca a la elaboración de mermeladas, vinos, concentrados, etcétera; por su alta demanda en los países desarrollados, se considera un producto altamente rentable. En ese sentido, se señalan y determinan los factores macroeconómicos y comerciales; así como las regulaciones en materia de comercio internacional que inciden en la comercialización de la zarzamora mexicana, en los mercados internacionales, como una fuente de oportunidad de negocios por su alta rentabilidad, versatilidad del fruto para su consumo y las grandes posibilidades de exportación. PALABRAS CLAVE: Zarzamora, mercado, comercio, negocios, rentabilidad. RESEARCH OF FACTIBILITY FOR THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE BLACKBERRY IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS ABSTRACT Blackberry is a crop that has been expanding during the last years in different areas of our country, the region of Michoacan, where they have the greatest development, because of the good weather conditions, soil, and water that prevail in the region. There are other states that contribute to the national production of blackberry, like México, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Chihuahua and Baja California, with Michoacán which altogether export more than 340 tons to the United States last year. The blackberry market is mainly to sell it fresh, and its industrial use focuses on the jelly elaboration, wines, and concentrated blackberry juice, etc; because of the increasing demand in first world countries, it is considered a highly rentable product. This way, the macroeconomic and commercial elements are pointed; such as the regulations in the international commerce to influence in the commercialization of the Mexican blackberry, in the international markets, like an opportunity of business because of its rentability, the diversity of the fruit for its consume and the great possibilities of exportation. JEL: L11, L17, M11, M21, M31 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 855 KEYWORDS: Blackberry, market, commerce, business, income. INTRODUCCIÓN El nombre científico de la zarzamora es Rubus fruticosus y pertenece a la familia de las Rosáceas (Blackberries o híbridos). Comercialmente, la frambuesa y zarzamora, conjuntamente con el arándano, moras, grosellas, zarzaparrilla y la fresa, pertenecen al grupo de los llamados berries, especies poco producidas en México, pero de gran popularidad en Norteamérica, Sudamérica y Europa. Los híbridos son el producto del cruzamiento entre varios Rubus de frutos nativos de Norteamérica y de Europa. Se les agrupa bajo el nombre de blackberries en inglés y Brombeeren en alemán y Zarzamora en México. Los blackberries son claramente más productivos que las frambuesas; su producción se puede obtener desde octubre a junio y es considerada una fruta típica de climas templados fríos. A pesar de considerarse como clima óptimo para el cultivo de la zarzamora, los climas relativamente frescos, libres de lluvias en el período de cosecha, y con frío invernal de 800 a 1,200 horas-frío, se ha observado que este cultivo se distribuye ampliamente en distintas zonas agroclimáticas del mundo. El factor climático limitante para la zarzamora es el frío invernal, principalmente para las variedades híbridas. Actualmente, se está trabajando para desarrollar híbridos con mayor resistencia al frío y así, expandir el cultivo hacia áreas más frías. Una alta humedad atmosférica favorece el desarrollo de las plantas; sin embargo, esta especie, a diferencia de la frambuesa, presenta cierto grado de resistencia al déficit o exceso de agua debido a su mayor profundidad y extensión del sistema radical.En las zarzamoras, el efecto negativo del viento es menor que en el caso de las frambuesas. Esto se debe a que la zarzamora híbrida es más resistente y tiene un manejo cultural distinto. Las variedades que actualmente se encuentran, se han originado de interacciones genéticas entre varias especies que presentan características morfológicas heterogéneas, por lo que no es extraño que estas variedades difieran entre sí en cuanto a su hábito de crecimiento y al tipo de fruta. Por esta razón, las zarzamoras se han clasificado según su hábito de crecimiento (erecto, semierecto o rastrero) y la presencia o ausencia de espinas (característica que puede ser otorgada por la hibridación). De la combinación de estas dos características morfológicas se han obtenido numerosas variedades que se agruparían en la siguiente clasificación: Erect Thorny, Semierect Thonless, Western Tralling, Dewberries o Híbridos entre zarzamora y frambuesa. Las variedades de zarzamora pertenecientes a la clasificación Erect Thorny (por ejemplo: Cherokee, Eldorado, Darrow) se caracterizan por ser erectas, algunas veces pueden ser arqueadas, presentan espinas en sus cañas y sus primeras cañas emergen de yemas adventicias de la raíz y corona. Los racimos de frutas son grandes y de fruta dulce. La mayoría de estas especies son resistentes al frío.El grupo de blackberries postrados, se caracteriza porque sus variedades tienden a desarrollarse arrastradas, son de hábito agresivo y poseen numerosas espinas, generalmente ganchudas. Entre las variedades más comunes se pueden encontrar las siguientes: Brazos; Comanche; Logan; Cheyenne; Cherokee; Autum Bliss; de las cuales las más comunes en México son: Brazos; Tupy y Cherokee. Crece silvestre en muchas zonas, llanuras, montañas, claros de bosques y sobre todo, en pendientes y márgenes soleados. Es un fruto constituido por pequeñas drupas o granos que se agrupan entre sí. Primero son de color verde, después rojas y cuando están maduras, adquieren un color negro brillante. Existen más de 300 especies, aunque sólo nueve tienen valor comercial. A nivel mundial, las variedades de cultivo proceden de las especies Rubus occidentalis o de hibridaciones con Rubus ideaus. En Colombia, la especie cultivada comercialmente es la Rubus glaucus o mora de Castilla. Dentro de las moras cultivadas existen variedades e híbridos con espinas y variedades sin Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 856 espinas. Asimismo, dentro de esta clasificación se diferencian comercialmente en dulces y no dulces. Las tres variedades más comerciales de moras son: Logan: son un cruce entre una zarzamora y una frambuesa, son más ácidas que las zarzamoras y menos aromatizadas que las frambuesas. Presentan una coloración púrpura y están desprovistas de semillas; Young: resultantes del cruce entre una zarza de los rastrojos y una frambuesa. Tiene aspecto de zarzamora alargada. Su sabor es ácido y poco aromatizado; Boysen: cruce entre la variedad Young y la frambuesa. Son de gran tamaño y su aspecto es muy similar a la frambuesa y; Tay: es un cruce entre la zarzamora y la frambuesa originado en Escocia. Es grande, ácida y de un tono escarlata. REVISIÓN DE LITERATURA La zarzamora se desarrolla excelentemente en las zonas cuya vegetación natural es de bosques de pino y encino, en donde el clima es templado, con veranos cálidos e inviernos fríos. Los requerimientos climáticos de la zarzamora corresponden a las condiciones que se presentan en los municipios de Zamora, Los Reyes, Tangancícuaro, Peribán y zonas altas de Uruapan; en ellos se presentan climas templados en los cuales el invierno tiene días y noches frescas sin que las temperaturas promedio del mes más frío sean menores a los 8°C. En estos lugares se presentan lluvias suficientes durante el verano y parte del otoño, lo que los hace lugares propicios para cultivar zarzamoras de excelente calidad durante los meses de noviembre, diciembre, enero y febrero. Cabe destacar, que esta región de Michoacán concentra el 98% de la producción nacional de zarzamora, seguida por el Estado de México con el 1%. Los berries o frutillas, grupo al que pertenecen la zarzamora y la frambuesa, son productos agrícolas que han venido registrando un incremento sostenido en su cultivo, y una muestra es que la producción de frambuesa prácticamente se triplicó, al pasar de mil 138 toneladas, en el año 2000, a tres mil 44 toneladas, en el año 2004. Los estados productores más destacados son Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Hidalgo y Chihuahua, quienes registraron un valor comercial de esta frutilla de 24 millones 212 mil 590 pesos en el 2004, a diferencia de los 17 millones 573 mil 849 del año 2000. Por su parte, la producción de zarzamora prácticamente se duplicó en este periodo, al pasar de 13 mil 534 toneladas, en el año 2000, a 26 mil 696 en el año 2004, siendo los estados de Michoacán, México, Guanajuato e Hidalgo los principales productores (SAGARPA 2006). De acuerdo a las estadísticas del organismo dependiente de la Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (SAGARPA), los cultivos que registraron aumentos más significativos en la producción fueron la fresa, con 24 mil 109 toneladas y el blueberry, con mil 445 toneladas. Las cifras del SIAP, señalan que durante el año 2009, el valor comercial de las frutillas ascendió a cinco mil 336 millones 432 mil pesos, un aumento de mil 78 millones 130 mil pesos con relación al año 2008, es decir, 25 por ciento más. Entre las entidades productoras de frutillas destaca Michoacán, donde se produjeron 230 mil 450 toneladas, con un valor en el mercado de tres mil 490 millones 269 mil pesos, seguido por Baja California que sumó 84 mil 963 toneladas de frutillas a la producción nacional. Del resto de estados dedicados al cultivo de fresas, zarzamoras, blueberries y frambuesas, que son Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal, Durango, México, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla, Baja California Sur, Guanajuato, Sinaloa, Veracruz, Zacatecas, Hidalgo y Jalisco, este último, tuvo un incremento en su producción de 69 por ciento al pasar de las siete mil 710 toneladas a 13 mil 209 toneladas en un año. Respecto de la zarzamora, el crecimiento del cultivo en suelo jalisciense fue de 400 por ciento al ubicarse la producción del año 2009, en mil 604 toneladas en comparación a las 364 logradas el año anterior. Pese a que la zarzamora y la frambuesa son dos frutas desconocidas en toda la región norte del país, Chihuahua Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 857 exporta anualmente 120 toneladas de cada una al estado de California, Estados Unidos. Esta industria que nació hace tres años en la región de Nuevo Casas Grandes, su éxito se debe a la la ubicación geográfica del municipio, porque se puede exportar vía Juárez-El Paso o por Santa Teresa. Sin embargo, la producción del año 2007, fue exportada por Nogales, Sonora. México ha mostrado un crecimiento explosivo en la producción de berries, principalmente zarzamoras y frambuesas, alcanzando crecimientos medios anuales del 40% (SAGARPA, 2008). En ese sentido, México en un periodo relativamente corto se ha convertido en el primer exportador de zarzamora fresca del mundo. Sin embargo, la producción nacional centra sus actividades por la cantidad de producción en el estado de Michoacán, el destino de sus exportaciones es primordialmente Los Estados Unidos, realizando ventas esporádicas a la Unión Europea. El problema real de la comercialización de zarzamora en México, se centra en que la mayor parte de las exportaciones se generan a un solo mercado, como anteriormente se mencionó; los productores de esa región buscan exportar el fruto sin utilizar intermediarios para su venta, ya que evitando el gasto del intermediario el vendedor se queda con un margen de ganancia más amplio y le permite ser más competitivos con el precio final de producto. La gran ventaja que tiene México, es que la ventana de producción es de noviembre a junio, periodo importante que no es alcanzado por la mayoría de los países productores, salvo Guatemala, que tiene una ventana productiva que también inicia en noviembre, pero concluye en agosto. Por otro lado, se puede mencionar los factores que impulsan la demanda de la fruta, como es su sabor y los aspectos relacionados con la salud y la conveniencia. Desarrollando cada uno de los factores que se mencionan, el sabor de la zarzamora es considerado dentro del grupo de frutas finas junto a las cerezas. El gusto por estas frutas está muy arraigado en países del hemisferio norte, principalmente Europa y América. En el resto del mundo, incluyendo México, la zarzamora es considerada como una fruta exótica. En el segmento de la conveniencia; en otras palabras, producto de fácil consumo o utilización sin grandes complicaciones; en ese sentido, se le asocia por sus atributos como un ingrediente importante con otros tipos de productos, tales como yogurts, lácteos, entre otros. Por último, cada día se descubren en las berries más beneficios para la salud. Reducción de riesgo de cáncer y problemas cardíacos, disminución o reducción en los niveles de colesterol y otros efectos atribuidos a los antioxidantes y propiedades naturales de la zarzamora. En general, todos los berries contienen calcio, magnesio, potasio, fósforo, vitaminas A, B, C y E, por lo que su consumo es recomendado por los nutriólogos y especialistas de la salud. SYSTEM PAY-BACK PERIOD FOR NEWLY CONSTRUCTED HOUSES The estimated payback period (PBP) is given as (Chel and Tiwari, 2011): The system PBP = (system total annual cost per house at certain discount rate * system lifespan in years) / current annual cost of electricity per house Where: system annual cost at 0% discount rate is 1007.7 KD, system lifespan is 20 years and current annual cost of electricity per house is 2868 KD/house/yr. PBP at 0% discount rate = 𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟕.𝟕𝐊𝐃×𝟐𝟎 𝟐,𝟖𝟔𝟖𝐊𝐃 = 7 years Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 858 PBP at several discount rates is given in Figure (4). It is shown that at 6.7% discount rate the PBP is 14.8 years, and at the break-even discount rate of 10.36% it is 20 years. Tabla 1: Información nutrimental de la zarzamora. Nutrientes Unidad Valor por 100g de porción comestible Agua g 88.15 Energía kcal 43 Proteínas g 1.39 Grasa g 0.49 Carbohidratos g 9.61 Fibra dietética g 5.3 Azúcar g 4.88 Calcio mg 29 Hierro mg 0.62 Magnesio mg 20 Fósforo mg 22 Potasio mg 162 Sodio mg 1 Vitamina C (ácido ascórbico) mg 21 Ácido pantoténico mg 0.276 Vitamina A ui 214 Vitamina E mg 1.17 Betacaroteno mcg 128 Luteína mcg 118 La presente tabla muestra el contenido nutrimental de la zarzamora por cada 100 g de porción comestible. Fuente: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 24 (2011). Elaboración propia. METODOLOGÍA El diseño de la investigación partió de una investigación propiamente documental y descriptiva, por otro lado, se realizó una investigación de campo; es decir, se consultó a organismos oficiales y de Gobierno, para afianzar datos e información estadística sobre el tema investigado; así como tambien, sitios y/o bases de datos oficiales nacionales e internacionales, para el uso de la informacion estadísitica, económica y financiera de las exportaciones de zarzamora en los distintos mercados del mundo. Por lo anterior expuesto, el análisis de los aspectos para determinar el perfil comercial de la zarzamora, se dividió en dos grandes áreas: El mercado mundial y el mercado nacional; en ese sentido y con la apertura comercial, las exportaciones se han incrementado favorablemente para los productos certificados, orgánicos y exóticos; entre estos últimos se encuentra la zarzamora. En el mercado internacional, la zarzamora mexicana se reconoce por su calidad en el sabor. Para el estudio de la magnitud de mercado se analizaron las tendencias en producción, estacionalidad y comercio en México y en los mercados de Los Estados Unidos y Europa.Para la realización del perfil comercial internacional se analizaron las siguientes variables: Los importadores y exportadores mundiales de zarzamora. Para el análisis de las tendencias de la comercialización de zarzamora, se tomó en cuenta el crecimiento del mercado; asi como tambien, su participación en las importaciones mundiales (fuente: COMTRADE, Febrero del 2011). La Tabla 2, contiene los principales importadores mundiales de zarzamora. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 859 Tabla 2: Importadores mundiales de zarzamora Importadores Indicadores comerciales Valor importada en 2009, en miles de USD Cantidad importada en 2009, en toneladas Valor unitario (USD/unidad) Tasa de crecimiento anual en valor entre 2008-2009 Participación en las importaciones mundiales, % Mundo 703,892 147,395 4,776 -4 100 Estados Unidos de América 197,479 52,159 3,786 3 28.1 Canadá 136,840 24,146 5,667 0 19.4 Reino Unido 104,721 13,400 7,815 -8 14.9 Alemania 54,550 17,566 3,105 -3 7.7 Francia 51,127 7,814 6,543 -4 7.3 Países Bajos (Holanda) 30,053 3,206 9,374 13 4.3 Italia 19,181 4,739 4,047 -34 2.7 Austria 18,657 10,319 1,808 -54 2.7 Bélgica 16,029 3,891 4,120 -17 2.3 Japón 11,138 444 25,086 -1 1.6 Irlanda 11,121 1,356 8,201 3 1.6 Suiza 10,058 1,028 9,784 7 1.4 España 9,285 2,407 3,857 53 1.3 Dinamarca 5,449 681 8,001 21 0.8 Suecia 3,893 355 10,966 3 0.6 Lituania 3,861 252 15,321 2 0.5 Federación de Rusia 2,030 794 2,557 10 0.3 República Checa 1,621 170 9,535 35 0.2 En la presente tabla se muestra los principales importadores de zarzamora a nivel mundial; así como participación en las importaciones mundiales. Fuente: Cálculos del CCI basados en estadísticas de COMTRADE, Análisis e Investigación de Mercados, Centro de Comercio Internacional (ITC); Genova Suiza, Febrero del 2011. Como se puede observar, el principal comprador a nivel mundial en el periodo 2008-2009, son los Estados Unidos, las estadísticas de compra del país indican que hubo una variación porcentual que aumenta en tres puntos la compra del producto en este periodo, adquiriendo el 28.1% de la oferta mundial, con un crecimiento anual del 3%, seguido por Canadá, país que compra el 19% de la oferta en el mundo, con un crecimiento anual que quedo estático, por eso se deduce que ha manteniendo su producción en los últimos dos años.Estos dos mercados representan para los productores mexicanos viabilidad de venta, ya que por su cercanía y relación comercial facilitan la transportación del producto, si se considera que es un alimento perecedero con una vida de anaquel corta, los aspectos geográficos y climáticos contribuyen a que los productores de México seleccionen estos dos mercados como potenciales para la venta. Sin embargo, no se debe descartar a otros compradores, los cuales se ubican en otros países, por ejemplo, Holanda tuvo un crecimiento interno del 13%; Irlanda tuvo un porcentaje de compra a nivel mundial del 1.6% y con un crecimiento interno del 3%; Suiza tuvo un crecimiento interno del 7% y una participación a nivel mundial del 1.4%; mientras que España tuvo un crecimiento interno considerable del 53% con una participación mundial del 1.3%. Dentro de la actividad comercial que se genera a nivel mundial es de suma importancia ubicar a la competencia que tiene México en la exportación, para el análisis de este apartado se ha tomado como base la información estadística generada por el organismo internacional ICC (Centro de Comercio Internacional), con sede en Genova, Suiza. Como se puede observar en la Tabla 3, el principal exportador de zarzamora fresca en el mundo es Estados Unidos, con una venta del 28.4%, seguido por España con un 24.1% y en tercer lugar se encuentra México, con el 18% de la venta a nivel mundial. Los principales Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 860 competidores para nuestro país son: España (2do lugar a nivel mundial), Polonia y Holanda (fuente: COMTRADE, Febrero del 2011). La Tabla 3, contiene los principales exportadores mundiales de zarzamora. Tabla 3: Exportadores mundiales de zarzamora. Exportadores Indicadores comerciales Valor exportada en 2009, en miles de USD Cantidad exportada en 2009 en toneladas Valor unitario (USD/unidad) Tasa de crecimiento anual en valor entre 2008-2009 Participación en las exportaciones mundiales, % Mundo 546,664 169,000 3,235 -12 100 Estados Unidos de América 155,433 48,097 3,232 5 28.4 España 131,899 15,498 8,511 -1 24.1 México 98,453 36,309 2,712 -1 18.0 Polonia 34,437 26,476 1,301 -50 6.3 Países Bajos (Holanda) 29,373 2,725 10,779 -13 5.4 Portugal 14,817 1,648 8,991 39 2.7 Francia 12,421 1,909 6,507 -9 2.3 Bélgica 11,334 958 11,831 -21 2.1 Serbia 8,517 5,798 1,469 -56 1.6 Guatemala 6,204 3,470 1,788 29 1.1 Alemania 6,052 1,379 4,389 -1 1.1 Italia 5,417 818 6,622 31 1.0 Austria 4,665 2,082 2,241 -72 0.9 Chile 4,568 781 5,849 -70 0.8 Sudafrica 3,640 577 6,308 99 0.7 Marruecos 3,426 915 3,744 -32 0.6 Lituania 3,337 254 13,138 -17 0.6 Canadá 2,975 1,101 2,702 -62 0.5 Hungría 1,935 319 6,066 78 0.4 Bulgaria 1,916 541 3,542 -65 0.4 Irlanda 1,496 194 7,711 -18 0.3 En la presente tabla se muestra los principales importadores de zarzamora a nivel mundial; así como participación en las importaciones mundiales. Fuente: Cálculos del CCI basados en estadísticas de COMTRADE, Análisis e Investigación de Mercados, Centro de Comercio Internacional (ITC); Genova Suiza, Febrero del 2011. RESULTADOS Con base a los antecedentes recopilados de fuentes estadísticas, en Norteamérica y Europa son requeridos estos productos, toda vez que tienen una amplia versatilidad para el consumo, incluso para la decoración de platillos. Cabe destacar, que los agricultores que envían en fresco estos productos para el consumidor internacional obtienen buenas ganancias, ya que pueden conseguir hasta un 300 por ciento más que lo que se logra exportándolos de manera congelada. En ese sentido, el Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP), informó que en el año 2010, la producción nacional de zarzamora se destacó con un volumen de 61 mil 557 toneladas, lo que representó un valor de producción de de 1, 428,620.28 (en miles de pesos). Actualmente, se destaca que alrededor de 3 mil 750 hectáreas están ubicadas en Los Reyes, lugar que contiene la mayor superficie de cultivo de zarzamora de México y el mundo. La producción del ciclo anual del cultivo arrojó 30 mil toneladas de zarzamora, de éstas, el 90 por ciento fueron exportadas a Estados Unidos y el resto a Europa y Japón. Las exportaciones de las frutillas mexicanas se realizan de octubre a enero, lo que al país le representa una ventaja competitiva, pues en dicho periodo es en el que se alcanzan los más altos precios en el mercado mundial debido a la escasa oferta. La producción del Valle de Los Reyes representa 95 por ciento de la producción estatal y 90 por ciento de la producción nacional de zarzamora, delante de Colima y Jalisco, tal y como se ilustra en la Figura 1, la cual referencia a la producción agrícola nacional del año 2010. Sin embargo, es importante resaltar que, Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 861 entidades como Guanajuato, Distrito Federal, México, Nayarit y Querétaro aportaron en su conjunto, la cantidad de 369.58 toneladas de zarzamora en el mismo año de referencia. Partiendo del análisis descriptivo anterior, en el territorio nacional, particularmente en los estados antes mencionados, prevalecen las condiciones favorables del clima y suelo; así como la alta rentabilidad del cultivo de zarzamora, ha sido un atractivo que ha permitido su establecimiento comercial en México Figura 1: Producción nacional agrícola de zarzamora, año 2010. En esta figura se muestra la producción agrícola de zarzamora en el año 2010. Claramente se puede apreciar que la Región de Michoacán aportó un 95% a la producción nacional, la cual correspondió a 58,279 toneladas; mientras que Jalisco y Colima, aportaron el 5% restante, lo que correspondió a 2,284 toneladas de producto. Fuente: elaboración propia a partir de la información proporcionada por el SIAP. CONCLUSIONES El cultivo de la zarzamora en nuestro país y el alto porcentaje en su comercialización en mercados internacionales, es sin lugar a dudas, una coyuntura en materia de comercio internacional y de negocios, la cual se ha venido apoyando e impulsando en los últimos años, por representar a la economía mexicana y a los inversionistas una gran oportunidad de negocios, por su alta rentabilidad, versatilidad y exportación; debido a la apertura comercial, la cual se ha incrementado favorablemente para los productos certificados y, la zarzamora mexicana se le reconoce por la calidad del fruto en su sabor. Si bien es cierto, los países que mayor demandan el producto de la zarzamora, son los países del norte; sin embargo, algunos países europeos también la demandan y tomando en cuenta su tasa de crecimiento anual y su índice de participación en las importaciones mundiales, México posicionado en el tercer lugar en exportaciones, deberá de gestionar su entrada a los mercados europeos como una alternativa de negocios y poder así, incrementar su índice de participación en las exportaciones mundiales y todo lo que para la economía mexicana y los empresarios significa. Una vez plasmada esta situación, es importante para el productor enfocarse a la comercialización de la zarzamora a los mercados que han incrementado su crecimiento interno y que permanecen dentro de los principales importadores en el mundo. Otro indicador importante es que los agricultores que exportan este producto, obtienen buenas ganancias, ya que pueden conseguir hasta un 300% más de lo que se logra exportándolos de manera congelada. 2% 3% 95% Colima Jalisco Michoacán Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 862 Una situación importante es la capacidad de proveer los mercados internacionales por parte del productor y la factibilidad de cumplir con las regulaciones arancelarias y no arancelarias (ver anexo1), para la exportación de sus productos. En México la asistencia técnica en procesos de exportación se convierte en un factor importante para la toma de decisiones del empresario y en ese sentido, se recomienda producir y comercializar el producto en fresco solamente bajo un esquema que permita garantizar la venta del fruto a una fecha determinada, cumpliendo parámetros de calidad previamente acordados mediante el establecimiento de un paquete tecnológico, con miras a obtener un precio que de rentabilidad al cultivo. Es importante que el productor mexicano dadas las condiciones económicas mundiales, reflexione en la importancia de la diversificación del riesgo en las exportaciones, por lo que debe de considerar el mercado europeo como una opción más de comercialización. En caso de tomar la decisión de exportar a Europa, deberá de tener en cuenta que la decisión de compra del consumidor europeo depende de la combinación del trinomio: Calidad-Sanidad-Precio. Por lo anterior, para poder exportar productos agrícolas mexicanos a la Unión Europea, es importante que el productor- exportador conozca y tenga presente que la calidad y la sanidad de los productos son factores claves para penetrar, permanecer y tener éxito en ese mercado. Promover y privilegiar la exportación de zarzamora, en función de su alto precio, ya que los mercados que más demandan el producto son Los Estados Unidos, Canadá y Reino Unido, por mencionar los más representativos (COMTRADE, 2011). Asimismo, se puede apreciar en la Figura 2, el incremento que tuvo en las importaciones de zarzamora en los países arriba mencionados, el cual oscila en un 38 por ciento en promedio con respecto al año 2009. Figura 2: Comportamiento de las importaciones de los berries, años 2009 y 2010. La presente Figura muestra un comparativo de las importaciones de fruta del grupo de los berries, durante los años 2009 y 2010, representados por los tres países más importantes por su valor importado en miles de dólares. Fuente: Elaboración propia, a partir de los cálculos del CCI basados en estadísticas de COMTRADE, Análisis e Investigación de Mercados, Centro de Comercio Internacional (ITC); Genova Suiza, Noviembre del 2011. Hablando propiamente de valores en toneladas demandadas por los principales países importadores de zarzamora, se tiene que Los Estados Unidos importaron en el año 2010, la cantidad de 60,247 toneladas, lo cual representa el 37% de la importación mundial del fruto; mientras que Canadá importó 28,787 toneladas, lo que representó para el año 2010, una participación del 17.7% del total mundial y; el Reino Unido participó en las importaciones con la cantidad de 10,470 toneladas, lo que representó una participación del 6.43 por ciento del total del mundo. Los Estados Unidos Canadá Reino Unido 2010 286,308 176,107 92,972 2009 197,479 136,944 104,721 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 Va lo r i m po rt ad o en m ile s de d ól ar es Países Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 863 Por otro lado, es importante promover la incorporación de valor agregado al producto, mediante la industrialización del fruto, como una alternativa comercial cuando por alguna razón no se puede acceder a los canales comerciales de alto valor, como lo es en fresco para la exportación. En ese sentido, se deberá de buscar y aplicar la estrategia de diversificación de productos y con ello, poder industrializar y comercializar la zarzamora a partir de la elaboración de jugos, congelados, pulpas concentradas, polvos deshidratados, ates, licores, helados, postres, bebidas, lácteos, dulces y mermeladas; lo anterior en función de que la fruta es altamente perecedera y de súbita madurez poca resistencia al manipuleo y al transporte. También se debe de considerar los siguientes factores: El transformar la fruta para la elaboración de concentrado, proporciona mayores márgenes de utilidad, siempre y cuando no se enfrente a las barreras de ingreso en un segmento comercial con tanta competencia; mientras que el producto en fresco, esta sujeto a la especulación y la sobreoferta del mercado internacional, mismo que provoca volatilidad en el precio e incertidumbre para quien lo produce. ANEXOS Anexo 1. Medidas Arancelarias Cuantitativas Y Cualitativas Para La Exportación De Productos Mexicanos A Europa. Cuantitativas: Permisos de exportación e importación, Cupos, Medidas contra prácticas desleales de comercio internacional. Cualitativas: Regulaciones de etiquetado, Marcado de país de origen, Regulaciones sanitarias, Normas técnicas, Regulaciones de toxicidad, Normas de calidad, Regulaciones ecológicas, Empaque y Embalaje / Regulaciones Europeas: Idioma del país destino. En el caso de alimentos: nombre del producto, peso neto, fecha de caducidad, código de barras, indicaciones de uso y conservación, ingredientes, conservadores y aditivos utilizados y lugar de procedencia. Etiqueta ecológica o verde: Tiene el objetivo de fomentar la utilización de productos con un impacto reducido en el medio ambiente durante toda su vida útil. La estética del empaque debe considerar valores, tradiciones y costumbres de cada país. Certificación Europea. En la declaración de la CE de conformidad se incluirá lo siguiente: Nombre y dirección del fabricante o de su representante establecido en la Comunidad Europea, Descripción del material eléctrico, referencia a las normas armonizadas, si procede, referencia de los requisitos con los cuales se declara la conformidad, Identificación del apoderado que firme en nombre del fabricante o de su representante establecido en la comunidad. Reglas de Origen. Los principales criterios para determinar el origen de un bien son: Totalmente originario, salto arancelario, De minimis (insumos menos del 7% u 8% del valor total del producto), valor del contenido regional. Certificados de Origen. Los Tratados de Libre Comercio y Acuerdos Comerciales establecen preferencias arancelarias para mercancías que cumplen con regla de origen. El Certificado de Origen es el documento que avala que un bien que se exporte a territorio de la otra parte; cumple con regla de origen correspondiente. Certificado de Origen TLCUEM: a) Formato Controlado; b) Validación por la autoridad competente del gobierno exportador; c) Registro de Productos Elegibles; d) Opciones de Resoluciones. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 864 Certificado de Origen en formato controlado, Número de exportador autorizado; Procedimiento de validación para la obtención de certificado de origen. Los países que conforman la Unión Europea establecen sus regulaciones no arancelarias a nivel comunitario, a través de Directivas y otras disposiciones generales, que actúan como disposiciones marco. Esto no excluye la posibilidad de que cada país, a nivel interno, pueda establecer disposiciones adicionales que endurezcan o flexibilicen dicha normativa de referencia. Aspectos sanitarios. El exportador mexicano deberá tener especial cuidado en que los frutos frescos no tengan alguno de los organismos nocivos (insectos, ácaros, nematodos, bacteria, hongos y virus) listados en la Directiva 92/103/CEE, relativa a las Medidas de protección contra la introducción en la Comunidad de organismos nocivos para los productos vegetales y contra su propagación en el interior de la Comunidad. Deberá procurarse y demostrar que el producto exportado está libre de enfermedades, magulladuras u otras desfiguraciones. Por lo anterior, corresponde al productor/exportador mexicano el garantizar que sus productos cuentan con las condiciones sanitarias requeridas en el momento de salir de México. Para ello se requiere el correspondiente Certificado Fitosanitario Internacional. Calidad. Las normas de calidad quedaron claramente definidas desde octubre 1996 en la Política Agrícola Común (PAC). De esta manera, los productos que no cumplan con dicha normativa, no tendrán acceso al mercado europeo. Además, existen otras regulaciones específicas (EC 2200/96), que aplican para los siguientes productos: Frutas: Manzana, Albaricoque, Aguacate, Cereza, Uva, Kiwi, Limón, Mandarina, Melón, Nectarina, Naranja, Melocotón, Pera, Ciruela, Fresa, Zarzamora, Sandía. Cuando hablamos de calidad en la Unión Europea, nos referimos igualmente a los estándares de Clasificación de los productos, esto es, la evaluación que sobre su tamaño, peso, medidas y madurez. Según este criterio la clasificación quedaría de la siguiente manera: Clase Extra: Productos de mayor calidad; Clase I: Productos de buena calidad; Clase II: Productos de calidad razonable que pueden ser comercializados; Clase III: Productos de menor calidad pero que aún pueden ser motivo de comercio, aunque normalmente no se admite un embarque que tenga más de un 15% de productos de esta clase. Eurepgap. Debido a la creciente preocupación de los consumidores europeos en relación a la seguridad de los alimentos, (conocer de dónde vienen y cómo están siendo elaborados los productos que consumen) y a raíz de importantes situaciones que causaron temor en la población, como la enfermedad de las vacas locas y la aparición de los organismos modificados genéticamente, surge en 1997 EUREPGAP. EUREP es la sigla inglesa de «Grupo de trabajo de minoristas de producto en fresco» (Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group). El objetivo de esta organización, de la cual son miembros importantes cadenas de distribución minorista europeas, es, según su propia declaración, «elevar los estándares sanitarios de la producción de fruta fresca y vegetales». Se trata, entonces, de un grupo de trabajo técnico cuyo objetivo es promover y apoyar el uso de las buenas prácticas agrícolas en la producción de fruta y hortaliza. Así, EUREPGAP son los estándares para las Buenas Prácticas Agrícolas (en inglés Good Agricultural Practice GAP), promovidos por el Euro Retailer Group (EUREP), que representa a las cadenas de supermercados líderes en el sector alimentario a nivel europeo. Desde este punto de vista, EUREPGAP es un conjunto de documentos normativos que se utilizan para certificar la producción de alimentos frescos y agrícolas. Inicialmente surgió como iniciativa del sector minorista, aunque la versión actual del documento EUREPGAP y sus procedimientos han sido desarrollados por representantes de todos los sectores de la industria de frutas y hortalizas. El objetivo principal de EUREPGAP es acordar estándares y procedimientos para el desarrollo de buenas prácticas agrícolas (GAP o BPA) en temas claves de la producción de alimentos. En términos generales quedarían definidos de la siguiente manera: Responder al interés creciente del consumidor por el impacto Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 865 medioambiental; la sanidad y seguridad en los alimentos, y reflejar el deseo de mejorar constantemente los estándares de producción en cooperación con los productores. De lo anterior, se deduce que en la Unión Europea se están traspasando las normas de calidad convencionales ya conocidas, que obligan al envasado, calibrado, entre otros y, se están incluyendo nuevos parámetros, exigidos por el consumidor final y que se basan principalmente en la determinación de: Las características organolépticas y alimenticias del producto (tanto o más importantes que la presentación, envasado, entre otros); las técnicas de producción a las cuales se ha sometido el producto, las cuales deben ser respetuosas con el medio ambiente. Ello incluye los métodos de lucha contra las plagas con productos de bajo nivel de residuos e incluso métodos biológicos de lucha contra las plagas, abejorros para la fecundación, controles de calidad en origen; el registro y documentación de todos los nuevos atributos de los productos y; la certificación de los productores por parte de organismos públicos o privados de reconocida solvencia, como garantía. BIBLIOGRAFÍA Centro de Comercio Internacional COMTRADE (2011). “Investigación de Mercados”, Genova, Suiza. Febrero del 2011. Consultado en http://www.trademap.org. González, O. F. (2006). “El Cultivo de la zarzamora en Michoacán”. Revista Tecnoagro. Año 7., No. 28, pp 14-16. Guía para exportar productos mexicanos a la Unión Europea (2009). 3a edición, PROMEXICO. Consultado en http://www.promexico.gob.mx. Revista Teorema Ambiental: “Zarzamora, mil y una formas de vender”. Consulta realizada en septiembre de 2011, en: http://www.teorema.com.mx/tendencias/zarzamora-mil-y-una-formas-de-vender/ Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (SAGARPA). Consulta en http://www.sagarpa.gob.mx PATTINI, A. (s/f). Sector Productivo.com.py. El portal del agroparaguayo: “Zarzamora, alternativa para pequeños productores”. Consultado en: http://sectorproductivo.com.py/agricola/fruticultura/5623- zarzamora-alternativa-para-pequenos-productores Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (S.I.A.P.). “Anuario estadístico AgroPecuario México 2010”. Extraído de http://www.siap.gob.mx. Consulta realizada en noviembre del año 2011. U.S. Department of Agriculture. National Agricultural Statistics Service. “2007 CENSUS of AGRICULTURE. Fruit, Berries and Tree Nuts”. Consulta realizada en octubre de 2011, en http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/ USDA National Nutrients Database for Standard Reference, Release 24 (2011). Consulta realizada en noviembre del año 2011, en http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search. BIOGRAFÍA Beatriz Alejandra Hurtado Bringas es Maestra en Comercio Exterior y Aduanas de la Universidad de Sonora. Profesora Investigadora de Tiempo Completo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), adscrita a la Carrera de Comercio Internacional. Se puede contactar en la Unidad Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 866 Académica Hermosillo, CESUES, en Ley Federal del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora, México. Contacto vía correo electrónico: hurtadoalejandra@hotmail.com Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales es Maestro en Administración de la Universidad de Sonora. Profesor Investigador de Tiempo Completo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), adscrito a la Carrera de Comercio Internacional. Se puede contactar en la Unidad Académica Hermosillo, CESUES, en Ley Federal del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora, México. Contacto vía correo electrónico: luisim00@hotmail.com Rosalina Jaime Meuly, Maestra en Administración de Negocios de la Universidad del Noroeste. Profesora Investigadora de Tiempo Completo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), adscrita a la Carrera de Comercio Internacional. Se puede contactar en la Unidad Académica Hermosillo, CESUES, en Ley Federal del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora, México. Contacto vía correo electrónico: rosyjaime@hotmail.com Natalia Guadalupe Romero Vivar, Maestra en Mercadotecnia y Comercio Internacional de la Universidad del Valle de México. Profesora Investigadora de Tiempo Completo del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), adscrita a la Carrera de Comercio Internacional. Se puede contactar en la Unidad Académica Hermosillo, CESUES, en Ley Federal del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora, México. Contacto vía correo electrónico: narovi98@hotmail.com Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 867 CONFIANZA, COMPROMISO E INTENCION PARA COMPARTIR: ¿VARIABLES INFLUYENTES PARA TRANSFERIR CONOCIMIENTO DENTRO DE LAS ORGANIZACIONES? Aurora I. Máynez Guaderrama, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez Judith Cavazos Arroyo, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla Santiago Ibarreche Suárez, Universidad de Texas en El Paso José Pablo Nuño de la Parra, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla RESUMEN La evidencia disponible indica que no se conoce la totalidad de factores requeridos para que la transferencia de conocimiento intra-organizacional sea exitosa y eficiente. En este trabajo se estudia la influencia de la confianza - en la habilidad- así como del compromiso- afectivo-, sobre la intención y disposición para compartir, y el efecto de esta última sobre la transferencia de conocimiento. La investigación fue de tipo cuantitativa y la información empírica se examinó en dos etapas: en la primera a través de un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio (AFC), y en la segunda mediante un Sistema de Ecuaciones Estructurales basado en Covarianzas (CBSEM). Los resultados confirman que: 1) existe una relación directa, positiva y significativa entre la transferencia de conocimiento y la intención y disposición para compartir, 2) la confianza en la habilidad y el compromiso afectivo afectan positiva, directa y significativamente a la intención y disposición para compartir, y 3) la confianza en la habilidad y el compromiso afectivo inciden de forma indirecta, positiva y significativa sobre la transferencia de conocimiento dentro de las empresas. JEL: C39, M14, M19 PALABRAS CLAVE: Transferencia de conocimiento, confianza en la habilidad, compromiso afectivo, intención y disposición para compartir. INTRODUCCIÓN El desempeño organizacional se explica a partir de lo que una organización sabe, es decir, se basa en su conocimiento (Argote & Ingram, 2000), y gracias a su transferencia se renueva la capacidad productiva de la empresa (Liao & Hu, 2007). En gran medida, los problemas existentes en la gestión del conocimiento se relacionan con seres humanos -son producto de su complejidad y de sus diferentes necesidades psicológicas (Bollinger & Smith, 2001)-. Los antecedentes teóricos disponibles indican que es más probable que los trabajadores con un fuerte compromiso organizacional y altos niveles de confianza en sus compañeros, estén altamente motivados, y tengan una mayor disposición para hacer esfuerzos extraordinarios y para compartir su conocimiento tácito (Hislop, 2003; Lin, 2007). El compromiso y la confianza son necesarios para que las personas valoren la relación, y estén dispuestos a ser vulnerables (Yilmaz & Hunt, 2001). Con base en los antecedentes y en el reconocimiento de la naturaleza estratégica el conocimiento organizacional (Hafeez & Abdelmeguid, 2003), en esta investigación se analizó la influencia que la confianza sustentada en la habilidad, y el compromiso afectivo, ejercen sobre la intención y disposición a Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 868 compartir el conocimiento tácito, y el efecto indirecto de dichas variables, sobre la transferencia de conocimiento intra-organizacional. REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA Confianza. Para algunos (Collins & Hitt, 2006; Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt, & Camerer, 1998) la confianza es un estado psicológico que comprime la intención de aceptar la vulnerabilidad bajo condiciones de riesgo e interdependencia, teniendo como soporte la valoración positiva de las expectativas sobre las intenciones o comportamiento de un tercero. La confianza reduce la necesidad de que exista una congruencia perfecta de valor en un intercambio único, ya que existe la expectativa de que el balance se alcanzará conforme ocurran una serie de intercambios; además, disminuye la necesidad de compensación instantánea ya que cada parte es confidente de que los compromisos se cumplirán en el futuro (McEvily, Perrone, & Zaheer, 2003). A partir de lo anterior, se propone la siguiente hipótesis de investigación: H1 La confianza basada en la valoración positiva de la habilidad o competencia de los compañeros de trabajo incide positivamente sobre la intención y disposición para compartir conocimiento. Compromiso Organizacional. El compromiso es una fuerza que une al individuo a un curso de acción relevante para que se realicen uno o más objetivos (Meyer & Herscovitch, 2001); comúnmente esta variable se clasifica en tres tipos: afectivo, normativo y de continuidad (Meyer & Allen, 1991). Cuando existen altos niveles de compromiso afectivo, existe una probabilidad mayor de que los empleados se adhieran a las políticas organizacionales, actúen de conformidad con las decisiones estratégicas internas y correspondan de diversas formas a la organización (Eisenberger, Cummings, Armeli, & Lynch, 1997; Meyer & Allen, 1991). Sin embargo, no obstante que se afirma que el compromiso organizacional puede afectar sustancialmente la disposición de los empleados para compartir conocimiento, es relativamente poca la investigación realizada en el área (Lin, 2007). Dados los elementos teóricos disponibles, se plantea la siguiente hipótesis de investigación: H2 Fundamentándose en la reciprocidad, el compromiso afectivo incide positiva y significativamente sobre la intención y disposición para compartir conocimiento. Intencion Y Disposicion Para Compartir Conocimiento. La reciprocidad es un compromiso entre partes que se manifiesta en una forma de obligación moral frente a una gratificación individual recibida previamente. La reciprocidad amplía la gama de recursos a ser intercambiados resultando en la adquisición de nueva información, habilidades y experiencias (Muthusamy & White, 2005). La reciprocidad en términos de personal y activos también mejora las conexiones de conocimiento entre partes interesadas; además, dichas conexiones facilitan el intercambio y la comunicación en la transferencia de conocimiento. La intención de compartir es un predictor inmediato del comportamiento para compartir conocimiento (Bock & Kim, 2002). La fuente proporcionará su know-how si al compartir se ve afianzada su expectativa de beneficios futuros (Kachra & White, 2008). A partir de lo anterior, es posible plantear la siguiente hipótesis de investigación: H3 La intención y disposición para compartir conocimiento incide de forma positiva y significativa en la transferencia de conocimiento dentro de las organizaciones. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 869 METODOLOGÍA Se diseñó una investigación empírica, cuantitativa, y de sección transversal, basada en la revisión de la literatura de las variables. El estudio se desarrolló en empresas industriales ubicadas en las ciudades de Juárez y Chihuahua, en el estado de Chihuahua, México. La muestra fue no probabilística, e incluyó a gerentes, supervisores, analistas, ingenieros y técnicos. En total se contó con 278 instrumentos válidos. La contrastación de las hipótesis del modelo propuesto se llevó a cabo a través de un Sistema de Ecuaciones Estructurales basado en Covarianzas –CBSEM-. Para el análisis de los datos se siguió el procedimiento de dos etapas recomendado por Anderson y Gerbing (1988): en la primera, se llevó a cabo un Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio (AFC); en la segunda, se agregaron las relaciones estructurales propuestas entre las variables, analizándose mediante un CBSEM. Tanto el AFC como el CBSEM se estimaron con apoyo del software estadístico EQS 6.1. (Bentler 1985 - 2005), utilizándose el Método de Máxima Verosimilitud (ML) con la corrección estadística de Satorra y Bentler (1994). El modelo de medida mostró un buen ajuste, ya que los indicadores cumplen con los criterios de corte convencionales (BBNIF=0.922; BBNNFI=0.974; CFI=0.979; IFI=0.979; MFI=0.941; RMSEA=0.035). En lo relativo a la fiabilidad y validez convergente, los resultados indican que: 1) todas las relaciones de los ítems con sus factores son significativas, 2) la magnitud de las cargas estandarizadas exceden el valor crítico de 0.50 (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988) y 3) y el promedio de éstas en cada factor supera 0.70. Respecto a la consistencia interna: 1) en todos los casos los valores alfa de Cronbach exceden 0.70; 2) los índices de fiabilidad compuesta (IFC), superan 0.60 (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988) y 3) todos los índices de varianza extraída (AVE) son mayores de 0.50. Con respecto a la validez discriminante, los resultados sugieren que existe ya que: 1) ninguno de los intervalos de confianza, para ±2 λ comprenden la unidad y 2) los valores de los AVE son mayores a los cuadrados de los coeficientes de correlación entre los factores. En resumen, se confirmó la fiabilidad, y la validez convergente y discriminante del modelo global de medida. RESULTADOS Modelo estructural Una vez establecida la fiabilidad y validez del modelo de medida se procedió a realizar la contrastación de las hipótesis a través del CBSEM correspondiente (tabla 1), empleando también estadísticos robustos (Satorra & Bentler, 1994). Las tres hipótesis planteadas resultaron significativas para un nivel de p<0.01. En consecuencia, no fue posible rechazar ninguna de ellas. Tabla 1: Resultados del SEM para la contrastación de hipótesis Hipótesis Relación estructural propuesta λ (estandarizada) Resultado H1 Confianza  Intención y disposición para compartir 0.280** No rechazada H2 Compromiso afectivo  Intención y disposición para compartir 0.403*** No rechazada H3 Intención y disposición para compartir  Transferencia de conocimiento intra-organizacional 0.507*** No rechazada Indicadores de bondad de ajuste: BBNFI BBNNFI CFI IFI MFI RMSEA S-B χ2 (100gl) = 160.5004*** 0.905 0.954 0.962 0.962 0.897 0.047 **p<0.01, *** p<0.001 Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 870 De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, tanto la Confianza en la habilidad como el Compromiso Afectivo influyen directa, positiva y significativamente sobre la Intención y disposición para compartir conocimiento, aunque de forma comparativa, la segunda variable tiene una influencia mayor. En el caso de la variable Confianza en la habilidad, los resultados muestran que existe una relación estadísticamente significativa mostrando un valor path 0.280 con un nivel p<0.01. Para la variable Compromiso afectivo, los valores resultantes indican un valor path 0.403 con un nivel p<0.001. En lo que respecta a la relación entre la Intención y disposición para compartir y la Transferencia de conocimiento intra-organizacional, los hallazgos confirman la relación significativa, directa y positiva con un valor path de 0.507 a un nivel p<0.001. CONCLUSIONES De acuerdo con los resultados empíricos obtenidos se confirma que la transferencia de conocimiento intra-organizacional es influida positiva y significativamente por la intención y la disposición de las personas para compartir su conocimiento. Luego, la empresa cuyo propósito sea la creación de ventajas competitivas sustentadas en dicho activo, requiere desarrollar mecanismos que faciliten las condiciones para que la intención y la disposición para compartir ocurran, además de que deberá generar un entorno que minimice las barreras y riesgos inherentes a la transferencia de este activo intelectual. Tanto la confianza en la habilidad, como el compromiso afectivo, inciden sobre la intención y disposición para compartir conocimiento. No obstante, es de recalcar que comparativamente, el compromiso afectivo ejerce una influencia mayor que la confianza en la habilidad. El compromiso afectivo mutuo tiene la capacidad de servir como un reductor de la incertidumbre y un facilitador para la intención y disposición para compartir, ya que se encuentra cimentado sobre la disposición de actuar en beneficio de la organización y de los involucrados en ésta. Aspectos como la empatía y el afecto hacia la organización o hacia ciertas personas pueden ser elementos relevantes en la evaluación de la fuente hacia la generación de una predisposición positiva a la intención a compartir el conocimiento. En ese sentido, los resultados obtenidos confirman la existencia de una influencia directa, positiva y significativa del compromiso afectivo sobre la intención de compartir conocimiento, así como una influencia indirecta sobre la transferencia de conocimiento dentro de las fronteras organizacionales. En este trabajo se estudió la relación indirecta entre el compromiso afectivo y la confianza en la habilidad, respecto de la transferencia de conocimiento. Se recomienda que en estudios posteriores se analicen modelos que estudien tanto las relaciones directas como las indirectas. 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Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 873 PLATAFORMA MOODLE: INNOVACION EDUCATIVA EN ESTUDIOS DE POSGRADO Edelmira Sánchez Delgado, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez Salvador Anibal Ochoa Ramírez, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez RESUMEN En el presente trabajo se describen las actividades de innovación educativa realizadas mediante la utilización de la Plataforma Moodle, relacionadas con el diseño y desarrollo de metodologías en la enseñanza/aprendizaje aplicadas a un Curso Propedéutico de Contabilidad de la Maestría en Administración, de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, con el objetivo de contrastar la hipótesis de que la enseñanza a través de la citada Plataforma virtual, motivará mucho más a los profesionistas que provienen de diversos campos disciplinarios, como la medicina, ingeniería, administración, economía, etc., de forma que los conocimientos y competencias obtenidos en éste Curso Introductorio se verán ampliamente potenciados, asimismo, a través de éste recorrido virtual, se pretende fomentar la autonomía en el aprendizaje y la reflexión crítica por parte del alumno. Es de señalar que hasta ahora el Curso Propedéutico de Contabilidad se ofrece únicamente en forma presencial pero está considerado que en un futuro muy próximo, los alumnos tengan la opción de cursarlo en forma virtual a través de la citada Plataforma Moodle. PALABRAS CLAVE: Plataforma Moodle, enseñanza-aprendizaje, innovación educativa. PLATFORM MOODLE: EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION IN POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ABSTRACT This paper describes the educational innovation activities carried out through the use of the Moodle platform, related to the design and development of methodologies in the teaching/learning applied to an introductory course in accounting of the MBA, the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, in order to test the hypothesis that the above-mentioned platform for virtual education, it will motivate more professionals who come from diverse disciplinary fields, such as medicine, engineering, administration, economy, etc., in such a way that the knowledge and skills gained in this introductory course will be widely enhanced also through this virtual tour will encourage autonomy in learning and critical part of the student reflection. It should be noted that so far the introductory course in accounting is offered solely in a face-to-face manner but it is considered that, in the very near future, students have the option of studying in virtual form through the aforementioned Moodle platform. JEL: I23, I29 KEYWORDS: Moodle platform, Education-apprenticeship, innovation activities Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 874 INTRODUCCION En el presente trabajo se analiza la definición, las características, módulos y recursos de la Plataforma Moodle, asimismo, se describe el Curso Propedéutico de Contabilidad de la Maestría enAdministración de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez y la metodología empleada para su preparación. REVISION LITERARIA Moodle es un Ambiente Educativo Virtual, sistema de gestión de cursos, de distribución libre, que ayuda a los educadores a crear comunidades de aprendizaje en línea. Este tipo de plataformas tecnológicas también se conoce como LMS (Learning Management System). Moodle fue creado por Martin Dougiamas, quien fue administrador de WebCT en la Universidad Tecnológica de Curtin. Basó su diseño en las ideas del constructivismo en pedagogía que afirman que el conocimiento se construye en la mente del estudiante en lugar de ser transmitido sin cambios a partir de libros o enseñanzas y en el aprendizaje colaborativo. Un profesor que opera desde este punto de vista crea un ambiente centrado en el estudiante que le ayuda a construir ese conocimiento con base en sus habilidades y conocimientos propios en lugar de simplemente publicar y transmitir la información que se considera que los estudiantes deben conocer. La primera versión de la herramienta apareció el 20 de agosto de 2002 y, a partir de allí han aparecido nuevas versiones de forma regular. Hasta julio de 2008, la base de usuarios registrados incluye más 21 millones, distribuidos en 46.000 sitios en todo el mundo y está traducido a más de 85 idiomas.1 METODOLOGIA Para el diseño y desarrollo de metodologías de enseñanza/aprendizaje del Curso Propedéutico de Contabilidad de la Maestría en Administración, de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, fue necesario llevar a cabo las siguientes tareas: Definición de los elementos de aprendizaje: El Plan Temático del curso fue desmenuzado en elementos de aprendizaje teniendo en cuenta que cada elemento tuviera bien definidos sus objetivos en base a las habilidades y/o competencias a formar en el estudiante, así como el alcance en cuanto a contenidos a tratar.. Elaboración del sistema de evaluación: El curso virtual propedéutico de contabilidad tiene definido un conjunto de actividades de evaluación que conforman un sistema en el que están indicadas las actividades que deben ser realizadas por los estudiantes para poder cumplir con los objetivos de formación de habilidades y/o competencias. El Sistema de Evaluación consta de actividades que puedan ser planificadas y ejecutadas por medio del sistema de educación virtual; los tipos de actividades son: Tareas Cuestionarios Foros calificados Para cada actividad están definidos el(los) objetivo(s) en término de la(s) habilidad(es) y/o competencia(s) evaluada(s), así como una descripción clara de lo que debe realizar el estudiante. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 875 Elaboración del banco de preguntas: Para las autoevaluaciones de los elementos de aprendizaje se elaboraron un conjunto de preguntas previamente definidas conocidas en la Plataforma Moodle como Banco de Preguntas, el cual consta de interrogantes de los siguientes tipos: Verdadero/Falso Opción múltiple con selección simple. Respuesta corta. Diseño del curso virtual: El curso se diseñó teniendo en cuenta los siguientes aspectos: Se planificó por semanas en virtud de ser de duración específica (inicio y fin con fecha calendario). El contenido del curso fue esparcido equitativamente en las dos semanas que dura el mismo. En cada semana constan los recursos y actividades suficientes para garantizar la formación de las habilidades y/o competencias requeridas en los estudiantes. Dentro de las actividades se incluyen Foro general de noticias y novedades así como el foro propio del curso. El sistema de evaluación de los elementos de aprendizaje, está integrado por preguntas de autoevaluación que permiten al estudiante conocer el estado de los conocimientos, habilidades y/o competencias que ha obtenido. RESULTADOS El Curso Propedéutico de Contabilidad es uno de cuatro cursos introductorios de 30 horas cada uno que se imparte durante dos semanas a los alumnos que inician el estudio de la Maestría de Administración en la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez y cuya docencia la tiene asignada el Departamento de Ciencias Administrativas. El mencionado curso actualmente es ofrecido a los alumnos en forma presencial y próximamente tendrán la opción de cursarla a través del campo virtual mediante el uso de la Plataforma Moodle. El objetivo del curso es que los alumnos conozcan la importancia de la información financiera y que sean capaces de interpretar aquella que proporcionan tanto el Estado de Situación Financiera ó Balance General como el Estado de Resultados ó Estado de Pérdidas y Ganancias de una empresa. Lo anterior se pretende lograr a través de dos etapas, la primera de ellas teórica y la segunda práctica. En la etapa teórica se proyecta que los alumnos sean capaces de: • Identificar los tipos de Organizaciones económicas, usuarios y contabilidades • Deducir el tipo de decisiones al que corresponden las diversas situaciones que se dan en las empresas. • Identificar las características, los postulados, los conceptos y los Estados Financieros básicos que rigen la información financiera. • Analizar el concepto, objetivo, estructura, cuentas que intervienen, su manejo y significado así como las formas de presentación de un Estado de Situación Financiera ó Balance General. • Analizar el concepto, objetivo, estructura, cuentas que intervienen, manejo y significado de un Estado de Resultados. En la etapa práctica se tratará que los alumnos sean capaces de: • Preparar el Estado de Situación Financiera o Balance General • Preparar el Estado de Resultados ó Estado de Pérdidas y Ganancias • Interpretar la información financiera que proporcionan tanto el Estado de Situación Financiera o Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 876 Balance General así como el Estado de Resultados ó Estado de Pérdidas y Ganancias. CONCLUSIONES La innovación educativa en estudios de posgrado a través del uso de la Plataforma Moodle: Dará a los estudiantes la opción de auto administrarse el tiempo, consiguiendo que les sea posible mayor independencia y autonomía. Facilitará la comunicación bidireccional de los alumnos, tanto con sus profesores como con sus pares, ya que no se sujetarán a un horario de clase. Hará posible disponer de recursos didácticos constantemente actualizados en gran variedad de formatos y a un menor costo que los tradicionales libros impresos. Permitirá al docente llevar un registro y seguimiento completo de los accesos de sus alumnos, ya que dispone de informes de actividades de cada estudiante, con gráficos y detalles sobre su paso por cada módulo, así como también una detallada historia de cada una de sus participaciones. BIBLIOGRAFIA (1) http://docs.moodle.org/es (2) Salinas, J. (1999), Enseñanza flexible, aprendizaje abierto. Las redes como herramientas para la formación. Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa. Núm.10 Recuperado en http://www.uib.es/depart/gte/revelec10.html (3) Ariza O.G, Ocampo V.H. (2005). ¨El acompañamiento tutorial como estrategia de la formación personal y profesional: un estudio basado en la experiencia en una institución de educación superior¨. Universitas pschyologica, ISSN 1657-9267, Vol. 4, Nº. 1, 2005, págs. 31-42, Recuperado en: http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=1428889 BIOGRAFIA Edelmira Sánchez Delgado Maestra en Derecho Fiscal por la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. Profesora investigadora de tiempo completo en la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, adscrita al Programa de Contaduría impartiendo las materias de Impuestos I, Impuestos II y Dictámenes de Auditoría. Se puede contactar en el Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Administración perteneciente a la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez en Calle Henry Dunant No. 4016, Zona Pronaf, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Correo electrónico edsanche@uacj.mx mailto:edsanche@uacj.mx Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 877 ESTRATEGIAS Y RENDIMIENTO DE LAS MICRO, PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES (AGUASCALIENTES MÉXICO) Luis Aguilera Enríquez, Universidad Autónoma De Aguascalientes Martha González Adame,Universidad Autónoma De Aguascalientes RESUMEN Muchos estudios han considerado la relación de las variables estrategia-rendimiento con diferentes tipos de empresas familiares. En este estudio se usó la tipología de Miles, Snow et al. (1977) y el modelo de Quinn y Rohrbaugh (1983) para medir el rendimiento de las MiPymes de Aguascalientes, tomando como referencia su tamaño y edad. Los resultados indican que la estrategia analizadora es la predominante, no existiendo diferencia entre la estrategia y su edad; la analizadora predomina en los tres tamaños, la exploradora es menos predominante para las pequeñas y la reactiva es la menos referida para las micro y medianas; en cuanto a los indicadores del rendimiento, el análisis factorial indica que la imagen, rentabilidad y rotación del personal, son los más saturados sin importar el tipo de estrategia utilizado; en cuanto a rendimiento, se desprende que el tamaño influye positivamente y el impacto del rendimiento es mayor que la edad o la estrategia definida. Estos resultados generan un modelo que muestra la relación entre los modelos de rendimiento, sus indicadores y las Configuraciones estratégicas de las MiPymes familiares de Aguascalientes. PALABRAS CLAVE: Estratégicas, Modelos de Rendimiento, Iindicadores de Rendimiento, MiPymes Familiares. INTRODUCCIÓN En México el interés por el estudio de las Micro, Pequeña y Mediana empresas [Mipymes] Familiares proviene de la importancia que tienen en el entorno y por sus contribuciones tanto a la generación de empleos, como de riqueza en el país, ya que cubren el 95.5% del total de la empresas a nivel nacional y son generadoras del 45% del PIB INEGI (2004), lo cual implica que se les conceda mayor atención, sin embargo, en los últimos años han sido producto de un deterioro paulatino, a consecuencia de la pérdida de competitividad y de rendimiento por la falta de apoyos para mantener el crecimiento y el desarrollo, lo que ha traído como resultado la pérdida de empleos y el cierre de empresas de dicho sector, debido a la competencia internacional y a la globalización de los mercados; siendo la pérdida de empleos una problemática social de manera general en México, y en particular para Aguascalientes dado que presenta niveles de desempleo por debajo de la media nacional, por lo que es factor prioritario a considerar tanto por las empresas como los responsables de la política pública. Las preguntas en esta investigación se centraron en responder ¿en qué tipología de estrategia empresarial se ubican las MiPymes familiares en el estado de Aguascalientes? y ¿cómo es la relación entre el tipo de estrategia y los diferentes indicadores del rendimiento de las empresas según su tamaño y antigüedad?. Las hipótesis que se derivan de estos cuestionamientos son: H1: No existe un tipo de estrategia predominante en las MiPymes familiares de Aguascalientes; Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 878 H2: Los tipos de estrategia empresarial en las MiPymes familiares siguen un patrón definido para cada indicador del rendimiento REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA Estrategia Organizacional: Las organizaciones cuentan con una estrategia aún cuando no sea de modo explícito, para responder a las condiciones cambiantes del ambiente. Como lo señalan Stoner y Wankel (1989) la concepción de estrategia puede hacerse en dos sentidos, la perspectiva de lo que una organización intenta hacer, donde la estrategia es “el programa general para definir y alcanzar los objetivos de la organización y poner en práctica su misión” y la perspectiva de lo que eventualmente se hace, sin importar si en un principio se deseaba realizar esas acciones, así la estrategia es el “patrón de las respuestas de las organizaciones a su ambiente a través del tiempo”. Esta última conceptualización de estrategia hace referencia a como las organizaciones van adaptando a los cambios ambientales, es decir, no son estáticas, sino cambiantes, atraviesan por diferentes momentos y problemáticas que hacen realizar cambios en sus estrategias; estos aspectos han sido teorizados por Miles, Snow, y Pfeffer (1974). Miles y Snow et. al (1977) desarrollaron un modelo general denominado ciclo adaptativo, consistente con el enfoque de elección de la estrategia para el estudio de las organizaciones, señalan que el modelo se basa en ideas paralelas planteadas por teóricos como Chandler (1962), Child (1972), y Cyert y March (1963), en: Miles &Snow et al. (1977) entre otros argumentan que el comportamiento organizacional esta sólo orientado parcialmente por las condiciones medioambientales y que las decisiones que toman los gerentes son determinantes críticos de los procesos y la estructura organizacional. Aunque estas decisiones son numerosas y complejas, pueden situarse como tres amplios problemas: en primer lugar, el conjunto de problemas empresariales enfocados en definir el producto de la empresa y el mercado dominante; en segundo lugar el conjunto de problemas de ingeniería relacionado con la decisión de la tecnología que es utilizada en producción y distribución; finalmente, el problema administrativo implica la selección y el desarrollo de la estructura organizacional y el proceso de las políticas de la empresa. Ante estas problemáticas la pregunta es ¿qué estrategias usan las organizaciones para resolver estos problemas?, las investigaciones que han realizado y la interpretación de la literatura muestra que hay tres tipos de estrategias prospectivas (exploradoras), defensivas y analizadoras y que un cuatro tipo son las reactivas, que son una forma de estrategia “fracasada” ya que hay inconsistencia entre la estrategia, la tecnología, la estructura y los procesos. Las Prospectivas o exploradoras: (entusiastas). Miles, Snow, y Pfeffer (1974) las conceptualiza como organizaciones donde sus gerentes perciben o crean continuamente cambios o incertidumbre en el ambiente. Su fuerza es la identificación y explotación de nuevos productos y más oportunidades en el mercado Parnell y Wright (1993). Las organizaciones defensivas (defender sus dominios) según Miles, Snow, y Pfeffer (1974) son organizaciones donde sus gerentes perciben poco o ningún cambio en el medio ambiente haciendo el mínimo ajuste a su estructura y proceso organizacionales. Para Parnell y Wright (1993) son casi lo contrario de las prospectivas. Las organizaciones analizadoras (ansiosas) son organizaciones donde sus gerentes perciben una oportunidad de cambio y de incertidumbre en el medio ambiente y esperan que los competidores desarrollen una respuesta viable y adoptarla Miles et al. (1974). Parnell y Wright (1993) consideran que enfatizan la estabilidad y la flexibilidad e intentan sacar provecho a lo mejor de ambos tipos de estrategias preliminares. Las organizaciones reactivas (reacios) para Miles, Snow, y Pfeffer (1974) son organizaciones donde sus gerentes perciben algún cambio o incertidumbre en el medio ambiente, no harán ningún ajuste a menos que se vean forzados a hacerlo. En cambio para Parnell y Wright (1993) representan una estrategia residual, carecen de coherencia en la elección estratégica y se desarrollan de forma carente y pobre. Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 879 Rendimiento Organizacional: El rendimiento de las organizaciones, es un indicador muy amplio que deberá considerar las medidas financieras y no financieras Harold & Darlene (2004); Kaplan & Norton (1992); Rajendar & Jun Ma (2005), y puede incluir la productividad, la calidad, la consistencia, los resultados, los comportamientos (basados en criterios) y medidas normativas, la educación y la capacitación teórica y práctica, incluyendo el desarrollo de la gestión y la capacitación de los lideres para desarrollar las habilidades y actitudes necesarias para la gestión del rendimiento Richard (2002). Las variables de rendimiento utilizadas en este trabajo se basan en la clasificación propuesta por Quinn y Rohrbaugh (1983), que establecen un marco para el análisis organizacional y señalan que el criterio de eficiencia organizacional tiene tres ejes o dimensiones. La relación entre los ejes de los modelos de rendimiento y los indicadores para cada uno de ellos, se presentan conforme propuesta de Quinn y Rohrbaugh (1983). El primero relacionado con el enfoque de la organización, desde un punto de vista interno (basado en una visión micro sobre el buen entendimiento y el desarrollo del personal) a uno externo (énfasis a nivel macro del éxito de la empresa); el segundo, se centra en la estructura organizacional, haciendo hincapié desde la estabilidad/control hasta la flexibilidad; y la tercera dimensión, se relaciona con los medios y fines organizacionales. De la combinación de estas tres dimensiones surgen cuatro modelos de rendimiento y sus indicadores, son la base para la obtención de la información sobre esta variable: Modelo de rendimiento de procesos internos (MRPI), Modelo de rendimiento como Sistema Abierto (MRSA), Modelo de rendimiento de Metas Racionales (MRMR), Modelo de rendimiento de Relaciones Humanas (MRRH) Evidencias empíricas de la relación Estrategia y Rendimiento: Investigaciones previas muestran la relación entre la estrategia y el rendimiento organizacional desde el ámbito financiero o de rentabilidad Snow y Hrebiniak (1980); Floyd, y Zahra (1990); Das, Zahra, y Warkentin (1991); Zahra y Covin (1994); Parnell, Wright, y Tu, H. (1996); Garcia y Gallego (2006); Jusoh, y Parnell (2008). Sólo algunos estudios relacionan la Tipología de estrategia organizacional con la innovación y el rendimiento Zahra (1990; 1999). Con Parnell y Wright (1993) inician estudios empíricos sobre el rendimiento y las estrategias genéricas, son continuadas por ellos mismos y otros autores Parnell (1994); Parnell, Wright, y Tu (1996); Parnell (1997), Nicholas, y Abby (2006); Parnell (2006); Jusoh, y Parnell (2008); Lester, Parnell, Crandall, y Menefee (2008). Algunos estudios relacionan las estrategias y el rendimiento con el tamaño de las empresas en particular con las pequeñas empresas Floyd y Zahra (1990); Miles, Covin y Heeley (2000); Nicholas y Abby (2006). Diferentes investigaciones relacionan el estudio de la estrategia y el rendimiento con variables como la flexibilidad Parnell (1994), las características del ejecutivo Thomas y Ramaswamy (1989) las características ambientales Zahra y Bogner (2000) y recientemente hay interés en la relación de la estrategia-rendimiento y el rol de la suerte (“Luck”) como factor estratégico entre administradores Parnell y Dent (2009). No se han encontrado en la literatura revisada estudios que relacionen la tipología de Miles y Snow y los modelos de rendimiento de Quinn y Rohrbaugh, por lo que éste trabajo busca relacionar ambos con la finalidad de generar conocimiento en relación a estas variables y ver su comportamiento en las MiPymes en Aguascalientes. METODOLOGÍA El presente estudio empírico es de corte cuantitativo, descriptivo y correlacional. Para determinar la muestra, se utilizó el Directorio Empresarial del Sistema de Información Empresarial de México SIEM (2008), de la Secretaría de Economía (SE, el cual tenía 8,661 empresas registradas al 31 de agosto de 2008, de los diferentes sectores y tamaños. Para efectos de este estudio, se tomaron únicamente aquellas empresas del Estado de Aguascalientes que tenían entre 5 y 250 trabajadores (MiPymes), quedando un total de 1,342 empresas García Pérez de Lema y Martínez Serna (2009). Para el diseño general de la Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings ♦ Volume 7 ♦ Number 1 2012 GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 880 muestra se consideraron los principios del muestreo estratificado en poblaciones finitas, segmentando en función del tamaño de la empresa y su actividad empresarial. El error muestral obtenido fue ±4.1% con un grado de fiabilidad del 95%, quedando constituida por 400 empresas: 228 micro empresas (180 familiares), 134 pequeñas empresas (98 familiar) y 38 medianas empresas (18 familiar).La variable estrategia organizacional se midió a través de cuatro ítems a partir de la tipología de configuraciones estratégicas de Miles y Snow Miles et al. (1977) que considera: Empresas Exploradoras (A), Empresas Analizadoras (B), Empresas Defensivas (C) y Empresas sin Estrategia Definida o Empresas Reactivas (D); la medición se hizo a partir de la elección de una de ellas que a consideración del gerente identifica a su empresa atendiendo a la actuación en los últimos dos años. La variable de rendimiento contempló en total doce ítems partiendo del instrumento de Quinn y Rohrbaugh (1983) que presenta cuatro modelos (3 ítems para cada uno), medidos en una escala tipo likert de 5 puntos, que va de muy desfavorable a muy favorable. La información obtenida a partir de las encuestas se incorporó a una base datos de SPSS ver.17, con ella se trabajó para analizar los siguientes procedimientos estadísticos: Tablas de Contingencia y Análisis Factorial. RESULTADOS Y DISCUSIÓN Los resultados sobre los Tipos de configuraciones estratégicas de empresas los resultados indican (como se muestra abajo) que en Aguascalientes predomina la estrategia empresarial Analizadora (Tipo B) que mantiene una base relativamente estable de productos y mercados y de manera selectiva desarrolla nuevos productos con un 39.0 por ciento, le siguen en orden decreciente la defensiva con un 28.5%, la exploradora en menor grado con 18.8% y la reactiva es la menos referida con un 13.8%. Tabla 1: Análisis Factorial de Indicadores de Rendimiento vs. Tipos de Estratégicas indicadores de rendimiento (quinn & rohrbaugh, 1983) exploradoras analizadoras defensivas sin estrategia definida a b c d pr oc es o in te rn o calidad de producto .819 eficiencia .818 organización del trabajo .789 .837 si st em a ab ie rto satisfacción del cliente adaptación a mercado imagen de la empresa 0.671 0.751 0.806 0.903 m et as ra ci on al es cuota mercado 0.847 rentabilidad 0.733 0.863 0.904 productividad re cu rs os hu m an os motivación rotación de personal .908 .900 .895 ausentismo .819 medida de adecuación kaiser meyer o.(kmo) > 0.6
0.842 0.888 0.879 0.779
variabilidad explicada 77.66% 79.81% 80.5% 87.07%

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Los resultados del Análisis Factorial de Indicadores de Rendimiento vs. Tipos de Estrategias (Tabla 1)
confirman parcialmente la H2. Para interpretar la información obtenida de las encuestas, se procedió a
realizar un análisis de factores de manera que se pudiera observar el comportamiento natural de la
variable estrategia, con respecto a los indicadores de la variable rendimiento, al saturar cada uno de los
factores.

El análisis de factores se elaboró determinando cuatro Factores Fijos (que coinciden con el tipo de
estrategia), con el método de rotación por máxima variación y los valores de saturación se expresan en la
tabla 3. La variabilidad explicada en cualquiera de las columnas supera el 77% de variabilidad explicada.
En la parte izquierda se ubica la variable Rendimientos en sus modelos (Procesos Internos, Sistemas
abiertos, Metas racionales y Recursos Humanos). La expectativa era que para cada modelo de la variable,
las saturaciones factoriales coincidieran en su mayoría con algún indicador. Se obtuvo lo siguiente:
El análisis de los resultados en cuanto a la H2 Los tipos de estrategia empresarial en las MiPymes siguen
un patrón definido para cada indicador del rendimiento, mostró que de los doce indicadores del
rendimiento solo ocho son elegidos por las empresas estudiadas, y de estos uno “Imagen de la empresa”
presenta un patrón definido para las cuatro estrategias, y dos elegidos por tres de las cuatro estrategias
“Incremento en la rentabilidad” y “Reducción de la Rotación de Personal”, por lo tanto se confirma
parcialmente la hipótesis, ello representa que sin importar cual estrategia utilice la empresa los
indicadores mencionados son considerados fundamentales por encima de Satisfacción del cliente /
Adaptación a mercado, Cuota de mercado / Productividad, Motivación / Ausentismo.

CONCLUSIONES

Como los señala la literatura la elección de la estrategia organizacional está relacionada con aspectos
como el ciclo de adaptación y el tipo de problemática con que se enfrenta la empresa Miles, Snow, Meyer
y Coleman (1977); también se relacionan la estrategia y el rendimiento con las características de los
ejecutivos como lo propone Thomas (1991) a partir de su modelo que se orienta con la proposición de que
la co-alineación entre las características de los ejecutivos y la estrategia organizacional tiene
implicaciones en el rendimiento de la organización. De manera que esta investigación permite reflexionar
que las argumentaciones empíricas no pueden ser generalizables a todos los contextos empresariales y
que, por lo tanto, para poder entregar lineamientos más cercanos a la realidad de las empresas, cada
empresario debe ubicarlos en su contexto específico.

Para futuras investigaciones sería el hacer un estudio más amplio sobre el Modelo de Rendimiento y sus
Indicadores, visto desde la estructura organizacional (Estabilidad/Control-Flexibilidad), el enfoque
organizacional (Mico/Interno-Macro/Externo) y los objetivos organizacionales (Medios o fines), para
identificar si las empresas están “conscientes” cómo es su estructura organizacional, dónde están ubicadas
y cómo los indicadores de rendimiento contribuyen a los medios o fines organizacionales.

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MEDICIÓN DEL POTENCIAL DE ASOCIATIVIDAD
ENTRE EMPRESAS EMPLEANDO EL MÉTODO
MACTOR
Juan Carlos Vergara Schmalbach, Universidad de Cartagena
José Morelos Gómez, Universidad de Cartagena
Tomás José Fontalvo Herrera, Universidad de Cartagena

RESUMEN

La asociatividad empresarial es una estrategia para enfrentar los mercados globalizados y la creciente
competencia proveniente de otras empresas tanto del país como del exterior. Es considerada hoy día
como un mecanismo para el logro de la competitividad partiendo de la premisa de que, a mayor nivel de
organización y cooperación, mayor efectividad en el logro de los objetivos comunes. El presente artículo
tiene la finalidad de mostrar las ventajas de aplicar el método Mactor para medir el nivel de
potencialidad entre un grupo de empresas, basado en la definición de objetivos financieros,
operacionales, comerciales, entre otros. Con este método se podrá realizar un análisis detallado de las
posibles alianzas, teniendo en cuenta los interese comunes entre las empresas que desean iniciar un
proceso asociativo. El artículo propuesto finaliza con los resultados alcanzados en dos casos exitosos
aplicados en empresas del sector turístico en la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias – Colombia.

Palabras clave: Asociaciones, Asociatividad, competitividad, cooperación, Método Mactor.

ABSTRACT

The managerial associativity is a strategy to face the included global markets and increased competition
from other companies both at home and abroad. It is considered today as a mechanism for achieving
competitiveness, based on the premise that a higher level of organization and cooperation, more effective
in achieving common objectives. This article is intended to show the advantages of applying the method
to measure the level MACTOR of potential between a group of companies, based on the definition of
financial targets, operational, commercial, among others. This method can perform a detailed analysis of
possible alliances, taking into account the common interests between companies wishing to start a
partnership process. The proposed article ends with the results achieved in two cases successfully
employed in the tourism industry in the city of Cartagena de Indias – Colombia

JEL: D70, C02

KEYWORDS: Associations, Associative, competitiveness, cooperation, Method MACTOR.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Ante la apertura económica, las empresas locales se han visto en la necesidad de buscar estrategias que
contribuyan a aumentar su competitividad, dando así respuesta a los diferentes desafíos a los que se
enfrentan en un entorno cada vez más competitivo y exigente. Se ha encontrado que las pymes son aún
más propensas a la competencia por aspectos como la falta de organización interna, financiamiento,
limitación de recursos, costos elevados y falta de innovación tecnológica, es por esto que desde hace

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varios años se está proponiendo la asociatividad como una estrategia para su supervivencia empresarial
(Liendo y Martínez, 2001).

Mucho se viene hablando de asociatividad, en círculos académicos, gubernamentales y hasta entre los
empresarios mismos. Y no es para menos, el concepto seduce, por su simplicidad y atractivo, como un
medio de supervivencia empresarial. Para nadie es un secreto que la competencia que enfrentará el
empresario Latinoamericano será cada vez más fuerte, tanto a nivel doméstico como del comercio
internacional facilitado, en parte, por los tratados de libre comercio suscritos y por suscribir con algunos
países y regiones; de suerte que la competencia internacional que se avecina ya no será exclusivamente
contra el competidor doméstico, sino contra el competidor externo.

La asociatividad definida como un mecanismo de cooperación entre organizaciones, empresas o
territorios (manteniendo su independencia jurídica y autonomía), permite que un grupo de voluntarios
unan esfuerzos, para la búsqueda de objetivos, oportunidades y metas comunes (Rosales, 1997)

En Colombia se han dado casos exitosos de asociatividad como ASIMECAR, ANIPAN y L’Alianxa,
(Clavijo, 2009) pero se evidencia la poca cultura de la cooperación existente entre las Pymes, con un
supuesto énfasis en considerar las empresas del sector como competencia y en la creencia de la
desaparición del otro para poder crecer en el mercado, en la poca inclinación hacia las formas asociativas
y particularmente cooperativas; a pesar de ello, existen en el país más de 60.000 empresas que han
adoptado formas asociativas (Villegas, 2002).

Si bien se ha usado este modelo estratégico para enfrentar el mercado globalizado, se han dado casos
fallidos de asociatividad debido a la falta de cooperación, honestidad y accesibilidad por parte de las
empresas a su información interna, procesos y procedimientos (León, Victoria y Vergara, 2004). Por esta
razón la asociatividad se debe dar entre actores que puedan generar objetivos comunes, donde cada uno
pueda cooperar de manera activa y eficaz en la consecución de dichos objetivos, para el progreso de
todos los asociados.

Teniendo en cuenta la dificultad de establecer estrategias comunes entre empresas que podrían dar pie a la
creación de una asociatividad, el presente artículo propone la aplicación del Método Mactor como
herramienta idónea para medir el potencial de asociatividad, a partir de la definición de una serie de
objetivos estratégicos enmarcados en el pensamiento asociativo.

Este artículo incluye las experiencias abstraídas de dos casos aplicados en empresas del sector turístico de
la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), que dan ejemplo del potencial en el uso del método Mactor
para establecer posibles alianzas entre un grupo de empresas. Las características geográficas, sus
atractivos naturales y culturales, su riqueza histórica, instalaciones hoteleras, sus vías y puertos, entre
otros, convierten a Cartagena de Indias D.T. y C. en uno de los destinos principales de veraneo y negocios
en el mar Caribe, principal motivante para la realización de este estudio en el sector.

EL MÉTODO MACTOR

El método de análisis de juego de actores, Mactor, busca valorar las relaciones de fuerza entre los actores
y estudiar sus convergencias y divergencias con respecto a un cierto número de posturas y de objetivos
asociados (Godet, 2003). La utilización del método Mactor consiste en suministrar a los actores una
ayuda para la decisión de la puesta en marcha de su política de alianzas y de conflictos, permitiendo

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describir el sistema gracias a una matriz que une todos sus componentes. El método ofrece la posibilidad
de obtener información basada en matrices matemáticas, donde se relacionan actores y objetivos,
denotando el origen de posibles alianzas e identificación de conflictos, lo que originará posibles hipótesis
sobre el estado del futuro.

El análisis de las relaciones entre actores (empresas voluntarias) y los objetivos estratégicos planteados,
permite destacar aquellas variables clave que justificarían la creación de una figura asociativa. Este
método estimula la reflexión dentro del grupo de actores (Arcade, et al. 2004).

Aplicación del Método Mactor

Medir la viabilidad de asociación (o potencialidad de asociatividad), entre un grupo de empresas
provenientes del mismo sector, mediante la aplicación del método Mactor implica el desarrollo de una
encuesta estructurada y un conjunto de herramientas matemáticas que concluyan en tácticas, objetivos y
recomendaciones.

A partir de este análisis, el objetivo de la utilización del método Mactor consiste en facilitar a un actor una
ayuda para la decisión de la puesta en marcha de su política de alianzas y de conflictos. El método Mactor
comprende 7 fases:

Fase 1 – Construir el cuadro de “estrategias de los actores”: Se requerirá de un acuerdo inicial de un
grupo de empresas (de un sector en común o con razón social similar, usualmente identificadas en el
método con la letra A más un consecutivo numérico), que voluntariamente, deciden aceptar participar en
una indagación sobre intereses y objetivos que desean compartir con los posibles aliados.

Fase 2 – Identificar los retos estratégicos y los objetivos asociados: Uno de los mayores atractivos de ésta
figura consiste en la posibilidad de fortalecer el brazo comercial de una empresa (Cerdán, 2004). Según
Liendo y Martínez (2001), los requisitos más importantes para que las empresas puedan asociarse son:
Proyecto común, compromiso mutuo, objetivos comunes y riesgos compartidos sin abandonar la
independencia de cada uno de los participantes.

En función del objetivo que persigue el grupo, pueden generarse relaciones más o menos duraderas. En el
largo plazo una asociación puede concluir en la formación de una empresa con personalidad jurídica y
patrimonio propio pero, en este caso, ya deja de ser un modelo asociativo. De acuerdo al Ministerio de
Comercio, Industria y Turismo (2005), el proceso asociativo exige la identificación de intereses comunes
de trabajo y una oportunidad de negocio que lo dinamice. De manera general, los objetivos usualmente
consisten en compartir riesgos y disminuir costos.

Según Ramón Rosales (1997) y Rodrigo González (2008), algunos de los propósitos por los cuales se
recurre a estos modelos son:

• Financieros: Acceso a financiamiento, cuando las garantías que se requieren no pueden ser
cubiertas por cada actor en forma individual, pero en grupo son cubiertas proporcionalmente por
parte de cada uno de los participantes, compras conjuntas e inversión conjunta.

• Organizacionales: mejora en los procesos productivos, aplicación de nuevas formas de
administración, implantación de planeamiento estratégico, intercambio de información productiva

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o tecnológica, capacitación conjunta, generación de economías de escala, acceso a recursos o
habilidades críticas, acceso a tecnologías de productos o procesos, aumento del poder de
negociación, investigación y desarrollo

• De comercialización: Lanzamiento de nuevos productos al mercado, apertura de nuevos
mercados, intercambio de información comercial, investigación de mercados, alianzas para
vender, servicios post venta conjuntos, inversión conjunta, logística y distribución.

Una aplicación de los objetivos asociativos propuesta por los autores Vergara, Maza y Fontalvo (2010)
incluyen 7 componentes estratégicos: Financieros, comerciales, administrativos, operativos, estratégicos,
mejora de servicios y asociativos (ver Tabla 1)

Tabla 1: Listado de objetivos (Cada objetivo fue codificado mediante la letra O seguido de un
consecutivo numérico.)

TABLA DE OBJETIVOS
O1 FINANCIEROS
O2 COMERCIALES
O3 ADMINISTRATIVOS
O4 OPERATIVOS
O5 ESTRATÉGICOS
O6 MEJORA DE SERVICIOS
O7 ASOCIATIVOS

Los objetivos planteados anteriormente están estrechamente relacionados con los siguientes conceptos:

FINANCIEROS: Dificultades para la consecución de financiación, tipo de financiamientos, créditos
anteriores.

COMERCIALES: Relaciones comerciales, confianza en el sector.

ADMINISTRATIVOS: Intercambio de información gerencial.

OPERATIVOS: Compartir, analizar y mejorar los métodos y procedimientos actuales.

ESTRATÉGICOS: Capacitaciones conjuntas, logística y distribución. La logística y la distribución
buscan gerenciar estratégicamente la adquisición, el movimiento, el almacenamiento de productos y el
control de inventarios.

MEJORA DE SERVICIOS: Diseño y complementación de servicios. Programas de investigación y
desarrollo.

ASOCIATIVOS: Creación formal de la asociatividad entre restaurantes, alianzas de ventas, designación
de responsabilidades y tareas.

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Fase 3 – Situar cada actor en relación con los objetivos estratégicos (matriz de posiciones): contempla la
elaboración de la matriz de valoración de posición por objetivos, la cual proporciona la información
acerca de cómo se encuentra la empresa con respecto a los objetivos contemplados (a favor, en contra,
neutral o indiferente), simplificados mediante una escala numérica, así:

-1: A la empresa no le interesa alcanzar el objetivo
0: A la empresa le es indiferente alcanzar el objetivo.
1: A la empresa le interesa alcanzar el objetivo

En la siguiente Figura se muestra un ejemplo de una matriz de posiciones donde participaron 15 actores
en relación a 7 objetivos asociativos.

Figura 1: Matriz de valoración de posición

Fuente: elaboración de los autores. Tomado del software Lipsor-Epita-Mactor

Fase 4 – Jerarquizar para cada actor sus prioridades de objetivos (matriz de posiciones evaluadas): Se
identifican los objetivos prioritarios por cada actor y sus posibles relaciones (convergentes y divergentes)
con otros actores.

Fase 5 – Evaluar las relaciones de fuerza de los actores: Se establece una matriz o gráfico de influencia
directa e indirecta entre los actores participantes. Se identifican los actores dominantes, autónomos,
dominados y de enlace.

Fase 6 – Integrar las relaciones de fuerza en el análisis de convergencias y de divergencias entre actores:
Se establecen los diagramas finales de convergencia y divergencia incluyendo los objetivos prioritarios
por actor y las relaciones de fuerzas, aclarando las posibles alianzas y conflictos.

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Fase 7 – Formular las recomendaciones estratégicas: En esta última fase se establecen las
recomendaciones y sugerencias relacionadas en torno a la creación de una figura asociativa, delimitada
por los objetivos prioritarios y aquellos actores que mantienen una actitud de cooperación con los demás.

CASOS DE APLICACIÓN DEL MÉTODO MACTOR

A continuación se referencian las conclusiones y recomendaciones propuestas en dos casos aplicados a
empresas del sector turístico.

Valoración del Potencial de Asociatividad en un Grupo de Hoteles

Para el estudio se recolectaron datos provenientes de veinte (20) hoteles clasificados como Pymes (de una
población de 27 hoteles identificados para un error máximo de +/- 5%), ubicados en la zona turística de la
ciudad de Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). El proceso de recolección de información primaria se
desarrolló durante el primer semestre de 2010, periodo en el cual fueron contactados los gerentes de
dichos establecimientos, quienes voluntariamente aceptaron ser entrevistados y respondieron una encuesta
estructurada enfocada en los 7 objetivos de asociatividad (ver Tabla 1).

El empleo de la metodología Mactor como herramienta para el análisis de objetivos entre actores para la
creación de asociaciones, permitió establecer los lazos fuertes y débiles a partir de los intereses comunes
entre los actores. El análisis de los mapas de convergencia lleva a la conclusión de que, si bien no se
apreció un escenario factible de alianza entre todos los actores examinados, ésta resultaría viable por lo
menos entre dos grupos: los identificados como A2, A4 y A18, de una parte, y de otra, A7, A13 y A16
(ver Figura 2).
La recomendación del estudio concluyó en la creación de una figura asociatividad entre los hoteles
evaluados en este estudio de acuerdo a los objetivos estratégicos, centrados en aspectos de capacitación
del talento humano y logística y distribución, áreas de gran impacto en la competitividad de estas
organizaciones; en lo comercial, al mejoramiento y ampliación de la oferta de servicios turísticos y
conexos.

En síntesis, a la luz de los resultado de aplicación del método Mactor, se podría afirmar que el conjunto
de los 20 hoteles involucrados en el estudio presenta un potencial de asociatividad del 60%, a pesar de
reconocer, sus directivas, el poco conocimiento que tienen respecto a las ventajas de una asociación en los
términos contemplados en el estudio, lo que invita a un trabajo de socialización de tales mecanismos de
asociación para llegar a resultados concretos. Es probable que por esta vía se reduzca la resistencia a
compartir información gerencial, y mejore la disponibilidad a emprender conjuntamente el análisis para la
mejora de los métodos y procedimientos actuales.

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Figura 2: Gráfico de convergencia entre actores

Fuente: elaboración de los autores. Gráfico arrojado por el software Lipsor-Epita-Mactor

Valoración del Potencial de Asociatividad en un Grupo de Restaurantes

Para este estudio se recolectaron datos provenientes de quince (15) restaurantes clasificados como Pymes
(de una población de 17 restaurantes identificados para un error máximo de +/- 3%), ubicados en la zona
turística de la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). El proceso de recolección de información
primaria se desarrolló durante el primer semestre de 2010, periodo en el cual fueron contactados los
gerentes de dichos establecimientos, quienes voluntariamente aceptaron ser entrevistados.

En caso de crearse una asociatividad entre los restaurantes evaluados en este estudio, el análisis arrojó
que se debería optar por incluir todos los objetivos: En lo estratégico, centrados en aspectos de
capacitación del talento humano y logística y distribución, áreas de gran impacto en la competitividad de
estas organizaciones; en lo comercial, al mejoramiento y ampliación de la oferta de servicios turísticos y
conexos. En cuanto a mejora de servicios, es sabido que la referenciación competitiva (benchmarking) es
un factor que coadyuva estos procesos, los cuales se facilitan si existe la asociación, pues se evitarían los
celos entre empresas; así, las firmas asociadas podrían entrar en un círculo virtuoso de mejora continua.

El mapa de convergencia (Figura 3), identificó, para un par de actores, el número de posiciones comunes
que tienen en los objetivos (favorables o contra). Este mapa se deriva de la matriz simétrica de
convergencia, y muestra las empresas que persiguen objetivos comunes. Se puede observar que los
actores que fueron identificados como A3, A4, A6, A8, A10, A11y A14 comparten muchos de los
objetivos asociativos; igual sucede con A9 y A1, así como con A13 y A5.

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Figura 4. Mapa de convergencia entre actores

Fuente: elaboración de los autores. Gráfico arrojado por el software Lipsor-Epita-Mactor

El conjunto de los 15 restaurantes involucrados en el estudio presentó un potencial aproximado de
asociatividad del 87%, valor muy superior al análisis realizado en el grupo de hoteles evaluados en el caso
anterior.

CONCLUSIONES

La idea de establecer lazos asociativos entre empresas para lograr una mayor competitividad, en beneficio
de sus economías y la calidad del servicio ofrecido, no es una meta difícil de alcanzar si se poseen los
mecanismos de análisis adecuados. La puesta en práctica de la asociatividad permitirá que las empresas
puedan:
• Enfrentar y resolver problemas de manera conjunta, manteniendo la autonomía de los participantes.
• Mejorar la productividad y competitividad (mercados, negociación, costos, oportunidades,
operaciones, oferta, tecnología).
• Adoptar diversas modalidades jurídicas, organizacionales y/o empresariales (sub-contratación,
franquicias, alianzas).
• Aprovechar las oportunidades, neutralizar las amenazas, y poner a disposición las fortalezas de
cada empresa.
• Iniciar el uso y desarrollo de la complementariedad.

La aplicación del método Mactor supone el uso de una herramienta sencilla, que puede ser utilizada para
identificar posibles asociaciones entre un grupo de empresas.

En los casos propuestos desarrollados en empresas del sector Turístico de la ciudad de Cartagena D.T. y
C. se evidenció las ventajas del método Mactor para medir el potencial de asociatividad. Con los
diagramas finales de convergencia y divergencia, se pueden establecer estrategias unificadas sobre los

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objetivos prioritarios, desvirtuando aquellos actores que supondrían ser un obstáculo para lograr la
asociatividad.

Esta valoración se hace necesaria antes de iniciar cualquier proceso de creación de una figura asociativa.
Si se conocen los fines comunes y potenciales, se podrán encaminar de mejor forma los esfuerzos de
cooperación.

Finalmente, se invita a la comunidad académica en general a que desarrollen nuevos casos donde se
aplique el método en distintos sectores económicos, continuando con la evaluación de las ventajas del
método y estandarizando el proceso de análisis.

REFERENCIAS

Arcade, Jacques; Godet, Michel; Meunier, Francis y Roubelat, Fabrice (2004). “Análisis estructural con
el método MICMAC, y estrategia de los actores con el método Mactor”. Buenos Aires: Biblioteca del
Congreso de la Nación.

Cerdán, Carlos (2004). “Aspectos Conceptuales de la Asociatividad y Cooperación Empresarial en
Pymes”. Quito: Iberpyme.

Clavijo, J. B. (2009). “Asociatividad empresarial camino a la competitividad”. Bogota: Asociación
Colombiana de Ingenieros.

Godet, Michel (2003). “La caja de herramientas de la prospectiva estratégica”. México: Grupo
de Desarrollo Económico de la Region Centro Occidente.

Gonzalez, Rodrigo (2008). “La Asociatividad como herramienta de Competitividad en Pymes turísticas.
El caso de los emprendimientos hoteleros y gastronómicos de la Zona Norte de la Provincia de
Neuquén”. Neuquén: CEPLADES Turismo. Facultad de Turismo. Universidad Nacional del Comahue.

León, L., Victoria, K., & Vergara, B. (2004). “Cartagena de Indias y la Asociatividad como estrategia
competitiva de sobrevivencia en el desarrollo local”. Revista Palobra, Vol. 6, n° 2, pp. 28-41.

Liendo, Mónica y Martínez, Adriana. (2001): “Asociatividad, una alternativa para el desarrollo y
crecimiento de las Pymes”, en Universidad del Rosario: Sextas Jornadas Investigaciones en la Facultad
de Ciencias Económicas y Estadística. Universidad Nacional del Rosario, Rosario, pp. 311-319.

MINISTERIO DE COMERCIO, INDUSTRIA Y TURISMO (2005). “Cadenas, Redes Empresariales y
Asociatividad”. Bogotá: Cuadernos de Trabajo.

Rosales, Ramón (1997). “La Asociatividad como estrategia de fortalecimiento de las Pymes”. Texas:
Documento de Trabajo Universidad de Texas.

Vergara, J. C., Maza, F., y Fontalvo, T. (2010). “Potencialidad de Asociatividad de Restaurantes del
Centro Histórico de la Cartagena de Indias”. Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas – Universidad
Militar Nueva Granada, Vol. 18, n° 2, pp. 137-146.

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Villegas, Z. P. (2002). “La asociatividad empresarial: Una respuesta de los pequeños productores a la
internacionalización de las economías”. Bogota: Fondo Editorial Nueva Empresa.

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EL GRADO DE COMPETENCIAS DEL EGRESADO DE
LA LICENCIATURA EN TURISMO VERSUS LAS
CAPACIDADES GENÉRICAS EXIGIDAS POR EL
MERCADO LABORAL
Claudia Leticia Preciado Ortiz, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
Cristina Zepeda Ibarra, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
Alfredo Castañeda Palomera, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
Alfredo Tomás Ortega Ojeda, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur

RESUMEN

El presente trabajo parte de la experiencia del proceso de acreditación internacional del Centro
Universitario de la Costa Sur (CUCSUR) de la Universidad de Guadalajara, México, realizado por la
agencia europea AQU Catalunya (AQU). En el cual se establecieron los indicadores de calidad bajo
parámetros internacionales y se constituyó un Plan de Mejora para el aseguramiento de la calidad,
donde se establece como prioridad el seguimiento de egresados y su retroalimentación en los procesos de
innovación curricular, así como el estudio de opinión de empleadores. En razón de ello se llevó a cabo
un Estudio de Seguimiento de Egresados, como una herramienta que permitió contrastar las
competencias profesionales demandadas a los egresados por el mercado laboral, complementándose con
el Estudio de Opinión a Empleadores, indagando sobre las mismas competencias del egresado. En ambos
se incorporaron variables como situación laboral, satisfacción con el empleo e identificación de
competencias genéricas y específicas por parte de los egresados de la carrera de turismo bajo la
percepción tanto de egresados como de empleadores. Se discute también la metodología empleada, los
resultados obtenidos y sus implicaciones para el diseño curricular por competencias de la carrera.

PALABRAS CLAVE. Egresados, empleadores, capacidades, turismo, mercado laboral.

ABSTRACT

This work is based on the experience of international accreditation process of the Centro Universitario de
la Costa Sur (CUCSUR) at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico by the European agency AQU
Catalunya (AQU). In which the quality indicators established under international standards and
constituted an Improvement Plan for quality assurance, establishing priority alumni tracking and
feedback in the process of curricular innovation and study views of employers. Because of this took place
a Follow-Up Study of Graduates, as a tool that allowed contrast the skills graduates demanded by the
labor market, complemented by the Employer Opinion Survey, inquiring about the same powers of the
graduate. In both variables were included as employment status, job satisfaction and identification of
specific and generic skills by graduates of the tourist rush under the perception of both graduates and
employers. It also discusses the methodology, results and their implications for curriculum design skills
of the race.

KEYWORDS: Graduates, employers, skills, tourism, labor market.

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INTRODUCCIÓN

El Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur (CUCSUR) de la Universidad de Guadalajara, México, ha
implementado durante los últimos seis años una política de compromiso con la calidad, que lo ha llevado
a buscar la mejora continua de su oferta educativa, mediante la acreditación nacional e internacional de
sus programas.

A finales de 2006 se inició el primer contacto con la Agencia per a la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de
Catalunya (AQU Catalunya), la cual es una agencia pública e independiente creada en 1996 y reconocida
por la Asociación Europea para la Garantía de la Calidad de la Enseñanza Superior (ENQA), cuya
principal función es efectuar evaluaciones del sistema universitario de Cataluña, pero también evaluar a
instituciones universitarias de otros países, estando capacitada para acreditar, con los estándares
reconocidos por la Unión Europea, a instituciones, programas educativos y profesores (AQU, 2009).

En marzo de 2008 la agencia AQU realizó por primera vez una evaluación de programas educativos en
Latinoamérica. Fueron seis carreras de licenciatura impartidas por el CUCSUR las que se sometieron a
este proceso. El resultado de esta evaluación generó seis planes de mejora avalados por la agencia AQU
(Casas Rius, et al., 2008).

Como segunda etapa de este proceso, la agencia AQU propuso al CUCSUR la realización de una segunda
evaluación, en busca de la acreditación como institución de impartición universitaria. El resultado del
proceso condujo a una acreditación internacional inicial de la calidad del CUCSUR. Este reconocimiento
tiene una validez de dos años, a partir del 1 de enero de 2010, y podrá ser extendido hasta 2015, si el
Centro ofrece evidencias sobre ciertas acciones recomendadas por la agencia catalana. Dentro de las
cuales sobresale el seguimiento de egresados y su retroalimentación en los procesos de innovación
curricular. Así como los estudios de opinión de los empleadores.

Además, una de las preocupaciones que tienen actualmente las Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES)
es la búsqueda de la opinión de los empleadores con respecto a los aspectos de formación del estudiante
más demandados por las empresas (López F., & Montañés G., 2003).

La relación educación-empleo está determinada por estructuras sociales y políticas, situada en espacios
geográficos determinados, donde mercado local e internacional se convierte en uno de los indicadores
más importantes en la orientación de las demandas hacia la educación superior. En este sentido Díaz
Barriga señala que “el adecuado funcionamiento del sistema educativo se refleja en la preparación puntual
de sus egresados, de acuerdo con las exigencias de cada puesto en el mercado de trabajo” (Díaz Barriga,
2000).
La pertinencia de la educación superior con el mercado laboral es un elemento imprescindible, para
analizar la congruencia entre la formación que ofrece la universidad y los requerimientos del sector
productivo. Para contribuir a la mejora institucional y buscando la relación con el entorno, los estudios de
seguimiento de egresados y de opinión a empleadores, deben permitir evaluar el aporte e impacto real del
CUCSUR en la sociedad; además de la identificación, ubicación laboral y demás variables vinculadas al
mercado laboral y el campo profesional de los egresados, que ayudarán a evaluar la pertinencia social de
la formación de los Licenciados en Turismo en la institución.

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Es importante señalar que ambos estudios pasarán a un proceso de análisis y reflexión por los grupos
académicos universitarios, con el objeto de elevar la calidad académica y efectividad de los planes de
estudio, fortaleciendo así la formación integral del estudiantado y los egresados.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Los estudios de seguimiento de egresados surgieron hace tiempo con el objetivo de analizar la relación
entre el gasto en educación y el crecimiento económico así como los vínculos entre la inversión en
educación y los beneficios que obtienen los individuos. Aunque muchas universidades empezaron a
realizar estudios parciales de egresados, dos proyectos financiados por la Comisión Europea realizaron un
estudio a nivel general en Europa: CHEERS (1998, financiado por el IV Programa Marco de la UE) y
REFLEX (2004, VI Programa Marco de la UE), ambos proyectos de reconocida notoriedad internacional
(PROFLEX, 2010).

La valiosa experiencia que adquirieron los investigadores de estos proyectos en su desarrollo hizo que
pasara a ser uno de los grupos de investigación con mayor prestigio internacional en el seguimiento de
egresados, acreditados por el éxito de ambos proyectos y la producción científica derivada de los mismos,
traducida en cientos de publicaciones, informes y contratos. Como consecuencia, estos investigadores
coordinaron un proyecto ALFA bajo el nombre de PROFLEX que realizó un estudio de egresados en
universidades latinoamericanas basado en la misma encuesta que se había pasado en países europeos
(PROFLEX, 2010).

Según datos PROFLEX, un correcto seguimiento de egresados induce a los gestores universitarios a
plantearse las siguientes cuestiones: ¿Conocemos los puntos fuertes y las áreas de mejora en la formación
de sus graduados?, ¿Sabemos si sus competencias son las que el mercado requiere?, ¿Conocemos la
trayectoria laboral de sus egresados?

El nuevo enfoque sobre el seguimiento de egresados plantea la posibilidad de realizar un seguimiento
continuo que permita no sólo conocer la situación de los mismos en un momento determinado de tiempo
sino comparar su evolución en el tiempo de acuerdo con su perfil académico y la situación del mercado
laboral. (PROFLEX, 2010).

En el año de 1998 la Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Institutos de Educación Superior
(ANUIES) publicó el documento Esquema Básico para Estudios de Egresados convirtiéndose en una guía
fundamental para el desarrollo de los instrumentos y metodologías que las IES utilizan para realizar sus
estudios de seguimiento de sus egresados, además de permitir generar información estandarizada para
comparar los resultados del desempeño entre IES.

La propuesta de ANUIES sustenta que la evaluación de la calidad es un tema central de la política
educativa superior por lo que elementos centrales de análisis es evaluar la correspondencia entre los
perfiles de formación profesional y los tres tipos de pertinencia: profesional, científico-técnica y social.
Además, la calidad de los servicios educativos está en función de la capacidad de las IES para ajustarse a
los cambios en los ámbitos disciplinarios y en los perfiles profesionales, así como a las nuevas exigencias
de formación profesional que se conforman en el mundo de trabajo al que se enfrentan los egresados.
Por tal motivo el estudio de seguimiento de egresados se convierte en una estrategia fundamental para el
autoconocimiento y la mejora de las IES. A partir de estos estudios se genera valiosa información para

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apoyar los procesos de evaluación y actualización de los planes y programas de estudios así como el
diseño de la nueva oferta educativa.

Instrumento importante integrado en la publicación del Esquema Básico para Estudios de Egresados es el
Cuestionario Tipo para el Estudio de Egresados, ya que establece una base metodológica que puede ser
aplicada en su totalidad por las IES o en su caso, ser modificada conforme los requerimientos, alcance y
propósitos del estudio de seguimiento de egresados a realizar.

En cuanto a los estudios de opinión de empleadores, y desde la perspectiva educativa, son una técnica
metodológica que permiten recabar información del sector productivo, particularmente de los
empleadores, acerca de las necesidades y las competencias que requieren los egresados universitarios,
para incorporarse al ámbito laboral; con base en ello se pueden tomar decisiones en el diseño de
estrategias de enseñanza aprendizaje, nuevos planes de estudio o reestructuración de los currículos
existentes.

En los estudios del mercado laboral de los profesionistas se analiza la relación entre el mercado de trabajo
y la IES, ya que éstas actúan como intermediarias catalizadoras de las necesidades de demandantes y
oferentes de oportunidades laborales a nivel profesional (Navarro, 1998). Estos estudios permiten conocer
aspectos tales como la aceptación de los profesionistas de cada una de la IES en el mercado laboral, las
áreas de conocimiento a nivel profesional con mayor demanda, las características más valoradas por las
empresas, las relaciones utilizadas para la contratación de los profesionistas, entre otras.

Por lo tanto, el CUCSUR busca con estos estudios, generar información que contribuya a mejorar la
pertinencia de los planes de estudio de los Programas Educativos, además de construir mejores
condiciones para la inserción laboral de sus egresados, proporcionando: conocimientos, habilidades y
destrezas, formando valores y demás herramientas que permitan impactar positivamente en la comunidad.

METODOLOGÍA

Para el presente estudio se tomó como sub-universo a los egresados y empleadores del Programa
Educativo de Licenciado en Turismo del CUCSUR, cubriendo a 10 carreras con un total de 140 egresados
y 119 empleadores de la región.

La información fue tomada de la base de datos elaborada por la Coordinación de la Carrera, misma que
cumplía con las características de validez y confiabilidad. La técnica de muestreo empleada fue no
probabilística, de tipo por conveniencia. (Gutiérrez, 2005). La cuota fue de 22 egresados y 18
empleadores, validando la información mediante el paquete estadístico Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) versión 15.0 (BVSDE, 2009).

Para el diseño del cuestionario se tomó como referencia el establecido por PROFLEX, que utiliza un
cuestionario con más de 150 preguntas, estructurado en 9 secciones que cubren aspectos relacionados con
la formación recibida, transición al mundo laboral, competencias y satisfacción, entre otros. Este
cuestionario ha sido desarrollado por expertos internacionales de reconocido prestigio y ha sido adaptado
a los distintos contextos universitarios, tanto en América como en Europa. El cálculo de la confiabilidad
total a través del Alpha de Cronbach, fue de 0.740. La escala a utilizarse fue la de Likert (McMillan, J.
H., & Schumacher, S. ,2005:240).

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Dado que la aplicación del cuestionario se realizó en la mayoría de los casos por vía telefónica, se
consideró que los entrevistados podrían tener dificultad para recordar la lista de aspectos, expectativas o
limitaciones que enfrentaron al contestar el cuestionario, por lo que se optó por manejar ítems en formato
cerrado (McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. ,2005:135). Las llamadas telefónicas se realizaron en
diversas franjas horarias, para evitar sesgos relacionados con las jornadas de trabajo.

Respecto al apartado de competencias, cabe señalar que Hartog (1992) define las competencias como las
aptitudes, destrezas y capacidades de los graduados en educación superior que contribuyen a aumentar su
productividad desde una perspectiva multidimensional. Se resalta la importancia del carácter
multidimensional como elemento novedoso en el concepto actual de competencia.
Al evaluar el nivel de desarrollo de competencias en los graduados universitarios es importante definir
con precisión el indicador adecuado que refleje fielmente el grado de adquisición de cada individuo.
Tanto el nivel educativo como el número de años de educación no resultan adecuados puesto que la
finalización de los estudios no supone en determinados casos la adquisición de competencias e incluso
aunque sea así, éstas pueden quedar obsoletas con el tiempo. Asimismo el nivel educativo no considera
las fuentes de aprendizaje informal que tan relevantes pueden ser para determinadas áreas de estudio
(Allen, 2003).

El cuestionario PROFLEX plantea a los egresados una reflexión sobre las competencias que poseen así
como las que necesitan en sus puestos de trabajo y la contribución de la universidad a su aprendizaje. De
la misma manera se diseñó el cuestionario para empleadores.

Para analizar los resultados de los estudios de opinión de egresados y empleadores se utilizó un análisis
numérico a partir de la estadística descriptiva y los porcentajes, además de un análisis estadístico no
paramétrico donde se utilizó la prueba de U Mann -Whitney para dos muestras independientes y
ordenadas en escala ordinal. Este procedimiento es una buena alternativa cuando no se puede utilizar la
prueba t de Student (Lehmann, 1975).

Hipótesis estadística:

Ho → Nivel requerido por el mercado laboral según el egresado = Nivel requerido en el mercado laboral
según el empleador.
Ha → Nivel requerido por el mercado laboral según el egresado ≠ Nivel requerido en el mercado laboral
según el empleador.
Ho → Perfil del egresado según su autoevaluación = Perfil del egresado según el empleador.
Ha → Perfil del egresado según su autoevaluación ≠ Perfil del egresado según el empleador.

RESULTADOS

El sondeo de opinión de egresados y empleadores de la Licenciatura en Turismo arrojó importantes
resultados, donde se observa que ciertas capacidades que son consideradas como puntos débiles por los
graduados, son muy requeridas en su trabajo.

En el análisis gráfico de los resultados se contrasta la percepción de los egresados versus la de sus
empleadores, tanto en el nivel requerido en el mercado laboral como en su perfil de formación. Se
presentan los resultados en porcentajes para cada una de las capacidades estudiadas. A continuación se
discuten los resultados de este análisis:

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Respecto a la capacidad para comunicarse en un segundo idioma (CCSI), se observa que para los
empleadores el nivel requerido en el trabajo es relativamente alto, así lo demuestra el 66.6% de los
encuestados, que lo ubican entre el nivel mucho y en gran medida. Asimismo, los empleadores señalan
que el nivel de esta competencia que poseen los egresados es regular, con un 55.5%. Por otra parte, los
egresados consideran que el nivel demandado en el trabajo es menor con relación a la opinión de los
empleadores, sólo el 27.27% lo ubican entre un nivel mucho y en gran medida. Mientras que los
egresados se autoevalúan con un nivel alto en esta competencia – 63.63%-. Siendo contraria a la
percepción que tiene los empleadores.

Al medir la capacidad de razonamiento lógico matemático (CRLM), se observa lo siguiente; los
empleadores consideran esta competencia como básica en el desarrollo profesional de los egresados; muy
requerida y en gran medida, así lo expresó el 94.4%. Para los empleadores el nivel de competencia que
poseen los egresados lo ubican entre regular y muy bien, el 88.8%, un tanto menor a lo requerido en el
mercado. En la opinión de los egresados se encontró que la competencia es poco requerida en el mercado
laboral -36.36%-, y al autoevaluarse respondieron estar capacitados un poco más bajo al nivel requerido
en el mercado ─ 31.8% ─.

Sobre la variable capacidad de pensamiento analítico (CPA), los empleadores opinaron que el
requerimiento del mercado laboral de la competencia es alto, 72.2%, en tanto que el desempeño de los
egresados es mayor, así lo expreso el 77.7%. Los egresados coinciden con el grupo de empleadores al
evaluar el requerimiento con un valor entre mucho y en gran medida por el mercado laboral, un 77.2%.
Mientras que en la autoevaluación el egresado se ubica en un nivel menor que lo requerido por el mercado
laboral -59%-. Demostrando ser contraria su visión a la del empleador.

Al medir el ítem redacción de documentos (RD), la opinión del empleador se inclinó hacia ser muy
requerida por el mercado laboral ─83.3%─, contraria a la visión de los egresados, ─63.6%─. Sin
embargo, el empleador considera que el egresado tiene el mismo nivel de demanda en el plano
profesional ─83.3%─. En tanto que los egresados consideran tener un nivel de habilitación similar al
solicitado por el mercado ─81.8%─.

El requerimiento para el dominio de otros conocimientos de su área y/o de otras áreas (DCA), resultó con
un nivel alto para el mercado laboral y el empleador con un porcentaje de ─94.4%─. Siendo similar el
nivel de competencia que tienen los egresados ─88.8%─, desde la perspectiva del empleador. Mientras
que en la evaluación de los egresados, el nivel requerido en el trabajo lo consideran menor con un 63.6%,
en el nivel mucho y en gran medida. Y se autoevalúan mejor capacitados que el mercado laboral
─68.1%─, pero menor que la opinión del empleador.

Respecto de la dinámica exigida por el entorno empresarial para adquirir con rapidez nuevos
conocimientos, dicha competencia es evaluada por el empleador como muy importante, así lo expresa el
77.7%, resultado que coincide con la autoevaluación del egresado. En tanto que la competencia que
demuestra el egresado, en la opinión del empleador es mucho mayor; 94.4%. Dicho valor no es
coincidente con la autoevaluación del egresado, ya que en su opinión se otorgan un valor menor; 77.27%.
Con relación al ítem capacidad para negociar de forma eficaz (CNFE), el empleador la evalúa como
importante y demandada en el entorno laboral, 66.6%, similar a lo expresado en la autoevaluación del
egresado, 68.18%. Sin embargo, para el empleador el perfil del egresado está en mejor nivel, expresado

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con el 77.7%, contrario a la autoevaluación del egresado quien expresa no poseer la competencia en buen
nivel, demostrado con un 54.54%.

Sobre la competencia de trabajar bajo presión (TBP), para el empleador fue considerada como muy
importante y muy demandada en el entorno laboral, así lo indicó el 94.44%, pero además señala que el
egresado tiene el mismo nivel a lo requerido en el mercado, presentando el mismo porcentaje. Resultado
contrario a lo expresado por los egresados encuestados, pues la consideran de menor importancia y
demanda en el mercado con el 77.27%, y además de que se autoevalúan en un nivel más bajo ─72.7%─.
La capacidad para detectar nuevas oportunidades (CDNO), resultó ser alto para el mercado laboral con un
porcentaje de 88.8% un tanto mayor al perfil del egresado ─83.3%─, según la percepción de los
empleadores. Con relación a la autoevaluación del egresado, la exigencia del mercado es menor a la
opinión del empleador ─59%─ y el nivel que expresó tener en su perfil de esta capacidad es el más alto
con el 63.6%.

Referente a la competencia para coordinar actividades (CA), el nivel requerido por el mercado es
relativamente alto, así lo expresan los resultados de empleadores, 94.4%. Caso contrario a la opinión del
egresado ─59%─. De igual forma para los empleadores el nivel que tienen los egresados es bueno ─
77.7%─, pero menor al exigido en el trabajo. En tanto en la autoevaluación de los egresados expresan
tener un nivel muy bueno de esta competencia, reflejado con el 72.7%, pero menor a la evaluación del
empleador.

Al medir la competencia de uso de tiempo de forma efectiva (UTFE), los empleadores la consideran
importante en el trabajo ─ 88.8%─, pero menor a la expresada por el egresado ─ 95.4%─. Sin embargo,
en cuanto al perfil del egresado tuvieron una percepción similar tanto empleador y egresado con el 83.3%
y 86.3%.

En relación al ítem capacidad para trabajar en equipo (CTE), el mercado laboral la establece como muy
importante ─100%─, pero ubica el nivel de competencia en el egresado en un nivel menor ─77.7%─. Por
otra parte, resulta ser diferente la percepción de de los egresados, ya que en la autoevaluación, expresan
con un 81.8% la importancia que tiene en el mercado laboral, menor al otorgado por el empleador.
Similar al nivel que manifiestan de esta capacidad ─77.2%─.

Respecto a la capacidad para movilizar las capacidades de otros (CMCO), los empleadores la consideran
de mucha importancia en el mercado ─ 100%─, contrario a lo expresado por los egresados ─ 68.1%─.
Por otra parte, para los empleadores el nivel de competencia de los egresados es bueno, pues el 88.8% lo
ubicó en un nivel bueno y muy bueno. En tanto, los egresados se autoevalúan peor, pues sólo el 68.1% se
ubica entre un nivel bueno y muy bueno.

En relación a la capacidad para hacerse entender (CHE), para los empleadores el nivel requerido de esta
competencia en el trabajo es relativamente alto – 100%−. Asimismo, los empleadores señalan que el nivel
que poseen los egresados es bueno con un 88.8%. Sin embargo, los egresados evalúan la exigencia en el
mercado más baja con el 81.8%, igual al nivel que ellos manifiestan presentar.

Al medir el ítem Capacidad para hacer valer su autoridad (HVA), los resultados expresaron que para los
empleadores, esta competencia es muy importante – 94.4%−. Diferente a lo expresado por los egresados,
que la consideran menos requerida en el trabajo – 68.1%−. Por otra parte, el empleador considera que el

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egresado tiene un perfil más bajo que el necesario – 77.7%−. Contrario a lo expresado en la
autoevaluación del egresado, pues el 81.8% se evalúa en un nivel alto.

Sobre el uso de la informática (UI), el empleador consideró la capacidad como muy importante, 100%;
diferente a la percepción del egresado, 72.7%. Pero han determinado que el egresado cuenta con un nivel
alto de la competencia, 100%. Mientras que el egresado en su autoevaluación, se considera con una
habilitación buena en la utilización de la herramienta, 77.2%.

Al analizar la capacidad para encontrar nuevas ideas y soluciones (CENIS), se observa lo siguiente; los
empleadores consideran esta competencia como básica para el desarrollo profesional de los egresados,
posicionándola en muy requerida, así lo expresó el 100%. De igual forma, para los empleadores el nivel
que poseen los egresados de esta competencia es menor al requerido, 83.3%. Referente a la opinión de los
egresados, si la consideran importante en el trabajo – 90.9%−, pero menor que los empleadores. Además
de que se evalúan más bajos de lo demandado en el mercado – 72.7%−.

La capacidad de cuestionar ideas propias o ajenas (CCIPA), que los empleadores consideran deben de
contar los profesionistas, es importante 77.7%, y perciben en el perfil de los egresados, un nivel bueno
pero menor al requerido, 72.2%. Asimismo, se observa en los resultados que el egresado determina que
esta habilitación no es tan importante 54.5% y con base a esto determinan que su competencia es superior
a lo exigida, 68.1%.

Finalmente, sobre la habilidad para la presentación de productos ideas o informes (HPII), el empleador
señaló ser importante para el desarrollo de actividades en el puesto de trabajo, 88.8%, similar a la visión
de egresado, 81.8%. Mientras que la percepción de éstos sobre dicha capacidad con el perfil de la fuerza
laboral es regular, 77.7%; mayor a la autoevaluación de los egresados, 72.7%.

El análisis estadístico se realizó de acuerdo a las técnicas que se expresaron en el segmento
correspondiente de la metodología. Se presentará en dos partes; 1) las necesidades del mercado laboral y
2) sobre el perfil del egresado. De él se derivan la coincidencia o no coincidencia en la percepción de los
egresados y sus empleadores en cada una de las capacidades estudiadas.

Si el valor de p es ≤ 0.05 “Rechazo Ho”; esto significa que el “Nivel requerido por el mercado laboral
según el egresado es ≠ el Nivel requerido en el mercado laboral según el empleador”, es decir, “La
opinión del egresado es diferente a la opinión del empleador”, lo que es lo mismo que “No coinciden las
opiniones de los egresados y los empleadores”.

De igual manera si el valor de p es ≥ 0.05 “No rechazo Ho”; esto significa que el “Nivel requerido por el
mercado laboral según el egresado es = el Nivel requerido en el mercado laboral según el empleador”, es
decir, “La opinión del egresado es igual a la opinión del empleador”, lo que es lo mismo que “Si
coinciden las opiniones de los egresados y los empleadores”.
De acuerdo a los resultados del análisis estadístico en 11 competencias el valor de p es ≤ 0.05 por lo tanto
“Rechazo Ho”; y esto significa que el “Nivel requerido por el mercado laboral según el egresado es ≠ el
Nivel requerido en el mercado laboral según el empleador” en estas 11 competencias. En consecuencia
“No coinciden las opiniones de los egresados y los empleadores” de la Licenciatura de Turismo.

En las otras ocho competencias el valor de p es ≥ 0.05 por lo tanto “No Rechazo Ho” y esto significa que
el “Nivel requerido por el mercado laboral según el egresado es = el Nivel requerido en el mercado

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laboral según el empleador” para estas competencias, es decir, “Si coinciden las opiniones de los
egresados y los empleadores” de la Licenciatura de Turismo.

En la Tabla 2 se presentan los resultados de la prueba no paramétrica de U de Mann-Whitney para perfil
del egresado de la Carrera de Licenciado en Turismo con un nivel de confianza de 95% o nivel de
significancia del 0.05 (5%).

Tabla 1. Resultados de la prueba no paramétrica de U de Mann-Whitney para necesidades de mercado
laboral de la Carrera de la Licenciatura en Turismo

Estadístico de contraste
Necesidades del mercado laboral
Nombre de la variable U de Mann-
Whitney
Valor p Coincidencia
a. Capacidad para comunicarse con un segundo idioma 190.5 0.83167975 Si
b. Capacidad de razonamiento lógico y matemático 102 0.00648339 No
c. Capacidad de pensamiento analítico 180.5 0.79861539 Si
d. Capacidad para redactar documentos 139 0.0833991 Si
e. Capacidad para dominar conocimientos de su área o de
otras áreas
81 0.0005964 No
f. Capacidad para adquirir con rapidez nuevos
conocimientos
135 0.05091092 Si
g. Capacidad para negociar de forma eficaz 159 0.37089186 Si
h. Capacidad para trabajar bajo presión 121 0.01515681 Si
i. Capacidad para detectar nuevas oportunidades 106 0.00767786 No
j. Capacidad para coordinar actividades 88 0.00252611 No
k. Capacidad para usar el tiempo de forma efectiva 111 0.00444996 No
l. Capacidad para trabajar en equipo 108 0.00379028 No
m. Capacidad para movilizar las capacidades de otros 129 0.03825088 No
n. Capacidad para hacerse entender 126 0.02010681 No
o. Capacidad para hacer valer su autoridad 94.5 0.00174598 No
p. Capacidad para utilizar herramientas informáticas 105 0.00385489 No
q. Capacidad para encontrar nuevas ideas y soluciones 98 0.00101324 No
r. Predisposición para cuestionar ideas propias o ajenas 164.5 0.46656651 Si
s. Capacidad para presentar en público productos, ideas o
informes
147 0.13021445 Si
Esta tabla explica la relación de opiniones coincidentes entre las muestras analizadas con relación al requerimiento del mercado.
e acuerdo a los resultados del análisis estadístico en 8 de las 19 competencias el valor de p es ≤ 0.05 por
lo tanto “Rechazo Ho: Perfil del egresado según su autoevaluación = Perfil del egresado según el
empleador”; y esto significa que el “Perfil del egresado según su autoevaluación ≠ Perfil del egresado
según el empleador” en estas ocho competencias. En consecuencia “No coinciden las opiniones de los
egresados y los empleadores” porque no existe unidad desde el punto de vista estadístico entre las
opiniones de los egresados y los empleadores.

En las otras 11 competencias el valor de p es ≥ 0.05 por lo tanto “No Rechazo Ho: Perfil del egresado
según su autoevaluación = Perfil del egresado según el empleador” y esto significa que el “Perfil del
egresado según su autoevaluación = Perfil del egresado según el empleador” para estas competencias, es
decir, “Si coinciden las opiniones de los egresados y los empleadores”.

CONCLUSIONES

Los resultados del análisis gráfico indican que las 19 capacidades estudiadas son valoradas como
importantes en el mercado laboral de los egresados de la carrera de Licenciado en Turismo del CUCSUR,
de acuerdo con la percepción de los empleadores. Lo que indica que el presente estudio está

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documentando competencias que tienen un significado específico en el ámbito de trabajo de los
licenciados en Turismo dentro de la región Costa Sur. Por lo tanto, sus resultados tendrán un impacto
positivo para mejorar el diseño curricular de la carrera.
Sin embargo, no en todos los casos se valora con un nivel alto el perfil que presentan los egresados para
dichas capacidades. De hecho, en algunas capacidades el egresado se evalúa con un desempeño elevado,
mientras que su empleador lo evalúa con un bajo nivel de desempeño, tal es el caso de capacidades como:
capacidad para comunicarse en un segundo idioma, dominio de otros conocimientos de su área y/o de
otras áreas, capacidad para detectar nuevas oportunidades y para hacer valer su autoridad.

Tabla 2. Resultados de la prueba no paramétrica de U de Mann-Whitney para perfil del egresado de la
Carrera de Licenciatura en Turismo.

Estadísticos de contraste
Perfil del egresado
Nombre de la variable U de Mann-
Whitney
Valor p Coincidencia
a. Capacidad para comunicarse con un segundo idioma 145 0.13526632 Si
b. Capacidad de razonamiento lógico y matemático 75.5 0.00053145 No
c. Capacidad de pensamiento analítico 123.5 0.05145109 Si
d. Capacidad para redactar documentos 151.5 0.1644259 Si
e. Capacidad para dominar conocimientos de su área o de
otras áreas
91.5 0.00190273 No
f. Capacidad para adquirir con rapidez nuevos
conocimientos
150 0.14403061 Si
g. Capacidad para negociar de forma eficaz 135.5 0.11139697 Si
h. Capacidad para trabajar bajo presión 108.5 0.00851251 No
i. Capacidad para detectar nuevas oportunidades 128.5 0.04528327 No
j. Capacidad para coordinar actividades 115.5 0.02663662 No
k. Capacidad para usar el tiempo de forma efectiva 122.5 0.02439808 No
l. Capacidad para trabajar en equipo 168 0.52336619 Si
m. Capacidad para movilizar las capacidades de otros 131.5 0.05395471 Si
n. Capacidad para hacerse entender 92 0.00170195 No
o. Capacidad para hacer valer su autoridad 151 0.16900293 Si
p. Capacidad para utilizar herramientas informáticas 87.5 0.00098044 No
q. Capacidad para encontrar nuevas ideas y soluciones 157 0.31810897 Si
r. Predisposición para cuestionar ideas propias o ajenas 173.5 0.64424939 Si
s. Capacidad para presentar en público productos, ideas o
informes
152 0.18387164 Si
Esta tabla explica la relación de opiniones coincidentes entre las muestras analizadas con relación al perfil del egresado.

Por otra parte, el análisis estadístico arroja como resultado que para el caso de la importancia para el
mercado laboral, las percepciones de los egresados y los empleadores coinciden en 8 capacidades:
Capacidad para comunicarse con un segundo idioma, capacidad de pensamiento analítico, para redactar
documentos, para adquirir con rapidez nuevos conocimientos, para negociar de forma eficaz, para trabajar
bajo presión, cuestionar ideas propias o ajenas y capacidad para la presentación en público de productos,
ideas o informes.

Y en lo referente al perfil del egresado, las opiniones de los egresados y sus empleadores coinciden en 11
capacidades: Capacidad para comunicarse en un segundo idioma, pensamiento analítico, redacción de
documentos, para adquirir con rapidez nuevos conocimientos, negociar de forma eficaz, trabajar en
equipo, para movilizar las capacidades de otros, para hacer valer su autoridad, para encontrar nuevas ideas
y soluciones, para cuestionar ideas propias o ajenas y capacidad para presentar en público productos,
ideas o informes.

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Las capacidades en las que coinciden las percepciones de egresados y empleadores, tanto para la
importancia del mercado laboral como del perfil del egresado son las que deben ser cuidadosamente
consideradas durante el proceso de la reforma curricular de la carrera de licenciado en turismo, a fin de
mejorar la pertinencia de la misma con el campo profesional en la región.

Los resultados del presente estudio contribuyen a la calidad de la información que las academias analizan
para la toma de decisiones en el rediseño curricular, y particularmente para asegurar la adquisición de
competencias genéricas que hagan más competitivos a los egresados de la carrera.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA
ANUIES. (1997). La evaluación y acreditación de la educación superior en México. Revista de la
Educación Superior .

ANUIES (1998). Esquema Básico para Estudios de Egresados. Asociación Nacional de Universidades e
Instituciones de Educación Superior. México, D.F.

AQU. (2009). www.aqu.cat/aqu_catalunya/historia_es.html. Recuperado el 15 de 10 de 2009.
Casas Rius, J. R., Jofre Roca, L., Oliveras Samitier, J., Saiz Arniz, A., Sarramona López, J.,
Grifoll Saurí, J., et al. (2008, 12 15). www.enqa.eu/files/InformeAQU_CUCSUR_ang . Retrieved 01
13, 2010.

Casas, R. y Valenti, G. (2000). “Introducción”, en Rosalba casas y Giovana Valenti (coords.), Dos ejes en
la vinculación de las universidades. IISUNAMUAM, México.
CUCSUR. (2010). Estudio sobre Seguimiento de Egresados. Licenciatura en Administración. Autlán de
Navarro, Jalisco.

Díaz Barriga (2000), Ángel. Empleadores de universitarios. Un estudio de sus opiniones. CESU-Miguel
Ángel Porrúa, México.

Fischer, Laura. 1994, Métodos cualitativos de recolección de datos, Introducción a la investigación de
mercados. Editorial Mc Graw Hill, México. Pp. 132-133.

Gutiérrez, H. (2005). Muestro aleatorio. Calidad total y productividad, pp. 337-339, Editorial Mc Graw
Hill. México.

Lehmann, E. L. (1975). No paramétricas. Métodos estadísticos basados en rangos. Prentice-Hall. 1 ª ed.
López F. José y Montañés Gómez Juan P., “Cómo se obtiene la opinión de los empleadores”, en
Métodos de análisis de la inserción laboral de los universitarios, Consejo de Coordinación Universitaria,
Secretaria de Publicaciones y Medios Audiovisuales, Madrid, 2003.

Navarro Leal M. Aurelio, “Consideraciones Teóricas para el estudio de egresados” en Esquema básico
para estudios de egresados, ANUIES, México, 1998.
McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2005). Investigación educativa. México: Pearson.
http://www.seguimientoegresados.com/objetivos/seguimiento-de-egresados.html

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BIOGRAFIA

Claudia Leticia Preciado Ortíz es licencianda en administración por el Centro Universitario de la Costa
Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, estudiante de posgrado en finanzas y profesora de asignatura. Se puede
contactar en claudia.preciado@cucsur.udg.mx

Cristina Zepeda Ibarra, es maestra en desarrollo humano por la Universidad de Colima Sur, Universidad
de Guadalajara, estudiante de posgrado en finanzas y profesora de asignatura. Se puede contactar en
claudia.preciado@cucsur.udg.mx

Alfredo Castañeda Palomera es maestro en ciencias por la Universidad de , Profesor Titular C en el
Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara. Se puede contactar en
acastane@cucsur.udg.mx.

Alfredo Tomás Ortega Ojeda, es maestro en ciencias por la Universidad de , Profesor Titular C en el
Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara. Se puede contactar en
aortega@cucsur.udg.mx.

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VICIOS Y VIRTUDES DEL MODELO DE
ACREDITACIÓN EN EL SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN
SUPERIOR CHILENO
Juan Camel Tala Japaz, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Paulina Hidalgo Pérez, Universidad de Santiago de Chile

RESUMEN

En el año 2006 entró en vigencia el Sistema Nacional de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación
Superior en Chile. Éste fue fijado y regulado por la ley 20.129, cuerpo normativo que observa,
especialmente los aspectos que dicen relación con: (i) generación de información pública sobre
educación superior, (ii) autorización para el funcionamiento de nuevas instituciones educativas de nivel
superior y (iii) el otorgamiento de acreditación a las instituciones integrantes del sistema (considerando,
separadamente, a las carreras y programas que éstas ofertan). Este trabajo profundiza respecto a este
último elemento: acreditación. El sistema de acreditación fue concebido como un mecanismo a través del
cual se efectúan revisiones y análisis a las prácticas desarrolladas por las instituciones y/ o las carreras
y programas que ellas imparten, acciones que tienen por objetivo verificar que se han incorporados los
medios y mecanismos necesarios para generar instancias de comprobación y autorregulación en las
acciones emprendidas y resultados que generan. En el contexto de este proceso y a la luz de la
experiencia adquirida es razonable sostener que de su implementación han surgido vicios, buenas
prácticas e instancias para la mejora.

PALABRAS CLAVES: educación superior, calidad en la educación, acreditación.

VICES AND VIRTUES OF THE CHILEAN
ACCREDITATION MODEL IN THE HIGHER
EDUCATION SYSTEM

ABSTRACT

In 2006 the National System for the quality assurance in Higher Education in Chile entered into force.
This was fixed and regulated by law 20.129, normative body that observes, specially the aspects that are
related to: (i) generation of public information about higher education (ii) authorization for the operation
of new institutions of higher education and (iii) to award accreditation to the institutions that are members
of the system (considering, in a separate manner, the careers and programs that they offer). This work
takes a deeper look at this last element: accreditation. The accreditation system was conceived as a
mechanism through which revisions and analysis are carried out to the practices that are developed by the
institutions and/or careers and programs that they give, actions that have as objective to verify that the
necessary means and mechanism have been incorporated so as to generate confirmation moments and
auto-regulation in the actions undertaken and results that they generate. In the context of this process and
in light of the acquired experience it is reasonable to sustain that from its implementation several vices,
good practices and opportunities for improvement have emerged.

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JEL: A20, M20.

KEYWORDS: Higher education, quality in education, accreditation.
INTRODUCCIÓN

El sistema de aseguramiento de la calidad aplicable al sistema de educación superior chileno, está
regulado por la ley 20.129. Entre los elementos considerados durante el proceso de elaboración y
discusión de este cuerpo normativo destacan(1):

a. Los cambios experimentados por el país en materia del educación superior, particularmente: (i)
incremento en la matrícula, (ii) surgimiento de nuevas instituciones y (iii) ampliación de la oferta
formativa.
b. Los avances del programa de Mejoramiento en la Calidad de la Educación Superior
(MECESUP)(2), en sus dos fases de implementación.

c. El trabajo desarrollado por Comisión Nacional de Acreditación de Postgrado (CONAP)-
institución responsable de acreditar programas de magíster y doctorado.

d. El trabajo desarrollado por la Comisión Nacional de Acreditación de Pregrado (CNAP)- entidad
responsable de: (i) apoyar la capacidad de autorregulación en las instituciones de educación
superior(3), (ii) diseñar protocolos (experimentales) para el desarrollo de procesos de
acreditación, y (iii) elaborar el proyecto del sistema nacional de aseguramiento de la calidad.

Cada una de estas actividades se desarrolló con la participación de diversos actores, los que provenían del
mundo universitario (académicos y directivos), profesionales y expertos tanto del sector público como del
privado.

Éste proyecto consideró cuatro objetivos:

a. Dar garantía pública de la calidad de las instituciones de educación superior y de los programas
que imparten.

b. Promover y apoyar el mejoramiento continuo y sistemático de las instituciones de educación
superior y de los programas que ofrecen.

c. Establecer una instancia de coordinación del conjunto de funciones y actividades que apuntan al
desarrollo de la calidad de la educación superior.

d. Mejorar las condiciones para el desarrollo de una educación superior capaz de responder a
estándares de validez nacional e internacional

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Finalmente estos objetivos se tradujeron en tres áreas(4): (i) desarrollar un sistema de aseguramiento de la
calidad de la educación superior, (ii) crear la Comisión Nacional de Acreditación para la Educación
Superior(5), y (iii) complementar el sistema de información sobre educación superior(6).
Entre abril de 2003 y julio de 2006 se desarrolla la totalidad del proceso legislativo, el que culmina en
octubre de 2006 fecha en que el Congreso Nacional remite al ejecutivo el texto aprobado, para su
promulgación y publicación(7).

Ley 20.129 Y La Comisión Nacional De Acreditación (Cna)

Este cuerpo normativo establece el Sistema Nacional de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación
Superior, el que incluye las siguientes funciones: (i) de información, (ii) de licenciamiento de
instituciones nuevas de educación superior, (iii) de acreditación institucional, y (iv) de acreditación de
carreras y programas. Este trabajo refiere sobre los dos últimos puntos. Con el propósito de llevar
adelante las actividades que deriven de la implementación de este sistema y particularmente en lo referido
a los procesos de acreditación, se crea en Chile la Comisión Nacional de Acreditación (en adelante CNA).
Institución que heredó las funciones de la Comisión Nacional de Acreditación de Pregrado y la Comisión
Nacional de Acreditación de Postgrado, y asumió otras nuevas. Se trata de un organismo autónomo que
goza de personalidad jurídica y patrimonio propio y que se relaciona con el Presidente de la República a
través del Ministerio de Educación.

Integran esta Comisión un total de dieciséis personas, incluido el Secretario Ejecutivo; entre ellos
académicos e investigadores de reconocido prestigio y trayectoria, el Jefe de la División de Educación
Superior del Ministerio de Educación, un representante del sector productivo y otro de una asociación
profesional o disciplinaria y dos representantes estudiantiles. Los requisitos y criterios de elegibilidad
para cada uno de los integrantes, están contenidos en el artículo 7º de la citada ley (20.129).
El artículo 8º letra b) de la misma ley, establece que es función de la Comisión: “Pronunciarse acerca de
las solicitudes de autorización que le presenten las agencias encargadas de la acreditación de carreras y
programas de pregrado, programas de Magíster y programas de especialidad en el área de la salud, y
supervigilar su funcionamiento…”. “Las agencias de acreditación son las instituciones responsables de
acreditar carreras y programas de pregrado, magíster y especialidades del área de la salud, en aquellas
áreas y niveles en las que sean autorizadas…”

En virtud de los dispuesto en el artículo 12º de la ley 20.129, la Comisión está facultada para crear
comités consultivos, encontrándose en funcionamiento- a 2011- un total de seis, integradas por entre
cuatro y siete miembros, quienes representan a un total de catorce universidades, cuatro instituciones no
universitarias.
Adicionalmente forman parte de la estructura de la CNA un conjunto de unidades administrativas y de
gestión, entre los que se encuentra el registro de evaluadores externos. Sobre este punto cabe señalar que
éste registro está dividido en tres grupos: evaluadores institucionales, evaluadores de pregrado y
evaluadores de postgrado; en cada caso, se dispone de un registro nacional y uno de evaluadores
extranjeros.

El Modelo Chileno De Acreditación

Como se ha mencionado antes, el modelo chileno distingue tres tipos de acreditación: (i) institucional(10),
(ii) de pregrado(11) y (iii) de postgrado(12); a partir de las cuales establece qué organismo puede actuar
como entidad acreditadora. En este punto es necesario mencionar que son entidades acreditadoras la CNA

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y las agencias privadas (nacionales o extranjeras) que la propia CNA, en virtud de la legislación vigente,
autorice para actual como tal. En lo referido a procesos de acreditación institucional y acreditación de
programas de doctorado, sólo la CNA puede actuar como entidad acreditadora. La resolución exenta 165-
3 del 14 de noviembre de 2007, establece que las agencias privadas: “podrán desarrollar procesos de
acreditación en los siguientes niveles de formación: carreras de técnico de nivel superior, carreras
profesionales, programas de pregrado, programas de magíster y especialidades del área de la salud,
conforme a la solicitud y autorización otorgada por la CNA”.

Sin embargo, y cualquiera sea el caso, los protocolos que deben completarse para llevar adelante el
proceso de acreditación son:

a. Solicitud de acreditación y proceso de autoevaluación. Esta fase inicia con la expresión formal por
parte de la institución, carrera o programa de incorporarse al proceso de acreditación. Por lo que la
etapa I.a.) corresponde a la determinación, si corresponde, de qué entidad acreditadora conducirá
el proceso. La fase I.b.) corresponde al período de tiempo que la institución, carrera o programa
destinará al desarrollo del proceso de autoevaluación. Éste se desarrolla a través del análisis de la
información disponible y del levantamiento de información nueva a través de consultas a partes
relacionadas, típicamente: estudiantes, profesores, graduados, empleadores y otros informantes
clave(13). El proceso de autoevaluación pretende que se efectúe una mirada crítica a los acciones
y actividades emprendidas por la institución, carrera o programa, y que ésta(e) a su vez sea capaz
de identificar fortalezas, debilidades y oportunidades de mejoramiento. Uno de los elementos
especialmente relevantes es la capacidad que se tiene para satisfacer, oportunamente, los
propósitos definidos; y por tanto, dar cuenta de la capacidad de autorregulación que se tiene. La
tercera sub-etapa o fase I.c.) corresponde a la instancia en que se forma el convenio de
acreditación, se acuerdan los plazos para la entrega de la documentación, y la entidad acreditadora
proporciona la información relevante para el desarrollo del proceso (criterios de evaluación,
plazos y aranceles).

b. Evaluación (verificación) externa. Esta segunda fase también puede descomponerse en sub-etapas,
a saber: II.a.) Entrega del informe de autoevaluación (y demás documentación requerida) a la
entidad acreditadora. Éste informe debe contener al menos un análisis crítico del proceso
(autoevaluación), cumplimiento y ajuste a los criterios de evaluación correspondientes,
identificación de las fortalezas y debilidades; y el o los planes de mejoramiento que compromete
la institución, carrera o programa, a propósito de los antecedentes resultantes de esta
autoevaluación. II.b.) Una vez que la entidad acreditadora recepciona la documentación
correspondiente al proceso en cuestión, ésta a partir de su registro de pares evaluadores, propone
al Comité que desarrollará la visita; no obstante, la institución, carrera o programa objeto de
acreditación podrán rechazar a uno o más de los integrantes del Comité propuesto, sin expresión
de causa. Una vez acordado el Comité de Pares, la entidad acreditadora remite a cada uno de ellos
una copia de la totalidad el material proporcionado por la institución, carrera o programa, y luego
se establece la fecha para la visita. La extensión de ella dependerá de qué se esté acreditando. Una
vez finalizada la visita, el Comité de Pares deberá elaborar un Informe de Visita de Pares, el que
deberá ser remitido a la entidad acreditadora en los plazos establecidos para ello. III.c.) una vez
que la entidad acreditadora recepciona el Informe de Visita, éste es enviado a la institución,
carrera o programa en acreditación; quienes disponen de un plazo acotado (cinco días hábiles,
prorrogables por otros cinco) para generar una Respuesta al Informe de Visita, documento en que

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la institución, carrera o programa efectúa observaciones al Informe de Visita y además puede
proporcionar información adicional si lo considera oportuno.

c. Pronunciamiento (acuerdo) de acreditación. Esta etapa es la que generará como resultado el
acuerdo de acreditación (o acuerdo de no acreditación, si fuese el caso). La entidad acreditadora se
pronunciará sobre la base de la información contenida en los siguientes documentos: Informe de
Autoevaluación, Informe de Visita de Pares y Respuesta al Informe de Visita. Luego de revisar en
detalle estos documentos, la entidad acreditadora deberá determinar si: (i) la institución, carrera o
programa cumple/ satisface íntegramente los criterios de acreditación, en cuyo caso acordará un
período de acreditación de siete años a cercano a él(14); (ii) si se observa un cumplimiento más
bien parcial de los criterios, pero existe evidencia de que éstos se dan en niveles aceptables, la
entidad acreditadora otorgará un período de acreditación inferior a siete años- e inferior a diez en
el caso de los programas de postgrado-; y (iii) cuando la entidad acreditadora considere que los
niveles de cumplimiento de los criterios de acreditación sin inaceptables, ésta otorgará la
acreditación y emitirá las observaciones correspondientes.

i. III.a. Instancias de apelación.

– Solicitud de Reposición: una vez adoptado el acuerdo de acreditación éste es
informado a la institución, carrera o programa (según corresponda); quienes
disponen de 5 días (extensibles a 10) desde la notificación del acuerdo para presentar
una solicitud de reposición(15). Esta solicitud pretende que la entidad acreditadora
reconsidere alguno(s) de los puntos incluidos en el acuerdo.

– Recurso de Apelación: este recursos se dirige a la entidad inmediatamente superior a
en entidad acreditadora que ha conducido el proceso(16). Cuando se trata de
acreditación institucional, este recurso sólo procede cuando se rechaza la
acreditación. En cuyo caso, la institución dispone de 15 días hábiles desde la
notificación para apelar ante el Consejo Nacional de Educación. En procesos de
acreditación de pregrado, la carrera en acreditación dispone de 30 días desde
notificación del acuerdo para apelar ante la instancia que corresponda. En procesos
de acreditación de postgrado, este recursos sólo procede si se ha rechazado la
acreditación. En este caso el programa dispone de 15 día hábiles desde que fuera
notificado, para presentar la Apelación(17).

I. Mejoramiento continuo. Aún cuando es razonable sostener que el proceso concluye
con el envío formal del Acuerdo de Acreditación (o Acuerdo de No Acreditación,
según corresponda) a la institución, carrera o programa; en la práctica y dado que los
procesos de acreditación están enmarcados en un sistema mayor, de aseguramiento
de la calidad en la educación superior, esta etapa resulta de especial importancia,
dado que es en este período en que se implementa, ajustan y evalúan los planes de
mejora comprometidos; y dada la ciclicidad de los procesos de acreditación los
avances en esta etapa resultarán claves a la hora de emprender un nuevo proceso.

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Aranceles Asociados al Proceso

Los costos asociados al proceso antes descrito implican un desembolso directo para las instituciones.
Estos aranceles son fijados, anualmente mediante una resolución exenta que emite la Dirección de
Presupuestos del Ministerio de Hacienda. Los valores correspondientes al año 2011 están contenidos en la
resolución 711 de octubre de 2010. El costo dependerá del tipo de acreditación que se solicite, así, cuando
se solicita un proceso de acreditación institucional, se considerará el número de sedes y el número de
áreas que se solicita acreditar(18). pregrado o postgrado) y el número de sedes. El desembolso total
oscilará entre trece y dieciocho millones de pesos chilenos (equivalente a entre veintiséis mil y treinta y
cinco mil quinientos dólares americanos), monto que podrá incrementarse según número y ubicación de
las sedes.En el caso de las carreras o programas de pregrado(19), los valores variarán entre seis y ocho
millones de pesos chilenos (esto es, entre doce mil y dieciséis mil dólares americanos), los que igualmente
pueden incrementarse por número de sedes en que se imparte (la carrera o programa) y la ubicación
geográfica de éstas. El ítem programas de postgrado incluye magíster, doctorado y especialidades
médicas; los primeros (cuando el proceso es desarrollado por la CNA) tienen un costo cercano a seis
millones de pesos chilenos (equivalentes a unos doce mil dólares americanos, los segundos (doctorado)
siete millones de pesos chilenos (unos trece mil cuatrocientos dólares americanos), y las especialidades
médicas implican un costo que borde los cuatro millones y medio de pesos, esto es, unos nueve mil
dólares (americanos).Sin embargo, y tomando como referencia la información contenida en los sitios web
oficiales, las agencias han establecido aranceles diferentes a los fijados por la mencionada resolución. De
manera que, dependerá de la agencia elegida el costo que tendrá asociado el proceso. La siguiente tabla
muestra los valores publicitados por las agencias en sus respectivos sitios web (cabe señalar que algunas
de ellas no publicitan esta información, en cuyo caso se optó por incluir la sigla S/I- sin información-).

Tabla 2: Aranceles de acreditación, según Agencia Acreditadora

pregrado magíster
clp usd clp usd
acredita ci $7,500,000 $15,010 $5,000,000 $10,007
akredita s/i s/i s/i s/i
acreditaccion $9,900,000 $19,813 s/i s/i
qualitas $8,140,000 $16,291 $5,610,000 $11,228
aadsa $7,700,000 $15,410 $7,700,000 $15,410
apice s/i s/i $3,380,000 $6,765
a&c $8,140,000 $16,291 s/i s/i
aacs s/i s/i s/i s/i
Fuente: Elaboración propia en base a información disponible en los sitios web de cada Agencia.

Sistema de Verificación Por Pares Evaluadores

Como se detalló en el punto anterior, la segunda fase del proceso de acreditación considera una instancia
de verificación desarrollada por pares evaluadores externos(20), quienes se encuentran debidamente
individualizados en el registro nacional de la CNA o bien en los registros de alguna de las agencias
habilitadas para desarrollar este tipo de procesos.

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Evaluadores Institucionales

Este registro nacional de evaluadores institucionales administrado por la CNA, incluye ciento ochenta
nacionales y cincuenta y cuatro extranjeros; esto es una relación de 77% y 23% respectivamente.
Considerando sólo el número de evaluadores nacionales, de ellos el 76% (o sea, ciento treinta y siete)
están adscritos o directamente vinculados con alguna de las sesenta universidades que existen en nuestro
país, el 24% restante corresponde a evaluadores cuya actividad laboral principal se desarrolla en el sector
productivo, en CFT, en IP, en consultoras privadas, entre otros. En cuanto a quienes provienen del mundo
universitarios, la dependencia institucional de ellos se presenta en la siguiente tabla (sólo se incluyen
nueve instituciones, las que en conjunto representan al 51% de los evaluadores institucionales
nacionales):

En relación a los evaluadores extranjeros, los antecedentes disponible permiten sostener que: (i) el 78%
del total proviene de instituciones universitarias (sector en que desarrollan su actividad laboral principal),
(ii) el 76% del total proviene de países hispanoparlantes, el 73% del total son de origen latino, (iii) el 13%
proviene de Estados Unidos y Canadá, los demás corresponden a nacionales de: Francia, Holanda e Italia.

Tabla 3: Evaluadores institucionales nacionales, según universidad de procedencia

Universidad de Chile 10%
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 9%
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso 7%
Universidad de Santiago de Chile 5%
Universidad Austral de Chile 4%
Universidad de Concepción 4%
Universidad San Sebastián 4%
Universidad Andrés Bello 4%
Universidad de La Frontera 4%
Fuente: Elaboración propia en base a los datos disponibles en el sitio web: www.cnachile.cl.

Evaluadores de Pregrado

Este registro incluye a los evaluadores habilitados para participar de los procesos de acreditación de
carreras impartidas por universidades, centros de formación técnica e institutos profesionales. Integran
este registro un total de setecientos ocho evaluadores, de ellos seiscientos treinta y ocho, el 90%
corresponden a evaluadores nacionales, y de ellos alrededor del 88% representan a instituciones
universitarias. Cabe aclarar que de acuerdo a la normativa vigente en Chile, el rol de evaluador de
pregrado es compatible con el de evaluador institucional y de postgrado, por lo que, el mismo individuo
puede estar incluido en los tres registros (además de integrar las nóminas de evaluados de una o más
agencias). Sin duda las universidades aportan el mayor número de evaluadores, las otras áreas de
procedencia son: el sector productivo, consultoras privadas, CFT e IP.Del 88% de los evaluadores que
provienen de instituciones universitarias, el 10% corresponde a académicos de la Pontificia Universidad
Católica de Valparaíso, 8% proviene de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 7% de la Universidad
de Concepción y otro 7% de la Universidad de Chile. Ocho universidades suman al 50% de los
evaluadores nacionales de pregrado, elemento que da cuenta de una fuerte concentración.

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Tabla 4: Evaluadores de pregrado nacionales, según universidad de origen

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso 10%
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 8%
Universidad de Concepción 7%
Universidad de Chile 7%
Universidad de Santiago de Chile 5%
Universidad de Valparaíso 4%
Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana 4%
Universidad Austral de Chile 4%
Fuente: Elaboración propia en base a los datos disponibles en el sitio web: www.cnachile.cl.

En cuanto a los evaluadores extranjeros, ellos representan el 21% de los evaluadores de esta área, y de
ellos el 86% proviene de países latinos. Nuevamente se observa una fuerte presencia de ellos frente a
evaluadores de origen anglosajón. En este ítem sólo se contabilizan como evaluadores no
hispanoparlantes canadienses, franceses y brasileros.
Evaluadores de Postgrado

El registro de evaluadores de postgrado (que incluye a los pares habilitados para evaluar programas de
magíster y/ o doctorado), se constituye por ochocientos cuarenta y nueve miembros, de los cuales
seiscientos cuarenta y uno corresponden a evaluadores nacionales y doscientos ocho son extranjeros. En
este caso se observa un número de evaluadores extranjeros mucho mayor, dado que los procesos de
acreditación de programas de doctorados siempre requerirán de un evaluador de este tipo. Obsérvese que
incluso el origen de ellos resulta más diverso, así, el 73% proviene de países hispanoparlantes y el 27%
restante corresponde a evaluadores provenientes, principalmente de Estados Unidos (13% del total de
extranjeros), Brasil (8% del total de extranjeros), Francia y Alemania (2% del total de extranjeros, cada
uno). Sin duda, este es el registro que considera mayor número de evaluadores foráneos.
Además y dados los requisitos exigibles a estos evaluadores, se observa que el 96% de ellos proviene de
universidades, siendo especialmente llamativo el que sólo tres instituciones concentren al 51% de ellos.
La siguiente tabla muestra como la predominancia en este ítem está en las universidades de Chile,
Católica de Chile y Concepción.

Tabla 5: Evaluadores de postgrado nacionales, según universidad de origen

Universidad de Chile 20%
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 17%
Universidad de Concepción 14%
Fuente: Elaboración propia en base a los datos disponibles en el sitio web: www.cnachile.cl.

En cuanto a los evaluadores extranjeros, sus orígenes nacionales se distribuyen como muestra la siguiente
tabla:

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Tabla 6: Evaluadores de postgrado extranjeros, según país de procedencia

México 23%
Argentina 23%
España 17%
Estados Unidos 13%
Brasil 8%
Uruguay 3%
Fuente: Elaboración propia en base a los datos disponibles en el sitio web: www.cnachile.cl.

Finalmente, resulta oportuno presentar, en valores agregados el número de evaluadores que registran las
nóminas de las agencias autorizadas por la CNA para desarrollar procesos de acreditación en Chile (cabe
recordar que estas agencias sólo puede evaluar programas o carreras de pregrado y/ o programas de
magíster; y en cualquier caso precisan de la autorización expresa de la CNA).

Tabla 7: Registro de evaluadores por agencia

Total UN(21)
acredita ci 448 331
akredita 379 301
acreditaccion 404 s/i
qualitas 549 453
aadsa 92 81
apice 215 s/i
a&c 637 473
aacs 197 s/i
Fuente: Elaboración propia en base a los datos disponibles en el sitio web: www.cnachile.cl.

Como se mencionó antes, dado que no existe impedimento alguno para que un evaluador esté
formalmente registrado en más de una entidad acreditadora, en la práctica es frecuente observar que
muchos de los evaluadores forman parte de los registros de dos o más entidades, de manera que el
universo total de evaluadores en ningún caso resulta de la sumatoria algebraica de los evaluadores
registrados en la CNA más los registrados en agencias. Aún cuando no ha sido posible determinar con
precisión el número de evaluadores, a partir de los datos recolectados, se estima que ellos no superan el
millar.

Consideraciones Finales

En 2011 integraban el sistema de educación superior chileno: sesenta universidades(22), cuarenta y cuatro
institutos profesionales y setenta y tres centros de formación técnica. Del total de universidades, sólo
cincuenta y ocho son acreditables (las otras dos se encuentran en proceso de obtención de autonomía, y
las instituciones deben contar con autonomía plena para ingresar al sistema de acreditación), de ellas
cincuenta y tres están acreditadas, por lo que, más del 90% de las universidades chilenas están
acreditadas. Pero ello no implican que entre ellas sean similares, las diferencias radican en el número de

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años de acreditación obtenidos y las áreas que sometieron a evaluación, de manera que lo razonable, es
comparar instituciones acreditadas en áreas idénticas.

De las cincuenta y tres universidades acreditadas, veinticinco, es decir, el 47%, lo están sólo en las áreas
obligatorias (gestión institucional y docencia de pregrado), quince acreditaron tres criterios, cinco
acreditaron cuatro criterios y sólo ocho acreditaron los cinco criterios posibles, éstas son: Universidad de
Chile (por siete años), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (por siete años), Universidad de Santiago
de Chile (por seis años), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (por seis años), Universidad
Austral de Chile (por seis años), Universidad Católica del Norte (por seis años), Universidad de
Concepción (por seis años) y Universidad de La Frontera (por cinco años)(23).

En cuanto a los CFT, de los setenta y tres que actualmente funcionan en Chile, sólo trece, esto es el 18%,
están acreditados; en el caso de los IP el 34% de ellos está acreditado; la evidencia sugiere que el modelo
de acreditación no ha logrado permear al sistema de educación superior no universitaria.

Tomando como referencia la información disponible en el Servicio de Información de Educación
Superior (SIES)(24), durante el año académico 2010, el 14% de la matrícula de pregrado estaba en los
CFT, el 24% en los IP y el 62% restante en las universidades; lo que evidencia la demanda que existe por
este segmento de la educación superior, la que de una u otra forma ha promovido el surgimiento de
nuevas instituciones, en una primera fase; y, posteriormente, de nuevas carreras(25).Nuevamente
observando los datos recogidos por el SIES, se tiene que para el año académico 2011, los CFT ofrecieron
alrededor de dos mil carreras o programas, los IP por su parte ofertaron más de cuatro mil, y las
universidades también situaron su oferta programática de pregrado por sobre tres mil. Sin embargo, los
registros de la CNA sólo dan cuenta de un poco más de mil carreras o programas de pregrado
incorporados al sistema de acreditación, en su gran mayoría correspondientes a instituciones
universitarias, lo que nos lleva a concluir que el sistema de educación superior no universitaria está al
margen del sistema de acreditación, lo que se traduce en que ni las instituciones ni las carreras son
capaces de evidenciar mecanismos de autorregulación, elemento que como se señaló anteriormente,
constituye la piedra angular de este sistema.

A cinco años de la entrada en vigencia de la ley 20.129, se observa una pobre incorporación de las
instituciones de educación superior no universitarias a los procesos de acreditación, por lo que, en la
práctica y considerando las directrices del modelo, es razonable sostener que los CFT e IP, en su gran
mayoría, no pueden demostrar a la sociedad toda que disponen de mecanismos de gestión institucional
fiables y verificables por agentes externos (aún cuando estos adolecen de los sesgos ya mencionados).
En cuanto a las universidades, si bien es cierto, han ingresado masivamente al sistema, los resultados que
exhiben no son del todo comprensibles por la ciudadanía, por cuanto, éstos últimos observan la condición
de acreditada o no acreditada, y no las variables subyacentes al resultado(26).

Principales Vicios del Modelo

Escasa independencia entre el ente verificador y el evaluado: El sistema de acreditación chileno está
basado en la verificación por pares evaluadores externos. Como se planteó antes, las estadísticas muestran
una estrecha relación entre los registros de evaluadores de entidades acreditadoras y las instituciones
sujeto de evaluación, de suerte tal que la fuerte concentración de los evaluadores nacionales en unas pocas
instituciones universitarias, hace que, irremediablemente, surjan conflictos de intereses y/ o presiones
entre los agentes.

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Insuficiente número de evaluadores: Los datos presentados dan cuenta de un registro de evaluadores
insuficiente para responder a las demandas del sistema. Por ejemplo, la nómina de evaluadores habilitados
para integrar procesos de acreditación institucional es de ciento ochenta nacionales y cincuenta y cuatro
extranjeros, los que debiesen ser capaces de atender a un total de sesenta universidades, setenta y tres
Centros de Formación Técnica, y cuarenta y cuatro Institutos Profesionales; a una media de tres a cuatro
evaluadores por acreditación, necesariamente, cada uno deberá participar de varios procesos.

Homogeneidad de los aranceles: Otro de los elementos que se ha expuesto, dice relación con el
establecimiento de aranceles que sólo diferencian a partir de las variables: sede y criterios de acreditación
(en el caso de los procesos institucionales), omitiendo factores relevantes como el número de alumnos, la
naturaleza de la institución (estatal o privada) o capacidad de pago. Cabe señalar que este elemento podría
ser uno de los que desestimula la incorporación de instituciones de educación superior no universitaria al
sistema.

Vinculación entre las entidades:Existe evidencia que permite demostrar la vinculación que existe entre las
agencias acreditadotas y las instituciones universitarias. Sólo para ejemplificar, obsérvese que una agencia
fue constituida por ex rectores de universidades chilenas y otra es propiedad de dos instituciones de
educación superior. La experiencia acumulada sugiere que los sistemas de acreditación no han logrado
aún, incorporar el elemento autoevaluativo en la cultura institucional, parece ser que la condición de
‘acreditado’ se orienta más a fines publicitarios que al mejoramiento continuo.

Principales Virtudes Atribuibles al Modelo

Genera y favorece la difusión de información respecto a las instituciones y programas: Probablemente
uno de los principales beneficios que este modelo ha generado para la sociedad en su conjunto, es la
disponibilidad de información. Un par de décadas atrás la percepción sobre las instituciones de educación
superior descansaba más en la historia que en elementos objetivos, y aún cuando hoy no se disponga de
información sobre el sistema (en su conjunto), los avances que se han generado bien valen la mención.

Promueve la generación y gestión de mecanismos de autorregulación: El modelo introdujo elementos
que otrora no constituían una preocupación para las instituciones, por ejemplo: formulación,
implementación y evaluación de planes de desarrollo, definición y validación de perfiles de egreso,
elaboración de estudios de demanda, estudios de percepción y sondeos de opinión respecto a las
instituciones. Si bien es cierto, la cultura autoevaluativa no ha sido instalada, la adopción de este tipo de
prácticas la propiciarían. En términos reales y a pesar de los vicios y defectos que puedan atribuirse al
modelo de acreditación chileno, la necesidad de contar con él no está en discusión. Hoy en día el debate
está centrado en qué mecanismos de mejoramiento y regulación es necesario introducir, por tanto, parece
razonable sostener que este modelo llegó para quedarse. Es muy probable que en algunos años más
nuestro modelo difiera del que se ha descrito.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Ley 20.129: Establece un Sistema Nacional de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior.
Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional. Recuperada del sitio web: http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-
content/uploads/2010/06/Ley_Aseg_Calidad

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Ley_Aseg_Calidad

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Ley_Aseg_Calidad

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Resolución Exenta 711 de la Dirección de Presupuestos del Ministerio de Hacienda: Fija los Montos de
los Aranceles por el Desarrollo de los Procesos Establecidos en la Ley Nº 20.129. Recuperada del sitio
web: http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1019886&idVersion=2010-11-27

Consejo Nacional de Educación. Educación Superior. Instituciones de Educación Superior. Datos y
Estadísticas: Instituciones reconocidas en funcionamiento. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/instituciones_educacion_superior.aspx

Consejo Nacional de Educación. Educación Superior. Conceptos básicos. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/conceptos_basicos.aspx

Consejo Nacional de Educación. Educación Superior. Contexto. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/contexto.aspx

Consejo Nacional de Educación. Educación Superior. Licenciamiento: Información General. Recuperado
del sitio web:
http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/licenciamiento_informacion_general.asp
x

Nicolás Fleet (editor general): Desafíos y perspectivas de la dirección estratégica de las instituciones
universitarias. Ediciones CNA-Chile. Gráfica LOM. 2009. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Desafios-y-Perspectivas

Francisca Araya (editor general): Buenas prácticas del aseguramiento de la calidad de la educación
superior en Chile. Ediciones CNA-Chile. Gráfica LOM. 2010. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Libro-buenas-Prácticas
IPSOS. Estudio exploratorio sobre efectos de la acreditación institucional en la calidad de la educación
superior en Chile (Informe Final). Preparado para la CNA-Chile. 2010. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/INFORME_FINAL

IPSOS. Estudio exploratorio sobre efectos de la acreditación institucional en la calidad de la educación
superior en Chile (Informe Ejecutivo). Preparado para la CNA-Chile. 2010. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/INFORME_EJECUTIVO

CNA- Chile. Información institucional. Recuperado del sitio web: http://www.cnachile.cl/
CNA- Chile. Memoria 2007- 2010. Aseguramiento de calidad en la Educación Superior: cuatro años de
CNA-Chile. 2010. Recuperado del sitio web: http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-
content/uploads/2011/01/MEMORIA

Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional. Historia de la ley 20.129: Establece un Sistema Nacional de
Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior. Noviembre de 2006. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.mineduc.cl/index2.php?id_seccion=3586&id_portal=59&id_contenido=14894.

BIOGRAFÍA

Juan Camel Tala Japaz es Magíster en Dirección de Empresas de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Chile. Profesor Asociado del Departamento de Administración de Universidad de Santiago de Chile,

http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1019886&idVersion=2010-11-27

http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/instituciones_educacion_superior.aspx

http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/conceptos_basicos.aspx

http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/contexto.aspx

http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/licenciamiento_informacion_general.aspx

http://www.cned.cl/public/Secciones/SeccionEducacionSuperior/licenciamiento_informacion_general.aspx

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Desafios-y-Perspectivas

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Libro-buenas-Prácticas

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/INFORME_FINAL

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/INFORME_EJECUTIVO

http://www.cnachile.cl/

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/MEMORIA

http://www.cnachile.cl/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/MEMORIA

http://www.mineduc.cl/index2.php?id_seccion=3586&id_portal=59&id_contenido=14894

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adscrito a las cátedras en el área de Marketing y Operaciones. Se puede contactar en el Departamento de
Administración, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, ubicado en Av. Lib. Bernardo O’Higgins 3363,
Estación Central, Santiago de Chile. Correo electrónico: juan.tala@usach.cl.

Paulina Hidalgo Pérez es Magíster en Dirección de Empresas de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Valparaíso y Magíster en Gerencia Pública de la Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Profesor Instructor (I)
del Departamento de Administración de Universidad de Santiago de Chile, adscrito a las cátedras en el
área de Recursos Humanos. Se puede contactar en el Departamento de Administración, Universidad de
Santiago de Chile, ubicado en Av. Lib. Bernardo O’Higgins 3363, Estación Central, Santiago de Chile.
Correo electrónico: paulina.hidalgo@usach.cl.

NOTAS

(1) Véase: http://www.mineduc.cl/index2.php?id_seccion=3586&id_portal=59&id_contenido=14894.
(2) Véase: http://www.mineduc.cl/index2.php?id_seccion=3586&id_portal=59&id_contenido=14894.
(3) Línea que, como se verá más adelante, terminó por configurarse como uno de los ejes claves en los
procesos de acreditación.
(4) Véase http://www.mineduc.cl/index2.php?id_seccion=3586&id_portal=59&id_contenido=14894.
(5) Esta entidad tendría entre sus funciones: (i) continuar con el sistema de licenciamiento (existente
desde 1990), (ii) acreditar carreras profesionales y técnicas, además de programas de postgrado- magíster
y doctorado- y, (iii) acreditar instituciones autónomas de educación superior.

(6) La necesidad de contar con información veraz y de manera oportuna, promovió la necesidad de
desarrollar un sistema que fuese alimentado tanto por datos capturados por el Ministerio de Educación,
como por otros generados en las propias instituciones; se consideró oportuno incluir información
proveniente de otras instituciones de naturaleza pública o privada. Todo ello con miras a facilitar que los
jóvenes postulantes a la educación superior, sus padres y la sociedad toda pudiese acceder a un conjunto
básico de información de cada institución integrante del sistema.
(7) Véase http://www.mineduc.cl/index2.php?id_seccion=3586&id_portal=59&id_contenido=14894.
(8) Véase: http://www.cnachile.cl/cna-chile-institucional/comites-consultivos/
(9) El sistema de acreditación que más adelante se detalla es aplicable sólo a las instituciones de
educación superior autónomas, por tanto, la condición de ‘licenciamiento’ y ‘acreditación’ son
incompatibles entre sí.
(10) Que distingue entre universidades, institutos profesionales y centros de formación técnica.
(11) Que distingue entre carreras de técnico de nivel superior, carreras profesionales y programas de
pregrado.
(12) Que distingue entre programas de magíster, programas de doctorado y especialidades médicas.
(13) Dependerá de tipo de proceso que se desarrolle la pertinencia de incluir más o menos informantes, y
por cierto, la determinación de quienes califican en esta condición.
(14) El período máximo de acreditación es de siete años para las instituciones y las carreras de pregrado.
En el caso de los programas de postgrado, el período máximo es de diez años.
(15) Este protocolo puede sufrir pequeñas variaciones dependiendo de la entidad acreditara que conduzca
el proceso.

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(16) Cuando el proceso es conducido por la CNA, el Recurso de Apelación se dirige al Consejo Nacional
de Educación; y cuando la entidad acreditadora es una Agencia, el Recurso se dirige a la CNA.
(17) Cuando una institución, carrera o programa no logre acreditarse, podrá volver a someterse a un
nuevo proceso de acreditación en un plazo de dos años, oportunidad en la que serán especialmente
consideradas las observaciones incluidas en el acuerdo de no acreditación y las evidencias que den cuenta
de las acciones implementadas para subsanarlas.
(18) La acreditación institucional considera dos áreas obligatorias (gestión institucional y docencia de
pregrado), y tres áreas optativas (investigación, docencia de postgrado y vinculación con el medio),
pudiendo elegir si estas áreas se someterán a evaluación o no.
(19) Que en la actualidad están casi completamente derivados a las agencias acreditadoras.
(20) El número de evaluadores que integran un Comité variará dependiendo de: (i) el tipo de acreditación
(institucional, de pregrado o postgrado), (ii) el número de sedes que tenga la institución o en que se
imparta el programa y (iii) en el caso de los procesos de acreditación institucional, del número de áreas a
acreditar. En cualquier caso, el comité de pares siempre contará con la participación de un Ministro de Fe,
quien tiene la responsabilidad de velar por el normal desarrollo del proceso. Cabe señalar que en la
actualidad (2011) no existe normativa que establezca el número mínimo o máximo de integrantes para
Comité de Visita, sin embargo, la práctica muestra que el número oscila entre un par, en el caso de los
programas de Magíster, y cuatro pares, en el caso de acreditaciones institucionales. Los programas de
doctorados siempre contarán con la participación de un evaluador nacional (quien efectúa la visita) y un
evaluador extranjero quien efectúa una revisión documental.
(21) Se refiere al número de evaluadores que además cumplen funciones académicas al interior de
instituciones universitarias.
(22) Dieciséis de ellas estatales, nueve privadas tradicionales, treinta y tres universidades privadas
autónomas y dos universidades privadas en proceso de licenciamiento.
(23) Véase: http://www.cnachile.cl/oirs/resultados-de-acreditacion/?buscar=true&name2=3
(24) Véase: http://www.sies.cl
(25) Téngase presente que en el llamado ‘mercado de la educación superior’ se observan condiciones que
no necesariamente se generan en otros mercados, por ejemplo, el que la oferta sea capaz de generar su
propia demanda.
(26) Por ejemplo años de acreditación o áreas en que ha sido acreditada la institución.

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ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIO EXTERIOR PARA LA
INTRODUCCIÓN DE UNA PYME DE EXPORTACIÓN
DE TAMALES, EN CIUDAD JUÁREZ CHIHUAHUA
Julio Cesar Briones Benavente, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Perla Ivette Gómez Zepeda, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Nidia Gisela Nafarrate Robles, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Felipe Chontal Ramos, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Rene Meléndez Sepúlveda, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez

RESUMEN

El comercio entre países, es una de las actividades más remotas y su origen se dio debido a que poseen
diferentes recursos y tecnología, por lo cual se han visto en la necesidad de recurrir al intercambio como
medio para satisfacer las crecientes necesidades de sus poblaciones. La introducción de una Pyme de
Exportación de Tamales, requiere que se analicen profundamente los aspectos de mercado, técnico,
administrativo, legal y financiero, para determinar su factibilidad, no solo de forma local (Ciudad
Juárez, Chihuahua) si no también internacional (El Paso, Texas). Esta investigación de campo de
alcance descriptivo analiza con un diseño cuantitativo las estrategias de Comercio Exterior requeridas
para la exportación de tamales. La cual busca como objetivo principal concientizar a los exportadores de
tamales sobre los requerimientos y especificaciones que se deben cumplir para introducir el producto de
forma exitosa en un mercado extranjero. Con los resultados obtenidos se arroja que la demanda
potencial, es mayor a un 70%, enfocada a la población hispana, y que por lo tanto permite que los
productores mexicanos de tamales en la región, puedan facilitar su exportación. Tomando en
consideración que la aplicación de estas estrategias genera la oportunidad de consolidación de la
empresa.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Exportación, Tamales, Estrategias.

JEL: M16

INTRODUCCIÓN

Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua es una Ciudad con gran desarrollo industrial y comercial, lo cual en gran parte
se ha logrado gracias a su cercanía con el país más industrializado del mundo que es Estados Unidos. De
acuerdo con Hernández, Gallarzo & Espinoza en su libro Desarrollo Organizacional, Un Enfoque
Latinoamericano (2011) consideran a la globalización como una nueva tendencia que crea nuevas
exigencias y oportunidades en todos los sectores de la economía; por lo tanto México no puede
permanecer ajeno a esta tendencia mundial. La globalización parte de un hecho ineludible; vivimos en un
mundo cuyos países y bloques son cada vez más interdependientes. A partir de esta situación existen tres
escenarios: el mundial, el nacional y el empresarial.

Dentro del contexto mundial, los países están obligados a relacionarse unos con otros, como tal son
interdependientes entre sí y en su economía global, en la que ninguna nación puede proclamarse como la
dominante, puesto que no hay economías autosuficientes. En el ámbito nacional, dentro del marco de la
apertura comercial y de la globalización de los mercados, las empresas mexicanas tienen que hacer frente

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al entorno mundial de intensa competencia y a los diversas medidas que cada país impone a la
importación de mercancías, para proteger a su industria.

Por ello México se ha visto la necesidad de entablar negociaciones comerciales con aquellos países que,
por su cercanía, son mercados naturales para los productos mexicanos. Dentro del escenario empresarial,
en una economía cerrada, el consumidor no tiene posibilidades de elección en materia de precio y calidad.
En contraste las múltiples opciones que brindan un mercado abierto y la competencia que ésta genera
favorecen al consumidor final porque cuentan con un mayor número de satisfactores de diversa índole,
los cuales pueden ajustarse a cualquier tipo de necesidad y de presupuesto. (Bancomext, 2002). Para
competir en los mercados externos es importante conocer los mecanismos y procedimientos que requieren
cumplir las operaciones comerciales, así como estar atento a los cambios que realizan los principales
países, en sus mecanismos y disposiciones de importación (Bancomext, 2005).

Gómez, Hernández y Espinoza (2009) consideran que normalmente la estructura de las Pyme está
determinada por un conjunto de estructuras organizativas sencillas con pocos procesos administrativos
formalizados y con una alta concentración de poder en unas cuantas personas, sin embargo una empresa
cualquiera que sea el tamaño del que se pretenda establecer, debe cumplir con requerimientos esenciales
para su incorporación al mercado, por lo cual debe estudiar de forma detallada la información que debe
contener el plan de negocios para fundamentar la factibilidad del mismo y dentro de este desarrollo darle
el enfoque de exportación deseado para el logro de las metas establecidas en la investigación.

El tamal de acuerdo con Esther Hernández en su libro Vocabulario en la Lengua Castellana y Mexicana
de Fray Alonso de Molina (1996), define al tamal como “pan de maíz que se cuece en olla, envuelto en
hojas del mismo cereal”. La planta de maíz cocinada se llamaba tamalli (ahora tamal) y a menudo se
cocinaba en hojas de maíz. Los tamales con frecuencia se hacen con rellenos, y se calientan colocándoles
una armadura de palos y hojas, “tlapextle”, que se colocan en la olla. (Bukasov, 1963).

Esta investigación se presenta como sigue. En la sección de revisión literaria permite realizar una
discusión relevante de la literatura, clarificando el concepto de PYME de exportación, se justifica la
necesidad de generar una planeación adecuada para la formación de una empresa de exportación, se
presentan las estrategias que se requieren para el desarrollo de las empresas de exportación de tamales. Se
justifica la metodología para la evaluación de esta investigación y los resultados obtenidos mediante la
presentación de los análisis estadísticos. Y por último las consideraciones, conclusiones y
recomendaciones para las PYME exportadoras.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

La pequeña empresa desempeña un papel fundamental en nuestra existencia, porque gran parte de nuestra
actividad económica personal se realiza a razón de personas que dirigen pequeñas empresas. El término
pequeña empresa se refiere a negocios que tienen dueños y gerentes locales y, casi siempre, pocos
empleados que trabajan en un solo lugar (Stoner, Freeman y Gilbert, 1996). Las empresas MiPymes
representan a nivel mundial el segmento de la economía que aporta el mayor número de unidades
económicas y personal ocupado; de ahí la relevancia que reviste este tipo de empresas y la necesidad de
fortalecer su desempeño, al incidir éstas de manera fundamental en el comportamiento global de las
economías nacionales; de hecho, en el contexto internacional se puede afirmar que el 90% o un porcentaje
superior de las unidades económicas totales está conformado por mas MiPymes (INEGI, 2004).

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La estructura organizacional de las Pymes son en promedio considerablemente menos complicadas que la
microempresa que consta en gran medida de trabajadores autónomos y que en ocasiones trabajan en
compañía de unos cuantos miembros de la familia, lo que redunda en que con frecuencia la cantidad de
empleados es menor a 5, (Hernández y Anaya, 2009). La diferencia entre las características de los tipos
de empresa y su tamaño, hace necesario que al iniciar una empresa se realice la evaluación que permita
conocer la rentabilidad económica y social, de tal manera que se asegure resolver una necesidad humana
en forma eficiente, segura y rentable (Baca, 2006). Esta evaluación toma a consideración los aspectos de
mercado, técnico, administrativo, legal y financiero.

Para las Pequeñas y Medianas empresas de exportación de forma específica, los estudios se deben realizar
de manera que podamos definir con exactitud cuáles son los riesgos y beneficios en los que se va a
incurrir para la apertura de un nuevo negocio, en el caso del Estudio de Mercado nos permite estimar la
cantidad de los bienes y servicios provenientes de una nueva unidad de producción, que los consumidores
(del país o del extranjero) estarán dispuestos a adquirir a un determinado precio, (Colaiacovo, Assefh y
Guadagna, 1993). David Ibarra Valdez, en su libro Los Primeros pasos del mundo empresarial (2001),
determina que para el estudio técnico requiere la lista de maquinaria y equipo, la inversión en adaptación
o construcción del lugar de trabajo, determinando cual es el proceso de producción, la localización de la
empresa y las obras físicas necesarias.

Los siguientes estudios que se requieren establecer abarcan los aspectos administrativos, legales y
financieros. El estudio de organización no es suficientemente analítico en la mayoría de los casos, lo cual
impide una cuantificación correcta, tanto de la inversión inicial como de los costos de administración. Las
etapas iniciales de un proyecto comprenden actividades como la constitución legal, trámites ante el
gobierno, compra de terreno, construcción de edificio, o su adaptación, etc., todas estas actividades y su
administración deben ser previstas adecuadamente desde las primeras etapas, ya que esa es la mejor
manera de garantizar la consecución de los objetivos de la empresa. (Baca Urbina Gabriel, 2006). La
evaluación económica, permite realizar un concentrado de los estudios anteriores, donde se obtendrá el
rendimiento mínimo que debe ganar un proyecto para que el valor de mercado de la empresa permanezca
sin cambios (Gitman, 2007).

Para poder hablar de exportaciones, de comercio internacional y de cómo funciona, es muy importante y
fundamental entender el sustento teórico del comercio exterior. Primeramente se hace mención de la
economía internacional y la teoría económica, “la economía internacional trata sobre las relaciones
económicas entre países. La interdependencia resultante es muy importante para el bienestar económico
de la mayoría de las naciones del mundo y se encuentra en una fase de aumento. Es decir la mayoría de
las naciones del mundo exportan algunos bienes, servicios y factores de producción a cambio de
importaciones que sólo podrían ser suplidas de una manera relativamente menos eficiente internamente, o
simplemente no podrían ser suplidas” (Salvatore, Dominick. 1986)

Adam Smith en el año de 1776 publicó su famoso libro, La riqueza de las naciones, en el cual atacaba la
visión mercantilista del comercio y en cambio promulgaba el libre comercio como la mejor política para
las naciones del mundo. Smith sostenía que con el libre comercio cada país podría especializarse en la
producción de aquellos bienes en los cuales tuviera una VENTAJA ABSOLUTA, es decir, aquellos que
pudiera producir más eficientemente que otros países e importar aquellos bienes en los cuales tuviera una
desventaja absoluta o sea. Aquellos que pudiera producir menos eficientemente. De esta manera, no es
necesario que un país se beneficie a expensas de otros países. Todas las naciones podrían beneficiarse
simultáneamente (Salvatore Dominick, 1986)

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Por su parte David Ricardo estableció que aún si un país tuviera una desventaja absoluta en la producción
de ambos bienes con respecto al otro país, el comercio mutuamente ventajoso todavía podría tener lugar.
La nación menos eficiente debería especializarse en la producción y exportación del bien en el cual su
desventaja absoluta fuera menor. Este es el bien en el cual el país tiene una desventaja comparativa por
otro lado, el país debería importar el bien en el cual su desventaja absoluta fuera mayor. Esta es la razón
de su desventaja comparativa. Lo anterior es conocido como la Ley de la Ventaja Comparativa, una de las
más famosas y todavía no vulneradas leyes de la economía” (Salvatore Dominick, 1986)

METODOLOGÍA

Considerando que el objetivo de la investigación es determinar las estrategias de comercio exterior que
necesita implementar una pequeña o mediana empresa ubicada en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua para la
exportación de tamales a El Paso, Tx., es necesario desde una perspectiva descriptiva utilizar el método
cuantitativo no experimental a través de una encuesta aleatoria simple de preguntas cerradas dicotómicas
y con varias posibilidades de respuesta. Se evaluaron en forma interrelacionada los estudios de mercado,
técnico, económico y financiero del proyecto.

Dentro de cada estudio se registran los requerimientos necesarios que determinan la factibilidad del
establecimiento de la empresa, se analizan los canales de comercialización del producto, así como la
normatividad que las dependencias nacionales y extrajeras demandan para que el producto pueda ser
introducido al mercado meta. Con la finalidad de saber las estrategias a utilizar para la introducción del
producto en el mercado meta, este estudio trata de saber con precisión, los elementos o factores que
determinan la preferencia en el consumo de tamales en El Paso, Tx.; es decir, quienes lo consumen, con
qué frecuencia, que sabores prefieren y sus opiniones acerca de las características que la población objeto
de estudio considera importante a la hora de elegir un tamal en el mercado de El Paso, Texas.

Estas investigaciones describen, registran, analizan e interpretan la naturaleza actual, y la composición o
proceso de los fenómenos. El enfoque se hace sobre conclusiones dominantes o sobre como un grupo o
cosa se conduce o funciona en el presente (Best, 1970, citado por Tamayo, 1999). Los estudios
descriptivos únicamente pretender medir o recoger información de manera independiente o conjunta sobre
los conceptos o las variables a las que se refieren (Hernández Sampieri et al, 2006).

Hernández Sampieri (2006) afirma que en una investigación no experimental cuantitativa se tratan
estudios donde no hacemos variar en forma intencional las variables independientes para ver su efecto
sobre otras variables, sino que solo se observan los fenómenos tal como ocurren en su contexto natural. El
instrumento de evaluación a utilizar es el cuestionario, que consiste en un conjunto de preguntas respecto
de una o más variables a medir, aplicados por una persona a un sujeto de la muestra seleccionada. Las
preguntas cerradas contienen categorías u opciones previamente delimitadas y son más fáciles de
codificar y preparar para el análisis de los resultados. Su principal desventaja es que limitan las respuestas
de la muestra y requiere anticipar las posibles respuestas de la muestra (Hernández Sampieri, 2006).

El Paso es una ciudad del estado de Texas situada en el extremo meridional de Estados Unidos, frente a la
ciudad mexicana de Ciudad Juárez perteneciente al estado de Chihuahua, de la que la separa el río Bravo,
El Paso es un importante centro de transporte aéreo, terrestre y ferroviario; es, asimismo, el principal
núcleo industrial y comercial de una región minera y agrícola en la que se cultiva algodón y productos
hortofrutícolas y en la que se cría ganado. La ciudad posee una gran mezcla de las culturas mexicana y

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estadounidense, si bien la mayoría de sus habitantes son de origen hispano. Por tal motivo, los contactos
comerciales y turísticos con el norte de México son constantes.

Chontal Felipe (2010) se refiere a Estados Unidos como un mercado que se distingue por su población
heterogénea, alto consumo y nivel de ingreso. “Es un mercado muy atractivo pero con mucha
competencia, donde se hace necesario presentar un producto altamente competitivo y una estrategia de
entrada y permanencia bien definida que tome en cuenta los principales factores” (p. 197) que pueden
determinar la competitividad del proyecto exportador, tales como:
 Conocimiento del mercado.
 Conocimiento y observación de los trámites aduanales, requisitos arancelarios y no arancelarios en
ambos lados de la frontera.
 Conocimiento de los costos y tiempos de transporte.
 Identificar un segmento específico del mercado al que se enfocará el producto.
 Penetración paulatina con tiempos de entrega correctos.
 Innovación y diversificación de los productos.
 Excelente servicio al cliente.
 Empaque vanguardista.
 Monitoreo de la competencia

Fuentes utilizadas: La información que se incluye en este estudio es compilada a partir de fuentes
segundarias y primarias. Las fuentes secundarias abarcan información estadística de fuentes del gobierno,
de distribuidores, importadores y exportadores en cada sector, así como información sobre regulaciones
gubernamentales para el acceso del producto al mercado de Estados Unidos. Las fuentes primarias se
obtuvieron partir de la aplicación de una encuesta a través de un cuestionario diseñado con preguntas
cerradas. Las encuestas se llevaron a cabo en el centro de El Paso, Texas así como en los principales
centros comerciales de esta ciudad.

Determinación de la población: La población total de la ciudad de El Paso, Tx. según el censo del 2000
es de 563 662 personas de las cuales, 267 651 son hombres lo que representa el 47.5 % de la población
total, y el resto, es decir 296 011 son mujeres las cuales representan el 52.5%. De esta población el 76.6%
es de origen hispano, es decir un total de 431,871 habitantes hispanos, los cuales son considerados el
objeto de estudio para esta investigación, y de la cual se desprende la obtención de la muestra de la
siguiente manera:

N= Población hispana de entre15-54 años residentes en El Paso Texas.

Determinación de la muestra: Para poder determinar la muestra necesaria para llevar a cabo la
investigación de campo se utilizó la fórmula del tamaño de la muestra para poblaciones infinitas
siguiente:

𝒏 = 𝐤
𝟐∗𝐩∗𝐪
𝐞𝟐
(1)
Dónde:
N: es el tamaño de la población (número total de posibles encuestados).
e: es el error muestral deseado.

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p: es la proporción de individuos que poseen en la población la característica de estudio. Generalmente
se suele suponer que p=q=0.5 que es la opción más segura.
q: es la proporción de individuos que no poseen esa característica, es decir, es 1-p.
n: es el tamaño de la muestra (número de encuestas que vamos a hacer).
k: es una constante que depende del nivel de confianza que asignemos.

𝒏 = 𝟏.𝟗𝟔
𝟐∗𝟎.𝟓∗𝟎.𝟓
(𝟎.𝟎𝟓)𝟐
= 𝟑𝟖𝟒 (2)

Datos

N= 239, 781
K=1.96
e= 5%
p= 0.5
q= 0.5
n=384
K= 1.96 para un nivel de confianza de 95 %

Variables consideradas para el establecimiento de estrategias de exportación, se muestran en la tabla 1.
Como sigue:
Tabla 8. Variables de Estudio

Variables Conceptualización Instrumento de Medición
Requerimientos legales
Requisitos o especificaciones documentales que debe
exhibir o poseer un producto sobre el contenido, forma o
funcionalidad.
Recopilación de requisitos de dependencias
oficiales que el país importador requiere para
poder introducir el producto en el mercado.
Demanda del producto
Demanda Real
Es la cantidad de producto que el mercado actualmente
consume.
Demanda Potencial
Es la cantidad de producto que es probable que el mercado
consuma si prevalecen las condiciones en las cuales se
planteó la investigación (Baca Urbina, 2008)
Encuesta
Características requeridas del
producto Es un conjunto de atributos que se necesita incorporar al
producto para poder tener preferencia entre los
consumidores.
Encuesta
Canales de distribución
Es el circuito a través del cual los productores hacen llegar
sus productos a los consumidores finales.
Encuesta (se pregunta a los consumidores
finales donde adquieren el producto)

Procesamiento de datos: Los datos obtenidos en la muestra se someterán a un análisis riguroso que
permitirá hacer la descripción completa de la problemática y plantear las estrategias de comercio exterior
adecuadas, para llevar acabo el objetivo de esta investigación, y que tenga como consecuencia el éxito de
los exportadores mexicanos de tamales que buscan una oportunidad en Estados Unidos.

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RESULTADOS

Se determinaron las estrategias de comercio exterior que necesita implementar una pequeña y mediana
empresa para exportar, siendo el objetivo fundamental del estudio establecer cuáles son los factores
administrativos y de mercado para el desarrollo e implementación de una PYME exportadora de tamales
cuyo origen final es la ciudad de El Paso, Texas. El estudio de mercado permitió identificar las compañías
que pueden fungir como competidores directos de la empresa, asimismo, se logró constatar el grado de
lealtad de los clientes potenciales hacia las empresas previamente establecidas. El estudio indicó que no
existe una preferencia considerable hacia alguna marca en específico; sin embargo, los consumidores de
tamales en El Paso, Tx., toman en cuenta factores como el precio, la calidad, el sabor, la variedad de
ingredientes, la disponibilidad del producto y la higiene, como características fundamentales para la
elección del producto. Mismos que puede verlos en las siguientes figuras 1, 2 y 3. Que son:

Figura 1: Preferencias del Consumidor hacia el Producto

Figura 2. Representación de los precios.

El 41% de los encuestados consumen el producto de manera periódica, y el 57% lo adquiere de manera
esporádica. La frecuencia de consumo de las personas que respondieron afirmativamente a la encuesta,
nos permite conocer que el 44% de éstos lo consume dos veces al mes, el 31% una vez al mes y el 2%,
15%
42%
3%
24%
1%
5% 1% 9%
¿QUÉ ES LO QUE CONSIDERA MÁS IMPORTANTE EN ESTE TIPO DE PRODUCTO?
PRECIO
SABOR
DISPONIBILIDAD
CALIDAD
NÚMERO DE PIEZAS
VARIEDAD
OTRA
NO CONTESTO
2%
32%
40%
22%
4%
¿EN GENERAL, CÓMO CONSIDERA USTED LOS PRECIOS?
BARATOS
CAROS
ACEPTABLES
JUSTOS
NO CONTESTO

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más de cuatro veces al mes. De acuerdo a las personas que consumen el producto, el 29% de los
encuestados señalaron que lo encuentran disponible para su consumo en restaurantes, el 22% en pequeños
comercios, el 12% en mercados, el 12% en establecimientos de comida rápida y 13% se abstuvo de
contestar.

De la implementación de esta empresa de exportación y para conocer el nivel de demanda del mercado
hispano en El Paso, Tx., se obtuvo que el 81% de las personas consumiría el producto, el 15% respondió
que no tendría un consumo muy afín y el 4% se limitó a no contestar.

De acuerdo a los encuestados el 65% señaló, que si existe una diferencia de calidad de una empresa a
otra, el 33% menciona que no hay diferencia en la calidad del producto de una empresa a otra y el 4% no
respondió a la pregunta. Además los encuestados afirman que no existe una preferencia marcada de los
tamales que se venden en empresas estadounidenses, en relación con los tamales que se fabrican en
México. Además se analizaron los problemas derivados al consumo de tamales, dentro de los cuales el
77% afirmó que si ha tenido problemas relacionados al consumo del producto, el 20% dijo que nunca ha
tenido problemas con el consumo de tamales y el 3% no respondió a la pregunta. Dentro del segmento de
personas que han experimentado alguna problemática al consumo de éste producto, el 80% dijo que se
debía a la mala higiene en el proceso de elaboración, el 7% señaló que ha tenido precios altos, el 5%
debido a que el producto se encontraba en mal estado, el 4% debido a alguna otra razón no explicada y el
4% no respondió la pregunta.

CONCLUSIONES

El tamal mexicano tiene demanda dentro del mercado meta, esto se puede apreciar en la encuesta
realizada a los consumidores potenciales. En el desarrollo de la investigación de campo se pudo detectar
que los principales proveedores de este producto son de la ciudad de El Paso Tx. y los consumidores no
tienen acceso a productos elaborados en Ciudad Juárez, Chih. por lo tanto la población toma con agrado
que este producto sea surtido por productores de Ciudad Juárez, Chih., ya que este es de mejor calidad,
debido a que sus ingredientes son percibidos por el consumidor como de mejor calidad dado su sabor,
color, textura, etc., facilitando su exportación.

El consumidor potencial de este producto es la población hispana, por lo cual El Paso, Tx. representa un
gran mercado, ya que los hispanos representan el 76% de la población total, es decir de los 563,662
habitantes de la ciudad según el censo del 2000, 431,875 son hispanos. Las características que el
consumidor demanda en este producto según las encuestas realizadas son en primer término el sabor,
enseguida fue la calidad y en tercer lugar el precio. Los encuestados opinan que el producto elaborado en
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, comparado con el elaborado en la ciudad de El Paso, Tx., tiene una mejor
calidad por lo cual cumple con las características que el consumidor demanda y este puede ser exportado.

Las causas por las cuales los productores de tamales de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, no realizan
exportaciones por la falta de recursos y la falta de información en este aspecto, esto se pudo constatar al
realizar entrevistas con productores locales. Sin embargo las empresas productoras de tamales
localizadas en Ciudad Juárez con proyectos de exportación al mercado de El Paso, Tx., dependiendo del
tamaño de estas y de los recursos con que cuenten podrán optar por una de las estrategias siguientes:

Estrategia de distribución tomando en cuenta el lugar de localización del mercado meta: La cercanía
geográfica determina una mayor intensidad comercial entre productos alimenticios característicos de la

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población mexicana. En esta estrategia será necesario emprender una acción de comercialización agresiva
desarrollando esquemas de mercadeo directo, especialmente con organizaciones comerciales o cadenas de
tiendas de conveniencia locales. Aquí se pretende sacar ventaja de la posición geográfica sobre sus
competidores internacionales y nacionales localizados al interior del país, pero queda en igualdad de
ventajas comerciales con empresas localizadas en Ciudad Juárez.

Estrategia de diferenciación del producto: Bajo esta estrategia es conveniente comercializar un tamal
industrializado, bajo una marca registrada a través de locales propios o por medio de franquicias.

Estrategia de segmentación del producto: Al aumentar el número de familias latinas y su poder
adquisitivo, se percibe a un segmento de consumidores que registra un mayor crecimiento en la demanda
de numerosos bienes y servicios. Bajo esta estrategia se pretende elaborar un producto con un empaque
vanguardista, insumos de primera calidad y sustituyendo grasas y aceites por aceite de olivo. Se enfocará
la mercadotecnia hacia un tamal light y nutritivo destinado al consumidor latino de clase media alta.

Estrategia de introducción por precio del producto: La fusión de los mercados hispano-estadounidense y
mexicano en la frontera favorece una mayor penetración de las ventas mexicanas en la ciudad de El Paso,
Texas. Este se distingue por la alta concentración de hispanos (76 %) principalmente de origen mexicano
los cuales incorporan en su dieta alimenticia alimentos tradicionales como burritos, menudos, tacos, tortas
y tamales. Esta expansión del mercado latino permite aprovechar las economías de escala relativas al
lanzamiento, promoción y distribución de productos, reduciendo los costos en los medios para acceder al
consumidor. Estos tamales son elaborados en forma masiva utilizando materias primas que satisfacen los
requisitos mínimos de calidad y control sanitario y con un relleno mínimo. Su bajo costo y su alto
volumen de producción los hace estar al alcance de la mayoría de la población. Esta estrategia en la que
se compite por ofrecer el precio más bajo es la que mayor riesgo ofrece porque se requiere una vigorosa
reducción de costos en todas las áreas y su ventaja se basa en experiencia en economía de escala.

De acuerdo con los datos e información recabada con esta investigación podemos concluir que el tamal es
un producto viable para su producción y venta en el extranjero ya que cumple con los requisitos para
poder comercializarse. Con los resultados obtenidos podemos destacar que así como el tamal producido
en ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, es acepado por la población hispana en la ciudad de El Paso Tx., de la
misma manera puede ser aceptado en otro estado de Estados Unidos donde dicha población hispana sea
representativa, e incluso en alguna otra parte del mundo donde exista población con estas características.
Esto puede ser objeto de un estudio posterior.

En México existe un sinnúmero de productos que pueden ser considerados para su exportación en
especial sus artesanías y su gastronomía, estos con seguridad serán objeto de investigaciones posteriores.
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, es sin duda una ciudad con una posición geográfica envidiable, ya que su
cercanía con los Estados Unidos la hace una ciudad llena de oportunidades para la exportación de
productos de origen mexicano que tanta demanda tienen en su vecino país del norte por su creciente
población hispana y en particular de origen mexicano.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Baca Urbina, Gabriel. (2006). “Evaluación de Proyectos”. México, D.F.: Mc. Graw Hill. Quinta Edición.
p. 2

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Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (BANCOMEXT). (2005). “Guía Básica del Exportador”. 12a
Edición, México, D.F., p. 5

Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (BANCOMEXT). (2002). “Guía Básica del Exportador”. 12a
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Best, J.W. (1970). “Cómo Investigar en Educación”. En: Tamayo Tamayo, Mario. (1999) “Proceso de
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Bukasov, S. M. (1963). “Las plantas cultivadas de México, Guatemala y Colombia”. Instituto
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Chontal Ramos, F. (2010). “Factibilidad para la producción y comercialización de frituras de plátano
macho en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua-El Paso, Texas”. Tesis de Maestría, Instituto Tecnológico de
Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, chihuahua. México.

Colaiacovo, Juan Luis; Assefh, Anotnio y Guadagna Guillermo. (1993). “Proyectos de Exportación y
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Gitman, L. J. (2007). “Principios de Administración Financiera”. Editorial Pearson. México, D.F. p. 357
Gómez Zepeda, Perla; Hernández Palomino, Jorge y Espinoza, José de Jesús. (2009). “Estrategias de
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Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, P. (2006). “Metodología de la
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BIOGRAFÍA

Julio César Briones Benavente es Maestro en Ciencias por El Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez.
Profesor de Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez. Adscrito a la Cátedra de
Operaciones Comerciales Internacionales. Se puede contactar en la Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad

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Juárez, Avenida Universidad Tecnológica 3051, Lote Bravo II, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México.,
correo electrónico julio_briones@utcj.edu.mx.

Perla Ivette Gómez Zepeda es Maestra en Administración de Negocios Internacionales por el Instituto
Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez. Profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad
Juárez, adscrito a la Cátedra de Operaciones Comerciales Internacionales. Se puede contactar en la
Universidad Tecnología de Ciudad Juárez, Av. Universidad Tecnológica #3051, Lote Bravo II, Ciudad
Juárez Chih., México, Correo electrónico perla_gomez@utcj.edu.mx.

Nidia Gisela Nafarrate Robles es Licenciado en Administración, por el Instituto Tecnológico Superior de
Cajeme. Profesor de Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez, adscrito a la
Cátedra de Operaciones Comerciales Internacionales. Se puede contactar en la Universidad Tecnológica
de Ciudad Juárez, Av. Universidad Tecnológica 3051, Colonia Lote Bravo II, correo electrónico:
nidia_nafarrate@utcj.edu.mx.

Felipe Chontal Ramos es Maestro en Administración de Negocios Internacionales por el Instituto
Tecnológico de Ciudad Juárez. Profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad
Juárez, adscrito a la Carrera de Operaciones Comerciales Internacionales. Se puede contactar en la
Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez, Avenida Universidad Tecnológica 3051, Ciudad Juárez,
Chih. México., Correo electrónico felipe_chontal@utcj.edu.mx.

René Meléndez Sepúlveda es Maestro en Administración por la Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua.
Profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez, adscrito a la Cátedra de
Operaciones Comerciales Internacionales. Se puede contactar en la Universidad Tecnología de Ciudad
Juárez, Avenida Universidad Tecnológica #3051, Lote Bravo II, Ciudad Juárez Chihuahua, México,
Correo electrónico rene_melendez@utcj.edu.mx.

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PANORAMA DE LA PARTICIPACIÓN DE LAS MICRO,
PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS
BAJACALIFORNIANAS EN PROCESOS DE GESTIÓN
DE LA CALIDA
Patricia Valdés Flores, CETYS Universidad

ABSTRACT

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play an important role in the global economy, in
Baja California, Mexico; these companies represent 99.5% of all economic units, employ 61.2% of the
workforce and contribute 43.7% total gross production in the state. Given the need to ensure their
permanence in the market facing the competition from both, larger companies and those of similar size in
the State and in California, richest state bordering North America, Baja California MSMEs should
improve their competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the situation of these companies in
Baja California, and the historical evolution of its participation in quality management processes. To
dispel myths about possible limitations of MSMEs, we used the results of the study of Drs. Singhal and
Hendricks, and the results of an academic exercise involving 104 volunteer leaders of Tijuana’s MSMEs
in order to identify areas of opportunity that allow these companies to develop strategies to direct their
efforts to implement a culture of quality management.

RESUMEN

Las Micro, Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas (MiPyMEs) juegan un importante rol en la economía
mundial, en Baja California, México, estas empresas representan el 99.5% del total de las unidades
económicas, emplean al 61.2% del personal y contribuyen con un 43.7% de la producción bruta total del
estado. Ante la necesidad de lograr su permanencia en el mercado haciendo frente a la competencia que
representan, tanto las empresas de mayor tamaño como las de tamaño similar en el Estado, así como en
California, estado fronterizo más rico de Norte América, las MiPyMEs Bajacalifornianas deben mejorar
su competitividad. El objetivo del documento es analizar la situación de estas empresas en Baja
California, así como la evolución histórica de su participación en procesos de gestión de calidad. Para
desvanecer los mitos en torno a posibles limitaciones de las MiPyMEs, se utilizaron los resultados del
estudio de los Doctores Singhal y Hendricks, así como los resultados de un ejercicio académico en el que
participaron 104 voluntarios dirigentes de MiPyMEs de la ciudad de Tijuana, con el fin de identificar
áreas de oportunidad que permitan a estas empresas crear estrategias para encaminar sus esfuerzos a la
implementación de una cultura de gestión de la calidad.

BIOGRAFIA

Patricia Valdés Flores es Licenciada en Administración de Empresas por la Universidad Autónoma del
Noreste, Maestra en Administración Internacional y Doctora en Psicología por CETYS Universidad.
Catedrática de la Escuela de Administración y Negocios de CETYS Universidad, Campus Tijuana.
patricia.valdes@cetys.mx

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VIOLENCIA Y DESERCIÓN DE ESTUDIANTES DE
EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR
María Guadalupe Durazo Bringas, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Bertha Guadalupe Ojeda García, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.

RESUMEN

En el presente trabajo se realizará un análisis sobre los factores que influyen en los estudiante para que
estos tengan un buen rendimiento académico, un ejemplo analizado fue la violencia vivida en sus
hogares y fuera de éste, ya sea física, psicológica, económica o sexual, siendo la deserción escolar una
consecuencia de lo anteriormente expuesto.Este es un estudio de caso que analiza los factores
multidisciplinarios que inciden en la deserción escolar y la relación que existe entre la violencia con el
rendimiento académico de los estudiantes de educación superior. Los resultados se desprenden de dos
investigaciones simultáneas, con objetos de estudios similares entre ambos trabajos que mantienen la
hipótesis central de que la violencia es un factor de riesgo para la deserción escolar.En dichos trabajos
se desarrollaron metodologías cuantitativas, debido a que se aplicaron encuestas que generaron
indicadores que permitieron hacer una propuesta para mejorar el desempeño académico de los
estudiantes y con ello profundizar en el entendimiento de los factores que inciden en deserción escolar.

PALABRAS CLAVES: Violencia, deserción escolar, rendimiento académico.

VIOLENCE AND DESERTION OF STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

Our aim is to make an analysis of the factors that influence the student so that they could have a good
academic archievement, an example analyzed was violence lived in their homes and out of this, whether
physical, psychological, economic or sexual, being the school dropout rates a consequence of the
foregoing.This is a case study that analyzes the multidisciplinary factors that affect the school drop-out
and the relationship that exists between the violence with the academic archievement of students in higher
education. The results are from two simultaneous investigations, with objects of similar studies between
the two works which maintain the central hypothesis that violence is a risk factor for the school dropout
rate. In both researches, quantitative methodology, because surveys were applied that generated
indicators that allowed to make a proposal to improve the academic performance of students and with
this deepen your understanding of the factors that affect school drop-out.

KEY WORDS: Violence, school desertion, academic achievement.

JEL: Z19

KEY WORDS: Violence, school dropout, academic performance.

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INTRODUCCIÓN

La violencia se ha convertido en un grave problema social que esta impactando y dominando en gran
medida a nuestra sociedad, sin distinguir clase social, religión, sexo, edad, raza o nivel educativo. Las
universidades no han quedado exentas de que sus estudiantes la padezcan ocasionando que no apliquen
todo su potencial, alejándose de lograr la calidad educativa y la mejora continua, siendo esto, una
constante en este mundo globalizado. Es por esta razón que se realizó este trabajo, en el que se analizan
los porcentajes y los factores que provocan la violencia y las consecuencias de quienes la padecen, no
solo en el ámbito emocional, sino en el familiar y educativo, ocasionando, en muchos de los casos, la
deserción escolar.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Según cifras del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, la violencia tiene un costo en América Latina de
poco más de 160 millones de dólares (Del Valle, 2001). En las estadísticas realizadas por INEGI (2003)
sobre violencia en nuestro país, se encuentra que: en uno de cada tres hogares del área metropolitana de la
ciudad de México, se registra algún tipo de violencia, la violencia en nuestro país es responsable del 90%
de los casos de menores de la calle. El 86% de niñas que viven en situación de calle fueron abusadas
sexualmente por su padre, padrastro o algún familiar cercano.

Las estadísticas sobre la violencia en el Estado de Sonora son muy similares, según la Encuesta Nacional
sobre Dinámica de las Relaciones de los Hogares (INEGI, 2006), son objeto de violencia emocional e
38% de las mujeres jóvenes casadas o en unión libre. Este tipo de violencia incluye menosprecios,
amenazas, prohibiciones, amedrentamientos, entre otros. Señala que 48 de cada 100 mujeres sonorenses
de 15 a 29 años de edad declaró haber sido objeto de al menos un incidente de violencia en el año 2006.

En el municipio de Hermosillo, según la Encuesta Municipal de la Juventud (2008), el 15.8% de los
jóvenes del municipio han sufrido violencia física, el 12.2% violencia psicológica y el 1.9% violencia
sexual el 19.4% son hombres y el 12.3% son mujeres que han recibido violencia física, el 0% de los
hombres y el 3.7% de las mujeres han recibido violencia sexual y el 8.2% de los hombres y el 16.2% de
las mujeres han recibido violencia psicológica. Los estudiantes universitarios no están exentos de sufrir la
violencia, inclusive muchos de ellos la han padecido y no se han percatado de ello, ya que desconocen
que la experimentan, aunque les afecta en su vida diaria y esto se refleja en algunas ocasiones en el
rendimiento académico y en muchos de los casos, llegando hasta la deserción.

La ANUIES (2001) afirma que es difícil conocer los porcentajes reales sobre deserción escolar
universitaria, debido a que las instituciones interpretan los resultados sobre este problema de diferente
manera, por lo que existe dificultad al tratar de hacer comparaciones entre las universidades. Sin embargo,
en algunos estudios realizados en México, se encontró que, tal como sucede a nivel internacional, existe
un alto índice de deserción de las universidades públicas y privadas, de alrededor del 32%, en promedio.
En una investigación realizada en la Universidad de Sonora, en 2007, se obtuvo que el índice de deserción
era de un 12.8%, para la cohorte 2005-2 (Pacheco y Burgos, 2007).

En el Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (CESUES), se han observado porcentajes que
van del 7% al 17%, aproximadamente, durante los últimos años. Para la carrera de Licenciado en
Comercio Internacional (L.C.I.) de la Unidad Académica Hermosillo, en el período escolar 2009-1, el

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índice de deserción fue del 16.62%, tomando en cuenta a todos los estudiantes que se encuentran en el
nuevo modelo educativo (Ojeda, 2009).

Existen muchos factores que provocan la deserción escolar universitaria, tales como la situación personal
que prevalece en cada estudiante: el nivel socioeconómico (en algunos casos, la necesidad de trabajo), el
proyecto de vida que tiene, la relación que tenga con su familia (donde toman importancia algunas
situaciones como la integración familiar, la monoparentalidad, la violencia intrafamiliar y la
promiscuidad), los antecedentes escolares, los estilos de aprendizaje, el nivel de exigencia y el nivel de
responsabilidad del alumno, lo que conlleva a la reprobación escolar reincidente (Tinto, V., 1989)

METODOLOGÍA

Las investigaciones en las que está basado este trabajo son propias, en ellas se manejó el enfoque
cuantitativo, debido a que se realizó un análisis de alumnos que pertenecen a una población grande. La
herramienta básica que utiliza este paradigma, para analizar los datos, es la estadística. Se realizó
considerando las siguientes características: no experimental (porque no hay manipulación premeditada de
las variables, se examinó a profundidad la evidencia observada); transversal (debido a que se aplicó una
encuesta una vez, es decir, se realizó en un solo momento); descriptiva (puesto que se colocó a una
muestra de alumnos en varias variables para describir a la población de estudio).

Metodología De La Investigación Sobre Violencia En Estudiantes Universitarios

La población de estudio para esta investigación, fueron estudiantes que se encontraban cursando el quinto
semestre de L. C. I., durante el período 2008-2. Se consideró que el tamaño de la población de estudio es
de 115 alumnos para calcular el tamaño de la muestra, con un margen de error del 5% y un nivel de
confianza del 95%. El tamaño de la muestra fue de 60 personas. Una vez que se realizó el cálculo
anterior, se procedió a elegir a los elementos de la muestra, a través de un proceso aleatorio simple.

Metodología De La Investigación Sobre Deserción En Estudiantes Universitarios

Los estudiantes que formaron parte de la población de estudio, se encontraban estudiando el segundo
semestre de la carrera antes mencionada, durante el período 2009-1, los cuales pertenecen a una parte del
alumnado que se encuentra en riesgo de abandonar los estudios, ya que, es en ese período, cuando se
presenta con mayor frecuencia la deserción escolar. Se consideró que el tamaño de la población de
estudio es de 138 individuos para calcular el tamaño de la muestra, con un margen de error del 5% y un
nivel de confianza del 95%. El tamaño de la muestra resultó de 102 individuos. Una vez que se realizó el
cálculo anterior, se procedió a elegir a las personas, a través de un proceso aleatorio simple.

RESULTADOS

Con respecto a su rendimiento académico este es el siguiente: El 58.3% tiene un promedio entre 8.0 y 8.9,
el 16.7% tiene un promedio de 9 a 9.5% y el 24.9% cuenta con un promedio de 9.6 a 10. Al preguntar a
los alumnos si habían sido víctimas de violencia el 61.7% manifestó que no y el 38.3% de los estudiantes
aceptó haber sido víctima de algún tipo de violencia. Las personas que violentaron a los estudiantes
fueron de su círculo más cercano consanguíneamente y sentimentalmente, el 30.4% manifestó que había
sido agredido por su padre, el 17.4% por su pareja y el 13% por su madre. Se efectuó una correlación de
variables para analizar quienes han recibido más violencia las mujeres o los varones, resultando que las

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mujeres han sido más violentadas que los hombres. De los jóvenes que fueron violentados el 8.3% señaló
que ha dejado de asistir a clases por esa causa, ocasionándole, retraso en sus tareas escolares, en la
capacidad de aprendizaje, que se reflejará más adelante en bajo rendimiento académico.

De los estudiantes violentados el 20% manifestó haber recibido violencia física, el 2.4% violencia sexual.
El 57.9% de los alumnos manifestaron que el ser víctimas de violencia les había afectado su rendimiento
académico, el 42.1% no lo consideraron así. Al efectuar un análisis de los alumnos que manifestaron
haber recibido algún tipo de violencia con su rendimiento académico, pudimos comprobar que los
alumnos que han sido violentados son los que tienen el promedio académico más bajo el cual oscila entre
8 a 8.9 y en este rango se encuentra el 78.26% de los estudiantes de Comercio Internacional, inscritos en
el quinto semestre (Durazo, 2011).

Con respecto al estudio sobre deserción universitaria, se encontró que la población del CESUES llega en
un porcentaje aproximado del 30% con condiciones desfavorables: trabajan y estudian simultáneamente,
pertenecen a familias con niveles socioeconómicos medio y bajo, y/o viven fuera de una estructura
familiar nuclear. Si bien estos factores no están presentes en la misma población, el porcentaje de
aproximadamente 30% en cada uno de estos aspectos si se mantiene, es decir, a CESUES acuden jóvenes
a los que se les llama “estudiante atípico”, es decir, aquél que se sale del modelo de estudiante de tiempo
completo para el que parecen estar hechas la mayoría de las universidades.

También se observó que, para el 43.3% de los alumnos que ingresan a la carrera, la institución (CESUES)
representa su segunda opción de interés es decir, la inclinación inicial de algunos de estos alumnos fue
ingresar a la Universidad de Sonora. Para el 19.6% de los estudiantes que ingresan a CESUES su carrera,
fue su segunda opción. Lo que lleva a pensar que la deserción se puede manifestar por una orientación
vocacional inapropiada. Lo que se encuentra ligado con el perfil de ingreso del alumno a las
universidades. Las autoridades de las mismas, deben tener siempre presente cuál es el perfil de ingreso
para cada carrera y no deben olvidarlo en el momento de la selección de los estudiantes, ya que esto
puede influir posteriormente en la permanencia o abandono estudiantil (Ojeda, 2009).

CONCLUSIONES

Una vez obtenidos y analizados los resultados de la investigación, se concluye que poco más de la tercera
parte de los estudiantes de la licenciatura en Comercio Internacional, manifestaron que sufrieron algún
tipo de violencia, sus victimarios se encuentran en su círculo de influencia más cercano, están
convencidos que el ser víctimas de violencia les afecta en su rendimiento académico y la encuesta verificó
este dato como fidedigno, ya que los alumnos que más han sido violentados son los que tienen el
promedio académico más bajo. Las estadísticas demostraron que sólo el 26.3% de los encuestados que
han vivido violencia han recurrido a solicitar ayuda de un profesional, mientras que el porcentaje restante
está haciendo frente a la problemática sin solicitar ningún tipo de apoyo, afectando su salud emocional.

Por lo tanto, podemos concluir que una persona que ha sido víctima de cualquier tipo de violencia, su
capacidad de aprendizaje se ve disminuida, provocando bajo rendimiento académico alejándose cada vez
más de: tener características de un estudiante con calidad educativa, ser individuos seguros, capaces,
proactivos, que trabajen colaborativamente, que buscan en todo momento la mejora continua y en
consecuencia puede presentarse la deserción escolar. Los resultados obtenidos obligan a reflexionar
respecto a la violencia y su consecuencia la deserción escolar en las instituciones de nivel superior,
específicamente en CESUES, que a pesar de los esfuerzos realizados a través del Programa Institucional

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de Tutorías y otros programas establecidos con la finalidad de reducir el índice de reprobación, el rezago
educativo y en consecuencia el índice de deserción escolar, se siguen dando porcentajes altos, lo que
significa que hace falta realizar otro tipo de acciones, para lograr disminuir tales indicadores.

REFERENCIAS

ANUIES (2001). Deserción, Rezago y Eficiencia Terminal en las IES. Propuesta metodológica para su
estudio. México: ANUIES, Dirección de servicios editoriales.

Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora (2007). Estadística Básica, ciclo escolar 2007-2008.
Hermosillo, Sonora, México: s/e.

Del Valle, S. (2001, 21 de marzo). La violencia intrafamiliar afecta a siete de cada 10 hogares en México.
Cimac. Principal. Recuperado el 25 de noviembre de 2010.
http://www.cimac.org.mx/noticias/01mar/0132112.html

Durazo, M. (2011), Relación de la violencia con el rendimiento académico de estudiantes del quinto
semestre de la licenciatura en comercio internacional del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de
Sonora, Unidad Académica Hermosillo, y sus efectos en la calidad educativa (Tesis de Maestría, Centro
de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora). Hermosillo, Sonora, México.

Encuesta Municipal de la Juventud (2008). Hermosillo: Ayuntamiento de Hermosillo

INEGI. (2003). Estadísticas a propósito del día Internacional para la eliminación de la violencia contra las
mujeres, Datos Nacionales, Recuperado el 12 de octubre del 2010, de
http://www.inegi.gob.mx/contenidos/español/prensa/contenidos/estadisticas/2003/violencia03

INEGI. (2006). Encuesta Nacional de la Dinámica de las Relaciones en los Hogares ENDIREH 2006,
Panorama de violencia contra las mujeres, Recuperado el 05 de noviembre del 2010, de
http://www.unece.org/stats/gender/vaw/surveys/Mexico/MexicoENDIREH2006REPORT

Ojeda, B. (2009). Factores que inciden en la deserción de estudiantes de la Licenciatura en Comercio
Internacional del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. (Tesis de Maestría, Universidad
del Valle de México). Hermosillo, Sonora, México.

Tinto, V. (1989). Definir la deserción: una cuestión de perspectiva. . Recuperado el Septiembre 30 del
2008 en: http://matematicas.reduaz.mx/DES/k/deser .

BIOGRAFÍAS

Bertha Guadalupe Ojeda García, es Ingeniera Química con Especialidad en Alimentos, Maestra en
Desarrollo de Competencias Docentes, Profesora Asociada 3, adscrita a la Licenciatura en Comercio
Internacional del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. Se puede contactas en Ley Federal
del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora, México, C.P. 83100 Correo electrónico
bettyojedagar@hotmail.com y tel. (662) 2153778 ext. 118 y 21408662

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María Guadalupe Durazo Bringas, es Licenciada en Administración Pública, Maestra en Administración
de la Calidad, Profesora Asociada 3 adscrita a la Licenciatura en Comercio Internacional del Centro de
Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. Se puede contactar en Ley Federal del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo,
Hermosillo, Sonora, México, C.P. 83100. Correo electrónico lupitadzo@hotmail.com, y tel.: (662)
2153778 ext.118 y 48 05 22

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¿POR QUÉ HIZO CRISIS EL SISTEMA EDUCATIVO
CHILENO?: EVIDENCIA Y ESPECULACIÓN
Paulina Hidalgo Pérez, Universidad de Santiago de Chile

RESUMEN

La última gran reforma al sistema educativo chileno tuvo lugar hace treinta años, en 1981. Aquella
transformación incluyó: la redefinición del sistema universitario y la municipalización de la educación
general, es decir, el traspaso de la administración del sistema escolar a los ‘gobiernos locales’, lo que se
traduce en una doble dependencia de los establecimientos educacionales.Una década más tarde, junto
con el retorno a la democracia, se generaron una serie de políticas tendientes a mejorar los pobres
índices en materia de acceso. La consigna en los ’90 fue ampliar la cobertura, esto es, destinar recursos
para que más niños ingresen al sistema escolar, reducir las tasas de analfabetismo e incrementar la
retención. Sin embargo, los años venideros develarían los vicios que generó este ‘crecimiento
inorgánico’ de la cobertura: empeoramiento en la calidad de la educación, desvalorización de la
profesión docente, fuertes carencias en infraestructura y pobre cualificación de los sostenedores.En 2006
estalló la ‘revolución pingüina’ y en 2011 miles de jóvenes salieron a las calles para exigir mejoras
estructurales al sistema de educación superior, básicamente porque la configuración de éste ha llevado a
que miles de recién graduados asuman deudas millonarias, como consecuencia de la obtención de un
grado universitario.

PALABRAS CLAVES: sistema educativo, sistema escolar, educación superior.

WHY DID THE CHILEAN EDUCATION SYSTEM GO INTO CRISIS?:
EVIDENCE AND SPECULATION

ABSTRACT

The last great reform in the Chilean education system took place 30 years ago, in 1981. That
transformation included: the redefinition of the university system and the municipalisation of the
education in general, this is, the transfer of the administration of the school system to “local
governments”, which translates in a double independence for the educational establishments. A decade
later, together with the return of democracy, a series of policies were generated to improve the poor
indexes in matters of access. The slogan in the 90´s was to broaden the coverage, this is, to destined
resources so that more children could get into the school system, reduce the illiteracy rates and to
increase retention. However, the coming years would reveal the vices that this “inorganic growth” of
coverage generated: worsening of the quality of education, devaluation of the teaching profession, strong
deficiency in infrastructure and poor qualifications of the holders. In 2006 the “revolución pingüina”
(the penguin revolution) broke out and in 2011 thousand of young people took to the streets demanding
structural improvements to the higher education system, basically because its configuration has led to
thousands of new graduates to have millions in debt, as a consequence for obtaining their university
degree.

JEL: A20, M20

KEYWORDS: educational system, school system, higher education.

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INTRODUCCIÓN

La educación superior en Chile está en crisis y sus efectos han sido ampliamente difundidos por los
medios de comunicación locales y extranjeros; lo que permitirá al lector hacerse una idea del complejo
escenario que enfrentamos. El sistema educativo en su conjunto parece haber tocado fondo, entre otras
razones porque ha sido incapaz de responder a los requerimientos de una economía en crecimiento,
porque lejos de cerrar las brechas que se generan entre los ciudadanos que nacen en diferentes estratos
socio-económicos, ha contribuido a profundizarlas. Este documento contextualiza nuestro actual sistema
educativo chileno, develando algunas de sus virtudes y evidenciando parte de sus principales carencias.
Quien puede discutir o cuestionar que el siglo XXI es y será el tiempo en que predominen las economías
del conocimiento. Ya en los ‘90, diversos autores apostaban porque esta ‘nueva era’ estaría dominada por
la información y el saber, de hecho, en la actualidad hablamos de sociedades basadas en la innovación y
el desarrollo, las que sustentan el crecimiento (económico) en la gestión de los intangibles. Atestiguamos
como las sociedades que se caracterizan por ser intensivas en capital humano han generado mejores
resultados y más oportunidades de desarrollo (y bienestar) a sus nacionales. En ese contexto, parece ser la
educación chilena está en deuda con sus nacionales.

La evidencia disponible sugiere que hacia mediados de la primera década de este siglo, cerca del 80% de
las actividades productivas de las economías más desarrolladas están basadas en el conocimiento
(Carrillo: 2005). En ellas el crecimiento se ha relacionado con aumentos en la productividad, el que está
relacionado con una dotación de mejores recursos, por ejemplo, en disponer de un mercado del trabajo
más cualificado. Caben las interrogantes: ¿qué hemos hecho en materia formación de capital humano y
qué podemos hacer?, ¿formamos capital humano, o más bien nos hemos estancado en la intencionalidad?

Contexto de la Educación en Chile

Al observar la historia reciente de nuestro país, es posible identificar una serie de iniciativas tendientes a
introducir reformas al sistema educativo- a través las cuales se deben garantizar las condiciones de
entrada para la formación de capital humano. Las más recientes las encontramos al iniciar la década de los
’90, con el retorno a la democracia. En aquella época, se declaraba que la prioridad en materia
educacional era la necesidad de aumentar la cobertura del sistema, en otras palabras, los esfuerzos y los
recursos estuvieron destinados a lograr que más niños y niñas ingresaran al sistema escolar y más
importante aún, que se mantuvieran en él, es decir, los criterios predominantes fueron: cobertura y
retención. Donoso (2004) señala que, en materia educativa, las acciones adoptadas desde el retorno a la
democracia, observaron tres aspectos distintivos:

(i) A partir de la década del ‘80 los aportes presupuestarios al sector educación decrecieron. Se
ha estimado que los recursos asignados por la ley de presupuestos del año 1990 eran
equivalentes, en paridad de poder adquisitivo, al 72% del presupuesto de 1982 (González:
2003, en Donoso 2004),

(ii) Los menores aportes se tradujeron en un deterioro sostenido del sector educación, cuyos
impactos fueron evidentes varios años después. Considérese que el cambio en el sistema de
financiamiento y la municipalización del sistema escolar generaron efectos no sólo en el
alumnado, sino también en el profesorado; y

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(iii) la doble dependencia (Ministerio- Municipalidad o Ministerio- Corporación Municipal, según
sea el caso), a ratos ficticia, propició que los mecanismos de control y supervisión terminaran
quedando ‘en manos de nadie’.

A pesar de ello, los gobiernos democráticos instalados a partir de 1990, no introdujeron cambios
significativos, como precisara la OCDE (2009): “el gobierno de la transición a la democracia tomó la
decisión estratégica de no revertir el proceso de municipalización ni cambiar el modelo y mecanismos de
financiamiento establecidos en 1981”; los que se subentendió como una forma de validación.

Entre los mecanismos de apoyo a la política pública educacional (particularmente en lo referido al
incremento de la cobertura del sistema escolar) surgieron los Programas MECE(1) y P-900(2). Éste
último definió como alcance a las 900 escuelas más vulnerables del país y tenía por objetivo reforzar la
actividad docente, es decir, se dirigía a los profesores, estudiantes y sus familias, otorgándoles acceso a
beneficios a través de los cuales fuera posible mitigar el impacto de las diferencias socioeconómicas en el
proceso de aprendizaje (Bustamante: 2006). Estos programas, fueron diseñados para sentar las bases que
soportarían el proceso de reforma educacional que, más tarde sería impulsado.

Cabe mencionar que la implementación de estos programas fue la última de las grandes reformas
educacionales efectuadas en nuestro país (la llamada “reforma educativa neoliberal”). Diez años después
(ya iniciada la década del noventa) el analfabetismo había disminuido y los años de escolaridad media
habían aumentado, pero la calidad de la educación no guardaba relación con la mayor cobertura. En
términos simples: la estructura del sistema, hasta hoy, no ha cambiado.

A lo largo de los ’90 la política educativa estuvo orientada, por la financiación de proyectos de
mejoramiento educativo (destinados a apoyar iniciativas innovadoras en el aula). Entre ellos, cabe
destacar el surgimiento del programa enlaces, fue planteado como un medio para que los establecimientos
pudiesen disponer de recursos computacionales, y la creación de una subvención diferenciada de
ruralidad, la que tuvo por objetivo asumir y compensar las diferencias y carencias inherentes a este sector.
Hacia fines de la década se inicia la última de las reformas educacionales que nuestro país ha
experimentado. Ésta fue diseñada en base a cuatro ejes (García- Huidobro: 1999):

(i) fortalecimiento de la profesión docente,

(ii) implementación de la jornada escolar completa,

(iii) la transferencia de recursos a través de programas para el mejoramiento en la calidad y
equidad, y

(iv) la transformación del curriculum educacional.

Todos estos cambios implicaron transformaciones significativas en la educación chilena, sin embargo,
estos no fueron todo lo auspiciosos que se esperaba. Se pudo constatar que la brecha observable entre los
sectores socioeconómico más acomodados y más desposeídos se había intensificado, en otras palabras, la
reforma no logró disminuir las desigualdades. Como sentenció el informe Desarrollo Humano para Chile
2002, elaborado por el Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD): “la sociedad chilena es
la segunda más desigual de América Latina tras Brasil, y es una de las más desiguales del mundo”.¿Por

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qué las acciones adoptadas durante una década (entre las que se incluyó una mayor destinación de
recursos, políticas para el fortalecimiento de la profesión docente, mayor cobertura y mecanismos para el
mejoramiento de la equidad y la calidad) en la práctica no han logrado reducir la brecha entre los
estudiantes más pobres y los más ricos?

Probablemente porque las acciones emprendidas no alteraron un ápice el fondo del sistema, en otras
palabras ninguno de los esfuerzos se orientó a corregir el desentendimiento que asumió (durante los ’80)
el estado en materia educativa, no cambió la estructura frágilmente reguladora de un sistema competitivo
y asimétrico (en el sentido puramente económico), donde los criterios de calidad guardan una estrecha
relación con el ‘precio del bien’, aparentemente nuestro país había internalizado en el hecho que la
educación es un bien de consumo. Frente a este escenario no parecía lejana la generación de una respuesta
desde la sociedad, la que ha tomado la forma de los llamados ‘indignados’; fórmula que en poco tiempo
se ha globalizado.En cualquier caso, y volviendo sobre el punto anterior (políticas educativas), sabemos
que hasta el final de la década del ‘90, las acciones y decisiones incorporadas a la definición de las
políticas diseñadas para el sector, estuvieron centradas en la educación general (básica y media), por
tanto, las mediciones de logro estuvieron dadas por indicadores asociados a este segmento, a saber:

(i) evaluaciones de alcance nacional como el SIMCE(3) o la PAA; hoy llamada PSU(4) y

(ii) evaluaciones de alcance internacional, como la prueba PISA(5).

Las primeras (SIMCE y PSU) muestran la importante brecha que existe entre los resultados obtenidos por
los estudiantes de los colegios municipalizados versus los que se forman en colegios particulares pagados,
y la segunda (PISA) revela que la educación chilena, comparada con el resto de los países participantes de
la medición: “no aprueba”. En términos simples, nuestro sistema educativo es desigual y deficitario en el
contexto global.Teniendo estos elementos como condiciones de entrada, es decir, un sistema escolar
débil, desigual y excluyente: ¿qué podemos esperar del sistema universitario?, ¿puede la educación
terciaria corregir las distorsiones que ha generado la educación general? La evidencia sugiere que no.

Considérese que la última reforma a la educación superior se produjo en 1981. Esta transformación, en
términos muy someros: desarticuló a las instituciones universitarias que hasta ese entonces existían,
creando las llamadas: universidades tradicionales y derivadas (las segundas, nacieron sobre la base de las
sedes regionales de las primeras); constituyéndose en las veinticinco (25) instituciones que integran el
Honorable Consejo de Rectores de Universidades Chilenas (CRUCH), el actual escenario universitario
incluye otras treinta y cinco instituciones privadas (universidades privadas). La principal diferencia entre
las primeras y las segundas es que las llamadas “tradicionales” reciben aportes fiscales directos- los que
representan una cifra que bordea el 30% del total de sus ingresos(6) – mientras que las segundas sólo
pueden recibir aportes fiscales indirectos (que son consecuencia de la calidad de los alumnos que ingresan
a ellas- puntajes de ingreso-). En consecuencia, nuestro actual sistema educativo además de desigual y
deficitario, cuenta con mecanismos que, por la vía de premiar la excelencia, generan aportes estatales a
los segmentos más acomodados de la sociedad; o sea, se genera una suerte de subsidio indirecto que
favorece a los estudiantes provenientes de los sectores más ricos y se castiga a los jóvenes de origen
vulnerable.Aparentemente, nuestro actual sistema educativo precisa de una reforma profunda, pero ¿en
base a qué reformar? El actual contexto requiere, al menos, de una definición clara de dos elementos:

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(i) definir ¿qué hacer? en educación y ¿para qué?, esto es, establecer una estrategia para el
desarrollo de la educación en el país, y

(ii) explorar experiencias exitosas en esta materia. En este punto resulta clave identificar buenas
prácticas, siendo cuidadoso en observar el contexto en que éstas se generan- cómo, por qué y
para qué- ejercicio que aparentemente, no hemos hecho. En otras palabras, la determinación
de una agenda en materia educativa debe contener la especificación primaria de ¿qué sistema
educativo queremos y cómo este será capaz de soportar el desarrollo económico y social del
país?, además de otorgar mayores niveles de bienestar a sus ciudadanos.

El Sistema Educativo Chileno

En nuestro país, el sistema educacional se encuentra estructurado sobre la base de tres ciclos formativos
claramente diferenciados; siendo sólo uno de ellos obligatorio. Éstos son:

(i) Educación pre-escolar (o parvularia), ésta no es obligatoria y abarca desde la sala cuna
hasta el jardín de niños. Este ciclo atiende a niños de hasta seis años;

(ii) Educación general, la que se divide en:

a. enseñanza básica, sub-ciclo que tiene una duración de ocho (8) años y la edad
mínima para ingresar es de seis (6) años; y

b. enseñanza media, cuya duración es de cuatro (4) años, y

(iii) Educación superior, la que se imparte a través de tres tipos de instituciones: centros de
formación técnica (en adelante CFT), institutos profesionales (en adelante IP) y
universidades(7). En la práctica, existe un cuarto tipo de instituciones: las escuelas de
formación de las fuerzas armadas y de orden y seguridad(8).
(iv) En Chile la educación pre-escolar tiene por objetivo apoyar el desarrollo integral del los
niños. Ésta es provista a través de establecimientos públicos y privados, los primeros
dependientes de la Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles (JUNJI). Este ciclo no es
obligatorio. En materia de análisis estadístico este segmento ofrece algunas dificultades,
primero los establecimientos privados no tienen obligación de entregar información
respecto a la matrícula vigente, por lo que, no es posible disponer de datos precisos en
materia de cobertura. De acuerdo a los datos de la CASEN(9) 2009, el segmento que
agrupa al 20% más rico de la población (quinto quintil) un 57% de los niños están
matriculados en el sistema pre-escolar, la cobertura media nacional está en torno al 42%,
siendo las regiones con mayor porcentaje de cobertura la Región Metropolitana de
Santiago y la Región de Los Lagos (con 63,8 y 63,1 respectivamente). Casi una década
antes, en el año 2000, la cobertura promedio nacional era un poco menor al 33%(10).

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Figura 1: Diagrama de la estructura del sistema educativo chileno

Fuente: Elaboración propia.

Objetivamente sólo en los últimos años esta etapa formativa ha sido considerada en la agenda de
gobierno, probablemente porque frente a una sociedad cada vez más igualitaria en términos de acceso al
trabajo, el mayor número de madres trabajadoras ha incrementado la demanda por salas cuna y jardines
infantiles, incluido el segmento de menores recursos, que es el que atiende el gobierno a través de la
JUNJI.La educación obligatoria se extiende desde primer año básico (primer año de educación primaria)
hasta cuarto año medio (último año de educación secundaria). Se trata de un sistema descentralizado y de
administración mixta, dado que la provisión pública radica en las municipalidades, pero la definición de
las políticas educativas y la fijación de objetivos y contenidos mínimos es responsabilidad del Ministerio
de Educación. La provisión se efectúa a través de:

(i) establecimientos públicos (dependientes directamente de las municipalidades o bien de
corporaciones municipales),

(ii) colegios particular subvencionados (establecimientos privados que reciben aportes
estatales, a través del sistema de subvenciones), y

(iii) colegios privados.

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La diferencia entre ellos radica en que: a los primeros asisten los hijos de familias que no tienen la
capacidad de pagar (o co-pagar) para que sus hijos asistan a otros establecimientos(11), éstos además
están caracterizados porque cada grupo curso se compone de entre 40 y 45 estudiantes (pudiendo en
algunos casos exceder este número), y porque no necesariamente disponen de los mejores profesores. Los
terceros (privados) en cambio, establecen grupos (cursos) que no exceden los 30 alumnos (en muchos de
ellos, los grupos bordean los 15 estudiantes), y se esfuerzan por contratar a los mejores profesores
disponibles (ofreciendo para ellos mejores niveles de renta y/ o mayores beneficios). Los establecimientos
subvencionados son una especie de promedio entre los primeros y los segundos, y por cierto, son los más
numerosos. Los resultados de la encuesta CASEN 2009 muestran que la cobertura del sub-ciclo:
educación básica, está por encima del 99%.

En cuanto al sub-ciclo educación media, cabe hacer notar la existencia de dos modalidades: científico-
humanista y técnico- profesional; la primera orientada a entregar la formación académica suficiente para
que los jóvenes ingresen al sistema de educación superior, la segunda destinada a que los jóvenes egresen
del sistema escolar con una certificación que les permita ingresar al mercado del trabajo. Para este
segmento la cobertura estimada a partir de la CASEN 2009 es el 93%. Téngase presente que la educación
secundaria sólo se hizo obligatoria a partir de 2003, con la promulgación de la ley 19.876; con
anterioridad (y desde 1965) la escolaridad obligatoria estaba fijada en ocho (8) años(12).

Dadas las características de unos y otros establecimientos (municipalizados, particular subvencionados y
privados), en nuestro país las familias se esfuerzan por enviar a sus hijos al mejor colegio posible (o al
mejor que puedan pagar), entre otras razones porque a través de ello buscan garantizar que, al momento
de egresar de la educación general tenga mayores posibilidades de cursar estudios superiores
(específicamente universitarios), fundamentalmente porque se ha instalado en nuestro imaginario la idea
que la universidad es, prácticamente, la única opción de educación superior posible. En cuanto a la
educación superior, el sistema chileno incluye universidades estatales (dieciséis), particulares
tradicionales (nueve) y privadas (treinta y cinco). Las universidades pueden otorgar titulaciones técnicas-
universitarias, títulos profesionales y grados académicos (licenciaturas, magíster y doctorados).

En cuanto a los centros de formación técnica e institutos profesionales, el caso chileno no observa
significativas diferencias (y deficiencias) comparada con otros países de la región, “los problemas de
nuestro país son más o menos los de toda la región” (Castro y García: 2003 en Bernasconi: 2006). “en
nuestro país el sector público está completamente ausente de la provisión de servicios educacionales en
el nivel técnico”; es decir, en nuestro país no existe provisión pública de educación superior no
universitaria, es decir, este sector ha sido absolutamente transferido a los privados, por lo que, las
relaciones que en él se generan responden a criterios y premisas de mercado (ajuste entre oferta y
demanda). El incremento que ha experimentado la demanda por educación superior universitaria ha
llevado a que el número de establecimientos se haya multiplicado de manera importante en las últimas
décadas, en desmedro de la formación técnico-profesional (en la que, como ya se mencionó, el estado no
participa), acompañado del consecuente desequilibrio entre fuerza laboral profesional y técnica.

Las estadísticas disponibles en el Servicio de Información de Educación Superior (SIES) indican que más
del 60% de la matrícula del sistema de educación superior está en las universidades, el 40% restante se
divide entre Centros de Formación Técnica, Institutos Profesionales y Escuelas Superiores de las Fuerzas
Armadas y de Orden y Seguridad. Cabe mencionar en este punto, como variable relevante, la presión que
el aumento en los años de escolaridad obligatoria ha generando en el sistema de educación superior, en
palabras de Redondo

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(2007): “la ampliación de la cobertura escolar obligatoria a 12 años ha traído como consecuencia la
saturación de la educación media y, con ello, el aumento del número de años necesario para alcanzar
mayores ingresos (MIDEPLAN, 2004). Esto, en vez de diversificar las preferencias aspiracionales entre
las distintas instancias de enseñanza superior, prácticamente convirtió a la educación universitaria en el
único nivel que permite lograr la movilidad social…” Realidad que ha provocado importantes
incrementos en la oferta y demanda. La primera implica que más jóvenes quieren ingresar a las
universidades, pero estudiantes egresados de colegios privados obtienen mejores resultados, por tanto,
ocupan las vacantes disponibles en las mejores universidades.

Los estudiantes que obtienen peores resultados deberán contentarse con ingresar a universidades de
menor prestigio, las que a su vez se ven inducidas a ‘ajustar a la baja las exigencias’, dado que reciben
estudiantes peor preparados, activando un círculo vicioso. Meller (2011) propone un ejercicio interesante,
efectúa una estimación tendiente a determinar cuánto valor agrega a los jóvenes chilenos el desarrollar
estudios universitarios, y llega a un valor sorprendentemente alto, el que rápidamente explica “el valor
agregado de la educación universitaria chilena es alto respecto de la base de comparación, la cual
corresponde a la educación media…”, conclusión, en el caso chileno: un sistema escolar precario es lo
que provoca que la educación universitaria agregue tanto valor a sus egresados. Otro elemento que
permite constatar esta realidad es el resultado de la prueba PISA para Chile, en la medición 2009, nuestro
país estuvo por debajo de todos los países de la OCDE(13), valor que se considera de referencia, dado que
Chile integra este organismo. Como se mencionó, dentro del sistema de educación superior, el sector
universitario predomina; lo que sugiere la necesidad de plantear algunas precisiones:

(i) Incremento significativo de la oferta. Meller señala que mientras en el año 2000 la
matrícula nueva estaba en torno a los treinta mil (30.000) alumnos por año, en 2010 esta
superó la barrera de los ciento cincuenta mil (150.000), es decir, ésta se más que
quintuplicó en una década.

(ii) Alto costo de los aranceles. Una de las características distintivas del sistema educativo
chileno, especialmente del sector universitario, es su alto costo, lo que ha llevado a
desarrollar mecanismos que posibiliten su financiamiento. Históricamente los estudiantes
matriculados en alguna de las veinticinco universidades tradicionales(14), han podido
optar al Fondo Solidario de Crédito Universitario(15). Pero el incremento de la matricula
en instituciones privadas (cuyos estudiantes no pueden acceder a este crédito) obligó a
idear nuevas alternativas de financiamiento, en ese contexto surgió el Crédito con Aval
del Estado (CAE)(16), un crédito que el alumno adquiere con el sistema bancario y cuya
tasa de interés anual es cercana al 6%.

Consideraciones Finales

Chile no ha sido capaz de definir una estrategia de desarrollo que se fundamente en el fortalecimiento de
la educación, en la práctica, las transformaciones que ha experimentado el sistema educativo chileno
responden a situaciones de crisis o contingencia más que a un plan nacional(17) para el sector.Los países
desarrollados han considerado que la educación es uno de los pilares que soporta el proceso de desarrollo
de las naciones; definiendo modelos de desarrollo basados en el conocimiento. En cambio, nuestro país
aún basa el modelo de desarrollo en la industria primario-exportadora, o al menos, ésta continúa siendo
preponderante.Con todo, es oportuno reconocer los avances que nuestro sistema educativo ha
experimentado en los últimos años. Entre los cambios introducidos en esta materia está:

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(i) Aumento de la cobertura en todas las etapas del proceso formativo. En la actualidad más
niños y jóvenes acceden al sistema educativo; paree razonable sostener que la mayor
matrícula en el ciclo preescolar s explica por el mayor número de familias en que ambos
padres trabajan, por lo que, este ciclo se ha transformado en un mecanismo de apoyo para
estas familias. Las tasas de cobertura por sobre el 90% observadas en la educación
general, responderían en gran medida a la obligatoriedad de ésta; situación que a su vez
ha presionado que más jóvenes opten por ingresar a al educación superior. En la práctica,
cursas estudios en éste ciclo es el que permite acceder a más y mejores trabajos.

(ii) La evidencia disponible permite sostener que los resultados educativos (en términos de
logro) se relacionan directamente con el origen socioeconómicos de los niños y jóvenes,
así los estudiantes provenientes de sectores más pobres presentan un desempeño inferior
al de los estudiantes provenientes de familias más acomodadas.

(iii) En 2003 se establece que la educación obligatoria se extenderá por doce años,
modificación que tiene lugar a casi cuarenta años de fijado la anterior ley de instrucción
primaria obligatoria (1965) que establecía como obligatorio al sub-ciclo de enseñanza
básica. Como antecedente histórico cabe mencionar que en 1920 se establece, por primera
vez, la obligatoriedad de la educación primaria, que entonces se extendía por cuatro años,
nueve años más tarde (1929) el ciclo primario se extiende a seis años. En 1965 se
establece que la educación primaria se extenderá por ocho años.

(iv) En los últimos años se ha evidenciado un incremento significativo de las tasas de
alfabetización en nuestro país, llegando a cifras que superan el 95%; sin embargo, las
características del mundo moderno hacen que saber leer y escribir no sean capacidades
especialmente valoradas, porque se asume que es una característica que debe ser
inherente a los individuos; en este escenario surge el concepto de alfabetización digital.
Sobre este punto no se dispone de estadísticas, sin embargo, se estima que entre los
adultos mayores de 40 años la cifra es significativa. Considérese que en la actualidad
tener competencias en el uso de computadores es casi un requisito de entrada al mercado
laboral.

(v) La última de las reformas que observó el fondo del sistema incluyó la introducción de una
modificación en el curriculum del ciclo general (enseñanza básica y media) y la
sustitución de la prueba de aptitud académica (PAA) por la actual prueba de selección
universitaria (PSU)(18); modificación que en alguna medida cambió el foco de lo que se
buscaba evaluar. Sin embargo, aún no ha sido posible demostrar que estas pruebas
constituyen un predictor de éxito en el desempeño de los jóvenes en la educación
superior. Adicionalmente cabe señalar que existe evidencia para sostener que:

(vi) “la PSU actúa como un instrumento de legitimación de las desigualdades sociales. Esta
prueba de selección ordena a los estudiantes que la rinden de acuerdo a los
conocimientos y habilidades que debieran haber adquirido en los dos primeros años de
la enseñanza media, por estar definidos como mínimos obligatorios. Ideológicamente, la
PSU es presentada como una medición objetiva, válida y confiable del mérito personal,
un ordenamiento legítimo de la capacidad y el esfuerzo de los jóvenes. El hecho de que

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sus condicionantes principales son de orden socioeconómico, de formación básica y de
contexto académico, y que la distribución de sus puntajes coincide estrictamente con la
distribución del ingreso, no forma parte de este discurso…” (Redondo:2007)

(vii) Más jóvenes quieren ingresar al sistema de educación superior. Mientras en el proceso
2004 (correspondiente a los jóvenes egresados de la educación media en 2003) un poco
más de 153.000 estudiantes inscritos rindieron la PSU (de unos 159.000 inscritos), el
proceso 2011 registró casi 290.000 inscritos de los que más de 250.000 efectivamente la
rindieron. Parece razonable sostener que en una década el número de postulantes al
sistema de educación (específicamente al sistema universitario) se duplicará, sin
embargo, los datos disponibles indican que para el mismo período la matrícula disponible
no aumentará en el mismo porcentaje, lo que redundará en que los jóvenes provenientes
de los sectores más vulnerables tengan menos opciones de cursas estudios superiores,
porque como se mencionó, ellos obtienen puntajes que no les permiten ser admitidos.

(viii) El mayor número de estudiantes ingresando al sistema de educación superior ha hecho
necesidad de establecer una batería de opciones de financiamiento, como se mencionó
antes, los aranceles universitarios hay incrementado su valor de forma sostenida, lo que
ha obligado a los jóvenes y sus familias a buscar alternativas de financiamiento, las que
en algunos casos (CAE) han provocado que al momento de egresar deban asumir
importantes deudas con el sistema bancario.

(ix) Durante la primera década del siglo XXI se estableció la política de formación de capital
humano avanzado, la que vino acompañada de una importante inyección de recursos,
todo ello con el fin de propiciar que profesionales chilenos desarrollaran sus estudios de
postgrado (magíster y doctorado) en el extranjero, de manera de acumular masa crítica
suficiente para impulsar un modelo de desarrollo basado en el conocimiento, emulando
(en alguna medida) lo que ha hecho las economías más desarrolladas.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Berger, Bernardo (2009). La educación chilena está en crisis. Análisis desde la mirada del municipalismo
regional. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.munitel.cl/file_admin/archivos_munitel/educa/educa11

Bloque Social (2006). La crisis educativa en Chile: diagnóstico y propuestas. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.opech.cl/bibliografico/calidad_equidad/Documento_Bloque_Social_Noviembre

Carrillo, Javier (2005). ¿Qué es la Economía del Conocimiento? Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.sistemasdeconocimiento.org/Materiales_de_Difusion/archivos_pdf/Que_es_la_EC

Chacón, Mónica (2003). Calidad y equidad en la educación media. Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional.
Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.bcn.cl/bibliodigital/pbcn/informes/estudios_pdf_informes/nro129

Consejo asesor presidencial. Chile (2008). Los desafíos de la educación superior chilena. Recuperado del
sitio web: http://www.ubiobio.cl/web/descargas/InformeCAPfinal

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Decreto con Fuerza de Ley 1, del 21 de febrero de 2006. Fija texto refundido, coordinado y sistematizado
de la Ley 18.962, Orgánica Constitucional de Enseñanza. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=247551

Donoso, Sebastian (2004). Reforma y Política Educacional en Chile 1990 -2004: El neoliberalismo en
crisis. Observatorio Chileno de Políticas Educativas. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.opech.cl/bibliografico/calidad_equidad/ReformaPoliticaEducacional_SDonoso

Donoso, Sebastian (2008). Políticas e instrumentos de financiación de estudios universitarios:
encrucijadas para el diseño de sistemas de financiamiento sustentables. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.scielo.br/pdf/ensaio/v16n60/v16n60a04

Ley 20.370 del 12 de septiembre de 2009. Establece la Ley General de Educación. Recuperado del sitio
web: http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=1006043

Meller, Patricio (2011). Universitarios, ¡el problema no es el lucro, es el mercado! Primera edición. Uqbar
editores. Santiago. Chile.

OCDE- Banco Mundial (2009) “Revisión de Políticas Nacionales de Educación: La Educación Superior
en Chile”. EducarChile. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://mt.educarchile.cl/MT/jjbrunner/archives/La%20Educaci%F3n%20Superior%20en%20Chile0407.p
df

OECD (2010) PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/34/60/46619703

Oppenheimer, Andrés (2010). Basta de Historias: la obsesión latinoamericana con el pasado y las doce
claves del futuro. Primera edición. Editorial Debate. Buenos Aires. Argentina.
Redondo, Jesús et.al. (2007). Cuando la suerte está echada: estudio cuantitativo de los factores asociados
al rendimiento en la PSU. Escuela de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Chile. Recuperado del sitio
web:
http://www.opech.cl/bibliografico/calidad_equidad/Estudio_sobre_la_PSU_Contreras_Corbalan_Redond
o

Redondo, Jesús (2009). La educación chilena en una encrucijada histórica. Recuperado del sitio web:
http://www.cidpa.cl/diversia/Numero1/art02

Villarroel, Katherine (2009) “Educación superior en Chile: el informe OCDE- Banco Mundial a la luz de
la estrategia de innovación”. Consejo Nacional de Innovación para la Competitividad. Recuperado del
sitio web: http://bligoo.com/media/users/3/181209/files/18813/EdSupOCDE-BM_CNIC

BIOGRAFÍA

Paulina Hidalgo Pérez es Magíster en Dirección de Empresas de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Valparaíso y Magíster en Gerencia Pública de la Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Profesor Instructor (I)
del Departamento de Administración de Universidad de Santiago de Chile, adscrito a las cátedras en el
área de Recursos Humanos. Se puede contactar en el Departamento de Administración, Universidad de

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Santiago de Chile, ubicado en Av. Lib. Bernardo O’Higgins 3363, Estación Central, Santiago de Chile.
Correo electrónico: paulina.hidalgo@usach.cl.

NOTAS

(1) MECE corresponde a las siglas de Mejoramiento de la Calidad y Equidad de la Educación. Se trata de
un programa cuya finalidad ha sido introducir mejoramientos e innovaciones en las prácticas pedagógicas
con la finalidad de mejorar la calidad de los insumos, procesos y resultados del sistema escolar chileno y
la equidad de su distribución y acceso. Referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.c5.cl/cz/html/mece.html
(2) Llamado también Escuelas Focalizadas. Este programa se centró en las escuelas municipales y rurales
cuyos estudiantes están en condición de vulnerabilidad social. Éste incluyó a 900 escuelas cuyo
denominador común era la carencia de recursos y las necesidades especiales, sea por la ubicación de ellas
o bien por el perfil de estudiantes que albergan. “El Programa de Mejoramiento de la Calidad de las
Escuelas Básicas de Sectores Pobres-Programa de las 900 Escuelas- nace en 1990 con el propósito de
apoyar el trabajo de docentes y directivos en el 10% de las escuelas de mayor vulnerabilidad educativa y
socioeconómica del país (…)pone especial énfasis en el desarrollo de competencias básicas en las áreas
de Lenguaje y Matemática, desarrollando una propuesta novedosa de talleres de perfeccionamiento para
profesores de primero a cuarto básico. Surgen así una serie de materiales educativos para alumnos y
docentes, que actúan como soporte de estos talleres de profesores y de las innovaciones propiciadas en el
aula”. Referencias tomadas del sitio web: http://biblioteca-
digital.ucentral.cl/documentos/libros/lintegrado2/capitulo%201.html
(3) “El SIMCE es el Sistema Nacional de Evaluación de resultados de aprendizaje del Ministerio de
Educación de Chile. Su propósito principal es contribuir al mejoramiento de la calidad y equidad de la
educación, informando sobre el desempeño de los estudiantes en diferentes subsectores del currículum
nacional, y relacionándolos con el contexto escolar y social en el que ellos aprenden”. Referencias
tomadas del sitio web: http://www.simce.cl/index.php?id=288&no_cache=1
(4) “Las pruebas de selección universitaria (PSU) son instrumentos de evaluación educacional que miden
la capacidad de razonamiento de los postulantes egresados de la Enseñanza Media, teniendo como medio,
los contenidos del Plan de Formación General de Lenguaje y Comunicación, de Matemática, de Historia y
Ciencias Sociales y de Ciencias. Esta última incluye a Biología, Física y Química”. Referencias tomadas
del sitio web: http://www.demre.cl/psu.htm
(5) “El Programa para la Evaluación Internacional de Alumnos de la OCDE (PISA, por sus siglas en
inglés), tiene por objeto evaluar hasta qué punto los alumnos cercanos al final de la educación obligatoria
han adquirido algunos de los conocimientos y habilidades necesarios para la participación plena en la
sociedad del saber. PISA saca a relucir aquellos países que han alcanzado un buen rendimiento y, al
mismo tiempo, un reparto equitativo de oportunidades de aprendizaje, ayudando así a establecer metas
ambiciosas para otros países” . Referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.oecd.org/document/25/0,3746,en_32252351_32235731_39733465_1_1_1_1,00.html
(6) Incluidas las universidades estatales, lo que se traduce en que las universidades estatales chilenas
deben generar mecanismos que permitan autofinanciar alrededor del 70% de sus presupuestos.
(7) A 2010 funcionaban en Chile setenta y tres (73) CFT, cuarenta y cuatro (44) IP y sesenta (60)
universidades. Los primeros (CFT e IP) están constituidos como instituciones de derecho privado,
mientras que en el caso de las universidades es posible distinguir entre: (i) instituciones estatales (de
derecho público)- dieciséis (16)-, (ii) instituciones particulares tradicionales (de derecho privado e

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integrantes del H. Consejo de Rectores)- nueve (9)- e (iii) instituciones privadas (Corporaciones o
Fundaciones de derecho privado)- treinta y cinco (35).
(8) En este ítem se incluyen las escuelas de oficiales y suboficiales del Ejército, de la Armada, de la
Fuerza Área, además de las escuelas de Carabineros, de la Policía de Investigaciones y de Gendarmería.
(9) Se trata de una “encuesta de hogares, de carácter transversal y multipropósito, es actualmente el
principal instrumento de medición socioeconómica para el diseño y evaluación de la política social
existente en el país…” referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.ministeriodesarrollosocial.gob.cl/casen/
(10) Referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.ministeriodesarrollosocial.gob.cl/casen/Estadisticas/educacion.html
(11) A excepción de los llamados ‘colegios emblemáticos’ que siendo municipales, gozan de reconocido
prestigio y calidad.
(12) Referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.bcn.cl/bibliodigital/pbcn/informes/estudios_pdf_informes/nro129
(13) La Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) declara que su misión “es
promover políticas que mejoren el bienestar económico y social de las personas alrededor del mundo”.
Referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,es_36288966_36288120_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
(14) Instituciones que integran el Honorable Consejo de Rectores de Universidades Chilenas.
(15) “Es un beneficio que se otorga a los estudiantes de las universidades del Consejo de Rectores, para
financiar parte o el total de los aranceles de las carreras (…) Se entrega a través de un crédito en Unidades
Tributarias Mensuales (UTM) con una tasa de interés anual del 2%…” referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.chileclic.gob.cl/1542/w3-article-46918.html
(16) Se trata de un crédito adquirido “con el sistema financiero, que está garantizado por la institución de
Educación Superior en la que estudia el alumno, y por el Estado, que será garante del estudiante hasta que
éste haya pagado por completo el crédito, una vez egresado. Está expresamente prohibido exigir otras
garantías, como por ejemplo, avales familiares (…) está expresado en UF y en 2010 tuvo una tasa de
interés anual aproximada del 5,8%…” Referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://www.uchile.cl/portal/admision-y-matriculas/aranceles-y-credito/credito-con-aval-del-
estado/50136/credito-con-garantia-estatal
(17) Por ejemplo, en enero de 2011, el gobierno irlandés, a través de su Ministerio de Educación
(Department of Education and Skills) publicó el documento “Estrategia nacional de educación superior al
2030” (“National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030); este escrito aborda temáticas a partir de las
cuales es posible desarrollar la estrategia para el sector (Documento elaborado por Strategy Group. El
informe completo puede encontrarse en el sitio web:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0111/educationreport )
(18) “La PAA se basaba en la medición de aptitudes referidas a contenidos enseñados en los colegios y
liceos hasta I° Medio. Respecto a las antiguas pruebas específicas, éstas sí estaban más vinculadas al
currículum escolar, pero varias de ellas no eran exigidas por todas las universidades” (…) las PSU “están
referidas a los contenidos seleccionados y determinados por el Consejo de Rectores (…) ellos
corresponden a una selección (…) que estableció los contenidos mínimos completos de I° a IV°
Medio…”. Estas pruebas (PSU) apuntan a medir los siguientes elementos: los contenidos básicos del

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currículum escolar; la capacidad de relacionar lo que se aprende y el logro de autonomía en el
aprendizaje; la capacidad de entender el contexto en que se aplican los conocimientos y las habilidades, y
el desarrollo de estructuras cognitivas de nivel superior. Referencias tomadas del sitio web:
http://psu.13.cl/comercial/psu/html/QueEs/143732.html

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INSEGURIDAD Y CONSUMO: CASO AUTLÁN DE
NAVARRO, JALISCO. MÉXICO
Cesar Amador Díaz Pelayo, Universidad de Guadalajara
Claudia Leticia Preciado Ortíz, Universidad de Guadalajara
Elsy Claudia Chan Gamboa, Universidad de Guadalajara
Carlos Manuel Orozco Santillán, Universidad de Guadalajara

RESUMEN
La situación de inseguridad que vive México debido a la delincuencia ha repercutido en varios aspectos
de la vida cotidiana, pero sobre todo en los últimos dos años se ha modificado el patrón de consumo de
su población. Ello provocado por la percepción de la inseguridad en los individuos, según INEGI entre el
2010 y el 2011 el promedio de la percepción sobre la inseguridad fue de 96.35, en una escala donde el 86
es el mínimo y 106 el máximo. La Coparmex anunció en 2011 que la inseguridad ha provocado en el
norte del país que el 50% de las empresas cambien de entidad a ciudades con índices menores de
delincuencia. Asimismo, otros estudios revelan el decremento en el consumo de giros como; bares,
conciertos, restaurantes, centros comerciales, cine, teatro y tiendas departamentales. Los índices
reportados sobre la inseguridad y consumo revelan datos de estudios realizados en zonas
metropolitanas. Sin embargo, no hay datos de ciudades medias y poblaciones rurales donde también se
manifiestan conflictos de inseguridad y por ende impactan la modificación de hábitos de consumo. Por
ello se realizó un breve estudio de acercamiento al conflicto, desde una perspectiva de ciudad media para
ver el posible impacto inseguridad y consumo.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Percepción sobre inseguridad, consumo y hábitos de compra.

ABSTRACT

The security situation that Mexico has is because of the crime has affected several aspects of everyday
life, but especially in the last two years the consumption pattern of its population has changed. This is
caused by the perception of insecurity in the individuals, as INEGI between 2010 and 2011 the average
perception of insecurity was 96.35 on a scale where 86 is the minimum and 106 maximum. Coparmex
announced in 2011 that has caused insecurity in the north of the country that 50% of the companies
change from entity to cities with lower rates of crime. Likewise, other studies show the decrease in
consumption and money, night clubs, concerts, restaurants, malls, movie theaters and department stores.
The rates reported insecurity and consumption data from studies reveal in metropolitan areas. However,
no data medium-sized cities and rural areas where populations are also apparent conflicts of insecurity
and therefore impact the change in consumption habits. Therefore we conducted a brief survey of
approach to the conflict from the perspective of average city to see the potential impact and consumer
insecurity.

KEY WORDS: Insecurity, consumption and purchasing habits.

INTRODUCCIÓN

El consumidor en México actualmente vive los estragos de la violencia y padece cada día más el impacto
de la delincuencia. Es decir, el consumidor ha modificado sus hábitos de consumo derivado de este
problema, por lo cual las empresas deben cambiar sus estrategias en el campo de la mercadotecnia para

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mover la economía del país. Irigoven y García (2011) afirman que 6 de cada 10 participantes en una
encuesta realizada en la ciudad de México sobre inseguridad y consumo, cambiaron de hábitos de
compra en los últimos tiempos por la sensación de inseguridad. Este hallazgo es coincidente con reportes
del índice de Percepción sobre la Seguridad Pública (IPSP) del Instituto de Estadística y Geografía
(INEGI).

Las perdidas totales en las empresas por la inseguridad en México, según el Instituto Ciudadano de
Estudios Sobre la Inseguridad, A.C (ICESI) ha ido del 16.1% en 2007 a 21.1% en 2010. Por otra parte el
Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad Pública y Justicia Penal en 2011 dio a conocer las ciudades más
peligrosas en el país centrándose en su mayoría al norte (Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mazatlán, Culiacán,
entre otras) y hacia el centro de la República Mexicana (Acapulco y Cuernavaca). Por otra parte Jalisco y
Michoacán se encuentran ya en la lista de ciudades con problemas de violencia (Rocha, 2011). Los giros
más afectados a nivel nacional según la Coparmex han sido los personales (41%), venta de autos (41%),
bienes inmuebles (15%) y alimentos (3%).

Sin embargo, las marcas y asociaciones han tomado como oportunidad la crisis para encontrar nuevas
formas de llegar a los mercados a partir del problema. Algunas ciudades como Monterrey que se
encuentra en situación de emergencia, ha tomado el fenómeno como una alternativa para atender quizá a
un nuevo consumidor. Los estudios se centran en grandes urbes y ocasionalmente ignoran al resto de
poblaciones pequeñas o ciudades medias, donde también se intensifican los problemas de violencia y sus
efectos al sector empresarial, y por ende al individuo. Por ello, el presente trabajo muestra el estado de
percepción sobre la inseguridad en el Municipio de Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, México, ubicado en la
región costa sur a través de un estudio exploratorio de aproximación al problema de inseguridad y
consumo.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

En la literatura mexicana son escasos los estudios de los municipios que pertenecen a los estados que
conforman el país, que revelen datos sobre la percepción de inseguridad en su población y el impacto que
este fenómeno provoca en los individuos. Sobre todo como lo han reportado algunos estudios a nivel
nacional en el ámbito del consumo. La inseguridad constituye uno de los grandes problemas de México.
Se manifiesta en dos formas: la inseguridad que vive la población, afectada por el aumento de los
delitos, y el auge del narcotráfico, que se explica por la incorporación de México a la ruta de la cocaína
proveniente de Colombia con destino a Estados Unidos. Esto se manifiesta diariamente en una creciente
violencia, concentrada en los enfrentamientos entre organizaciones criminales y entre estas y las fuerzas
de seguridad (Benítez, 2009).

Según Zermeño (2009) el crimen común es la principal amenaza que la población mexicana siente en
carne propia, en todos los estratos sociales. Las fuerzas de seguridad no logran reducir los índices de
delito. Los cuerpos policiales son acosados por los políticos que los conducen y les exigen eficiencia; por
la población, que exige el fin de la corrupción, y por los carteles, que los buscan para que trabajen para
ellos. Todo esto ha generado una realidad dramática que ha hecho que los militares comiencen a
encargarse del trabajo de la policía. A inicios de 2009, casi la mitad de los cuerpos policiales estatales
eran conducidos por militares, sin que ello haya demostrado una mayor eficiencia en la reducción del
delito. Rocha (2011) argumenta que se puede detectar en el ánimo de los ciudadanos una sensación de
temor e incertidumbre sobre cómo se seguirán desarrollando estos lamentables acontecimientos. El miedo

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de que situaciones como las de Chihuahua, Tamaulipas o Michoacán se empiecen a repetir en Jalisco, es
latente.

Figura 1. Denuncias por robo en Jalisco, elaboración propia.

Esta figura demuestra el incremento de robos denunciados en el último año.

La percepción de inseguridad en México aumentó más de 4% en el último año, según los resultados de la
Encuesta Nacional de Victimización y Percepción sobre Seguridad Pública 2011, publicados por el
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). El 69.5% de los mexicanos percibe inseguridad en
su estado, contra el 65% detectado en 2010, según el documento. A nivel municipal, la percepción de
inseguridad pasó de 54.4% a 60.1% en el mismo periodo. Más de 24% de los mexicanos mayores de 18
años fueron víctimas de algún delito durante 2010, de acuerdo con la encuesta levantada en más de
78,000 hogares de todo el país (CNN México, 2011).

Figura 2. Evolución del índice de percepción sobre la seguridad pública a octubre 2011, INEGI (índice:
abril de 2009=100).

Esta figura explica el índice de percepción de la inseguridad en México.

42,474
35,771 35,102 34,230
38,099 36,508 34,690
29,977
25,406 25,733 26,255
23,305 23,975
34,320
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
19971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010
Denuncias por Robo en Jalisco
Periodo 1997 – 2010
Núm. de denuncias
por robo

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El Índice de Percepción sobre la Seguridad Pública (IPSP) aumentó 1.5% al situarse en 97 puntos (abril
de 2009=100) frente al reportado en el décimo mes de 2010 que fue de 95.6 puntos. El avance medido a
tasa anual del IPSP en el mes de referencia, se debió a los incrementos observados en los componentes
que dan cuenta de la seguridad personal en la actualidad respecto a la de hace 12 meses; a la seguridad
personal esperada dentro de 12 meses respecto a la actual; la seguridad pública en el país hoy en día,
comparada con la que se tenía hace 12 meses, y a la seguridad pública en el país dentro de 12 meses con
relación a la situación actual. En cambio disminuyó el que mide el grado de confianza del entrevistado al
caminar sólo por el rumbo donde vive entre las 4 y 7 de la tarde.

En consecuencia en el plano nacional y a nivel estados hay indicadores que señalan cambio de hábitos en
el consumo a causa de la inseguridad. Según resultados del estudio realizado por Merca2.0 ─revista de
mercadotecnia, publicidad y medios─, a una muestra de 400 individuos de ambos sexos, de los 18 a 44
años originarios de la ciudad de México. Dicho estudio reporta que 6 de cada 10 participantes afirmaron
que modificaron sus hábitos de compra en los últimos tiempos por sensación de inseguridad. Lo cual
coincide con los reportes del Índice de Percepción sobre la Inseguridad Pública (IPSP) del Instituto de
Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). En tanto que el rango de 35 a 44 años es el que más ha realizado
cambios con respecto a su gasto, mientras que predomina la sensación de inseguridad en los hombres más
que en las mujeres. El 80% de los entrevistados comento que han dejado de asistir a bares y antros,
mientras que el 28% dejo de asistir a conciertos.

En conclusión, la mitad de los participantes se siente poco seguros respecto a la seguridad del país, por lo
que el 63% menciono que si han cambiado algunas costumbres de gasto ante la situación de violencia. Por
otra parte, las categorías de autos y artículos personales han visto afectados sus niveles de ventas en 2011,
correspondiente al 82% de los participantes de la encuesta. La Coparmex (Confederación Patronal de la
República Mexicana) declaro en mayo de 2011 que el efecto de la inseguridad ha provocado que el 50%
de las empresas de la zona norte del país decidan cambiar de identidad a otras ciudades con menos índice
de delincuencia —esto incluye a la industria automotriz— qué se ve afectada de manera negativa al
crecimiento de la industria (Irigoyen & García, 2011).

En Jalisco un estado que presenta una expansión económica en los últimos años, la violencia ha ido en
aumento y ha llegado no solo al área metropolitana, si no también a sus municipios. Aunque se presento
saldo blanco en los pasados juegos Panamericanos 2011, con sede en la capital Guadalajara, los medios
no dejan de difundir información sobre inseguridad y sus pobladores no dejan de percibir miedo y
cambios no solo sus hábitos de consumo, si no también su forma de vida cotidiana (García, 2011). Por
ello, se realizo el estudio en la región costa sur de Jalisco, en el Municipio de Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco,
México. Con el objetivo de conocer el estado de percepción sobre la inseguridad de sus pobladores. Se
planteo como pregunta de investigación ¿La percepción de la inseguridad en el Municipio de Autlán de
Navarro, Jalisco, México ha modificado los hábitos de consumo de sus pobladores?

METODOLOGÍA

Para el estudio de aproximación —piloto— tratándose de un estudio empírico de tipo exploratorio no
desarrollado a nivel de municipios en el estado de Jalisco, solo a nivel metropolitano (Irigoyen & García,
2011). Se empleo una muestra no probabilística a conveniencia (Malhotra, 2008) conformada por 50
estudiantes del programa educativo de la licenciatura en administración que toman materias relacionadas
con la mercadotecnia —para una mejor compresión del proceso— en el otoño 2011, en el Centro
Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara. Con un rango de edad de 18 a 23 años, de

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Clase Media, Procedencia No Metropolitana Y Rural, Ambos Géneros. A La Muestra Conformada Por El
Sexo Femenino Y Masculino Se Le Aplico El Mismo Tipo De Encuesta En Línea, Bajo Un Formato Tipo
Likert Ordinal De Cinco Puntos, Donde 5=Totalmente De Acuerdo A 1=Totalmente En Desacuerdo.
Como Hipótesis Se Plantearon: Ho – La Percepción De La Inseguridad En El Municipio De Autlán De
Navarro, Jalisco, México Ha Modificado Los Hábitos De Consumo De Sus Pobladores Y Ha – La
Percepción De La Inseguridad En El Municipio De Autlán De Navarro, Jalisco, México No Ha
Modificado Los Hábitos De Consumo De Sus Pobladores. Cuando Se Habla Técnicas Cuantitativas Y
Cualitativas, Existe La Creencia De Que Los Datos Obtenidos A Través De Las Primeras Son
Cuantificables Y Los De Las Segundas (Cualitativas) No Lo Son, Lo Cual Es Inexacto, Ya Que Se
Trabaja Con Muestras Pequeñas Entrevistando Siempre A Grupos Homogéneos Aplicando La Prueba De
X² (Chi O Ji Cuadrada) O Pruebas De Significancia. Por Otra Parte, Existen Escalas De Medición
Aplicables A Las Ciencias Sociales (Base De La Investigación Cualitativa) Permitiendo Convertir Datos
Cualitativos (Prejuicios) En Variables Cuantitativas, Además También Es Posible Medir A Través De
Escalas Qué Tan Prejuiciados Estaban Ambos Segmentos Asignándole A Cada Respuesta Un Valor En
Puntos (Fischer,1994). Para El Tratamiento De Los Datos Y La Contrastación De La Pregunta De
Investigación E Hipótesis Se Utilizaron Frecuencias Y Tablas De Contingencia.

RESULTADOS

Aplicada la metodología descrita en el estudio a continuación se detalla la percepción que tiene el
consumidor ante la inseguridad que se vive en el Municipio de Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, México y
cómo han modificado algunos hábitos de consumo. En la primer parte a través del uso de la estadística
descriptiva mediante frecuencias, la muestra de 50 individuos conformada por 23 mujeres y 27
hombres, indico lo siguiente:

Figura 3. Composición por género de participantes en el estudio.

Figura 4. Percepción de la inseguridad en el país y su impacto.

94% perciben que la inseguridad que vive el país ha impactado a nivel social y económico.

Totalmente de acuerdo

28 56%
De acuerdo

19 38%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

2 4%
En desacuerdo

1 2%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

0 0%

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Figura 5. Percepción del miedo a ser víctima por delincuencia.

90% opinan que el miedo a ser víctima de la
delincuencia limita las actividades cotidianas de los individuos.

Figura 6. Percepción sobre la posibilidad de ser víctima de robos.

82% perciben que en los últimos doce meses ha aumentado en su ciudad la posibilidad de ser víctima de
algún delito (robo, secuestro, venta de drogas).

Figura 7. Percepción de confianza a cuerpos de seguridad locales.

68% ante un hecho peligroso no confía en la intervención del cuerpo de policía de su ciudad.

Totalmente de acuerdo

18

36%
De acuerdo

27 54%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

4 8%
En desacuerdo

1 2%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

0 0%
Totalmente de acuerdo

24 48%
De acuerdo

17 34%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

9 18%
En desacuerdo

0 0%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

0 0%
Totalmente de acuerdo

1 2%
De acuerdo

4 8%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

11 22%
En desacuerdo

18 36%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

16 32%

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Figura 8. Percepción sobre la asertividad de los medios de comunicación.

24% considera que los medios de comunicación manejan de manera asertiva datos sobre la delincuencia
en el país.

Figura 9. Cambio en hábitos de consumo por delincuencia.

66% consideran haber modificado sus hábitos de consumo debido a la delincuencia.

Figura 10. Disminución de compra en puntos de venta por violencia percibida.

50% disminuyó su frecuencia de compra en mercados, centros comerciales o tiendas departamentales a
causa de la violencia.

Totalmente de acuerdo

3 6%
De acuerdo

9 18%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

7 14%
En desacuerdo

16 32%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

15 30%
Totalmente de acuerdo

13 26%
De acuerdo

20 40%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

7 14%
En desacuerdo

6 12%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

4 8%
Totalmente de acuerdo

5 10%
De acuerdo

20 40%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

8 16%
En desacuerdo

9 18%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

8 16%

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Figura 11. Cambios sugeridos a empresas por inseguridad.

64% señalan que deben cambiar las empresas horarios, procedimientos y áreas de atención a clientes
para garantizar la seguridad de los consumidores.

Respecto a la percepción por género ante el tema de inseguridad y el posible cambio en el consumo, la
muestra entrevistada coincide con la nacional. Es el género masculino quien percibe más la sensación de
inseguridad y que ha modificado sus comportamientos de consumo. Se generaron cuatro tablas de
contingencia que revelan la posición de la variable por género respecto a este fenómeno.

Tabla 1. Variable sexo y el miedo a ser víctima de la delincuencia limita las actividades cotidianas de
los individuos.

El miedo a ser víctima de la delincuencia limita las actividades cotidianas de los
individuos Total

Totalmente de
acuerdo De acuerdo
Ni de acuerdo, ni
en desacuerdo En desacuerdo Totalmente de acuerdo
Sexo Hombre 9 16 2 0 27
Mujer 9 11 2 1 23
Total 18 27 4 1 50

Esta tabla muestra que el sexo masculino ha modificado más sus actividades cotidianas debido a la sensación de inseguridad, respecto del
sexo femenino.

Tabla 2. Variable sexo y la posibilidad de denuncia sin temor a los actos delictivos que le suceden y/o
suceden en el entorno del individuo.

Denunciaría sin temor los actos delictivos que me suceden y/o suceden en mi entorno Total

Totalmente de
acuerdo De acuerdo
Ni de acuerdo,
ni en desacuerdo
En
desacuerdo
Totalmente en
desacuerdo
Totalmente de
acuerdo
Sexo Hombre 10 6 8 2 1 27
Mujer 7 7 5 3 1 23
Total 17 13 13 5 2 50
Esta tabla muestra que el género masculino está mayormente dispuesto a denunciar un delito que el femenino.
Totalmente de acuerdo

15 30%
De acuerdo

17 34%
Ni de acuerdo, ni en desacuerdo

10 20%
En desacuerdo

4 8%
Totalmente en desacuerdo

4 8%

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Tabla 3. Variable sexo y la modificación de hábitos de consumo debido a la delincuencia.

He modificado mis hábitos de consumo debido a la delincuencia Total

Totalmente
de acuerdo De acuerdo
Ni de
acuerdo, ni
en
desacuerdo En desacuerdo
Totalmente en
desacuerdo
Totalmente de
acuerdo
Sexo Hombre 8 11 5 3 0 27
Mujer 8 9 2 3 1 23
Total 16 20 7 6 1 50

Esta tabla evidencia que el sexo masculino ha modificado sus hábitos de consumo ante los actos de inseguridad.

Tabla 4. Variable sexo y la disminución de la frecuencia de compra en mercados, centros comerciales o
tiendas departamentales a causa de la violencia

Disminuí mi frecuencia de compra en mercados, centros comerciales o tiendas
departamentales a causa de la violencia Total

Totalmente de
acuerdo De acuerdo
Ni de acuerdo,
ni en desacuerdo
En
desacuerdo
Totalmente en
desacuerdo
Totalmente
de acuerdo
Sexo Hombre 3 12 5 5 2 27
Mujer 3 8 3 4 5 23
Total 6 20 8 9 7 50

Esta tabla explica que el sexo femenino disminuyó en menor proporción las compras en áreas comerciales y espacios abierto, que el masculino.

Con los resultados obtenidos se acepta la hipótesis nula (Ho) la percepción de la inseguridad en el
Municipio de Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, México ha modificado los hábitos de consumo de sus
pobladores.

CONCLUSIONES

El 90 por ciento de los participantes declararon sentirse inseguros por la violencia en el país y en el
municipio de Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, México, por lo que el 66 por ciento mencionó que si han
cambiado algunas costumbres de gasto ante estos hechos. En tanto que el 50 por ciento declaro haber
modificado sus hábitos de compra en mercados, centro comerciales y lugares de gran concurrencia. Otro
dato relevante es que no hay confianza en los cuerpos de seguridad local, así lo expresa el 68 por ciento.
Asimismo, el 64 por ciento mencionó que las empresas deben cambiar sus estrategias para adaptarlas al
fenómeno de inseguridad. Es el género masculino quien percibe más la sensación de inseguridad y que ha
modificado sus comportamientos de consumo. No hay credibilidad en los operativos de la autoridad
municipal, así como consideran que los medios manipulan la información delictiva y el amarillismo
aumenta el temor en la población.

Este estudio nos hace a entender los cambios que el consumidor ha realizado y su impacto en la
economía a nivel municipal en Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, México, y puede orientar las estrategias de

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mercadotecnia que las empresas de la localidad deben implementar para continuar su actividad y
contribuir al ciclo económico de la región donde se ubican.

Como se puede observar el consumo se está modificando y las empresas deben diseñar planes y
programas para atender el nuevo comportamiento del consumidor. Por otra parte, se debe reconocer hasta
donde es capaz el consumidor de resistir la situación actual de violencia en México y que posición
asumirá el gobierno en los próximos años ante el problema de inseguridad en un ambiente agitado y
próximo al cambio del gobierno federal y estatal, por ende el municipal.

REFERENCIA

Benítez, M. Raúl (2009, Marzo-Abril). La crisis de seguridad en México. Revista Nueva Sociedad
No.220. México. 174-189.

CNN, México, (2011, 20 de Septiembre). La percepción de la inseguridad en México aumentó en 2010:
INEGI. Extraído el 3 de noviembre de 2011 desde http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2011/09/20/la-
percepcion-de-la-inseguridad-en-mexico-aumento-en-2010-inegi

Fisher, Laura (1994). Introducción a al investigación de mercados. Mc Graw Hill, 2ª edición, México. Pp
82-120.

Irigoyen, P. & García, E. Jorge (2011). Inseguridad y consumo. Revista Merca2.0. Año 10. No.114,
México. 36-38

Lehmann, E. L. (1995). No paramétricas. Métodos estadísticos basados en rangos. Prentice-Hall. 1 ª ed.
México. Pp 80-150.

Malhotra, N. (2008). Diseño de la Investigación, Clasificación. Investigación de Mercado. Un enfoque
práctico. Editorial Pearson. México. Pp- 86-89.
Rocha, Jorge. (2011, Enero 21). La inseguridad pública en Jalisco. 1-3 extraído el 30 de octubre
desdehttp://www.lajornadajalisco.com.mx/2011/01/20/index.php?section=opinion&article=002a1pol.

Zermeño, Jessica: «Optan estados por mando militar» en Reforma, Enfoque No 775, 15/2/2009.

García, Jorge (2011). Marketing desde el interior, Revista Merca2.0. Año 10. No.117, México. 36-54

RECONOCIMIENTOS

Nuestro agradecimiento a las autoridades del Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur por las facilidades y
apoyo brindado para la realización del trabajo.

BIOGRAFÍA

Cesar Amador Díaz Pelayo es doctor en mercadotecnia por la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de
Puebla y Profesor Asociado C en el Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara. Se
puede contactar en cesaram@cucsur.udg.mx.

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Claudia Leticia Preciado Ortíz es licencianda en administración por el Centro Universitario de la Costa
Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, estudiante de posgrado en finanzas y profesora de asignatura. Se puede
contactar en claudia.preciado@cucsur.udg.mx

Claudia Elsy Chan Gamboa es doctora en terapia familiar por la Universidad de Oviedo, es Profesor
Titular C en el Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara. Se puede
contactar en claudia.chan@cucs.udg.mx.

Carlos Manuel Orozco Santillán es maestro en investigación arquitectónica por la Universidad de
Guadalajara, es Profesor Titular C en el Centro Universitario de Arte, Arquitectura y Diseño, Universidad
de Guadalajara. Se puede contactar en carlosm.orozco@cucsur.udg.mx.

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WEB EDUCATIVA PARA EL REFORZAMIENTO DE LAS
CIENCIAS MATEMÁTICAS, EN LA FACULTAD DE
CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS, UABC MEXICALI
Oscar Manuel Madrigal Lizárraga, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

Las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación aceleran la colaboración y comunicación de las
personas en cualquier organización, y sin duda las instituciones educativas se han beneficiado de ellas.
Pero que sucede con la relación maestro-alumno. ¿Habrá algún beneficio? Es decir, podrá el alumno
comprender mejor sus materias y el maestro optimizar su enseñanza. En México existe un problema con
las ciencias matemáticas, según el INEGI en 2008/09 la tasa de reprobación en educación media fue del
33.33%. Debemos crear herramientas tecnológicas que ayuden a ese problema y que maestros y alumnos
obtengan un beneficio, nuestro proyecto permite que el alumno sea autodidacta y que al navegar por
internet emplee su tiempo usando y transformando la información de la web educativa para matemática,
la cual por otra parte sirve de apoyo a maestros de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, Campus
Mexicali en su labor de educar. La percepción de maestros y alumnos hacia las Tics se considera como
factor principal para el desarrollo del proyecto, asimismo, para la elaboración del material educativo la
experiencia que los maestros tienen en las aulas es invaluable. El proyecto está en marcha y esperamos
resultados a finales de Noviembre 2011, para ello se aplicara un instrumento de evaluación a los
alumnos y diferente encuestas.

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EFICIENCIA EN LAS INSTITUCIONES EDUCATIVAS
PÚBLICAS DE LA CIUDAD DE SANTA MARTA CON
“DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS”
Delimiro Visbal Cadavid, Universidad del Magdalena
Rolando Escorcia Caballero, Universidad del Magdalena
José Mario Agudelo Toloza, Universidad del Magdalena

RESUMEN

El presente es un estudio preliminar, en el marco de un trabajo de grado, que hace parte de la
investigación sobre Eficiencia de las Instituciones Educativas Públicas del Distrito de Santa Marta
financiado por Fonciencias y en ejecución por el Grupo de Investigación en Curriculum y Evaluación
GICE. Esta investigación muestra la situación general de las condiciones de eficiencia de las
instituciones educativas públicas de la ciudad de Santa Marta, sin embargo, no profundiza en detalles,
que se obtendrán en los resultados del estudio general.

La investigación es de naturaleza cuantitativa es un estudio empírico que determina la eficiencia relativa
de las Instituciones Educativas del Distrito de Santa Marta, a partir de la técnica Análisis Envolvente de
Datos, DEA, la cual ofrece información muy completa e individualizada de las unidades tomadoras de
decisión (DMU) analizadas, permitiendo conocer aspectos de interés tanto en las instituciones eficientes
como de las ineficientes.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Eficiencia, Análisis Envolvente de Datos, Educación Pública
JEL: A20, C02, C67, I23
ABSTRACT

This is a preliminary study, as part of a undergraduate work, which is part of the research on Efficiency
of Public Educational Institutions of the District of Santa Marta, and funded by Fonciencias
(Research Fund of the University of Magdalena) and implemented by the Curriculum and
Evaluation Research Group (GICE). This research shows the general conditions of efficiency of public
educational institutions of the city of Santa Marta, however, does not go into details, which will come
in the overall study results
This quantitative research is an empirical study that determines the relative efficiency of the educational
institutions of the District of Santa Marta, by means of the data envelopment analysis technique, DEA,
which provides very comprehensive and individualized information about Decision Making Units (DMU)
analyzed, allowing to know issues of interest both efficient institutions as inefficient.
JEL: A20, C02, C67, I23
KEYWORDS: Efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Public Education

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IMPLEMENTACIÓN DEL SIMULADOR FISCAL DESDE
LA PERSPECTIVA DEL ALUMNADO EN EL PROCESO
DE ENSEÑANZA APRENDIZAJE EN LA FACULTAD DE
CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD
AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Belén Murillo Pedraza, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Claudia Viviana Álvarez Vega, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ernesto Alonso Pérez Maldonado, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

El proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje actualmente toma una ruta que en ocasiones parece no coincidir
por la rapidez de los avances de la tecnología y la lentitud de la obtención de éste, sobre todo en la
generación de las competencias que deberán desarrollar los alumnos en el área fiscal enfáticamente en
las presentaciones de las declaraciones de impuestos vía internet ante la oficinas recaudadoras, el
alumno se enfrenta con el obstáculo de no poder hacer uso de esta tecnología ya que debe ser el
contribuyente del impuesto el autorizado para tal envío mediante una clave de acceso , por esta razón
hemos desarrollado un simulador fiscal para que el alumno pueda obtener su competencia, el presente
artículo es la continuación de la implementación del simulador fiscal como herramienta en el proceso de
enseñanza aprendizaje en la opinión de un grupo piloto para revisar su funcionamiento, aplicación,
pertinencia y en su caso efectuar ajustes, con la finalidad de proseguir en la implementación con el resto
del alumnado. Se trabajó el simulador fiscal utilizando la declaración del Impuesto sobre la Renta en
personas físicas obteniéndose resultados satisfactorios para continuar con la siguiente etapa, la
implementación con el docente.

PALABRAS CLAVES. Simulador fiscal, declaración de Impuestos, enseñanza – aprendizaje

INTRODUCCIÓN

La generación de conocimiento en el enfoque en competencias en el área de fiscal, específicamente en
la formulación y presentación de declaraciones ante el Servicio de Administración Tributaria, solo se
puede hacer mediante la realización de prácticas en la que el alumno aplique sus conocimientos teóricos
en casos hipotéticos, ¿Cómo lograr que alumno adquiera experiencia en el envío de declaraciones de
impuestos, si solamente el contribuyente está autorizado para ello mediante una clave de acceso? La
respuesta es utilizando un simulador fiscal donde el alumno pueda realizar esta operación.

El presente proyecto es la continuación del Simulador fiscal como herramienta en el proceso de
enseñanza aprendizaje, donde se recaban las opiniones de un grupo piloto que ha estado trabajando el
simulador en las declaraciones de personas físicas del Impuesto sobre la Renta.

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REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Se analizaron la Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, su reglamento, el Código Fiscal de la Federación y su
reglamento así como los formatos de declaraciones, los software que utiliza el Servicio de Administración
Tributaria para su captura y envió.

Tobón, S. (2003) establece dos clases generales de competencias: competencias específicas y
competencias genéricas. Las competencias genéricas se refieren a las competencias que son comunes a
una rama profesional o a todas las profesiones. Finalmente, las competencias específicas, a diferencia de
las competencias genéricas, son propias de cada profesión y le dan identidad a una ocupación.

Declaración fiscal. Es la obligación que tiene el contribuyente del Impuesto sobre la Renta de formular
mediante un formato diseñado por el fisco, sus ingresos obtenidos en el año de calendario así como los
gastos autorizados y el impuesto que le corresponde a la diferencia denominada utilidad, o en su caso el
saldo a favor que obtenga el contribuyente.

Firma electrónica. Es la clave de acceso que utiliza el Fisco y se le conoce como FIEL la que se obtiene
por parte del contribuyente presentando los requisitos solicitados por la autoridad.

METODOLOGÍA

La metodología aplicada en esta etapa es de corte cualitativo mediante la observación participativa de un
grupo piloto integrado por alumnos de la carrera de Licenciado en informática con el propósito de
detectar las probables fallas técnicas, para que posteriormente una vez superada esta prueba sea aplicada a
los alumnos de contaduría, se les instruyó para ingresar al simulador.

RESULTADOS: PRESENTACIÓN Y ANÁLISIS

Como objetivo principal se tiene la iniciación del simulador fiscal se ha elegido a un grupo piloto se le
pidió que ingresara al simulador por medio de su matrícula que se presenta en la figura no. 1.

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Figura1: Portada

Los alumnos no tuvieron ningun problema para su acceso al simulador.
En la figura No. 2 se muestra la iniciación del simulador fiscal en la que el alumno eligirá el régimen
fiscal e iniciará con la captura de sus datos para generar la declaración

Figura No. 2

Se les solicitó que ingresaran en el régimen fiscal de salarios, ya que son alumnos de la carrera de
informática, mencionándoles que una vez que reciban sueldos tienen la obligación de presentar
declaración anual.

Se les pidió que usaran sus datos particulares, en esta fase no tuvieron problema alguno. Posteriormente
se les proporcionaron los datos numéricos donde sí tuvieron problemas en la selección de los recuadros;
una vez que se les explicó no tuvieron ningun problema en continuar con el llenado.Como siguiente paso
se trabajará con el maestro El docente tomará las actividades que realiza el fisco y enviará acuse de recibo

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al alumno, posteriormente calificará los trabajos que envíen los alumnos, asi como tambien generarán la
firma electrónca avanzada (FIEL) para cada alumno figura No. 3

Figura No. 3

Esta fase queda en proceso de revisión y validación por parte de los maestros que imparten la asignatura
del Impuesto sobre la Renta, a continuación se presenta la figura No. 4 que es la pantalla del
administrador donde se darán de alta los maestros que utilizarán el sistema.
Figura 4: Pantalla del administrador

Limitaciones. Debido a que la labor del diseño e implementación del simulador fiscal es titánica, se ha
utilizado un grupo piloto integrado por alumnos de la carrera de Licenciado en Informática con el fin de
detectar los posibles problemas técnicos, se está trabajando a prueba y error.

CONCLUSIONES

De acuerdo a la observación participativa que se llevó a cabo se tiene como conclusión que el simulador
en su parte de iniciación tiene su aceptación del grupo piloto, para que continúe con la etapa de aplicación
en siguiente grupo de licenciado en contaduría y docentes.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

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GCBF ♦ Vol. 7 ♦ No. 1♦ 2012♦ ISSN 1941-9589 ONLINE & ISSN 1931-0285 CD 969

Tobón, S. Competencias, Calidad y Educación Superior, Cooperativa Editorial Magisterio, Colombia,
2006

Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta 2011.

Reglamento de la Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta 2011.

Código Fiscal de la Federación 2011.

Reglamento del Código Fiscal de la Federación.

BIOGRAFÍA

Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal es profesora de tiempo completo de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas
de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. La profesora se puede contactar en la Facultad de
Ciencias Administrativas en Blvd Río Nuevo y Eje Central s/n en Mexicali, Baja California, correo
ganbfiscal@hotmail.com.

María Belén Murillo Pedraza, maestra de tiempo completo definitivo en la Facultad de Ciencias
Administrativas de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Contactar en la Facultad de Ciencias
Administrativas, Boulevard Río Nuevo y eje Central s/n, Mexicali, Baja California.
belen49@uabc.edu.mx

Claudia Viviana Álvarez Vega, maestra de tiempo completo de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas
de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Contactar en la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas,
Boulevard Río Nuevo y eje Central s/n, Mexicali, Baja California. claudia@uabc.edu.mx

Ernesto Alonso Pérez Maldonado, maestro de tiempo completo definitivo en la Facultad de Ciencias
Administrativas de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Contactar en la Facultad de Ciencias
Administrativas, Boulevard Río Nuevo y eje Central s/n, Mexicali, Baja California.
ernestoperez@uabc.edu.mx

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DETECCIÓN DE LOS FACTORES DE RESILIENCIA
COMO SITUACIONES MOTIVACIONALES PARA EL
ÉXITO EN LOS ALUMNOS DEL INSTITUTO
TECNOLÓGICO DE MEXICALI
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Rafael Cruz Casanova, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Manuel Muñoz Aguilera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Leonel Rosiles López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

La escuela en los diferentes niveles es el lugar donde se pasa la mayor parte del tiempo después de la
casa familiar, por lo tanto, en el contacto, en la interrelación con maestros, con los compañeros de
estudio, con las autoridades de la escuela, se pueden encontrar factores de resiliencia que subsanen
determinadas deficiencias de los alumnos y convertirse en situaciones motivantes para asegurar su éxito
en el Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali .Se ha observado en el que alumnos con serias deficiencias ya se
de tipo económico o incluso físicas, logran sobreponerse y tener éxito al culminar una carrera
profesional. El dato conocido son las causas de la deserción escolar, que son de una gran diversidad,
que van desde problemas económicos, emocionales, aspectos que tienen que ver con la administración
del Instituto o incluso con las instalaciones físicas de la escuela. Este trabajo tiene por objeto exponer un
avance en la investigación de los principales factores de resiliencia en el Instituto, para que una vez
determinados, dirigir esfuerzos para reforzarlos y construirlos, en su caso, de tal forma que un aspecto
negativo o debilidad de la organización se convierta en una fortaleza. Nos parece que este último aporte
es una extraordinaria herramienta de Administración escolar para incrementar la eficiencia terminal y
abatir la deserción escolar.

PALABRAS CLAVES. Resiliencia, deserción escolar, eficiencia terminal

INTRODUCCIÓN

El concepto de Resiliencia aplicado al comportamiento de los alumnos, es una realidad desde siempre se
han observado situaciones en donde los alumnos se sobreponen a problemas graves incluso como
menciona Manciaux (2001) se conocen la trayectoria de personajes que antes del éxito pasaron en su vida
por muchas vicisitudes y son ampliamente conocidas sus historias de vida. En nuestro trabajo docente en
el estrecho contacto que tenemos con nuestros alumnos, igualmente hemos sido testigos en muchos casos
de historias parecidas. En forma particular en el Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali actualmente se
desarrolla acciones para combatir los problemas de la deserción escolar así como aumentar el indicador
de eficiencia terminal, que implica la titulación de los egresados que significa la relación entre la cohorte
generacional y el numero que obtienen el titulo como culminación de una carrera profesional El interés
parte de que deben existir razones que inciden en el logro de los estudiantes en completar una carrera
profesional a pesar de tener problemas que pueden impedirlo y que encuentran en la escuela algunos
factores que los ayudan a lograr el éxito. Si la escuela conoce estos factores como una política de
administración podría reforzar estos factores de la resiliencia y ayudar a evitar el abandono de la escuela
y lo que es más importante convertirlos en factores motivantes del desempeño de sus alumnos. El estudio
es con los estudiantes del Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali, ubicado en la Ciudad de Mexicali en la zona

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conocida por el “Nuevo Mexicali”, en donde el perfil de la escuela son las carreras de Ingeniería, teniendo
en la actualidad una población de 2,950 alumnos, que fundamentalmente atiende alumnos del la ciudad y
del Valle de Mexicali que es una zona agrícola preponderantemente.

REVISIÓN DE LITERATURA

En el Estado del Arte en la investigación sobre Resiliencia, hay múltiples referencias sobre el estudio de
la Resiliencia en general y en particular en la escuela, a saber: Garmezy (1993); Garbarino (1995);
Osborm (1990) por mencionar algunas aportaciones que señalan a la pobreza como el principal riesgo de
los niños y jóvenes comparados con los grupos sociales más aventajados económicamente, sin embargo a
fines de la década de los setenta Werner (1989) se constató con gran asombro e interés, que algunos de
los niños criados en familias en las cuales uno o ambos padres eran alcohólicos, y que lo habían sido
durante el proceso de desarrollo de sus hijos no presentaban carencias de vida en el plano biológico ni
psicosocial, si no que encontraban una adecuada calidad de vida. El enfoque de la resiliencia parte de la
premisa que nacer en la pobreza, así como vivir en un ambiente psicológicamente insano, son
condiciones de alto riesgo para la salud física y mental de las personas.

Hipótesis Del Problema

Hipótesis 1: Es factible identificar y evaluar los factores de resiliencia en los alumnos, del Instituto
Tecnológico de Mexicali.

Hipótesis Nula: No es posible identificar ni los factores de resiliencia en los alumnos del Instituto
Tecnológico de Mexicali

Planteamiento Del Problema

Los factores de resiliencia que son motivantes para la conclusión y el éxito de los alumnos en el Instituto
Tecnológico de Mexicali, no han sido identificados ni analizados ni sometidos a evaluación y tienen un
peso especifico importante en la toma de decisiones de las autoridades para incrementar los índices de
productividad académica en cuanto a la eficiencia terminal, y la conformidad con el aprendizaje.
Lo interesante era conocer si por parte de la Administración ¿era posible “construir” la resiliencia? o si
dependía totalmente de las características internas del individuo como menciona (Manciaux, 2001 p. 239)
Aunque la genética y la biología determinen los límites de lo posible eso no impide un alto grado de
libertad y un margen de maniobra para que intervengan los recursos personales y profesionales. En todo
momento, la resiliencia es fruto de la interacción entre el propio individuo y su entorno.

Objetivos De La Investigación
• Determinar si existen factores de resiliencia en los alumnos del Instituto Tecnológico de
Mexicali, identificando cuales son estos.

• Evaluar si los factores de resiliencia motivan a los alumnos para concluir su carrera en el
Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali.

• Analizar si entre las causas de deserción escolar hay factores que las Administración del Instituto
Tecnológico de Mexicali puede convertir en factores de resiliencia.

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• Proporcionar información a la Administración del instituto tecnológico de Mexicali afín de
atender en la medida de lo posible los factores de resiliencia con el objeto de motivar a los
alumnos a tener éxito en la culminación de los estudios a si como mejorar el índice de eficiencia
terminal.

• Determinar posibles actividades novedosas que se conviertan dentro del Instituto tecnológico de
Mexicali en factores de resiliencia.

PREGUNTAS

Ante esta situación nos planteamos las preguntas siguientes:

¿Cuáles son los factores de resiliencia en los alumnos el Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali?
Y las siguientes preguntas auxiliares:

¿Es posible construir factores de resiliencia en el Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali?

¿Por qué algunos alumnos con capacidades diferentes obtienen calificaciones aprobatorias?

¿Cuáles son las principales causas de deserción escolar en el instituto tecnológico de Mexicali?

¿El indicador de Eficiencia Terminal es el adecuado en el instituto tecnológico de Mexicali?

¿El instituto tecnológico de Mexicali ofrece facilidades de tipo administrativo para que continúen sus
estudios alumnos que exponen problemas personales?

¿Las autoridades del Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali tienen identificado los principales factores de
resiliencia que inciden en los alumnos?

Marco Teórico

El presente capitulo es fundamental para la investigación ya que es la parte toral para que tenga sentido
este proyecto, es el “pilar” sobre el que descansa el problema y se construye la investigación.El análisis
de la resiliencia, en este caso de una escuela de Educación Superior, tiene que sustentarse desde las
posturas filosóficas de los diferentes autores. El concepto de resiliencia Es conveniente mencionar que el
concepto ha sido objeto de estudio y análisis porque responde a una necesidad del entorno social, político
y económico de la actualidad. La situación social, política y económica del país es marcada actualmente
por un ambiente de marcada incertidumbre en todos los sentidos, esto hace de por sí difícil la consecución
de objetivos en materia de educación.

Los antecedentes del estudio de este tema son relativamente recientes, existen estudios realizados en las
últimas cuatro décadas, Werner y Smith, (1982; 1992) realizaron una investigación a lo largo de 30 años
con una cohorte de 698 niños nacidos en Hawái en condiciones desfavorables, después de este periodo el
80% de estos niños había evolucionado positivamente, convirtiéndose en adultos competentes y bien
integrados. Hay que tener bien claro que lo que es reciente es el estudio no el concepto mismo, que
algunos individuos resisten mejor que otros los avatares de la vida, la adversidad y la enfermedad es un
hecho admitido desde hace siglos, pero que en gran parte no se ha explicado. Lo que ha permitido avances

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decisivos es sin duda identificar las competencias e insistir en ellas. La competencia es una aptitud
reconocida. (Manciaux, 2001p.17) Este tipo de trabajos de alguna forma llamó la atención sobre la
creencia de que un niño con problemas no necesariamente estaba condenado al fracaso, demostrado
científicamente. La construcción de la resiliencia.En educación reviste una importancia toral este
concepto, resiliencia proviene del latín, resilio que significa volver atrás, dar un salto, pertenece al
vocabulario de la Física y hace referencia a la capacidad de un material para recobrar su forma original
después de haber estado sometido a una condición de exigencia máxima.

Es claro que como sucede en muchos campos de conocimiento se aplico metafóricamente al campo del
comportamiento humano, para identificar determinadas características, como la capacidad de
sobreponerse a condiciones adversas, como por ejemplo aquellas sociedades que emergían de las cenizas
después de conflagraciones mundiales, quien puede negar el estado actual de una educación de primer
mundo que surge de una Europa devastada por la segunda guerra mundial, por hablar de resiliencia
sociales, pero también puede identificarse a nivel individual con aquellos l estudiantes que pese a
situaciones adversas lograr obtener un título universitario- ( Pagliarulo, s/f) .

Me parece muy interesante el estudio ya que para la Administración del Instituto es prioritario emprender
acciones para reducir la diferencia entre egresados y titulados ya que la diferencia aunque en el últimos
semestre ha disminuido, todavía es notables como podemos observar en la grafica en donde la diferencia
entre egresados y titulados es notable, de hecho el numero los estos últimos represen tan en los últimos 4
semestres en promedio un 40%, como puede observarse en el Tabla que se muestra en el Anexo No. 1.
El atender y fortalecer los factores de Resiliencia se incrementaría este porcentaje y mejoraría el indicador
de eficiencia terminal que es muy importante para los planes de desarrollo del Instituto Es probable que se
pueda motivar a los alumnos a titularse facilitando los factores de resiliencia para hacerlo. La excelencia
educativa es una creación normativa social, que al igual que la resiliencia se da en parte en la interacción
entre los maestros y alumnos que va marcando ciertas medidas de la calidad de la enseñanza, lo cual no
tienen que ver con como menciona (Perrenoud, 1996, p. 15) Con frecuencia, los juicios de los alumnos
están influidos por los del maestro, en función de los cuales captan e interiorizan las normas de
excelencia. Esto quiere decir que los alumnos van creando su jerarquía sobre aquellos aspectos que
contribuyen a su superación, por lo que los propios maestros pueden coadyuvar a lograr esto.

La resiliencia y la edad avanzada Existen ciertos casos de estudiantes de edad avanzada, que a pesar de
los problemas propios de la edad, observamos que continúan sus estudios con entusiasmo y en ciertos
casos hasta con júbilo, Manciaux (2001) p. 106-107 menciona que los traumas graves no perdonan a la
tercera edad, sea una enfermedad, deficiencia ligadas al envejecimiento o bien problemas sociales como
una jubilación mal llevada ,las sensaciones de deterioro físico o mental y una perdida de utilidad social
pueden perturbar gravemente a muchas personas que se hacen mayores … Asimismo, las actividades
culturales y artísticas tienen gran importancia para muchas personas que se hacen mayores…A un nivel
más modesto, en ese periodo de la vida mucha gente descubre que le gusta la pintura, la música, los
viajes culturales, visitar museos…y, si les ayuda su posición económica, cumplen en su vejez deseos que
no pudieron satisfacer cuando eran más jóvenes por falta de tiempo y de medios..

Otro concepto relacionado con el tema es el aspecto religioso en las personas mayores que puede jugar un
papel muy importante y es un factor resiliente en las actividades educativas, dice Manciaux (2001) p.109
En un artículo muy interesante Un modelo de resiliencia: los (centenarios), Michel indica otro factor de
protección: la fe religiosa: (la fe en Dios), sin actitudes neuróticas e infantilizantes, puede suponer en los

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sujetos ancianos una solución para continuar ese trabajo de resistencia que es la resiliencia , y
permitirles mantener relaciones humanas.

El marco teórico, parte de la comprensión del propio concepto de resiliencia que como menciona
(Henderson, et, al, 2005), “Si por algo ha resultado fecundo el concepto de resiliencia –entendido como la
capacidad para recuperarse y sobreponerse con éxito a la adversidad– es porque ha logrado desplazar el
modelo médico basado en la patología para aproximarse a un modelo basado en la construcción de
fortalezas internas.”Es en este planteamiento en donde se reviste la importancia para las escuelas y se
reviste de valor el papel de los docentes como detonante de estos factores. Es pues no solamente
conveniente desarrollar en las escuelas los factores de resiliencia, si no una obligación legal procurar que
la educación sea de los mal altos niveles posibles. Este libro provee estrategias para fomentar el desarrollo
de resiliencia en los alumnos. Frente a problemas sociales crecientes resulta imprescindible que la
escuela, lejos de generar una mentalidad de oposición o negación de los problemas, despliegue todo su
potencial y los re-cursos a su alcance para lograr una comunidad educativa inclusiva. Los autores
describen cómo estimular aquellos factores protectores –tanto internos como ambientales– que mitigan el
impacto de las situaciones negativas o estresantes, y proveen un modelo de seis pasos que permitirá al
docente fortalecer la resiliencia, no sólo entre los estudiantes sino también entre los propios pares y en su
comunidad.En el marco teórico podemos concluir como opina (Henderson y Milstein, 2003), quien
menciona los factores en que se tienen que trabajar en una institución para construir los factores:

La construcción de la resiliencia en la escuela implica trabajar para introducir los siguientes seis factores
constructores de resiliencia
1. Brindar afecto y apoyo proporcionando respaldo y aliento incondicionales, como base y sostén del
éxito académico. Siempre debe haber un “adulto significativo” en la escuela dispuesto a “dar la
mano” que necesitan los alumnos para su desarrollo educativo y su contención afectiva.
2. Establecer y transmitir expectativas elevadas y realistas para que actúen como motivadores eficaces,
adoptando la filosofía de que “todos los alumnos pueden tener éxito”.
3. Brindar oportunidades de participación significativa en la resolución de problemas, fijación de
metas, planificación, toma de decisiones (esto vale para los docentes, los alumnos y, eventualmente,
para los padres). Que el aprendizaje se vuelva más “práctico”, el currículo sea más “pertinente” y
“atento al mundo real” y las decisiones se tomen entre todos los integrantes de la comunidad
educativa. Deben poder aparecer las “fortalezas” o destrezas de cada uno.
4. Enriquecer los vínculos pro-sociales con un sentido de comunidad educativa. Buscar una conexión
familia-escuela positiva.
5. Es necesario brindar capacitación al personal sobre estrategias y políticas de aula que trasciendan
la idea de la disciplina como un fin en sí mismo. Hay que dar participación al personal, los alumnos
y, en lo posible, a los padres, en la fijación de dichas políticas. Así se lograrán fijar normas y límites
claros y consensuados.
6. Enseñar “habilidades para la vida”: cooperación, resolución de conflictos, destrezas comunicativas,
habilidad para resolver problemas y tomar decisiones, etcétera. Esto sólo ocurre cuando el proceso
de aprendizaje está fundado en la actividad conjunta y cooperativa de los estudiantes y los docentes.

Marco Jurídico–Constitución Política De Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos

Existe en forma muy clara la obligación del Estado de proporcionar y al mismo tiempo desarrollar el
potencial de las facultades de los alumnos, el Artículo 3º Parrado Segundo, expresa:

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“La educación que imparta el Estado tenderá a desarrollar armónicamente, todas las facultades del ser
humano y fomentará en él, a la vez, el amor a la Patria, el respeto a los derechos humanos y la
conciencia de la solidaridad internacional, en la independencia y en la justicia”

METODOLOGÍA

Por la naturaleza del proyecto, el método seleccionado es el cuantitativo, aunque al momento de valorar
los resultados se pueden utilizar métodos cualitativos porque se refieren a la población escolar del
Instituto Tecnológico de Mexicali porque me permite analizar los datos numéricos que se desprende del
análisis de las variables. El problema de investigación es muy claro ya que se trata de determinar la
presencia de factores que inciden en los alumnos, es decir hay una facilidad en su determinación, existe
precisión iniciando porque el universo de población con la que se trabajara es un patrón definido y
delimitado. En este aspecto coincido con Hurtado y Toro (1998). “Dicen que la investigación
Cuantitativa tiene una concepción lineal, es decir que haya claridad entre los elementos que conforman
el problema, que tenga definición, limitarlos y saber con exactitud donde se inicia el problema, también
le es importante saber qué tipo de incidencia existe entre sus elementos”.

Algo que resaltar es que existe entre los factores resilientes y los alumnos, es decir entre las variables y el
objeto de estudio. Esto es un factor que permite que el método de investigación sea cuantitativo.
Las variables en este caso son:
a) Las capacidades diferentes en los alumnos
b) Causas de la deserción escolar
c) La eficiencia Terminal
d) Los Trámites Administrativos
Selección De La Muestra
Se realizó aplicando la siguiente:
F Ó R M U L A

Donde:
N = Total de la población
Z2 = 1.962 (si la seguridad es del 95%)
p = proporción esperada (en este caso 5% = 0.05)
q = 1 – p (en este caso 1-0.05 = 0.95)
d = precisión (en este caso deseamos un 3%).

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Estimación De La Proporción

Total de la población N 2,923
Nivel de Confianza o Seguridad (1 –a) 95%
Precisión (d) 3%
Proporción (valor aproximado del parámetro que queremos medir) 5%
TAMAÑO MUESTRAL (N) 190

Valores según la seguridad y poder

Z 
 Test unilateral Test bilateral
0.80 0.842 1.282
0.85 1.036 1.440
0.90 1.282 1.645
0.95 1.645 1.960
0.98 1.960 2.240
0.99 2.326 2.576
Potencia
 (1-) Z 
0.01 0.99 2.326
0.05 0.95 1.645
0.10 0.90 1.282
0.15 0.85 1.036
0.20 0.80 0.842
0.25 0.75 0.674
0.30 0.70 0.524
0.35 0.65 0.385
0.40 0.60 0.253
0.45 0.55 0.126
0.50 0.50 0.000

Así tenemos que la muestra que trabajaremos será de 190 estudiantes que se estratificaran de acuerdo a
las proporciones que nos muestra el índice de conformidad con el aprendizaje, de acuerdo a los
indicadores que se muestran en el Anexo 2.

RESULTADOS

Este es una presentación parcial de proyecto, únicamente se ha aplicado una prueba piloto para corregir la
encuesta a aplicar y tener una mayor precisión, si embargo ya se han tomado algunas medidas favorables
a los alumnos por parte de la autoridad. La prueba piloto marco algunos factores de mayor incidencia
como sigue:

a) Problemas Económicos.- Para lo cual se amplían los tramites de Beca y facilidades.
b) Horarios no adecuados
c) Factor positivo algunas actividades deportivas
d) Percepción de que los egresados de la institución son empleados rápidamente (factor positivo)
e) Alta tasa de reprobación en el semestre 1 y 2 en Ciencias Básicas

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Figura 1: Cuadro Comparativo de los dos últimos semestres entre egresados y titulados

Tabla 1: Indicadores De Conformidad Con El Aprendizaje Senestre Enero Junio De 2011:

conformidad general
creditos_asignados creditos_aprobados conformidad
68637 84490 81%

Tabla 2: Indicadores de conformidad por carrera

conformidad por carrera
carrera plan aprobado reprobado total conformidad
contador publico copu-2010-205 1033 355 1388 74%
ingenieria electrica iele-2005-290 3806 1010 4816 79%
ingenieria electrica iele-2010-209 800 391 1191 67%
ingenieria electronica ielc-2004-292 2686 610 3296 81%
ingenieria electronica ielc-2010-211 542 223 765 71%
ingenieria en energias renovables ienr-2010-217 401 129 530 76%
ingenieria en gestion empresarial igem-2009-201 1101 221 1322 83%
ingenieria en informatica iinf-2010-220 392 95 487 80%
ingenieria en logistica ilog-2009-202 496 129 625 79%
ing. en sistemas computacionales isic-2004-296 5840 961 6801 86%
ing. en sistemas computacionales isic-2010-224 1873 1180 3053 61%
ingenieria industrial iind-1993-297 8 8 16 50%
ingenieria industrial iind-2004-297 13384 2118 15502 86%
ingenieria industrial iind-2010-227 3071 872 3943 78%
ingenieria mecanica imec-1993-298 40 0 40 100%
ingenieria mecanica imec-2005-298 5320 1152 6472 82%
ingenieria mecanica imec-2010-228 1414 661 2075 68%
ingenieria mecatronica imct-2002-001 8 0 8 100%
ingenieria mecatronica imct-2005-284 9676 2062 11738 82%
ingenieria mecatronica imct-2010-229 3052 1109 4161 73%
ingenieria quimica iqui-1993-299 40 0 40 100%
ingenieria quimica iqui-2005-299 4464 629 5093 88%
ingenieria quimica iqui-2010-232 1278 510 1788 71%
licenciatura en contaduria lcon-1993-302 10 20 30 33%
licenciatura en contaduria lcon-2004-302 4202 572 4774 88%
licenciatura en informatica linf-2004-303 3700 836 4536 82%

0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
2008-2 2009-1 2009-2 2010-1
EGRESADOS
TITULADOS

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Tabla 3: Indicadores de Conformidad por departamento

conformidad por departamento
Departamento Aprobados Reprobados Total Conformidad
Ciencias Básicas 11286 4555 15841 71%
Económico Administrativas 13114 2165 15279 86%
Eléctrica Electrónica 9536 2768 12304 78%
Industrial 12157 2066 14223 85%
Metal Mecánica 7713 1154 8867 87%

CONCLUSIONES

De acuerdo con los indicadores de eficiencia terminal y del índice de conformidad con el aprendizaje si
existe la posibilidad de que impacte positivamente los factores de resiliencia de los alumnos.
Tomando como base la prueba piloto y la observación en general se evidencian factores como: trámites
administrativos, facilidades de horario, servicios culturales y deportivos en donde es posible construir
positivamente factores motivantes.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Garbarino, J. (1975), “A Child´s a Healthy Environment”, Springer

Garmezy, N. “Children in Poverty, (1993) “Resiliency despite Risk”, Psychiatry 56: 127-36

González Casanova, P. (1975), La falacia de la investigación en ciencias sociales. México, Océano (48,
pp. 25-28).
Henderson, N. y Milstein (2005), “Resiliencia en la Escuela, Buenos Aires”, 1era. Edición, Paidós,

Mercado, S. (2008), “Metodología de la Investigación”, Editorial Publicaciones Administrativas.
Contables. Jurídicas, S.A. de C.V. México.

Manciaux, M. “compilador La resiliencia: resistir y rehacerse”. Editorial Gedisa

Osborn, N. y Grawohl, D. M. (1990), “Exploring Buried Boxton”, 1University of Iowa Press.

Perrenoud, P. (1996). “La construcción del éxito y del fracaso escolar”. Madrid Ediciones Morata, S.L.

Pagliarulo, E. “Tutoría educativa”: espacio para la construcción de resiliencia, consultado en Internet en:
http://www.fpsico.unr.edu.ar/congreso/mesas/Mesa%207/pagliarulo_elisabetta el 29 de Septiembre de
2011.

Werner, E.E. y Smith, R.S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A study of resilient children. New York:
McGraw-Hill. Consultado en el Internet el 16 de Agosto de 2011 en :
http://www.papelesdelpsicólogo.es/vernumero.asp?id=1283

Werner, E.E. y Smith, R.S. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Consultado en el Internet el 16 de Agosto de 2011 en:
http://www.papelesdelpsicólogo.es/vernumero.asp?id=1283

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WIKIPEDIA, Consultado el concepto de Resiliencia en el Internet el 16 de Agosto de 2011 en:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resiliencia_%28psicolog%C3%ADa%29

BIOGRAGÍA

Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal es Maestra en Contaduría por la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California,
profesora de tiempo completo en la Universidad, adscrita a la cátedra de Análisis Financiero y
Contabilidad de Sociedades Mercantiles. Se puede contactar en la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas,
en Blvd. Río Nuevo y Eje Central sin número, en Mexicali, Baja California, correo electrónico
gnieves@uabc.edu.mx

Rafael Cruz Casanova es Maestro en Administración por la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California,
profesor de asignatura en la Universidad, adscrito a la cátedra de Finanzas Internacionales,
Administración de Capital de Trabajo y Formulación y Evaluación de Proyectos de Inversión. Se puede
contactar en la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, en Blvd. Río Nuevo y Eje Central sin número, en
Mexicali, Baja California, correo electrónico rcruzcasanova@hotmail.com.

Manuel Muñoz Aguilera es Maestro en Administración por la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California,
profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad, adscrito a la cátedra de Mercadotecnia y Administración
Estratégica. Se puede contactar en la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, en Blvd. Río Nuevo y Eje
Central sin número, en Mexicali, Baja California, correo electrónico rcruzcasanova@hotmail.com.

Leonel Rosiles López. Es Doctor en Ciencias Administrativas por la Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California, profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad, adscrito a las cátedras de posgrado. Se puede
contactar en la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, en Blvd. Río Nuevo y Eje Central sin número, en
Mexicali, Baja California, correo electrónico leonelrosiles@uabc.edu.mx.

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EL IMPUESTO AL VALOR AGREGADO EN MÉXICO,
SUS EXENCIONES Y LAS DIFERENTES TASAS:
FACTORES QUE AFECTAN LA RECAUDACIÓN
Martha Sheila Gómez González, Universidad de Guadalajara
Mónica Araceli Reyes Rodríguez, Universidad de Guadalajara

RESUMEN

Una de las características que más afectan el esquema tributario mexicano es la variedad de distorsiones
que contempla, lo cual ha resultado en un sistema complicado y que disminuye la recaudación. Si bien es
cierto que los impuestos al consumo son los más fáciles de recaudar, en el caso del IVA, sus diferentes
tasas y exenciones son elementos que dificultan el cumplimiento tributario del mismo y originan como
consecuencia evasión fiscal.

México es uno de los países de América Latina que presenta los más bajos ingresos tributarios, en el
caso del IVA se presenta una eficiencia recaudatoria muy por debajo del promedio, debido a la
dispersión de tasas. Si se considera el establecer una sola tasa general para los diferentes productos y
servicios se lograría un mayor cumplimiento y recaudación, incluso, contemplando una disminución de
la tasa general que actualmente es del 16%. La eliminación de diversas exenciones y de la tasa 0% que
hoy generan graves distorsiones al sistema tributario traería beneficios que alcanzarían para compensar
en forma satisfactoria a los grupos de la población que podrían resultar perjudicados con la reforma.

En el presente trabajo se realiza un análisis a las exenciones y las diferentes tasas de IVA existentes, a fin
de determinar el efecto que éstos tienen en la recaudación.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Exenciones, tasas, IVA, recaudación

INTRODUCCIÓN

México es de los países que tienen una menor recaudación de impuestos comparado con la mayoría de los
países latinoamericanos.

Con una carga tributaria de alrededor de 11% del PIB, México tiene una estructura tributaria similar a la
de países que recaudan el doble. Las tasas del ISR y del IVA son equivalentes a las de países con grados
de desarrollo similares.

En materia de impuestos al consumo las exenciones y tratamientos especiales son comunes en el mundo.
La principal diferencia entre México y el resto de los países de la OCDE estriba en las tasas
preferenciales. Así, mientras aquí los tratamientos se encuentran concentrados en tasa cero o exención, en
los países de dicha organización se canalizan por medio de tasas positivas. Esto impacta de manera
importante la productividad del impuesto, ya que cuando la tasa preferencial es positiva, la recaudación se
incrementa, la que al ser dividida sobre una tasa general, tiende a arrojar un indicador de eficiencia
mayor.

En México, como en la mayoría de los países de América y Europa, con los que se tiene más relación
comercial y diplomática, existe un impuesto al consumo, llamado Impuesto al Valor Agregado, que en el

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caso mexicano, está compuesto por tres tasas, que varían dependiendo de la localización geográfica y el
tipo de artículo gravado, siendo estas tasas de 0%, 11% y 16%.

Esta dispersión de tasas permite a algunos contribuyentes que comercializan artículos gravados con la tasa
0% o que realizan actividades en franja fronteriza (11%) y que erogan gastos gravados a la tasa de 16%
que tengan cantidades importantes de IVA a favor el cual es susceptible de compensarse contra otros
impuestos a cargo o incluso, pedirlo en devolución.

El presente estudio tiene como objetivo realizar un análisis de los factores que afectan la recaudación del
Impuesto al Valor Agregado. Como tales se señalan las exenciones que se contemplan en la Ley así como
las diferentes tasas aplicables según la actividad que se realice.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

El Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA), es un impuesto indirecto que grava el consumo de los
contribuyentes; no repercute en forma directa sobre los ingresos, sino que en primera instancia incide en
los costos y gastos de las empresas para ser trasladados al consumidor final a través de los precios de los
bienes o de los servicios.

Olivera (2005) señala las siguientes características del Impuesto al Valor Agregado:

• Es un impuesto indirecto, generalizado en toda la economía.
• Es un impuesto real, ya que no tiene en cuenta las condiciones del sujeto pasivo.
• Es un impuesto neutral, puesto que grava las ventas en todas las etapas con cuotas uniformes, y
existiendo algunas exenciones. Además, tiene la posibilidad de computar como crédito fiscal el
impuesto abonado en las compras.
• El productor y/o comerciante no incluye en sus costos el IVA y, como en definitiva quien proporciona
los fondos del impuesto es el consumidor final, se dice que el IVA es neutral para los sujetos pasivos
del gravamen.
• Otra de las características es su fácil recaudación, ya que el fisco puede efectuar controles cruzados
entre los débitos y créditos fiscales.
• Como desventaja, se plantea su regresividad: la incidencia del gravamen termina siendo mayor en los
sectores de bajos ingresos que en los de altos ingresos. Las clases de menores ingresos, en realidad,
contribuyen en mayor proporción en términos relativos.
• Otra desventaja del IVA es que su recaudación se complica en la etapa minorista, porque son mayores
los niveles de evasión (los consumidores no reclaman las facturas).

Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado en México

Señala Ayala (2001) que el IVA tuvo su antecedente más próximo en el Impuesto Federal Sobre Ingresos
Mercantiles (ISIM), implantado en el año de 1948, cuyo propósito fue sustituir el impuesto general del
timbre que resultaba obsoleto para gravar el comercio y la industria. El ISIM contemplaba en su inicio
una sola tasa del 3% sobre el importe a la enajenación; posteriormente, en 1971, se le incorpora la tasa
especial del 10% aplicable a productos no necesarios; en 1973 se adopta la tasa del 4% que sustituye a la

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del 3%; en 1974 se incorporan las tasas del 5, 15 y 30% para automóviles y, para 1978 se incluye la tasa
del 7%.

Hernández (2000) menciona que las modificaciones realizadas a la Ley del IVA han servido para
mantener de manera estable la recaudación de ingresos obtenidos mediante este impuesto. Sin embargo,
un elemento importante a destacar es que la productividad del impuesto, en los términos expuestos por
Trigueros y Fernández (2001) no ha mostrado una mejoría relevante.

Una de las muchas propuestas para modificar y hacer más eficiente el IVA consiste en la unificación de
las tasas y el abandono del régimen de exención. Hernández y Zamudio (2004) mencionan que los
regímenes de exenciones y tratamientos especiales son comunes en el mundo, pero que a diferencia de
México el resto de los países de la OCDE manejan tratos preferenciales con tasas positivas, por lo que la
productividad de su impuesto no se ve tan mermada como la nuestra; el autor menciona el caso de Corea
que presenta tratamientos similares al caso de México, pero su productividad es de 35%.

Dentro de las políticas fiscales establecidas en México año con año y con objeto del paquete económico
que se presenta cada año, la Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado ha sufrido modificaciones, se presenta a
continuación la estructura general de la Ley del IVA que se encuentra vigente a la fecha (2011) la cual se
presenta en la Tabla 1.

Tabla 1: Estructura de la Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado

Capítulos Contenido Artículos
I Disposiciones generales 1º Al 7º.
II De la enajenación 8º al 13
III De la prestación de servicios 14 al 18-A
IV Del uso o goce temporal de bienes 19 al 23
V De la importación de bienes y servicios 24 al 28
VI De la exportación de bienes o servicios 29 al 31
VII De las obligaciones de los contribuyentes 32 al 37
VIII De las facultades de las autoridades 38 al 40
IX De las participaciones de las Entidades Federativas 41 al 43
Esta tabla presenta la estructura de la Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado vigente en 2011.

Esta Ley está integrada por nueve capítulos, en donde se mencionan todos aquellos elementos tributarios
que dan origen al nacimiento y pago del gravamen: sujetos, objeto, base, tasas períodos de imposición; sin
embargo a pesar de ser una Ley por el contenido de artículos, pequeña, para su estudio, requiere además
de conocer el contenido de sus artículos, otras fuentes del conocimiento de tipo no fiscal y del ámbito
jurídico, entre otras.

La dispersión de tasas y las exenciones

Las principales características de la tasa 0% son las siguientes:

– No se traslada el IVA a los clientes.
– No hay que pagar IVA sobre los actos o actividades realizados al no existir un impuesto.
– El IVA que les es trasladado a quienes realicen los actos o actividades es acreditable, lo cual permite
acreditarlo, solicitarlo por devolución o bien compensarlo.

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En lo que se refiere a las exenciones y a las actividades que la propia Ley señala como tal, e ingreso que
deja de percibir la autoridad fiscal no se puede determinar ya que no se tiene un control sobre éstas.

Según la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) (2006) la tendencia en las
últimas dos décadas en los países latinoamericanos ha sido de un crecimiento en la importancia del IVA
en sus sistemas recaudatorios y un decrecimiento en los impuestos directos, por lo que se ha tratado de
otorgar mayor homogeneidad a las tasas de IVA y reducir la cantidad de exenciones para conseguir
mayor neutralidad. Señala que la tendencia en Latinoamérica es hacia la reducción de la dispersión de las
tasas de IVA.
Serrano Mancilla (2003) señala que en un sistema fiscal con dispersión de tasas de IVA se tiene un
problema de redistribución con este impuesto, debido precisamente a que la variedad de tasas con el fin
de gravar con una tasa menor a los productos considerados de primera necesidad no siempre beneficia a
las personas de menores recursos.

Elementos del Impuesto al Valor Agregado

De acuerdo a la Ley del IVA vigente se presenta a continuación un análisis de los elementos de los
impuestos:

Sujeto: Conforme al Artículo 1º se encuentran obligadas al pago del impuesto al valor agregado las
personas físicas y las morales que, en territorio nacional, realicen los actos o actividades establecidas por
la Ley.

Objeto: Son objeto de este impuesto las siguientes actividades:
– Enajenación de bienes
– Prestación de servicios independientes
– Uso o goce temporal de bienes.
– Importación de bienes y servicios.
– Exportación de bienes y servicios.

Base: Se considera como tal a los valores que señalan la Ley o a la contraprestación pactada más
cualquier cantidad que se adicione, también establecida en la misma.

Tasa: Para tales efectos la Ley en cuestión establece 3 diferentes tasas; 16% (tasa general), 11% tasa
aplicable a los residentes en región fronteriza que realicen las actividades gravadas establecidas y la tasa
del 0% a los actos o actividades de enajenación de animales, de medicinas de patente y productos
destinados a la alimentación, entre otros.

Específicamente se mencionan a continuación los requisitos y las actividades que se encuentran gravadas
a la tasa 0% las cuales se señalan en el artículo 2º de la citada Ley:

1. Los actos o actividades objeto del impuesto se realicen por residentes en la región fronteriza
2. Cuando la entrega material de los bienes o la prestación de servicio se lleva a cabo en la citada región
fronteriza.
3. Cuando se trate de enajenación de bienes inmuebles en la mencionada región fronteriza.

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Para efecto de lo anterior, se considera región fronteriza:

– Franja fronteriza de 20 kilómetros paralela a las líneas divisorias internacionales del norte y sur del
país.
– Todo el territorio de los estados de Baja California, Baja California Sur y Quintana Roo, los
municipios de Caborca y de Cananea, Sonora.
– La región parcial de Sonora comprendida por los siguientes límites: Al norte, la línea divisoria
internacional desde el cauce del Río Colorado hasta el punto situado en esa línea a 10 kilómetros al
oeste del Municipio Plutarco Elías Calles. Del punto anterior, una línea recta hasta llegar a la costa, a
un punto situado a 10 kilómetros al este de Puerto Peñasco. Del punto anterior, siguiendo el cauce de
ese río, hacia el norte hasta encontrar la línea divisoria internacional.

Actividades: La Ley en cuestión grava las siguientes actividades:

Enajenación de:
• Medicinas de patente.
• Productos destinados a la alimentación.
• Hielo.
• Maquinaria y equipo de molienda.
• Oro, joyas y arte, etc.

Prestación de servicios independientes:
• Destinados para actividades agropecuarias, directamente para agricultores y ganaderos.
• Los de pasteurización de leche.
• Los de sacrificio de ganado y aves de corral.
• Los de suministro de agua para uso doméstico, entre otros.

Uso o goce temporal de:
• Maquinaria a que se refiere el inciso e) de la fracción I.
• Invernaderos hidropónicos y equipos.

Exenciones en la Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado

Conforme lo señala la Ley del IVA, por cada una de las actividades mencionadas en ley, existen actos o
actividades por las cuales no se está obligado al pago de este impuesto, mencionadas a continuación:

Por enajenación (Artículo 9º.)

No se pagará el impuesto en la enajenación de los siguientes bienes:
1. El suelo.
2. Construcciones adheridas al suelo, destinadas o utilizadas para casa habitación. Cuando sólo parte de
las construcciones se utilicen o destinen a casa habitación, no se pagará el impuesto por dicha parte.
Los hoteles no quedan comprendidos en esta fracción.
3. Libros, periódicos y revistas, así como el derecho para usar o explotar una obra, que realice su autor.
4. Bienes muebles usados, a excepción de los enajenados por empresas.

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5. Billetes y demás comprobantes que permitan participar en loterías, rifas, sorteos o juegos con
apuestas y concursos de toda clase, así como los premios respectivos, a que se refiere la Ley del
Impuesto sobre la Renta.
6. Moneda nacional y moneda extranjera, así como las piezas de oro o de plata que hubieran tenido tal
carácter y las piezas denominadas onza troy.
7. Partes sociales, documentos pendientes de cobro y títulos de crédito, con excepción de certificados de
depósito de bienes cuando por la enajenación de dichos bienes se esté obligado a pagar este impuesto
y de certificados de participación inmobiliaria no amortizables u otros títulos que otorguen a su titular
derechos sobre inmuebles distintos a casa habitación o suelo. En la enajenación de documentos
pendientes de cobro, no queda comprendida la enajenación del bien que ampare el documento.
8. Lingotes de oro con un contenido mínimo de 99% de dicho material, siempre que su enajenación se
efectúe en ventas al menudeo con el público en general.
9. La de bienes efectuada entre residentes en el extranjero o por un residente en el extranjero a una
persona moral que cuente con un programa autorizado conforme al Decreto que Establece Programas
de Importación Temporal para Producir Artículos de Exportación o al Decreto para el Fomento y
Operación de la Industria Maquiladora de Exportación o un régimen similar en los términos de la Ley
Aduanera, o sean empresas de la industria automotriz terminal o manufacturera de vehículos de
autotransporte o de autopartes .

Por Prestación de servicios (Artículo 15)

1. Las comisiones y otras contraprestaciones que cubra el acreditado a su acreedor con motivo del
otorgamiento de créditos hipotecarios para la adquisición, ampliación, construcción o reparación de
bienes inmuebles destinados a casa habitación, salvo aquéllas que se originen con posterioridad a la
autorización del citado crédito o que se deban pagar a terceros por el acreditado.
2. Las comisiones que cobren las administradoras de fondos para el retiro o, en su caso, las instituciones
de crédito, a los trabajadores por la administración de sus recursos provenientes de los sistemas de
ahorro para el retiro y por los servicios relacionados con dicha administración, así como las demás
disposiciones derivadas de éstas.
3. Los prestados en forma gratuita, excepto cuando los beneficiarios sean los miembros, socios o
asociados de la persona moral que preste el servicio.
4. Los de enseñanza que preste la Federación, el Distrito Federal, los Estados, los Municipios y sus
organismos descentralizados, y los establecimientos de particulares que tengan autorización o
reconocimiento de validez oficial de estudios, en los términos de la Ley General de Educación, así
como los servicios educativos de nivel preescolar.
5. El transporte público terrestre de personas, excepto por ferrocarril.
6. El transporte marítimo internacional de bienes prestado por personas residentes en el extranjero sin
establecimiento permanente en el país.
7. (Se deroga).
8. (Se deroga).
9. El aseguramiento contra riesgos agropecuarios, los seguros de crédito a la vivienda que cubran el
riesgo de incumplimiento de los deudores de créditos hipotecarios o con garantía fiduciaria para la

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adquisición, ampliación, construcción o reparación de bienes inmuebles, destinados a casa habitación,
los seguros de garantía financiera.
10. Por los que deriven intereses que:
a) Provengan de operaciones en las que el enajenante, el prestador del servicio o quien conceda el uso o
goce temporal de bienes, proporcione financiamiento relacionado con actos o actividades por los que
no se esté obligado al pago de este impuesto o a los que se les aplique la tasa del 0%.
b) Reciban o paguen las instituciones de crédito, las uniones de crédito, las sociedades financieras de
objeto limitado, las sociedades de ahorro y préstamo y las empresas de factoraje financiero, en
operaciones de financiamiento, para las que requieran de autorización y por concepto de descuento en
documentos pendientes de cobro; los que reciban y paguen las sociedades financieras de objeto
múltiple que para los efectos del impuesto sobre la renta formen parte del sistema financiero, por el
otorgamiento de crédito, de factoraje financiero o descuento en documentos pendientes de cobro; los
que reciban los almacenes generales de depósito por créditos otorgados que hayan sido garantizados
con bonos de prenda; así como las comisiones de los agentes y corresponsales de las instituciones de
crédito por dichas operaciones.
c) Reciban las instituciones de fianzas, las de seguros y las sociedades mutualistas de seguros, en
operaciones de financiamiento, excepto tratándose de créditos otorgados a personas físicas que no
gozarían de la exención prevista en el inciso anterior.
d) Provengan de créditos hipotecarios o con garantía fiduciaria para la adquisición, ampliación,
construcción o reparación de bienes inmuebles destinados a casa habitación.
e) Provengan de cajas de ahorro de los trabajadores, y de fondos de ahorro establecido por las empresas
siempre que reúna los requisitos de deducibilidad en los términos de la Ley del Impuesto Sobre la
Renta.
f) Deriven de obligaciones emitidas conforme a lo dispuesto en la Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones
de Crédito.
g) Reciban o paguen las instituciones públicas que emitan bonos y administren planes de ahorro con la
garantía incondicional de pago del Gobierno Federal, conforme a la Ley.
h) Deriven de valores a cargo del Gobierno Federal e inscritos en el Registro Nacional de Valores e
Intermediarios.
i) Deriven de títulos de crédito que sean de los que se consideran como colocados entre el gran público
inversionista, conforme a las reglas generales que al efecto expida la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito
Público o de operaciones de préstamo de títulos, valores y otros bienes fungibles a que se refiere la
fracción III del artículo 14-A del Código Fiscal de la Federación.
11. Por los que se deriven de operaciones financieras derivadas a que se refiere el artículo 16-A del
Código Fiscal de la Federación.
12. Los proporcionados a sus miembros como contraprestación normal por sus cuotas y siempre que los
servicios que presten sean únicamente los relativos a los fines que les sean propios, tratándose de:
a) Partidos, asociaciones, coaliciones y frentes políticos legalmente reconocidos.
b) Sindicatos obreros y organismos que los agrupen
c) Cámaras de comercio e industria, agrupaciones agrícolas, ganaderas, pesqueras o silvícolas, así como
organismos que las reúnan.

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d) Asociaciones patronales y colegios de profesionales.
e) Asociaciones o sociedades civiles organizadas con fines científicos, políticos, religiosos y culturales,
a excepción de aquéllas que proporcionen servicios con instalaciones deportivas cuando el valor de
éstas representen más del 25% del total de las instalaciones.
13. Los de espectáculos públicos por el boleto de entrada, salvo los de teatro y circo, cuando el convenio
con el Estado o Acuerdo con el Departamento del Distrito Federal, donde se presente el espectáculo
no se ajuste a lo previsto en la fracción VI del artículo 41 de esta Ley.
14. Los servicios profesionales de medicina, cuando su prestación requiera título de médico conforme a
las leyes, siempre que sean prestados por personas físicas, ya sea individualmente o por conducto de
sociedades civiles.
15. Los servicios profesionales de medicina, hospitalarios, de radiología, de laboratorios y estudios
clínicos, que presten los organismos descentralizados de la Administración Pública Federal o del
Distrito Federal, o de los gobiernos estatales o municipales.
16. Por los que obtengan contraprestaciones los autores en los casos siguientes:
a) Por autorizar a terceros la publicación de obras escritas de su creación en periódicos y revistas,
siempre que los periódicos y revistas se destinen para su enajenación al público por la persona que
efectúa los pagos por estos conceptos.
b) Por transmitir temporalmente los derechos patrimoniales u otorgar temporalmente licencias de uso a
terceros, correspondientes a obras de su autoría a que se refieren las fracciones I a VII, IX, X, XII,
XIII y XIV del artículo 13 y el artículo 78 de la Ley Federal del Derecho de Autor, que estén inscritas
en el Registro Público del Derecho de Autor de la Secretaría de Educación Pública.
c) Lo dispuesto en los incisos anteriores no aplicará:
1. Cuando se trate de ideas o frases publicitarias, logotipos, emblemas, sellos distintivos, diseños o
modelos industriales, manuales operativos u obras de arte aplicado.
2. Cuando las contraprestaciones deriven de la explotación de las obras escritas o musicales en
actividades empresariales distintas a la enajenación al público de sus obras o en la prestación de
servicios.

Uso o goce temporal (Artículo 20)

1. (Se deroga).
2. Inmuebles destinados o utilizados exclusivamente para casa- habitación. Si un inmueble tuviere
varios destinos o usos, no se pagará el impuesto por la parte destinada o utilizada para casa-
habitación. Lo dispuesto en esta fracción no es aplicable a los inmuebles o parte de ellos que se
proporcionen amueblados o se destinen o utilicen como hoteles o casas de hospedaje.
3. Fincas dedicadas o utilizadas sólo a fines agrícolas o ganaderos.
4. Bienes tangibles cuyo uso o goce sea otorgado por residentes en el extranjero sin establecimiento
permanente en territorio nacional, por los que se hubiera pagado el impuesto en los términos del
artículo 24 de esta Ley.
5. Libros, periódicos y revistas.

Importaciones (Artículo 25)

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1. Las que, en los términos de la legislación aduanera, no lleguen a consumarse, sean temporales, tengan
el carácter de retorno de bienes exportados temporalmente o sean objeto de tránsito o transbordo.
Tampoco se pagará este impuesto por los bienes que se introduzcan al país mediante el régimen
aduanero de recinto fiscalizado estratégico.
2. Las de equipajes y menajes de casa a que se refiere la legislación aduanera.
3. Las de bienes cuya enajenación en el país y las de servicios por cuya prestación en territorio nacional
no den lugar al pago del impuesto al valor agregado o cuando sean de los señalados en el artículo 2-A
de esta Ley.
4. Las de bienes donados por residentes en el extranjero a la Federación, entidades federativas,
municipios o a cualquier otra persona que mediante reglas de carácter general autorice la Secretaría
de Hacienda y Crédito Público.
5. Las de obras de arte que por su calidad y valor cultural sean reconocidas como tales por las
instituciones oficiales competentes, siempre que se destinen a exhibición pública en forma
permanente.
6. Las de obras de arte creadas en el extranjero por mexicanos o residentes en territorio nacional, que
por su calidad y valor cultural sean reconocidas como tales por las instituciones oficiales
competentes, siempre que la importación sea realizada por su autor.
7. Oro, con un contenido mínimo de dicho material del 80%.
8. La de vehículos, que se realice de conformidad con el artículo 62, fracción I de la Ley Aduanera,
siempre que se cumpla con los requisitos y condiciones que señale la Secretaría de Hacienda y
Crédito Público mediante reglas de carácter general.

METODOLOGÍA

En esta investigación descriptiva y evaluativa; se realiza una recopilación de información confiable y
válida que ha sido publicada por Dependencias Gubernamentales y por Organismos Internacionales.
Para desarrollar las secuencias operativas de la investigación, se realizaron los siguientes pasos:
– Recopilación del material bibliográfico, histórico, legal y estadístico pertinente a los objetivos y
fundamentos teóricos del estudio, a la selección de información y a los antecedentes del marco
teórico.
– Definición de los aspectos metodológicos pertinentes al desarrollo del estudio.
– Análisis estadístico y discusión de los resultados.

RESULTADOS

El Impuesto al Valor Agregado es el segundo impuesto más importante en términos de recaudación,
después del ISR. De acuerdo con la Ley de Ingresos de la Federación para el Ejercicio fiscal para 2011, el
Estado espera recaudar en el ejercicio de 2011, la cantidad de 555 mil 677 millones de pesos, lo que
representa el 3.9 por ciento respecto al PIB, y el 38% de sus ingresos tributarios. Mientras que el
Impuesto Sobre la Renta representa el impuesto más importante con una recaudación estimada para el
mismo ejercicio del 688 mil 965 millones de pesos, que representa el 47% del total de los ingresos
tributarios.

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A continuación se presenta la Tabla 2 la cual contiene los principales indicadores de recaudación de IVA
e ISR de Enero a Septiembre de 2011, la cual fue publicada por la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito
Público en el Informe sobre la Situación Económica, las Finanzas Públicas y la Deuda Pública:

Tabla 2: Ingresos del Sector Público (Tributarios) Enero a Septiembre 2011

Concepto Monto
Tributarios 959,924.3
ISR + IETU + IMPAC + IDE 572,286.3
Impuesto Sobre la Renta 539,001.3
Impuesto Empresarial a Tasa Única 38,281.2
Impuesto al Activo -661.4
Impuesto a los depósitos en efectivo -4,334.8
Impuesto al Valor Agregado 379,155.8
Impuesto Especial Sobre Producción y Servicios -49,232.5
Impuesto a la Importación 19,373.3
Otros impuestos 38,341.4
Ingresos Tributarios del Sector Público. Cifras señaladas en millones de pesos.

Se desprende de la Tabla 2 que el porcentaje del Impuesto al Valor Agregado recaudado en el periodo de
Enero a Septiembre de 2011 representa un 39.45% con relación del total de los ingresos tributarios.

De igual manera, se en Tabla 3 se señala el monto del ISR e IVA que le fue devuelto a los contribuyentes
en el periodo de Enero a Septiembre de 2011, contenidos en el Informe Tributario y de Gestión de la
Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, correspondiente al tercer trimestre de 2011.

Tabla 3: Monto del ISR e IVA Devuelto de Enero a Septiembre de 2011

Concepto Monto
Impuesto Sobre la Renta 22,758.0
Impuesto al Valor Agregado 184,296.0
Total 207,054.0
Devoluciones de ISR e IVA del periodo de Enero a Septiembre 2011. Cifras señaladas en millones de pesos.

Como puede observarse en la Tabla 3, el monto del IVA devuelto en el periodo que se señala representa
el 19.19% del total de los ingresos tributarios, mientas que en relación con el IVA recaudado corresponde
a un 48.61%, lo cual indica que el costo de mantener las tasas 0 y 11% es alto. Mientras que el ISR
devuelto en relación al ISR recaudado ambos del mismo periodo representa el 4.22%

CONCLUSIONES

Una de las posibles razones de la recaudación del IVA es la variación de la tasa general (16%) a las tasas
preferenciales (0% y 11%) y es precisamente al tipo de bienes a las que aplica esta tasa. En especial una
buena proporción de los bienes sujetos a la tasa 0% es producida en la informalidad, siendo un sector que
en la mayor parte no contribuye al pago de impuestos, independientemente de las tasas. Considerando
además que gran parte de este sector enajena productos de contrabando y piratería, y siendo ilegales hace
difícil pensar que contribuirían al pago del impuesto.

Para quienes son contribuyentes la poca claridad que existe en la Ley del IVA origina que no sea fácil
identificar la tasa a la cual se encuentran gravados los bienes y servicios que proporcionan, permitiendo
además la elusión fiscal, otro factor muy importante en la baja recaudación.

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Por otro lado, el Impuesto al Valor Agregado que recauda la autoridad fiscal se ve afectado por la
devolución que del mismo realiza a los contribuyentes por tratarse de actividades gravadas a tasa 0 ó
11%, sin considerar además las actividades exentas o por las cuales no se tiene la obligación de pagar el
impuesto.

El Estado debe considerar la no aplicación de la tasa 0% en gran parte de los productos de la canasta
básica y los medicamentos, así como en las actividades primarias (agricultura, ganadería, silvicultura y
pesca) ya que es a través de este tipo de contribuyentes a quienes la autoridad fiscal les devuelve grandes
cantidades de IVA. Si bien es cierto que la aplicación de la tasa 0% a estos productos es para beneficiar a
las clases sociales más bajas en términos económicos, son éstos quienes menores beneficios reciben en la
prestación de los servicios públicos.

Considerar una tasa general permitiría una mayor recaudación al tener una ley clara y sin tantas lagunas
que permiten a los contribuyentes el no pagar el impuesto correctamente. E Estado debe valorar la
aplicación de una tasa general que incrementaría la recaudación y facilitaría la fiscalización al ser más
eficiente.

REFERENCIAS

Ayala, J. (2001). Economía del Sector Público Mexicano (2ª ed.). México: Editorial Esfinge.

Castelletti, B, (2009) Impuestos en América Latina: ¿importan la riqueza y la desigualdad? Francia:
OECD

CEPAL (2006) Sistemas tributarios y reformas en América Latina, [Archivo en línea], recuperado
Octubre 28, 2011 a partir de http://www.eclac.org

Hernández, F. (2000). Los Impuestos en México: ¿Quién los paga y Cómo? En Programa de Presupuesto
y Gasto Público. México: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas.

Hernández, F. y A. Zamudio (2004). Evasión Fiscal en México: el Caso del IVA. [Archivo en línea],
Recuperado Octubre 23, 2011 a partir de
ftp://ftp2.sat.gob.mx/asistencia_servicio_ftp/publicaciones/estudios_ef/eef_iva

Informes sobre la Situación Económica, las Finanzas Públicas y la Deuda Pública. Tercer Trimestre de
2011. Anexos [Archivo en línea], Recuperado Noviembre 1, 2011 a partir de
http://www.shcp.gob.mx/documentos_recientes_bliblioteca/comunicado_135_2011

Informe Tributario y de Gestión 2011, Tercer Trimestre [Archivo en línea], Recuperado Noviembre 4,
2011 a partir de http://www.sat.gob.mx/sitio_internet/informe_tributario/informe2011t3/

Sánchez, A. (2005). Aplicación Práctica del Impuesto al Valor Agregado. México: Editorial ISEF.

Serrano Mancilla, A (2003) Reforma del Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido: evaluación del impacto
redistributivo, pobreza y bienestar social, Tesis Doctoral, España: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

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Trigueros, I. y A. Fernández (2001). Análisis Evaluación y Propuesta para una Re-forma Tributaria, Una
Agenda para las Finanzas Públicas en México. México: ITAM.

Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (2011) México: Editorial ISEF

BIOGRAFÍA

Martha Sheila Gómez González, Profesora del Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur de la Universidad de
Guadalajara de las Asignaturas de Impuestos IV y Contabilidad de Costos. La puede contactar en: Av.
Independencia Nacional 151, Autlán de la Grana Jalisco, México, C.P. 48900. Email:
sheilag@cucsur.udg.mx

Mónica Araceli Reyes Rodríguez, Profesora del Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur de la Universidad de
Guadalajara, Estudiante del Doctorado en Planeación Estratégica en la Universidad Popular Autónoma
del Estado de Puebla. La puede contactar en: Av. Independencia Nacional 151, Autlán de la Grana
Jalisco, México, C.P. 48900. Email: mreyes@cucsur.udg.mx

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FUENTES DE FINANCIAMIENTO EN LAS PYMES
EXPORTADORAS DEL ESTADO DE COLIMA MÉXICO
Jesús Otoniel Sosa Rodríguez, Universidad de Colima.
Aurelio Deniz Guizar, Universidad de Colima.
Óscar Bernardo Reyes Real, Universidad de Colima.

RESUMEN

La presente investigación se basa en las fuentes de financiamiento de las pequeñas y medianas empresas
exportadoras del estado de Colima. La exploración de la información fue a través de una investigación
de campo y se llegó al siguiente resultado: Las Pymes exportadoras de Colima, ignoran la existencia de
diversas fuentes de financiamiento ofrecidas por la banca privada, el gobierno y las bancas de desarrollo
del país. Al obtener los resultados, se presenta algunas fuentes de financiamiento específicas que pueden
usar las Pymes exportadoras, así como apoyos ofrecidos por el Gobierno Federal.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Con el paso del tiempo, las empresas se han envuelto en el fenómeno de la globalización, dicho fenómeno
ha causado que las empresas se encuentren interrelacionadas y que el mundo se haya convertido en una
pequeña aldea de negociación.Sin embargo, para poder hacer negocios en el exterior, las pequeñas y
medianas empresas denominadas Pymes en la presente investigación, se han visto en la necesidad de
acceder a fuentes de financiamiento que les permita incrementar su capacidad de producción y apoyos
gubernamentales que les facilite el proceso y la mejora de la exportación de sus productos .En el estado
de Colima, el crecimiento de pequeñas y medianas empresas que se dedican a la exportación ha ido
incrementándose, no obstante también se enfrentan a la situación generalizada de las Pymes en México,
en la cual se desconocen los tipos de financiamiento y apoyos gubernamentales a los cuales pueden
acceder.Por lo anterior, surge la necesidad de estructurar una gama de fuentes de financiamiento a la cual
puedan tener acceso las pequeñas y medianas empresas en Colima, así como agrupar los apoyos
gubernamentales que se están brindando en México para las pequeñas y medianas empresas exportadoras.
En la actualidad, el nivel de la actividad comercial de las empresas depende en gran medida de las
transacciones y sucesos internacionales debido a la globalización, por lo que las empresas exportadoras al
estar en un entorno cambiante se enfrentan a diversos riesgos financieros como lo son los tipos de cambio
y las tasas de interés, que afectan directamente las decisiones de inversión y financiamiento de las
mismas.Según D´Acosta (2000), en la toma de decisiones de carácter financiero es importante para las
empresas mexicanas tomar en cuenta algunas recomendaciones prácticas y que ayudan a maximizar la
estructura y costo de capital. Aunque algunas de ellas distan de ser netamente financieras, de una u otra
manera deben ser consideradas a la hora de la toma de decisiones.

En México las Pymes pueden recurrir a diversas fuentes de financiamiento cuando requieren recursos
económicos para su crecimiento o subsistencia. Normalmente se piensa en la obtención de un crédito
bancario o en aportación de su patrimonio. Pero además existen muchas otras opciones para obtener los
recursos necesarios que les permitirán operar rentablemente o impulsar sus proyectos de expansión.
Según cifras publicadas por la Secretaría de Economía de México, en el año 2009 existían en México
5’144,056 empresas, de las cuales el 99.8 por ciento eran MiPyME’s. Las cuales participan dentro de las
actividades económicas de la siguiente forma: 47.1% en servicios, 26% en el comercio, 18% en la

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industria manufacturera y el resto de las actividades representan el 8.9%, mismas que concentran el
78.5% del personal ocupado.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Hoy en día, el financiamiento de las empresas a nivel mundial se ve disminuido con la creciente crisis
financiera de 2008 y la desaceleración económica mundial provocada por las economías europeas y la
estadounidense. Las instituciones bancarias se ven obligadas a ser más selectivos con los créditos que se
otorgarán debido a la debacle mundial, por lo que el acceso al financiamiento estará más restringido.
Debido a esto, las empresas tendrán que buscar fuentes alternas de financiamiento, así como apoyos que
brinde el gobierno federal.Sin embargo, la mayoría de las empresas desconoce la diversa gama de
financiamiento a la cual pueden acceder, recurriendo principalmente al crédito de proveedores.

Actualmente se clasifica a las empresas por su tamaño en micro, pequeñas, medianas y grandes empresas,
en algunos países esta clasificación depende exclusivamente del número de empleados, en otros se
considera también el monto de sus capitales y/o de sus ingresos o utilidades. Por esto, al querer comparar
las estadísticas de las empresas de diferentes países, existe una gran confusión en cuanto a su clasificación
pero en general se les llama MiPymes al conjunto de las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas o bien
Pymes a las pequeñas y medianas empresas, englobando en estos términos a todas las empresas que no
son grandes negocios corporativos, entendiendo como tales a aquéllos con más de 100 ó 500 empleados.
En palabras de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (OCDE: 2000.) “A nivel
internacional, en la mayoría de los países, las MPYMES representan más del 95% del total de empresas,
proporcionan entre el 60 y 70% del empleo y contribuyen entre el 50 y 60% del Producto Interno Bruto”.
En la Tabla No. 1 se presenta la clasificación de las empresas por el número de trabajadores de acuerdo a
la Ley para el desarrollo y la competitividad PYME, publicada en el Diario Oficial de la Federación
(DOF) del día 30 de diciembre 2002.

Tabla 1: Clasificación por Número de Trabajadores

sector / tamaño industria comercio servicios
micro empresa 0 – 10 0 – 10 0 – 10
pequeña empresa 11 – 50 11 – 30 11 – 50
mediana empresa 51 – 250 31 – 100 51 – 100

Fuente: Diario Oficial de la Federación 2002.

Con base en el último CENSO económico de 2004, realizado por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística
Geografía e Informática (INEGI), en México, la mayoría de las empresas constituidas dentro de los 3
sectores de la economía, se encuentran distribuidas por tamaño y sector como lo refleja la Tabla No. 3:

Rodríguez (2004, 110) observa diferentes maneras de catalogar las pequeñas y medianas empresas, la
forma que se destaca la organización, es la siguiente: De acuerdo a la Administración de Pequeños
Negocios por su denominación en inglés (Small Business Administration of US), la pequeña empresa
emplea hasta 250 personas, mientras que la mediana empresa tiene de 250 a 500 trabajadores. Según la
Comisión Económica para América Latina (CEPAL), se considera pequeña empresa aquella que tiene
entre 5 y 49 empleados y la mediana empresa aquella que emplea entre 50 y 250 trabajadores.Para efectos
de este trabajo se considerará, como Pyme a la pequeña y mediana empresa que cuente de 11 a 100
trabajadores, tal como lo establece la Ley para el desarrollo y la competitividad PYME. La disponibilidad

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de financiamiento bancario es condición indispensable para que exista una inversión y esto ocasión
cambios positivos en las variables macroeconómicas del país, es por ello que el acceso al financiamiento
juega un papel crucial en el crecimiento y desarrollo económico.

Tabla 2: Composición de Empresas por Tamaño y Sector

Tamaño Sector Total
Industria Comercio Servicios 2,844,308
Micro 94.4 94.9 97.4 95.7
Pequeña 3.7 4.0 1.6 3.1
Mediana 1.7 0.9 0.5 0.9
Grandes 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.3
Total 100 100 100 100

Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, Censo económico 2004.

Actualmente las Pymes, presenta varias opciones de financiamiento además del crédito bancario, a
continuación se presenta un breve análisis de las mismas:

El Crédito Bancario: Las pequeñas y medianas empresas no hacen gran uso del crédito bancario, ya que
argumentan que los plazos para cubrir el capital solicitado son cortos y las tasas de interés son muy altas.
Además, los trámites que se tienen que realizar para poder tener acceso a los créditos ofrecidos por las
instituciones bancarias, son extensos y difíciles de reunir.Con base en información publicada por el Banco
de México con fecha de Enero de 2005 a Marzo de 2009, la utilización de crédito bancario por parte de
las pequeñas empresas comprende un porcentaje mínimo de utilización, ya que el porcentaje de
financiamiento que más se ha utilizado es el 20.5% en el primer trimestre de 2008; sin embargo, para el
primer trimestre de 2009 el financiamiento disminuyó a un 15.83%. Mientras que la utilización de crédito
bancario por parte de las medianas empresas comprende un porcentaje mayor que el de las pequeñas
empresas, sin embargo, no es muy grande la diferencia. Es notable que el uso de crédito bancario por
parte de las empresas de tamaño mediano, ha ido creciendo hasta alcanzar su máximo en el primer
trimestre de 2009 con un 32.64%.

El crédito de Proveedores: Las empresas grandes y exportadoras, al tener acceso a fuentes de recursos
externos, han logrado obtener condiciones de financiamiento más favorables que las alcanzadas por las
empresas pequeñas, orientadas al mercado interno, estas últimas se han visto obligadas a financiar su
expansión o a sobrevivir con recursos propios y con crédito de proveedores.

Las tarjetas de crédito:Otra de las fuentes alternas de financiamiento que se pueden obtener en las
empresas es a través de las tarjetas de crédito bancarias, con las cuales, las empresas buscan obtener
dinero en efectivo, al retirar de los cajeros automáticos o utilizar cheques de caja expedidos y cargados a
las tarjetas de crédito. Otro uso que tienen las tarjetas para los empresarios, es la compra de insumos así
como el pago a ciertos proveedores que actualmente cuenta con terminal de pago.

Gobierno:El apoyo al establecimiento y evolución de las Pymes, a través de financiamiento y asesoría
técnica, se han convertido en la meta primordial de la banca de desarrollo y en especial de sus principales
instituciones, ProMéxico, Nafin y Bancomext, que absorben aproximadamente el 90% de la cartera de
créditos.Existen diversos apoyos que brinda el gobierno federal de México para las Pymes, en algunos
casos, los apoyos están dedicados a las empresas exportadoras específicamente.Cabe hacer mención que
debido a la importancia que representan las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas, el gobierno Federal

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decidió crear durante el 2009 una subsecretaría que las atendiera con el nombre de Subsecretaría para la
Pequeña y Mediana Empresa (SPyME).

METODOLOGÍA

El objetivo principal de esta investigación es buscar y crear el conocimiento referente a la fuentes de
financiamiento a las cuales acceden las pymes exportadoras de Colima y a cuáles podrían acceder.
Resulta interesante resolver algunas cuestiones: ¿Conocen las fuentes de financiamiento a las cuales
pueden acceder las PYMES?, ¿Cómo apoya el Gobierno a las Pymes exportadoras? Además se pueden
enlistar algunos objetivos específicos que se cumplirán al término de la investigación: indagar sobre las
prácticas actuales que tienen las Pymes exportadoras del Estado de Colima para financiarse, analizar el
fomento federal de apoyo a las Pymes exportadora.

El cumplimiento de los objetivos planteados, así como la resolución a las preguntas elaboradas para la
investigación, conducen una hipótesis general. Las pequeñas y medianas empresas exportadoras del
estado de Colima no acceden a todas las fuentes financiamiento y programas de apoyo gubernamentales
que pueden usar. La investigación tendrá un enfoque cuantitativo ya que para comprobar la hipótesis, el
estudio se basará en los instrumentos de medición aplicados, dichos instrumentos son cuestionarios que se
podrán tabular de manera estadística, a través de herramientas informáticas como el Excel. Cabe hacer
mención que la información analizada fue obtenida de una encuesta que se aplicó al total de las empresas
exportadoras en el estado de Colima (62), sin importar su tamaño, es decir, se realizó un censo. Sin
embargo, solo se consideraron los datos obtenidos de las 46 Pymes que resultaron de dicha investigación
de campo, por ser el objeto de estudio de la presente tesis. La investigación de campo se realizó durante el
2008.

RESULTADOS

Con base en información prestada por el Banco de México, del 100% de las empresas exportadoras en el
país, aproximadamente el 30 % de ellas usan el crédito bancario como fuente de financiamiento,
confirmando de manera parcial que el acceso al crédito de los bancos es insuficiente para financiar sus
operaciones.Con base en información proporcionada por PROMEXICO y la Secretaría de Economía del
país en el último trimestre de 2008, se aplicaron un total de 62 cuestionarios, de los cuales solo 46 fueron
contestados completamente porque el objeto de estudio eran solamente las Pymes y no todas las empresas
exportadoras, cabe hacer mención que se hace la consideración de empresa pyme, por la cantidad de
empleados que laboran en la misma. Como resultado de la investigación de campo realizada, se puede
determinar el estado de las pymes exportadoras de Colima en el 2008, referente a su acceso al
financiamiento: La realidad de las Pymes exportadoras en Colima es que, la mayoría (89%) han solicitado
financiamiento, sin embargo, su situación no dista mucho de la realidad del país, el principal medio de
financiamiento que utilizan es el que reciben por parte de los proveedores con un 56%, el 27% del
financiamiento que reciben proviene de créditos bancarios, solo un 10 % proviene de fondos financiados
por el gobierno y el restante 7% se financia con tarjetas de crédito. Al cuestionarse a los empresarios
acerca del apoyo que han recibido por parte del Gobierno Federal Mexicano, respondieron que el 59% de
las Pymes exportadoras del estado de Colima han recibido apoyo del gobierno para poder realizar sus
exportaciones, los apoyos van desde asesoría hasta devolución por el pago de impuestos realizados.
Como resultado se observa que, las Pymes en México no tienen mucho acceso al crédito bancario debido
a las tasas de interés y los excesivos trámites que se requieren para poder obtenerlo, provocando con ello
que el principal medio de financiamiento de las Pymes sean los proveedores.El caso de las Pymes
exportadoras en Colima, no dista mucho de la situación general del país, pues la mayor parte de
financiamiento que obtienen los empresarios es por parte de los proveedores.Debido a lo anterior, se
presenta una gama de fuentes de financiamiento para las pymes exportadoras:Dentro de la banca privada

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destaca la participación de 13 instituciones de banca múltiple como HSBC, Santander, Banamex, BANSI,
entre otras que brindan el apoyo las Pymes a través de créditos focalizados en capital de trabajo y activo
fijo principalmente, con tasas fijas y variables, a continuación se enlista la información relativa a los
mismos.

Tabla 3: Créditos otorgados por la banca privada.

banorte crediactivo paraguas (banorte) capital de trabajo y activo fijo
crediactivo (banorte) capital de trabajo

bbvabancomer credito liquido pyme efectivo
credito simple pyme efectivo
credito capital de trabajo negocios capital de trabajo
credito equipamiento negocios equipamiento
tarjeta a negocios (bbva) capital de trabajo

hsbc crédito negocios millón (hsbc) capital de trabajo
credito a negocios equipamiento maquinaria y equipo
crédito negocios equipamiento millón (hsbc) capital de trabajo
crédito a negocios (hsbc) inventarios y equipamiento menor

santander serfin crédito simple capital de trabajo
crédito pyme [emergente] capital de trabajo, maquinaria y equipo, activo fijo
crédito ágil (santander-serfin) capital de trabajo

banregio regio mipyme capital de trabajo
regio mipyme activo fijo (maquinaria y equipo)

banco del bajio mipyme-bajío capital de trabajo y activo fijo
pyme bajío capital de trabajo y activo fijo

unicrese credi pyme unicrese capital de trabajo (empresas en marcha)
credi pyme unicrese capital de trabajo (empresas nuevas)
credi pyme unicrese activo fijo (empresas en marcha)
credi pyme unicrese activo fijo (empresas nuevas)

htr pyme sofol financiamiento maquinaria y equipo hir pyme maquinaria y equipo

mifel crédito pyme mifel capital de trabajo

afirme crédito pyme (afirme) capital de trabajo
crédito pyme (afirme) activo fijo

bansi crédito simple (bansi) efectivo

banamex crédito revolvente (banamex) efectivo

monex creditos en moneda nacional capital de trabajo y adquisicion de bienes
creditos capital de trabajo y adquisicion de bienes

Si se está buscando apoyos a la exportación específicamente, como es el caso de la presente investigación,
la Secretaría de Economía a través de la Subsecretaría de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa, se integran en
el Programa de Oferta Exportable PyME, el cual tiene como objetivo impulsar y facilitar la incorporación
y permanencia de las Micros, Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas (MiPyME’s) a la actividad exportadora,
desde un enfoque de corto y mediano plazos de internacionalización de las empresas mexicanas. Para el
cumplimiento de éste objetivo, el Programa de Oferta Exportable PyME cuenta con las siguientes
herramientas programáticas institucionales de apoyo a la MiPyME’s, en materia de exportaciones:
Programa de Centros Pymexporta, Programa de Impulsoras de la Oferta Exportable en el Extranjero,
Sistema Nacional de Orientación al Exportador – Módulos de Orientación al Exportador (SNOE-MOE),

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=16

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=1

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=160

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=159

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=158

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=157

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=2

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=4

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=94

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=5

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=3

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=118

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=113

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=10

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=11

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=13

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=14

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=93

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=20

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=34

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=17

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=25

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=18

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=21

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=26

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=24

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=33

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=54

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=143

http://www.contactopyme.gob.mx/extensionistas/MostrarProducto_PUB.asp?interno=144

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Comisión Mixta para la Promoción de las Exportaciones (COMPEX), Foros Económicos Internacionales,
Premio Nacional de Exportación (PNE).

Otra opción de financiamiento la ofrece BANCOMEXT, quien ofrece créditos destinados a apoyar las
necesidades financieras de las empresas para llevar a cabo sus actividades productivas relacionadas con
las exportaciones mexicanas. Estos apoyos financieros pueden canalizarse a: producción, compra de
materias primas nacionales o importadas, acopio o mantenimiento de inventarios, ventas de exportación
directas, o construcción y equipamiento de naves industriales para venta o arrendamiento. El beneficio
principal es que se puede obtener el 100% de financiamiento para compra de materia prima, pago de
gastos de producción y otros servicios.

Incluso el gobierno estatal presenta dos opciones de financiamiento para este tipo de empresas: Programa
De Fondo Pyme, el cual promueve el desarrollo económico nacional, a través del otorgamiento de apoyos
de carácter temporal a proyectos que fomenten la creación, desarrollo, consolidación, viabilidad,
productividad, competitividad y sustentabilidad de las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas, y las
iniciativas de los emprendedores, así como a aquellos que promuevan la inversión productiva que permita
generar más y mejores empleos, más y mejores micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas, y más y mejores
emprendedores y PROGRAMA DE FOMENTO A LAS EXPORTACIONES, el cual brinda apoyo
económico para el desarrollo de estudios de mercado, búsqueda de clientes potenciales, inteligencia de
mercados , además de apoyar para la promoción de los productos colimenses en ferias o eventos
internacionales.

CONCLUSIONES

En México como en la mayoría de los países, se ha difundido el deseo de que las exportaciones
mexicanas se incrementen día con día, es por eso que el gobierno mexicano trata de incentivar a las
empresas exportadoras para que continúen con su exportación e incluso motivan a las empresas que
tienen deseo de hacerlo. Las exportaciones son benéficas tanto como para el empresario, así como para el
país entero, ya que se incrementan los mercados de venta, se propaga la tecnología e innovaciones entre
las empresas y obviamente se genera un empuje en la nación, pues los niveles de productividad son
mayores. Sin embargo, uno de los principales retos a los que se enfrenta las empresas exportadoras en
México, es el financiamiento, pues en muchas ocasiones no se tiene acceso al mismo y cuándo se puede
tener acceso al crédito, las instituciones bancarias solicitan muchos requisitos que no todas las empresas
pueden cumplir. El principal objetivo de ésta investigación, fue determinar a través de una investigación
de campo, la forma en qué las pequeñas y medianas empresas del estado de Colima financian sus
operaciones derivadas o incitadas por el comercio exterior.

Dentro de la investigación de campo, se comprobó que las Pymes objetos de estudio, utilizan el
financiamiento de los proveedores como su principal forma de hacerse llegar de recursos para concluir
sus procesos de producción, ya que comentaron que los posibles financiamientos bancarios a los que
puede ser sujetos de uso, conllevan a tasas de interés altas o requerimientos complejos de cumplir.Se
evidenció el desconocimiento que tienen acerca de los financiamientos que ofrecen todas las instituciones
bancarias del país y el mismo gobierno a través de sus bancas de desarrollo. Asociado a la falta de
conocimiento de financiamientos, se deja claro que la principal ayuda que reciben y conocen por parte del
gobierno es la asesoría en trámites de exportación, sin embargo, se presentaron las opciones a las cuales
pueden acceder en ambos casos.

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REFERENCIAS

Athé Morales, A. (2001). Las operaciones financieras derivadas y su regulación; nuevas modificaciones.
Revista El mercado de valores, 61 (9), 7-14.

Bodie, Z. (1998). Finanzas. México: Prentice Hall.
Burghardt, G. (2008). Global Futures and Options Trading Rises 28% in 2007. Magazine Futures Industry
[en línea]. Disponible en: http://www.mexder.com.mx/inter/info/mexder/avisos/FIA_Survey_2007
[2010, 6 de Enero].

D´Acosta, R. A., (2000). El financiamiento para el crecimiento. Revista Ejecutivos de Finanzas, 15
(162), 25-30.

Diario Oficial de la Federación de México (2002, 30 Diciembre). Ley para el Desarrollo de la
Competitividad de la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa. Secretaría de Economía. [En línea].
Disponible en: http://dof.gob.mx/index.php?year=2002&month=12&day=30 [2009, 8 enero].

Díaz, J. (2002). Futuros y Opciones Financieras: Una introducción (3ª. Ed.). México: Limusa.

Gitman, L.J. (2002). Administración Financiera Básica (3ª. Ed.). México: Oxford.

Jorion, P. (2003). Valor en riesgo. México: Limusa.
Kozikowski, Z. (2007). Finanzas Internacionales (2ª. Ed.). México: Mc Graw Hill.

Malkiel, B. (2007). A random walk down Wall street: the time-tested strategy for successful investing.
(9ª. Ed.). Estados Unidos: New York.

Secretaría de Economía (2011, 30 Septiembre). Subsecretaría para la pequeña y mediana empresa.
http://www.economia.gob.mx/swb/es/economia/p_Contacto_PyME
Secretaría de Fomento Económico de Colima (2011, 30 Septiembre). http://www.sefome.gob.mx/

Van Horne, J. C. (1997). Administración Financiera (3ª. Ed.). México: Pearson Educación.

Venegas, F. (2006). Riesgos Financieros y Económicos. México: Thomson.

BIOGRAFÍA

Jesús Otoniel Sosa Rodríguez, es profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Colima, Escuela de
Comercio Exterior. Puede ser contactado en la Escuela de Comercio Exterior, av. Elías Zamora Verduzco
269 Col. Valle de las garzas. Manzanillo, Colima, México, correo: otonielsosa@ucol.mx

Aurelio Deniz Guizar, es profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Colima, Escuela de Comercio
Exterior. Puede ser contactado en la Escuela de Comercio Exterior, av. Elías Zamora Verduzco 269 Col.
Valle de las garzas. Manzanillo, Colima, México, correo: adenizguizar@ucol.mx

Óscar Bernardo Reyes Real, es profesor de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Colima, Escuela de
Comercio Exterior. Puede ser contactado en la Escuela de Comercio Exterior, av. Elías Zamora Verduzco
269 Col. Valle de las garzas. Manzanillo, Colima, México, correo: oscarreal@ucol.mx

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RECICLAJE DE RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS MUNICIPALES
EN TIJUANA; UNA APROXIMACIÓN A LOS ASPECTOS
AMBIENTALES, SOCIOECONÓMICOS,
INSTITUCIONALES Y JURÍDICOS
Celsa Guadalupe Sánchez Vélez, CETYS Universidad, Campus Tijuana

RESUMEN

En el municipio de Tijuana, Baja California el crecimiento económico y demográfico han provocado un
aumento importante en la generación de Residuos Sólidos Municipales (RSM), ocasionando serios
problemas de tipo social, económico y ambiental. Actualmente, el reciclaje constituye una de las
principales alternativas para disminuir el impacto negativo en la generación de RSM. En este contexto, el
objetivo es realizar un estudio descriptivo transeccional sobre la situación actual del reciclaje de RSM en
Tijuana, a través de una aproximación a los aspectos ambientales, socioeconómicos, institucionales y
jurídicos.

RECYCLING OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE IN TIJUANA; AN
APPROACH OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC,
INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL ISSUES

ABSTRACT

In Tijuana, Baja California the rapid economic and demographic growth has generated an important
increment in the generation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), bringing about serious social, economic
and environmental problems. Currently, recycling represents one of the main alternatives in order to
diminish the negative impact caused by the generation of MSW. In this context, the objective is to
conduct a descriptive transectional study about the current situation of MSW recycling in Tijuana,
through an approach of the environmental, social, economic, institutional and legal issues.

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EL PROCESO DE SUCESIÓN EN LAS EMPRESAS
FAMILIARES: GARANTÍA DE CONTINUIDAD,
LEGADO Y COMPETITIVIDAD
Ma. de los Angeles Monterde Valenzuela, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora

RESUMEN

Esta investigación pretende ser un referente para la micro, pequeña y mediana empresa que ha sido
constituida en familia. Realiza en primer lugar, un breve análisis de la situación actual de la misma, con
el propósito de identificar los problemas que prevalecen en este tipo de organizaciones. Una vez
planteado el panorama, el estudio se centra en la sucesión familiar y en torno a ello se desarrolla el
diseño de la investigación, los datos obtenidos de la aplicación del instrumento de medición se analizan
cuantitativa y cualitativamente, para finalmente presentar la propuesta de una guía práctica de
organización y sucesión para la micro, pequeña y mediana empresa familiar.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Micro, pequeña y mediana empresa, familia, sucesión.

THE SUCCESSION PROCESS IN FAMILY FIRMS: A GUARANTEE OF
CONTINUITY HERITAGE AND COMPETITIVENESS

ABSTRACT

This investigation tries to be a model for the micro, small and medium company that has been constituted
in family. It realizes first, a brief analysis of the current situation of the same one, with the intention of
identifying the problems that prevail in this type of organizations. Once raised the panorama, the study
centre on the familiar succession and around it the design of the investigation develops, the information
obtained of the application of the instrument of measurement is analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively,
finally to present the offer of a practical guide of organization and succession for the micro, small and
medium familiar company.

KEYWORDS: Micro, small and medium company, family, succession.

INTRODUCCION

Esta investigación devela que hacer negocios en familia, o construir una empresa familiar, generalmente
no es solo para producir riqueza. Lleva implícitos el fortalecimiento y la seguridad familiar. La creación
de empresas en Sonora y en México, surge como respuesta al desempleo tan alto registrado en los últimos
años. Por ello es de suponer que en actitud desesperada y con mucha creatividad, nacen día a día
empresas por doquier. A veces sin intención, estudios, factibilidad, recursos humanos y/o financieros;
nacen comercializando o produciendo algo que saben hacer, con el recurso humano más barato y
disponible: La familia. Así, con la necesidad como motor, se lanza la empresa familiar a sortear todo tipo
de pruebas; generando riesgos, costos económicos y emocionales.

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Destacar la importancia del proceso de sucesión en las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas familiares
es de vital importancia para la economía. Contribuir con ideas para el mejor manejo de sus negocios en
familia, con el propósito de que trascienda la empresa, y prevalezca la familia.

Las experiencias negativas de empresas familiares, nos demuestran que “nos enseñan en la universidad a
hacer negocios, nos enseñan en el hogar a ser familia, pero nunca nos enseñaron a hacer negocios en
familia”.

Las empresas micro, pequeñas y medianas en México, conforman aproximadamente el 95% del Producto
Internt Brutto (PIB). Un elevado porcentaje de empresas desaparece en la primera generación, con lo cual
desaparecen fuentes de empleo, patrimonios y familias.

Según informes de la Organization Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), una tendencia mundial es que en
América Latina, 9 de cada 10 empresas son familiares; en donde 2 de 3 fracasan. Además sostiene que en
México, de 100 empresas familiares (mipymes) que inician, menos del 20% de las nuevas empresas
llegan a los dos años de vida; casi un 20% llegan a la segunda generación y sólo el 8% sobreviven a la
tercera generación; siendo muy diversos los elementos de su fracaso.

Es frecuente oír y leer que el ciclo de vida de las empresas familiares vendrá inexorablemente marcado
por el hecho de que “el abuelo la funda, los hijos la debilitan y los nietos la entierran”; o bien, que el
desarrollo de las capacidades empresariales de los miembros de cada generación tiene el siguiente
comportamiento: “abuelo empresario, hijo ingeniero, nieto poeta”.

Existe una natural resistencia a la sucesión en las empresas familiares, a veces por soberbia, por desidia,
por creerse inmortales o por ignorancia. De aquí que resulte necesario convencerse de que las palabras
claves para la solución de los problemas de sucesión son: Planificarla pronto.

El administrador tiene el compromiso ético de fomentar la cultura organizacional, sembrando la semilla
del conocimiento en estas pequeñas y medianas empresas, que inician sorteando problemas, pero que
salen adelante. Hay ocasiones en que los problemas las unen y solidifican, y los éxitos las separan y
resquebrajan. Por ello, la empresa familiar debe planear su presente y futuro.

El reto, además de crear empresas, es lograr que permanezcan y desarrollen siendo competitivas para un
mercado global. Por ello es necesario mover actitudes humanas de los nacientes empresarios para que
formalicen, planeen, utilicen información y apoyos disponibles, proyecten, desarrollen, reporten y
comprendan su gran papel en el futuro de México.

En conclusión, este estudio pretende mostrar que la profesionalización de la empresa familiar, a través de
un proceso de sucesión proyecta el futuro de su empresa como un negocio familiar productivo, con una
agenda de asuntos administrativos, legales, motivadores, financieros y familiares que garanticen su
permanencia. Por lo tanto, se hace necesaria su difusión, a través de la inclusión en diversos programas
académicos y formativos empresariales.

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REVISION LITERARIA

Las empresas familiares se caracterizan principalmente por el estrecho nexo cultural y tradicional que
existe con la familia que las dirige. Sin embargo, este criterio de definición resulta bastante confuso, por
lo cual se debe hacer un acercamiento diferente.
Las características de una empresa familiar son de tres clases.
1. Respecto a la propiedad: Gran parte de esta es de una familia, la que mantiene el poder y el
control de la actividad empresarial.
2. Respecto al poder: Los miembros de la familia se dedican a la dirección de la empresa ó en
cargos de decisión en el consejo directivo.
3. Respecto a la continuidad: Siendo familiar, debe estar involucrado un elemento de herencia, en
este caso se lo identifica cuando en la empresa participan los miembros de una segunda
generación familiar, es decir los hijos del fundador, por ejemplo.

Siguiendo las características anteriores es mucho más fácil identificar una empresa familiar sin entrar en
juicios subjetivos.
Ahora bien, dos de los grandes problemas que se identifican en este tipo de organizaciones son:

La dificultad para crecer: Efectivamente, mientras las empresas no familiares tienden a acelerar su
crecimiento luego de algún tiempo las empresas familiares se inclinan al estancamiento y la consecuente
parálisis en su crecimiento.

La continuidad: Tal vez uno de los más graves problemas de largo plazo. Al estar sujeta a los ciclos de la
familia puede que no se revitalice lo suficiente ni con la periodicidad adecuada.

Otras explicaciones de por qué se presentan estos problemas son la existencia de una triple coincidencia
perversa entre: el último periodo activo del fundador, el envejecimiento de la estructura organizativa y la
maduración del producto y del mercado.

Por otro lado, se ha identificado una crisis de la segunda generación en cuanto al dominio y legitimación
del poder. Esto sin mencionar el típico problema de la financiación el cual es un problema constante
durante las generaciones. Por último, hay un punto inter-generacional que muy pocos empresarios de
primera generación consideran y son los impuestos que se deducen de la herencia a los sucesores. Esta
carga debilita aún más la estructura financiera y puede que simplemente ya no quede nada para repartir.

El profesor Miguel Ángel Gallo del Escuela de posgrado en dirección de empresas de la Universidad de
Navarra (IESE), identifica Cinco Trampas Profundas de la Empresa Familiar. A saber:

Confundir las propiedades con la capacidad de dirigir: Es de conocimiento público que este fenómeno es
uno de los más comunes dentro de las Empresa Familiar (EF). El hecho de ostentar la propiedad no lo
transforma mágicamente en un gerente al 100%. Tal vez en las primeras etapas de la empresa si pudo ser
cierto, sin embargo, conforme esta evoluciona y se necesitan más expansiones también se exige una
capacidad de respuesta de los ejecutivos.
No seguir las leyes del mercado: Hace referencia a que se puede caer en el error de remunerar altamente
(o por debajo de lo normal) a los miembros de la familia que la dirige y de dar dividendos pequeños (o
sobre valorados) a los accionistas. Con esto se crea una seria distorsión en la percepción de los costos y en
la determinación de los precios.

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Confundir los lazos de afecto con los contractuales: Es una tendencia que difícilmente se logra erradicar
por completo, pero que puede controlarse. El cariño confundido con la relación laboral desestimula el
compromiso de los que trabajan en la empresa y reduce la competitividad de la firma. La exigencia dentro
de los parámetros normales de la relación contractual laboral es sana e impulsa el crecimiento de la firma.
El retraso innecesario de la sucesión: Esta responsabilidad recae sobre los miembros de la generación
anterior. Corresponde a ellos estar preparados para afrontar esta situación. No se trata simplemente de
abandonar un cargo para dejar todos los problemas de la empresa a los sucesores. Se trata de preparar con
tiempo a los futuros ejecutivos, prepara con anticipación la relación con los futuros accionistas, resolver
con anterioridad los pormenores fiscales de la herencia, transmitir los puntos básicos de la cultura de la
empresa a quienes tendrán el poder de decisión etcétera.
Creerse inmune a las anteriores: La última de las trampas y tal vez la más mortal. Negar estos problemas
es como negar que las personas envejecemos con los años. Se debe estar atento en todo momento para
que no nos tomen por sorpresa.
Básicamente se tratan de condiciones internas de las familias que se transmiten a la organización. Algo
así como que los valores intrafamiliares llegan a ser el estandarte de la organización y su canon de
comportamiento básico sobre el cual se construyen las relaciones comerciales. Esas características o
fortalezas son de dos tipos.

Las primeras se les llama Fortalezas de Unidad: Son las relacionadas con el poder de la familia de
mantenerse siempre junta con lazos mucho más fuertes que los meramente económicos.

1. Intereses Comunes
2. Autoridad Reconocida
3. Confianza Mutua
4. Comunicación
5. Compenetración
6. Flexibilidad

El otro grupo de las fortalezas son las llamadas de Compromiso: Mientras la anterior hace referencia al
gobierno, esta hace hincapié a aquellas características que refuerzan la motivación al trabajo de calidad.
Hacen parte de la mística del trabajo y del querer ser los mejores.
1. La Entrega a un Ideal
2. Sacrificio Personal
3. Exigencia de lo Mejor
4. Pensamiento a Largo Plazo

La finalidad de las empresas familiares es crecer con el tiempo y lograr las metas propuestas. Esto no es
diferente en las Empresas No Familiares, sin embargo estas últimas no cuentan con el poderoso arsenal
motivacional y de gobierno con que cuentan las EF. Es hora de trabajar constantemente en los problemas
anteriormente mencionados y en la identificación de otros para que la continuidad sea un hecho y no se
estanque el crecimiento.

Preparación de los sucesores.

¿Cuándo es conveniente empezar la preparación de un sucesor? ¿Cuántos sucesores hay que preparar?
¿Es posible ser sucedido por un equipo en vez de por una sola persona? ¿En qué circunstancias puede ser
preferible que el sucesor sea un directivo no miembro de la familia? ¿Cuáles son las cualidades,

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conocimientos y actitudes que los sucesores deben desarrollar o poseer? ¿Qué modos son acertados para
desarrollarlas? ¿Cómo estar seguro de que las han alcanzado en grado suficiente? ¿Quién ha de elegir al
sucesor?

En efecto, una respuesta acertada y concreta para muchas de estas cuestiones depende de las
circunstancias de cada empresa y familia. Al respecto cuanto más amplio el repertorio de apoyos, o reglas
de previsión, la empresa familiar se verá fortalecida durante el proceso de sucesión.

En el desarrollo de las capacidades de una persona para que pueda llegar a ser el jefe ejecutivo principal
de una empresa familiar, se pueden distinguir tres etapas. Las etapas de preparación «remota»,
preparación «próxima» y preparación «in situ». Etapas preparan al sucesor para que sea y actúe como
una persona libre. Esto significa poseer capacidades para elegir el bien, es decir, conocimientos,
habilidades, actitudes y valores.

El sucesor, como parte clave de la formación de su voluntad, deba alcanzar y progresivamente
perfeccionar un conjunto de virtudes humanas como son la laboriosidad, la tenacidad, la veracidad,
lealtad, integridad y prudencia, como virtud que ordena todas las anteriores.

La primera de estas virtudes humanas tan propias de la dirección de la empresa es la laboriosidad. Intensa
aplicación al trabajo en la empresa, que no está reñida ni con el descanso, tan necesario para el equilibrio
emocional y la salud física de las personas que viven en la urgencia de conseguir que su empresa compita
con éxito permanentemente en el mercado, ni tampoco con la dedicación a la propia familia, sin la cual
quien hace cabeza en la empresa familiar perdería el «punto de mira», es decir, la razón del esfuerzo por
sacar adelante su familia.

Unida a la laboriosidad se encuentra la virtud humana de la tenacidad. Firmeza y constancia en la
persecución de los objetivos de desarrollo, crecimiento y evolución de la empresa. Virtud que, como
ocurre con todas, consiste en alcanzar un punto medio, en este caso entre la debilidad e inconstancia por
una parte y, por otra, la tozudez que ofrece enérgica resistencia a la transformación. Tozudez que
frecuentemente se encuentra en quienes dirijan las empresas familiares en primera y segunda generación y
que tan peligrosa resulta, pues les conduce a empeñarse en hacer las cosas «como siempre se han hecho»,
sin percibir la necesidad de cambiarlas para acompasar la actuación de la empresa a las variaciones de los
clientes, competidores y tecnologías.

Un punto de vital importancia en la empresa familiar consiste en que el hombre o la mujer que en ella van
a hacer cabeza tienen que lograr la confianza de las personas que les rodean, especialmente los otros
miembros de la familia propietaria, pero también de directivos y mandos que no proceden de la familia,
colegas, proveedores, clientes, etcétera.

Para que los demás confíen en él, un sucesor ha de ser una persona veraz y discreta. La sinceridad será
por tanto un complemento para fortalecer su liderazgo.

Y, finalmente, la cualidad de la integridad, propia de quien no sólo actúa honradamente, sino que además
lleva a cabo su trabajo con austeridad y grandeza de alma, y va de la mano de la prudencia que se
caracteriza por la cordura y el discernimiento en la elección de los medios, es decir, los recursos y planes
de acción, para alcanzar los fines, es decir, los objetivos de la dirección estratégica de la empresa.

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Los antecesores pueden estar seguros, formar sucesores no solamente es posible, si se ponen los medios
necesarios, sino que es una de las «aventuras» más apasionantes de la dirección de una empresa. Un
predecesor no puede caer en la tentación de construir su empresa familiar con la intención de que sea el
futuro refugio donde los miembros de la familia que estén menos capacitados, o lo que es peor, sean
humanamente menos virtuosos, ostenten el poder.

En la preparación del sucesor, lo importante es enseñarle y ayudarle a aprovechar las circunstancias de la
vida para formarse, en vez de «protegerles» excesivamente para que no pasen por las privaciones y
sufrimientos que pasaron sus predecesores. Así, por ejemplo, hay que ser constantes en la exigencia de
que cumplan con los compromisos que adquieren de estudiar al iniciar los diferentes niveles de
preparación académica, de convivir en paz, de ayudar a los demás.

Sin querer dar reglas fijas, porque la fecha adecuada para la incorporación depende de muchas
circunstancias, tanto un predecesor como un sucesor deben considerar que trabajar durante unos años en
otra empresa, además de la ventaja anteriormente citada de la oportunidad de «mirar fuera », puede añadir
algo tan importante para todo sucesor como es una mayor seguridad en sí mismo y un prestigio superior
frente a directivos no familiares y frente a los demás miembros de la familia.

Unido a estas consideraciones sobre cuándo se ha de incorporar el sucesor a la empresa familiar, y como
iniciación al estudio de la etapa de su preparación «inmediata», hay que analizar el desfase de edades que
de forma natural acostumbra a darse entre predecesor y sucesor, por las exigencias de prudencia y
equilibrio en las dedicaciones de tiempo que «impone» a un predecesor plenamente decidido a tener éxito
en el proceso sucesorio.

Como puede verse en la imagen, la época de la preparación remota y la época de la preparación próxima
del sucesor, corresponden al período de tiempo en el que el predecesor pasa de tener 30 a tener 50 años
aproximadamente.

Habitualmente, durante estos años, es precisamente cuando el fundador está haciendo sus mayores
esfuerzos en la empresa, pues debe pasar de «tener una idea» a «hacer un negocio», la organización
necesita de todo el tiempo que su director general dispone así como de su compromiso pleno con el
desarrollo.

El gran riesgo de un fundador de empresa familiar es que el esfuerzo que la empresa necesita le conduzca
a olvidarse de que sus hijos son más importantes que sus negocios. No dedicándoles el tiempo de atención
que precisan, ni demostrando así, con hechos tangibles, que entre ellos y la empresa familiar no hay
conflicto.

Para formar bien a sus sucesores, tanto en la etapa de la preparación remota como en la de preparación
próxima, el predecesor, todavía joven de edad, debería poseer el equilibrio en el orden de valores que
otorga la madurez que, por otra parte, no se corresponde con la vejez, sino con el pleno cumplimiento de
las responsabilidades propias, en este caso las del padre comprometido con el bien de sus hijos, que es su
formación humana, convencido de que así también conseguirá el bien de la empresa familiar, cuando ésta
pase de primera a segunda generación pues, como es conocido, cuanto más estrecha es la relación entre
quien hace cabeza en la empresa y su sucesor, más se incrementan las posibilidades de una sucesión
eficaz (Goldberg y Wooldrige, 1993).

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Figura 1. Edades de los Protagonistas

Tabla 1

Sucesor Predecesor
20-25 Acaba universidad 45-50
25-30 Trabaja fuera de la EF 50-55
30-35 Capacitación como especialista funcional 55-60
35-40 Capacitación como integrador 60-65
40- Jefe ejecutivo principal 65-

La organización y su preparación para la sucesión:

Para cualquier tipo de empresa, el proceso de sucesión en las responsabilidades de la dirección general es
uno de los aspectos más importantes de su dirección estratégica.

En empresa, por «estrategia» se entiende la situación futura que se desea alcanzar en el transcurso de un
período determinado de tiempo. Por «organización» de la empresa se entiende el conjunto formado por
su estructura de responsabilidades y por los sistemas de alta dirección que emplea. Estructura de
responsabilidades constituida, se refiere básicamente al grupo de personas que desempeñan tareas de
dirección, y el contenido de sus puestos directivos en cuanto a las funciones y objetivos, el nivel de
autonomía con que han de actuar y los modos a seguir para integrarse con los demás directivos.

Para tener éxito en la dirección estratégica de una empresa, entre su estrategia y su organización se tiene
que dar un elevado grado de coherencia. En efecto, y siguiendo un símil sencillo, una organización puede
asemejarse al «vehículo» a emplear para alcanzar la estrategia, es decir, para llegar y llegar a tiempo a los
objetivos que la conforman. Si el vehículo no es adecuado a la meta que se ha puesto, la estrategia es
utópica. También, si la estrategia no responde a las capacidades que posee la organización, o que ésta
puede desarrollar en un futuro no muy lejano, los objetivos estratégicos no llegarán a hacerse realidad.

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Por otra parte, cuando la empresa familiar es todavía pequeña, la incorporación de estos directivos da
lugar a muchos cambios como, por ejemplo, incrementos importantes de capacidad ejecutiva con sus
correspondientes necesidades de mayor delegación por parte del fundador y, por tanto, de nuevas
dificultades en la coordinación, de aquí que el fundador tenga tendencia a plantear e implantar
evoluciones paulatinas, contemplando el crecimiento a través de nuevas unidades de negocio.

METODOLOGIA

Investigación de Campo en mipymes de la Cd. de Hermosillo, Sonora. México.

El presente estudio se centra en las mipymes que funcionan en la ciudad de Hermosillo, Sonora. El
universo lo conforman negocios familiares, nacidos desde 1990 a 2007, que muestren crecimiento, estén
legalmente constituidas y participen más de 2 miembros de la familia en su operación. El levantamiento
de información duró seis meses.

La muestra representativa se eligió por conveniencia acudiendo a la Cámara Nacional de la Industria de la
Transformación y de Comercio, además de Empreser, organismo impulsor de emprendedores, ambos
ubicados en Hermosillo, Sonora. México.

La investigación es de campo y documental, en proporción del 70-30 respectivamente, a la muestra se
aplicará el cuestionario diseñado exclusivamente para comprobar la hipótesis origen de esta investigación:
Demostrar que no se le da la importancia al tema de la sucesión en las Micro, Pequeñas y Medianas
Empresas como un legado familiar y plataforma de despegue económico”.

En el marco de la presente investigación de tipo descriptiva, que busca definir las propiedades y describir
las características y perfiles importantes de los grupos sometidos a análisis y recolectar cuantitativamente
datos que permitan la compresión del fenómeno a observar, para posteriormente analizar e interpretar la
información que resulte desde un enfoque cualitativo, se desarrolla el diseño de la investigación.

La selección de la muestra se determinó no probabilístico y de conveniencia debido a que no se utilizaron
procedimientos de selección por casualidad, sino más bien atendieron el juicio personal del investigador
y de conveniencia debido a que no se tuvo la certeza de que toda la población participara en la generación
de información.

La muestra representativa se eligió estableciendo un común denominador, basándose en características
que sólo reunió un estrato de la población objeto de estudio, tales como: Empresas contribuyentes al
erario público, donde trabajan en la misma empresa al menos dos consanguíneos y la tercera condición,
que tuvieran una permanencia estable en el mercado y haber demostrado éxito comercial. Es así, como se
encuestó a un total de 35 empresas familiares de la ciudad de Hermosillo en total.

Antes de iniciar la aplicación de las encuestas se consideraron las siguientes limitaciones:

La población a cubrir, que dependió del objeto de estudio, la identificación de los encuestados que
posibilitó conocer cuáles serían los posibles individuos a entrevistar, el período de referencia, sobre el
cual se interrogó y recogió la información, el modo de recolección, que en este trabajo fueron
cuestionarios relativamente abiertos y finalmente la forma de llegar al encuestado, donde fue necesario
visitar el lugar de trabajo del mismo.

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Se observó a la población de manera directa, ya que hubo contacto cercano con los elementos en los
cuales se presentó el fenómeno y los resultados obtenidos se consideraron datos estadísticos originales.

Todo lo anterior, permitió seleccionar las variables más significativas y establecer relaciones causales
entre los sujetos observados y las condiciones corrientes en que se encuentra inmerso el objeto de estudio.

CONCLUSION.

La empresa familiar, tiene muchas áreas de oportunidad en su camino hacia la profesionalización. La
cultura empresarial respecto al proceso de sucesión aún es incipiente, presentando retos importantes a las
ciencias administrativas, respecto a la actitud, liderazgo y gestión operativa. Se hace necesario llevar al
negocio familiar hacia la competitividad. La agenda está llena de asuntos desde familiares,
administrativos, legales, motivadores y financieros que permitirán fortalecerla.

Las empresas familiares además de buscar maximizar el beneficio sobre la inversión, buscan el bienestar
de los miembros de la familia. Trabajar con familiares tiene grandes ventajas como fortaleza impulsora,
soporte técnico, espiritual y de confianza que hace que el emprender un negocio sea exitoso, pero como
todo en la vida tiene su lado oscuro; a veces se termina pagando un precio muy alto cuando las cosas no
salen bien, perdiendo el negocio y en ocasiones hasta la familia.

La empresa familiar requiere de una administración diferente. Este estudio mostró que estos negocios son
vulnerables debido a la poca cultura de la prevención y gestión profesional.

Posiblemente, las universidades enseñen a hacer negocios, y las familias enseñen a hacer familia, pero la
dualidad de hacer negocios en familia, deberá sin duda alguna aprenderse sobre la marcha, combinando
los conocimientos, habilidades, actitudes y valores que se dan en el entorno familiar, empresarial y
académico.

Lo que hace tener éxito son: reglas claras y plan de sucesión que garanticen la permanencia de la empresa
otras tres generaciones. ¿Por qué no pensar en los nietos de los nietos?… de ahí la urgencia de
profesionalizarla.

BIBLIOGRAFIA

Miguel Ángel Gallo, Miguel Ángel Gallo Laguna, (1998), “La Sucesión en la Empresa Familiar”,
Colección de Estudios e Informes No.12, Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona, España. ISBN 84-
88099-34-7 .
Ernesto J. Poza, (2004) “Empresas Familiares”, 2ª edición, México. ISBN 970-686-189-0.

Manuel Díaz Salazar,(2003), “Negocios en Familia” 2ª edición, México.

Humberto Serna Gómez, (2005) “La Empresa Familiar, estrategias y herramientas para su sostenibilidad
y crecimiento”, Bogotá D.C. Colombia.

Secretaría de Economía INEGI.

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Colección ESTUDIOS E INFORMES. Secretaría de Economía. Fondo de Apoyo a la Micro, Pequeña y
Mediana Empresa, Modelo de mercado y Organización Industrial para la OCDE. Noviembre de 2005.

http://imanol.org/

http://www.cefamex.com/cefamex/

http://www.dinero.com/wf_InfoArticulo.aspx?idArt=45026

http://www.exonline.com.mx/diario/columna/114601

http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/

BIOGRAFIA

María de los Angeles Monterde Valenzuela es Licenciada en Administración de Empresas, Maestra en
Administración, Maestra en Consultoría Interna y Externa, Consultora de Empresas Familiares en el
Bufete Empresa Inteligente, Profesora Investigadora de Tiempo Completo adscrita a la Licenciatura en
Comercio Internacional del Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora. Se puede contactar en
Ley Federal del Trabajo s/n, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora, México, C.P. 83100. Correo electrónico:
angelesmonter50@hotmail.com, y tel.: (662) 215-85-03 y (6621)73 68 96.

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EVOLUCIÓN DEL CENTRO DESARROLLO
EMPRESARIAL-UABC EN EL VALLE DE MEXICALI
Marcela Reyes Pazos, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Campus Mexicali

ABSTRACT

El propósito de ésta investigación es analizar la evolución del Centro Desarrollo Empresarial de la
Escuela de Ingeniería y Negocios de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Cd. Guadalupe
Victoria, Valle de Mexicali, en México desde el año 2009, hasta el 2011. El CEDEM-UABC inicia con 3
áreas: asesoría financiera y actualización, asesoría a empresas de base social e incubadora de negocios;
con 6 estudiantes en la escuela, 23 en trabajo de campo, de la licenciatura en administración de
empresas y 3 docentes. En el 2011, tiene 4 áreas, se adiciona el área desarrollo de investigación de
mercados y científica; participan 15 estudiantes en la escuela y 17 en trabajo de campo, de la
licenciatura de administración de empresas y contabilidad, 1 L.A.E., y 3 docentes. El método seguido fue
investigación documental, por medio de la base de datos del CEDEM-UABC, e información
sistematizada del mismo. Los resultados indican que el Centro contribuye a la vinculación universitaria,
y se ha ido adaptando a las necesidades de las Micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas del Valle de
Mexicali, quienes se favorecen aún más con la asesoría integral recibida.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Centro empresarial, desarrollo empresarial, vinculación universitaria.

INTRODUCCION

La presente investigación es acerca de la evolución que ha tenido el programa de servicio social Centro
Desarrollo Empresarial-UABC, de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, en la Escuela de
Ingeniería y Negocios, Guadalupe Victoria en Mexicali. La vinculación universitaria entre estudiantes y
empresas, resulta satisfactoria, contribuye al aprendizaje y experiencia del alumno como profesional,
favoreciendo las mipymes de la región. El CEDEM-UABC beneficia la economía del valle de Mexicali, a
través del desarrollo de la cultura empresarial, asistencia a empresas de base social, asesoría financiera y
capacitación legal, e investigación de mercados y científica.

REVISION DE LITERATURA

La vinculación de la universidad con el sector empresarial es uno de los temas de mayor preocupación
para los responsables de las políticas educativas y los expertos en educación superior. En los últimos años
también se ha enfatizado esta inquietud en los propios empresarios. (De la Cuesta González Marta, 2010)
En esta nueva realidad, si lo que se busca es el desarrollo social, el crecimiento económico, la capacidad
de competencia de los países, el factor clave es el conocimiento. En este contexto la universidad es el
medio que permitirá aprovechar una gran oportunidad para alcanzar el desarrollo. (Abidin Catalina, 2008)
La finalidad central de la vinculación debe ser el intercambio de información y conocimiento de un sector
al otro: los de la empresa a la universidad para que esta pueda trabajar en base a datos de la realidad de los
que, tal vez, carece; y de la universidad a las empresas tratando de colaborar en la búsqueda de respuestas
a algunos de sus problemas, ayudando al crecimiento de las mismas en su conjunto e incidiendo, directa o
indirectamente, en el desarrollo socioeconómico de la región y nación en forma global. (Sarni, 2005) La
vinculación universitaria debe ser entendida como el conjunto de actividades docentes, de investigación,
servicios universitarios y preservación y difusión de la cultura explícita y expresamente orientados a la

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solución de problemas relevantes para el desarrollo económico social, educativo y cultural de la nación.
(Sarni, 2005) En 1993 en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, se elabora un catálogo
universitario de vinculación, en el que se informa de los diferentes servicios de cada una de la unidades
académicas pone a disposición de empresas e instituciones, en el que asistieron universidades y
representantes empresariales de todo el país. (Piñera Ramirez David, 1997) Las funciones de docencia,
investigación, extensión y difusión de la cultura, se realizan por conducto de las Unidades Académicas:
Escuelas, Facultades, Institutos, y Unidades de apoyo. (Estatuto General, 2006)

En la escuela de Ingeniería y Negocios, Guadalupe Victoria, dentro de sus programas de Servicio Social,
se encuentra el Centro Desarrollo Empresarial-UABC. Según el catálogo del sistema integral de servicio
social UABC SISS-2009, en el programa de servicio social: Centro Desarrollo Empresarial UABC, indica
que el objetivo del programa de servicio social comunitario es promover la formación pertinente del
estudiante universitario con su entorno, a través de los servicios que ofrece el cedem-uabc a los
microempresarios del valle de Mexicali. En lo que respecta al servicio social profesional, se busca la
asesoría para la creación de nuevas empresas y orientación para el fortalecimiento financiero,
capacitación y actualización empresarial en apoyo al crecimiento económico de la región. El Centro
Desarrollo Empresarial nace en el año 2009 a raíz del Programa de Investigación, Asistencia, y Docencia
a la Mediana y Pequeña Empresa.

METODOLOGIA

Investigación documental, a través de la base de datos del CEDEM-UABC. Se realizó una lectura
Sistemática, se elaboraron fichas de resumen, y de citas. Se utilizaron bases de datos electrónicas como la
EBSCO. Se consultaron páginas electrónicas de la UABC.

RESULTADOS

El primer semestre en el que inicia CEDEM-UABC se atendieron 121 personas, en las áreas de asesoría
financiera, capacitación y actualización. El área de incubadora de negocios atendió a 40 personas, y de
ellas 5 iniciaron su plan de negocios, recibiendo a su vez talleres de administración, fiscal, recursos
humanos, y creatividad e innovación. Era visitado por 30 personas en promedio al mes, quienes
solicitaban ayuda en áreas de interés relacionadas con sus negocios. El centro desarrollo empresarial
inicia con 3 áreas: asesoría financiera y actualización, incubadora de nuevos negocios y asistencia
microempresarial en apoyo al empleo en Baja California. En el siguiente diagrama se muestran las áreas
generales cuando empezó el cedem-uabc.

El organigrama del CEDEM-UABC estaba formado en un inicio por asesoría financiera y actualización
con 1 estudiante a cargo, y 2 estudiantes auxiliares, e Incubadora de negocios con 1 estudiante a cargo y 2
estudiantes auxiliares. Debajo de la primer área se encontraba ubicada asistencia microempresarial en
apoyo al empleo en Baja California, con un docente a cargo, y 2 estudiantes auxiliares, además de 23
estudiantes extensionistas.

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Areas CEDEM-UABC Año 2009
.
Fuente: cedem-uabc

fuente: cedem-uabc

En un inicio el logotipo era con letras minúsculas, y mayúsculas de tamaño grande. A continuación se
presenta el diseño.

fuente: cedem-uabc

La publicidad que existía era de boca en boca, con los estudiantes de la escuela de ingeniería y negocios
quienes invitaban a sus familiares y conocidos que tienen negocios a que acudieran para recibir asesoría
con el fin de formalizar sus empresas. Este tipo de publicidad hacia que en promedio 30 personas al mes
solicitaran al cedem-uabc. El objetivo de CEDEM-UABC es promover la formación profesional
pertinente del estudiante universitario con su entorno socioeconómico, a través de la investigación
científica y vinculación con micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas del valle de Mexicali, por medio de
asesoría para la creación de nuevas empresas, la orientación para el fortalecimiento financiero, y de la
capacidad y actualización del conocimiento empresarial.

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Los valores que se difunden en el CEDEM-UABC son la honestidad, respeto, confidencialidad, servicio y
profesionalismo. La honestidad y el respeto con los compañeros integrantes del Centro Desarrollo
Empresarial. La confidencialidad, servicio, respeto y profesionalismo con los microempresarios, quienes
ponen en manos de los estudiantes y docentes información personal para recibir una asesoría integral, con
la finalidad de que sus negocios progresen. En el año 2011, el centro desarrollo empresarial tiene una
reestructuración, en donde se adiciona el área de desarrollo de investigación de mercados y científica, y
algunas áreas cambian sus nombres. A continuación se presenta las áreas actuales.

Areas CEDEM-UABC Año 2011.

fuente: cedem-uabc

La estructura orgánica actual del CEDEM-UABC está conformada con el primer nivel jerárquico el
director de la Escuela de ingeniería y Negocios, en el segundo nivel, el coordinador de formación y
vinculación profesional, en el tercer nivel jerárquico el encargado del centro, quien es responsable de
asistencia a empresas de base social, asesoría y capacitación financiera y legal, e investigación de
mercados y científica, además del área de desarrollo de cultura empresarial, dentro de esta área se
encuentra el asesor empresarial de cimarrones emprendedores.

El encargado del centro Desarrollo empresarial es responsable de supervisar las 4 áreas, con la finalidad
de llevar un control en los procedimientos, así como gestionar los recursos humanos, técnicos, y
financieros para lograr un desarrollo óptimo del centro. En este caso los recursos humanos son
prestadores de servicio social comunitario, y profesional; el encargado promoverá el programa con el
objetivo de conseguir estudiantes que colaboren de manera eficiente, y eficaz con las actividades del
cedem-uabc iniciado el periodo escolar. Los recursos técnicos son las computadoras, ó aparatos
electrónicos, para llevar a cabo las funciones correspondientes, y los recursos financieros (aunque son
mínimos), son aquellos que ayudan a sustentar el centro en cuestión de papelería, copias, tinta (que se
requieren para apoyar a los microempresarios), becas para los estudiantes, entre otros. Otra de las
actividades es realizar la planeación estratégica de cada semestre, implementando metas a cumplir con el
objetivo de fortalecer el centro, y seguir coadyuvando al mejoramiento de las mipymes del valle de
Mexicali. También tener vínculo con organismos públicos y privados que contribuyan al beneficio de la
economía de la región, así como la capacitación constante de sus recursos humanos. Se presenta el
siguiente organigrama actual del cedem-uabc.

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Fuente: CEDEM-UABC

El centro está formado por 3 docentes, 1 asesor empresarial, 29 estudiantes de la licenciatura de
administración de empresas, y 1 estudiante foráneo de contabilidad. En el 2011-2 el centro Desarrollo
Empresarial se compone de la siguiente manera: 2 docentes quienes coordinan todo el centro, en el área
de asesoría y capacitación financiera y legal 2 estudiantes, y un voluntario, en el área de asistencia a
empresas de base social 1 docente, 1 estudiante supervisor y 17 estudiantes extensionistas, en el área de
desarrollo de cultura empresarial una asesor empresarial de cimarrones emprendedores, con 5 estudiantes,
y en el área de investigación de mercados 3 estudiantes. Los consejos consultivos fungen como asesores
externos de la escuela de ingeniería y negocios, pero son miembros de otras unidades académicas de la
UABC.

Funciones.

A continuación se presentan las funciones de cada una de las áreas del centro desarrollo empresarial-uabc.

Asesoria Y Capactacion Financiera Y Legal.

• Brindar asesoría financiera a micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas.

• Vincular a micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas con dependencias e instituciones de financiamiento.

• Fomentar la cultura de la importancia de la capacitación en las mipymes.

• Crear y ofrecer talleres de capacitación y actualización en temas de interés para los microempresarios y
nuevos emprendedores.

Asistencia A Empresas De Base Social

• Brindar asistencia técnica a microempresas con problemas de marginación a partir de una metodología,
instrumentos de compilación de datos y un software que facilitan el análisis de la información
microempresarial y la elaboración de recomendaciones en un reporte
• Generar y archivar expedientes sobre cada microempresarios que haya sido asistido para un
control de la información.
• Realizar la supervisión de las etapas de formalización, evaluación y seguimiento.

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Desarrollo De Cultura Empresarial
• Asesorar a las personas que desean emprender un nuevo negocio.
• Impartir taller para la elaboración de plan de negocios apoyando al emprendedor.
• Capturar en computadora los planes de negocios de los emprendedores.
• Analizar el plan de números para saber si es viable el negocio.
• Si es viable, vincular a los emprendedores con los financiamientos adecuados para dar marcha a
sus proyectos.
Investigacion De Mercados
• Diseñar instrumentos de evaluación como son los cuestionarios.
• Implementar estudios de mercado con el fin de fortalecer negocios que ofrezcan productos y
servicios demandados.
• Elaborar y actualizar mapa digital de las mipymes del Valle de Mexicali.
• Realizar investigación científica de mipymes de la región
Logotipo Actual.

Actualmente el logotipo es distinto, el tamaño de las letras mayúsculas es más grande con el nombre
abreviado, y el nombre completo en letras minúsculas es pequeño, con una línea en medio.
A continuación se presenta el diseño.

fuente: cedem-uabc

Publicidad

La publicidad de boca en boca, sigue resultando efectiva para el cedem-uabc, y actualmente acuden 40
personas en promedio al mes, quienes recurren al centro desarrollo empresarial, para ser atendidos en las
distintas áreas.La única ocasión que se ha utilizado el perifoneo como medio publicitario fue en el mes de
septiembre y octubre del año 2011, con la finalidad de dar a conocer al Centro Desarrollo Empresarial
UABC, en la zona norte del valle de Mexicali, en los ejidos Hermosillo y ciudad Morelos. Con los
perifoneos acudieron 61 personas al CEDEM-UABC.

A continuación se presenta el diseño de publicidad por medio de volantes, que fue implementada en el
mes de marzo del 2011, expo agrobaja, stand de la Escuela de Ingeniería y Negocios, Guadalupe Victoria
de la UABC, con la finalidad de dar a conocer el centro y captar la atención de más microempresarios.

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Fuente: CEDEM-UABC

En el año 2011-2, se atendieron 410 microempresarios en las distintas áreas del Centro Desarrollo
empresarial que acudieron a la Escuela de Ingeniería y Negocios a solicitar asesoría. Durante 10 meses y
medio, se obtuvieron éstos resultados, considerando que el centro trabaja durante el ciclo de labores de la
UABC, restando los periodos de vacaciones de semana santa, verano e invierno. Desde que inició el
Centro Desarrollo empresarial hasta el año 2011-2, se han atendido a un total de 1076 microempresarios,
quienes se han beneficiado por las distintas áreas, contribuyendo al desarrollo económico del valle de
Mexicali.

CONCLUSIONES

El centro desarrollo empresarial en el tiempo que lleva del 2009 al 2011, ha beneficiado a bastantes
micro, pequeños y medianos empresarios de la región del valle de Mexicali, y se ha ido transformado de
acuerdo a la demanda y necesidades de los usuarios llamados empresarios y emprendedores. Es
importante observar que actualmente más estudiantes de licenciatura en administración de empresas de la
Escuela de Ingeniería y Negocios, han adquirido experiencia profesional, y empresarial, con el programa
de servicio social CEDEM-UABC. Dentro de los propósitos de cedem-uabc está el lograr ser
multidisciplinario, y que estudiantes de otras licenciaturas y unidades académicas, puedan realizar sus
prácticas profesionales ó servicio social, fortaleciéndolos a ellos como profesionales y al Centro
Desarrollo Empresarial.

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REFERENCIAS

Base de datos CEDEM-UABC. (2011)
Estatuto General. (2006). Mexicali, B.C.: Universidad Autonoma de Baja California.

Abidin Catalina, R. R. (2008). La universidad como agente de desarrollo regional. ”Necesidad de
una vinculación estratégica de la universidad con el sector empresarial en los proyectos de
investigación y desarrollo tecnológico, la transferencia de conocimientos y la innovación”.
Cartapacio de Derecho.

De la Cuesta González Marta, d. l. (2010). Responsabilidad social universitaria. NETBIBLO,
S.L., EDITORIAL.

Piñera Ramirez David, G. F. (1997). Historia de la Universidad Autonoma de Baja California,
1957-1997. Mexicali: Universidad Autonoma de Baja California.

Sarni, M. A. (2005). Educar para este siglo. Buenos Aires: Dunken.

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EL COMPORTAMIENTO EMPRENDEDOR DE
FRANQUICIADOS A TRAVÉS DE LA INFLUENCIA DE
RASGOS PSICOLÓGICOS
Héctor Priego Huertas, Universidad De Colima, México
Roberto Espíritu Olmos, Universidad De Colima, México
Hugo Martín Moreno Zacarías, Universidad De Colima, México

RESUMEN

En este estudio se analiza el comportamiento emprendedor de 53 empresarios franquiciados de tiendas
de conveniencia a través de los rasgos de personalidad, con el propósito de establecer la correlación
entre la variable dependiente que los motivó a emprender, con los rasgos de personalidad, necesidad de
logro, control interno y propensión al riesgo. Se utilizaron preguntas relacionadas con la actitud
emprendedora y los rasgos de personalidad ya validadas. Se elaboró un cuestionario para recabar la
información con preguntas provenientes de estudios previos. Las respuestas se registraron en una base
de datos a través del programa estadístico SPSS versión 17. Se realizó un análisis factorial para
determinar las variables de estudio y la aplicación de pruebas “T” para muestras relacionadas para
determinar la influencia de la actitud emprendedora (variable dependiente) y los rasgos de personalidad
(variables independientes). El resultado de las tres hipótesis muestra que los empresarios de franquicias
asumen el riesgo sin problema y cuentan con un alto control interno en la actividad empresarial. Aunque
la variable necesidad de logra no influyó en su comportamiento emprendedor. El método utilizado fue el
exploratorio asociado con el correlacional bajo la técnica de aplicación de pruebas “T” para muestras
relacionadas de hipótesis estadística.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Franquicias, franquiciados, rasgos, emprendedor.

ABSTRACT

In this study is analyzed the enterprising behavior of 53 franchised businessmen of stores of convenience
across the features of personality, with the intention of establishing the existence of correlation between
the dependent variable that motivated them to the undertaking, and the features of personality need of
achievement, internal control and tendency to risk. There were posed questions related to the enterprising
attitude and the features of personality already validated. A questionnaire was elaborated to obtain the
information with questions from previous studies. The answers were registered in a database across the
statistical program SPSS version 17. A factor analysis was realized to determine the variables of study
and also the application of “T” tests for related samples to determine the influence of the enterprising
attitude (dependent variable) and the features of personality (independent variables). The result of three
raised hypotheses shows that businessmen of franchises are people who assume the risk without any
problem and they also possess a high internal control of personality in the managerial activity. The
variable need of achievement did not influence their enterprising behavior. The method was exploratory
associated to the correlational under the technology of application of “T” tests for related samples of
statistical hypothesis.

KEY WORDS: franchisees, franchised businessmen, features, entrepreneur.

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INTRODUCCIÓN

Actualmente ha se ha visto una amplia apertura de tiendas de conveniencia a lo largo y ancho de México,
que son cedidas a manera de franquicia. Se ha comprendido los motivos de la toma de decisiones de los
franquiciadores, sin embargo no se ha tomado en cuenta a los franquiciados. En el transcurso de los años
se han encontrado diversas teorías que describen la decisión de franquicia contra la decisión de establecer
un negocio por si mismos o a lo que equivale, crear un establecimiento propio. De esto se hace mención
debido a que el franquiciador deberá lidiar, en algunas ocasiones, con ciertas carencias, necesidades o
escasez de recursos, (Dant, 1995).

Algunos otros autores como Hunt (1977), han explicado el impulso de la teoría de la decisión de adquirir
una franquicia por las ventajas específicas que esta ofrece, esto indicará que pertenecerán a una empresa
siendo ellos empresarios independientes, o lo que se asemeja ser, franquiciados. Otros autores como
Williams (1998), describen que se debe a que esperan una utilidad mayor a la que como empresarios
independientes. Otro de los puntos dentro de la decisión es la preferencia de riesgo, de acuerdo a los
antecedentes marcados por la teoría de Knight creada en 1921.

Existen pocos estudios empíricos que presentan diferencias en la decisión de adquirir una franquicia. Por
ejemplo se podría preguntar a los franquiciados respecto a las variables que son importantes para la toma
de decisiones, esto según los autores Knight (1986), y Bannock y Stanworth (1990). Algunos
franquiciados comparan el adquirir una franquicia con el hecho de ser empresarios independientes o lo
que es igual trabajar a cuenta ajena, esto dependerá de la forma en que la persona tome su trabajo. La
opción de abrir una franquicia depende de mayores ventajas de las que proporciona la opción de negocio
independiente. No existe opinión consensuada sobre la importancia relativa de cada ventaja ni de su
valoración. Para Knight (1986), la marca es la principal ventaja mientras que para Peterson y Dant
(1990), creen que es la formación o el pertenecer a una cadena nacional.

Este trabajo establece una tipología de emprendedores según sus creencias y preferencias ante la opción
de franquicia. Se pretende conocer la influencia que ejercen las variables psicológicas riesgo, control
interno y necesidad de logro para que una persona decida elegir un negocio a través de una franquicia en
tiendas de conveniencia. También se pretende dar respuesta a la siguiente pregunta de investigación. ¿Las
variables psicológicas influyen en la conducta del emprendedor para obtener una franquicia de tiendas de
conveniencia?.La literatura ha mostrado siempre más interés en entender las decisiones de los
franquiciadores que las de los franquiciados. Se han establecido teorías que explican la decisión de
franquicia frente a la de abrir establecimientos propios tomando en cuenta las carencias o necesidades del
franquiciador y escasez de recursos (Dant, 1995), pero no hay ninguna teoría que explique la decisión del
franquiciado. Hay pocos estudios empíricos y presentan grandes diferencias entre ellos, unos se basan en
preguntar a los franquiciados existentes sobre las variables que fueron importantes para ellos cuando
tomaron la decisión (Peterson y Dant 1990), y otros se basan en potenciales franquiciados a los que se les
preguntaba por los criterios que tienen en cuenta para decidirse. Este estudio parte con la idea de
considerar al franquiciado como un emprendedor que se plantea la decisión de crear una empresa. Debe
por tanto analizar la posibilidad que tiene a su alcance, es decir abrir una franquicia y conocer cuáles son
los rasgos de personalidad que influyeron en él.

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REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA

Hunt (1977), resume situaciones que pasan en el proceso con respecto a lo que ofrece la franquicia como
son: una mayor ventaja de pertenecer a una gran cadena de empresas, mientras que al mismo tiempo les
permite ser empresarios independientes. Williams (1998), establece que los emprendedores o
franquiciados optarán por la franquicia en lugar de inclinarse por un negocio propio, esto si la utilidad del
primer caso es mayor que la del segundo. Los estudios empíricos dentro del estado del arte a menudo se
han centrado los estudios en los franquiciados ya existentes. Peterson y Dant (1990), encontraron que
existían tres factores que condicionaban a los franquiciados misma información que se obtuvo de las
encuestas estos tres puntos fueron: la experiencia que poseen como auto-empleados, el número de años
que estuvieron como empresarios y el nivel de ventas que obtuvieron en los mismos.

Lafontaine (1992), encontró que la probabilidad de ser franquiciado aumenta con la cantidad de capital
inicial disponible. Por lo que respecta a la localización de la franquicia, los autores Mescon y Montanari
(1981), establecieron tres tipos de franquiciados esto en función de su localización (franquicia):
franquiciados rurales, franquiciados en población de tamaño medio. franquiciados urbanos. Por lo tanto,
como se mencionaba anteriormente, no hay estudios que permitan conocer los rasgos más comunes que
tienen los emprendedores de franquicia. Con la aplicación de este estudio exploratorio se dará a conocer
la influencia de los rasgos, riesgo, control interno y necesidad de logro en los emprendedores de
franquicia.

Control interno: Los empresarios tienen una alta puntuación de control interno, ya que otras personas que
creen que el resultado de sus acciones no depende de sus decisiones ni de sus esfuerzos, difícilmente
podrán decidirse a crear y dirigir una empresa (Veciana, 1989). El control interno que tiene los
empresarios para desarrollar sus actividades se deriva de su energía original por la creencia que tienen de
que con su esfuerzo personal lograran la consecución de los objetivos que se han trazado, así lo han
corroborado los estudios de los siguientes autores: Mescon et al. (1981), Robinson et al., 1991 o Lee y
Tsang 2001), Gürol y Atsan (2006), Korunka et al., (2003). Por lo tanto se plantea la siguiente hipótesis:
H1. Los emprendedores de franquicia tendrán una influencia del rasgo control interno en su
comportamiento emprendedor.

Riesgo: La asunción de riesgo es una variable a destacar en el perfil emprendedor. Stearns y Hills,
(1996), han destacado que el emprendedor no es un corredor de riesgos, si no que sabe manejar el riesgo y
calcularlo. Brockhaus (1982), sugiere que incluso podría suceder que la propensión al riego varié entre el
emprendedor con una empresa ya establecido y aquel que acaba de crear su propia empresa. En sus
estudios con empresarios los siguientes autores, encuentran que el rasgo propensión al riesgo influye en la
toma de decisiones de dichos empresarios, encontrando evidencia empírica a sus argumentos, tales
autores son: Schwer y Yucelt (1984), Teoh y Foo (1997) o Korunka et al. (2003), (Brockhaus, 1980;
Gupta y Govindarajan, 1984 o Entrialgo Suárez et al., 1999). Aunque Naldi et al. (2007), no encontraron
evidencia empírica para comprobar la influencia de la variable propensión al riesgo en su estudio con
pequeños empresarios, argumentando que la misma depende del tamaño y estructura de la organización,
ya que los empresarios de pequeñas empresas no corren los mismos riesgos que los empresarios de
grandes empresas. Por lo tanto se plantea la siguiente hipótesis.

H2. El rasgo de personalidad riesgo, es considerado como una acción que poseen los emprendedores de
franquicias.

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Necesidad de logro: La necesidad de logro es concebida como ese deseo que tienen ciertas personas para
mejorar el resultado de sus acciones y sentirse responsables de las mismas. Se ha relacionado con la
probabilidad de convertirse en fundadores y de estar motivados para alcanzar el éxito, (McClelland,
1961). La persona con necesidad de logro tiene reacciones de alegría o tristeza ante los resultados de sus
esfuerzos (Veciana, 1989), se inclinara hacia tareas retadoras y moderadamente difíciles como incentivo
de logro que ofrece un reto, de tal manera que cuando alcance el éxito en su realización se siente
satisfecho de haber conseguido un logro personal. Así lo corroboran también los estudios realizados con
empresarios los siguientes autores: Robinson et al. (1991), Lee y Tsang, (2001), Ayerbe y Larrea (1995),
Gürol y Atsan (2006). Por lo tanto se plantea la siguiente hipótesis:

H3. Los emprendedores de franquicia poseen el rasgo de personalidad necesidad de logro como parte de
su comportamiento emprendedor.

Variables De Control Socio Demográficas.

Edad. En diversas ocasiones se aprecia que la edad en las personas influye en gran manera al momento de
adquirir un empleo, sin embargo para las franquicias no se limita una edad en la cual se deba adquirir una
franquicia y otra edad para dejar esta. El 60% de los emprendedores entre los 18 y 29 años afirman desear
su propio negocio y cerca del 80% de los que querrían ser emprendedores están entre los 18 y 34 de edad
(Kuratko y Hodgetts, 2004).Se ha argumentado que las personas jóvenes que cuentan con cargas
familiares que los hacen responsables además de que poseen el vigor y la energía de su edad, lo que
favorece el comportamiento basado en la creación de empresas. Para Veciana (1989), en estudios
realizados respecto a la edad, la persona que toma la decisión de convertirse en empresario suele entre los
25-40 años. Lo anterior supone que con su edad la persona ha tenido la oportunidad de adquirir cierta
experiencia, confianza en sí mismo, así como el conocimiento de los productos y el mercado en el que se
mueve, sin que signifique que ha llegado a una posición de prestigio ó responsabilidad en una empresa.

Género: Entre algunos factores que contribuyen al reconocimiento del enfoque del género se destaca la
participación generalizada de las mujeres en el mercado de trabajo y en el desarrollo profesional, así
como un incremento en la conciencia colectiva (Barberá Heredia, 2004). Han existido estudios referentes
a las diferencias que existen para emprender, entre las mujeres y hombres, no hay un acuerdo en común,
aunque las investigaciones empíricas parecen indicar que el espíritu emprendedor es mayor en los
hombres (Crant, 1996). Esta desigualdad, desgraciadamente, ha generado múltiples formas de opresión
hacia las mujeres (Quevedo et al., 2010). El número de mujeres empresarias, como de investigaciones
sobre ellas, ha aumentado radicalmente y los negocios pertenecientes a mujeres representan el segmento
de mayor crecimiento entre las pequeñas empresas. Sin embargo la vida empresarial de las mujeres
todavía es significativamente más baja que la de los hombres (Langowitz y Minniti 2007).

Y aunque el número de mujeres empresarias se ha incrementado drásticamente a lo largo de los años, la
vida empresarial es todavía ampliamente dominada por varones (Lerner y Pines 2010). Evidencias
empíricas indican que casi el doble de hombres en comparación con mujeres se convierten en
empresarios, y que estas diferencias son consistentes en la mayoría de los países (Baron et al., 2001).

Experiencia previ:. La experiencia laboral con la que cuenta la persona ha sido también señalada como un
aspecto influyente en la elección de desarrollar la carrera profesional como auto-empleado, así lo afirma
Kolvereid (1996). Peterman y Kennedy (2003), encontraron que una relación positiva de la experiencia
obtenida por las personas en el deseo y la viabilidad de crear su propia empresa. Por su parte, Benavides

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Espinosa y Sánchez García (2004), en su estudio esperaban que la adquisición de conocimientos y la
acumulación de experiencia laboral o emprendiendo otras actividades, podía ser a la vez fuente de ideas
de negocio o un estímulo para facilitar su puesta en marcha. Leiva Bonilla, (2004), en un estudio
exploratorio para detectar la motivación emprendedora, encontró que en un promedio 3 de cada 4
personas tienen experiencias laborales previas, resultando las opciones más comunes la combinación de
trabajo y estudio, así como los trabajos temporales no fijos.

Antecedente familiare:. Existen evidencias empíricas de que los empresarios suelen descender en gran
medida de familias en la que alguno de sus miembros son empresarios. Es un estudio realizado por Scott
y Twomey (1988), encontraron que los encuestados, cuyos padres eran propietarios de pequeñas empresas
a las que dedicaban tiempo completo, mostraron las más altas preferencias por el autoempleo y fueron
más susceptibles a desarrollar una idea empresarial, reflejando la más baja preferencia por ser empleado
en grandes empresas. Crant (1996), encuentra efectivamente que los hijos de empresarios muestran las
mayores intenciones empresariales. Rubio López et al. (1999), argumentan en las familias en las que
algunos de sus miembros son empresarios, y que cabe esperar que la gente con progenitores involucrados
en actividades emprendedoras, tendrán una mayor probabilidad de mostrar tales comportamientos en
comparación con aquellos cuyos padres no lo están.

Educación: Para Martín Cruz et al. (2005), la educación en todos sus niveles, desempeña un papel
primordial en el desarrollo de la sociedad emprendedora, en donde se ha observado que los empresarios
tienen como una de sus principales características un mayor nivel de educación. La educación
empresarial, mejora las percepciones que tiene la población hacia la creación de empresas y dicha
educación que imparte la universidad puede representar una influencia positiva para la elección de una
carrera emprendedora (Rubio López et al., 1999 o Galloway y Brown, 2002).

METODOLOGÍA

El tipo de investigación llevada a cabo fue el exploratorio, asociado con el correlacional bajo la técnica de
aplicación de pruebas “T” para muestras relacionadas de hipótesis estadística. Este tipo de pruebas calcula
el estadístico t de Student para comprobar la significación de muestras relacionadas, como son la variable
dependiente e independientes de este estudio. La metodología utilizada fue a través de la aplicación de un
cuestionario entre una muestra de 53 franquiciados de un total de 85 existente en el estado de Colima, en
México, los cuales valorarán su comportamiento a través de los rasgos de personalidad como son:
propensión al riesgo, necesidad de logro y control interno, así como la influencia de las variables de
control: edad, género, experiencia en trabajos anteriores, su preparación académica y si tiene familiares
empresarios. Se utilizó una escala Likert de uno a diez puntos en el que uno significa estar totalmente en
descuerdo y diez estar totalmente de acuerdo. Para construir y validar las variables psicológicas y de
control, se realiza un estudio sobre la fiabilidad que poseen estas cuestiones para valorar la consistencia
interna y que proporcione el coeficiente de fiabilidad Alfa de Cronbach. Una vez realizado y aceptado que
estas cuestiones son fiables, se procedió a la realización del análisis factorial. Para rotar los factores se
utilizó el método de rotación varimax ya que teóricamente las variables de diseño analizadas están
relacionadas entre sí. Del análisis factorial realizado, se obtuvieron factores con autovalores mayores que
1, que explicaran el porcentaje de la varianza.

Realizados dichos test, se procedió a la elaboración de un análisis de correlación para contrastar las
hipótesis planteadas en este estudio. Dicho procedimiento estadístico permitió cuantificar el grado de
relación existente entre dos o más variables. Descripción de la muestra La determinación de la muestra se

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llevo a cabo a través de la obtención de datos proporcionados por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y
Geografía, Delegación Colima (INEGI- Colima), siendo un total de 85 tiendas de conveniencia
registradas de las cuales se encuestaron 53 que representan el 62% del total de la muestra, cantidad
suficiente para justificar el presente estudio, puesto que es una muestra representativa con muchas
posibilidades de representar el total de la población. Así mismo, este enfoque es cualitativo y la
aplicación de las encuestas es a través de personas, aunque esto no sea necesariamente una representación
del universo o población que se estudia (Hernández Sampieri, 2010). Por lo tanto no se realiza
procedimiento de muestreo simple en virtud de que la población total es muy pequeña.

Tabla 1: Ficha técnica de estudio

Unidad de análisis. Propietario de franquicia de tiendas de conveniencia
Ámbito geográfico. Estado de Colima.
Total de la población. 70 tiendas de conveniencia
Tamaño de la muestra. 53 propietarios/administradores de tiendas de conveniencia
Fecha de realización. Agosto- Septiembre 2010.
En esta tabla se muestran la descripción detallada del lugar, muestra y la fecha de realización del trabajo de investigación llevado a cabo.

Definida la población y muestra, se procedió posteriormente a elegir las fuentes de información y aquellos
instrumentos utilizados para obtenerla. Se consultaron las fuentes primarias diseñando para el fin
específico de la investigación una encuesta que fue aplicada directamente a la muestra de franquiciados
de tiendas de conveniencia en el Estado de Colima. Para construir el cuestionario, se toman como base
trabajos que se relacionan con el tema de las franquicias. Específicamente se mencionan las preguntas que
contiene el cuestionario, en los siguientes epígrafes.Operatividad de las variables de estudio.

La operatividad de las variables de estudio se llevó a cabo de acuerdo a la elaboración de preguntas que
fueron obtenidas de la siguiente forma. Para la variable dependiente comportamiento emprendedor, se
tomaron como referencia cuatro dimensiones para elaborar el contenido de las preguntas. Para la variable
control interno, se tomaron como base nueve pregunta provenientes del cuestionario aplicado en el
estudio desarrollado por Moriano et al. (2006).

La medición de la necesidad de logro en el presente estudio, se ha realizado por medio de la aplicación de
nueve preguntas seleccionadas basadas en la escala “Entrepreneurial Attitide Orientation” (EAO) de
Peterman y Kennedy (2003), después de una adecuada adaptación dadas las características de la
población a la que se dirige el estudio, puesto que es aplicada a los franquiciados. En cuanto a la variable
propensión al riesgo se tomaron en cuenta diez preguntas del cuestionario que ha elaborado en su estudio
Cano et al. (2004). De esto se desprende el siguiente modelo de estudio que se presenta en la figura 1.

RESULTADOS

Se realizó análisis de fiabilidad de la variable dependiente comportamiento emprendedor utilizando el
estadístico Alfa de Cronbach, que es una medida para valorar la consistencia interna de las preguntas. La
prueba KMO (KAISER MEYER Y OLKIN), que es un índice que refleja si una medida es adecuada. Las
comunalidades, que representan la proporción de la varianza con la que contribuye cada variable a la
solución final. Y por último, el análisis de varianza, que es utilizado en estudios exploratorios con el fin
de explicar el porcentaje total que abarca el estudio. Los resultados se muestran en la siguiente tabla:

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Figura 1:Modelo de estudio

En esta figura se muestra el modelo de estudio, donde se muestran la variable dependiente y las independientes, que son la guía para realizar la
investigación para conocer la existencia de una correlación, ya sea positiva o negativa.

Tabla 2: Valores obtenidos en las pruebas de fiabilidad

Variables Alfa de Cronbach KMO Comunalidades Varianza
Dependiente:
Comportamiento

0.502 .87 Entre 3.9 y 5.1 54.1 %
Independiente:
Riesgo
0.686 .83 Entre 4.5 y 5.8 61.9%
Independiente: Necesidad de
logro
0.74 .65% Entre 3.3. y 4.8 61.1%
Independiente: Control
interno
0.729 .67% Entre 4.1. y 4 9 58.6%
En esta tabla se muestran los resultados obtenidos en las pruebas de fiabilidad, lo cual demuestra que son valores aceptables para realizarse la
correlación a través de pruebas “T” para muestras independientes.

Posteriormente se aplicaron pruebas “T” para dos muestras relacionadas con el propósito de verificar la
relación existente entre la variable dependiente comportamiento emprendedor y la independiente riego
(Tabla 2), se encontró una relación positiva significativa del comportamiento emprendedor con el riesgo,
con un valor significativo de .098 lo que significa que los empresarios de franquicias muestran una actitud
de riesgo al emprender esta actividad, tal y como se muestra en la siguiente tabla. Asimismo se obtuvo un
valor de significación positivo de .083 con la variable independiente control interno demostrándose que
los empresarios de tiendas de conveniencia tienen bien cimentadas sus acciones y controlan sus
actividades sin necesidad de valerse de otros medios. Sin embargo, la variable necesidad de logro, arrojó
un resultado no significativo con relación al comportamiento emprendedor de los empresarios de
franquicias, al resultar un valor que sobrepasa el .1 Esto quiere decir que los emprendedores no muestran
un interés de llegar a tener su propia empresa, sino que están pendientes de que la administración que
llevan a cabo sea la correcta, controlando sus acciones y corriendo el riesgo correspondiente.

Variables
independientes
Rasgos
Control interno
Necesidad de logro
Propensión al riesgo
Variable dependiente

Comportamiento
emprendedor
Variables de control Edad, Género, Experiencia
laboral, Familiares
empresarios, Preparación
o
formación profesional.

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Tabla 3: Correlaciones de muestras relacionadas con la variable dependiente comportamiento
emprendedor y las variables independientes.

Variables independientes Muestra Correlación Significación
Riesgo 53 .230 .098
Control interno 53 .021 083
Necesidad de logro 53 .078 .577
En esta tabla se muestran los valores de significación obtenidos para cada una de las variables independientes con
relación a la dependiente que es el comportamiento emprendedor de los empresarios de franquicias.

CONCLUSIONES

Se han identificado el marco teórico en el que definieron algunos autores lo que es el espíritu
emprendedor, sobre todo en empresarios de franquicias. También se ha identificado y realizado un
modelo de estudio en el que nos refleja la influencia de las características socio demográficas de
personalidad con el comportamiento emprendedor de los empresarios de franquicias, del cual se partió,
utilizando el paquete estadístico SPSS versión 17 para realizar los estadísticos descriptivos y las pruebas
“T” para muestras relacionadas.

De acuerdo a las hipótesis planteadas, se ha encontrado una relación positiva significativa en dos de ellas,
los rasgos riesgo y control interno, no así el rasgo necesidad de logro. Por lo tanto, los resultados
obtenidos en este estudio, son congruentes con el objetivo planteado al inicio del mismo, es decir se
conoció la influencia de dos rasgos de personalidad en la conducta emprendedora de los emprendedores
de franquicia en tiendas de conveniencia. De igual forma se da respuesta a la pregunta de investigación
en el sentido de que las variables psicológicas influyen en la conducta del emprendedor para obtener una
franquicia de tiendas de conveniencia, y en este caso han resultado que dos variables, control interno y
riesgo, influyeron en dicha conducta de los emprendedores de franquicias.

Asimismo, el nivel de estudios que tienen los empresarios encuestados el 57% cuentan con estudios de
bachillerato, el 30% de profesional y el 13% con estudios de secundaria, dándonos a entender que en la
gran mayoría de este tipo de empresarios solo cuenta con estudios de nivel medio superior. Solo el 30%
de este tipo de empresario cuenta con estudios profesionales. Una de las características encontrada y que
vale la pena destacar es que el 73% de los encuestados han tenido la experiencia de haber participado
como trabajador en una empresa, lo que interpretamos que este tipo de personas decidieron ser
empresarios de franquicias por la diferencia que existe de ser trabajador a ser su propio jefe, es decir,
administrar una empresa de esta naturaleza. Con relación a la experiencia que han tenido los empresarios
de franquicias, si tienen familiares y sus niveles de estudio no existió una correlación, por lo que éstas
variables no influyeron en el comportamiento emprendedor de los franquiciados y al ser variables de
control resulta irrelevante analizar con profundidad este resultado.

En cuanto a la pregunta de investigación planteada ¿Cuáles son las variables psicológicas y socio
demográficas que influyen en la conducta del emprendedor de una franquicia en tiendas de
conveniencia?, se encontró que las variables psicológicas control interno y riesgo, son las que influyen en
la conducta del emprendedor de una franquicia en tiendas de conveniencia, no así la variable psicológica
necesidad de logro, situación que se explica más adelante al abordar la comprobación de las hipótesis
planteadas.En cuanto a las variables socio demográficas encontramos que la experiencia laboral es una
característica que se destaca por que el 73% de los encuestados tuvieron este antecedente, que de alguna

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manera consideramos que existe una influencia de esta variable en la decisión de ser empresario de
franquicia. En cuanto a la variable socio demográfica nivel de estudios y familiares empresarios, se
considera también que influye en su actitud de tener una empresa de franquicia, pues un elevado número
de encuestados tienen familiares empresarios con un nivel de estudios profesionales. Con el resto de las
variables socio demográficas (edad y género).

Este estudio ha arrojado datos que pueden ser importantes ya que se han aplicado las técnicas de análisis
multivariante necesarias para todo estudio empírico y la metodología adecuada que permitió llevar a cado
el contraste de las hipótesis planteadas así como la definición de los procedimientos necesarios para la
obtención de la información. De igual forma el diseño del cuestionario se realizó con el debido cuidado
seleccionando las preguntas idóneas y que ya han sido aplicadas por otros autores. Así mismo la medición
de las variables se realizó con base en las mediciones que han hecho otros autores en estudios realizados
respecto a este tema. Por lo tanto se considera este trabajo reúne todas las características básicas de la
investigación. Consideramos tres aportaciones resultantes de este trabajo:

1. La elaboración de un marco teórico específico para la investigar la influencia de tres variables
psicológicas que se pueden analizar en la conducta emprendedora de los emprendedores de franquicia.

2. La elaboración de un modelo de estudio que puede servir de base para futuras investigaciones
relacionadas con esta disciplina.

3. la comprobación de dos rasgos de personalidad que influyeron en el comportamiento emprendedor de
los franquiciados.

Se puede considerar como futuras líneas de investigación:

1. La aplicación de éste modelo en emprendedores de franquicia de otro tipo de giro específico.

2. La inclusión de otras variables psicológicas que se han estudiado en comportamientos de
emprendedores que son dueños de su empres y que no han tenido la experiencia de trabajar como
franquiciados.

3. La ampliación de la muestra a otro tipo de colectivos estratificando por giros.

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BIOGRAFÍA

Roberto Espíritu Olmos es Doctor en Dirección de Empresas por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid
España. Profesor de tiempo completo en la Facultad de Contabilidad y Administración de Tecomán,
Colima México. Se puede contactar a la Facultad de Contabilidad y Administración de la Universidad de
Colima, Km 40.5 carretera Colima-Manzanillo, correo electrónico olmos@ucol.mx

Héctor Priego Huertas es Maestro en Finanzas. Profesor de tiempo completo en la Facultad Contabilidad
y Administración de Tecomán, Colima México. Se puede contactar a la Facultad de Contabilidad y
Administración de la Universidad de Colima, Km 40.5 carretera Colima-Manzanillo, correo electrónico
hpriego@ucol.mx

Hugo Martín Moreno Zacarías es Maestro en Administración. Profesor de tiempo completo en la Facultad
de Contabilidad y Administración de Tecomán, Colima México. Se puede contactar a la Facultad de
Contabilidad y Administración de la Universidad de Colima, Km 40.5 carretera Colima-Manzanillo,
correo electrónico hugmor@ucol.mx

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INSTRUMENTOS DE GESTIÓN PARTICIPATIVA EN LA
ADMINISTRACIÓN PÚBLICA: PROPUESTA DE UN
SISTEMA DE INDICADORES PARA LA PLANEACIÓN
ESTATAL EN BAJA CALIFORNIA
Sheila Delhumeau Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Andrea Spears Kirkand, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Mónica Lacavex Berumen, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

Los mecanismos de control en la gestión pública generan información que permite evaluar el nivel de
eficacia y eficiencia en la toma de decisiones y los alcances de las mismas. El establecimiento de estas
políticas tiene como objetivo regular el cumplimiento de las decisiones y los acuerdos tomados,
estableciendo mecanismos de control y seguimiento de los mismos. En el proceso de modernización de la
administración pública la implementación de indicadores es un mecanismo cada vez más utilizado para
el seguimiento y evaluación de políticas, cuyo objetivo fundamental es estimular y facilitar procesos de
gestión participativa junto a las comunidades en un sistema donde la rendición de cuentas y la
transparencia son un requisito. Esta investigación presenta una propuesta de indicadores para medir el
desempeño del sistema de planeación estatal participativa en el estado de Baja California, México,
conducido por el Comité para la Planeación del Desarrollo (COPLADE) en la entidad, considerando
aspectos de: impacto, gestión, operación y satisfacción. La propuesta se construyó a partir de los
resultados obtenidos de dos grupos de discusión y una encuesta aplicada a los asistentes al organismo,
con el propósito de conocer su percepción sobre el funcionamiento del COPLADE y la mejor forma de
evaluar su desempeño.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Indicadores de Desempeño, Gestión Pública, Planeación Estatal

CLASIFICACIÓN JEL: Z18, M48

INTRODUCCIÓN

En el ámbito empresarial durante las últimas décadas ha tenido preponderancia la búsqueda de modelos
de gestión para evaluar el desempeño de las organizaciones. Se ha observado el tránsito de la
implementación de modelos rígidos a la adopción de sistemas flexibles en los que “la medida de
proximidad a los resultados esperados y la adición del potencial humano a la ventaja competitiva de la
organización son los ejes que orientan el proceso conocido como la «gestión»” (Del Castillo y Vargas,
2009, p.58).

En la administración pública no se ha seguido la misma trayectoria, ya que la característica predominante
en esos modelos es el dominio de la estructura como eje de la gestión. En esta, “la alta estructuración de
la gestión implica un fuerte grado de control en los procesos, los procedimientos y el empleo de recursos,
los cuales, al ser públicos, justifican la supremacía de modelos rígidos de gestión”, según señalan Del
Castillo y Vargas (2009, pp. 58-59). Esto ha implicado que la medida de la eficiencia en la gestión
pública ha sido tradicionalmente vinculada al ejercicio de presupuestos y la contabilidad de acciones
desarrolladas a partir de los mismos. De esta manera, el reto que enfrentan los gobiernos es transitar de

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modelos de gestión gubernamental desde una lógica funcional rígida hacia una lógica de procesos,
“basada en el control de la estrategia y la evaluación de los resultados por medio de indicadores” (Del
Castillo y Vargas, 2009, p.60).

REVISIÓN DE LITERATURA

En el proceso de modernización de la administración pública se han incorporado los indicadores de
gestión al retomar la experiencia de la iniciativa privada, con la finalidad de evaluar la contribución a la
satisfacción de las necesidades colectivas de los programas de gobierno y el grado de cumplimiento de
sus objetivos. Estos mecanismos de control de la gestión pública tienen como propósito obtener
información que permita evaluar el nivel de eficacia de la toma de decisiones y su implementación en
planes y programas. Por lo tanto, estas políticas tienen como objetivo regular y controlar el cumplimiento
de los acuerdos tomados en los comités y comisiones, estableciendo sistemas de control y seguimiento de
los mismos (Delhumeau, 2011).

En un sistema tradicionalmente organizado a partir de la estructura, la evaluación del desempeño permite
ver con más claridad la asignación de responsabilidades para el cumplimiento de las metas
organizacionales. En este sentido, Guinart (2004) señala que en sistema democrático se puede pensar en
la responsabilidad pública como parte de un contrato originario entre los ciudadanos y su gobierno. Por
ende:

(…) los ciudadanos conceden a su gobierno un alto control sobre sus vidas, permitiendo
que el gobierno se lleve parte de sus ingresos (a partir de impuestos) y que limite su
libertad (a través de la ejecución de leyes y las regulaciones). (…) Pero los ciudadanos
esperan, a vez, que los gobiernos sean responsables por el modo como ejercen su poder.
(…) Por lo tanto, supervisar e informar sobre el desempeño de las actuaciones públicas es
una de las formas en las que los gobiernos se presentan responsables ante sus ciudadanos
(p. 316).

La evaluación a base de indicadores constituye un mecanismo utilizado cada vez más por
administraciones públicas, donde la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas son necesarias. Este tipo de
evaluación se puede definir como “un conjunto de parámetros especialmente diseñados para obtener
información específica, evaluar cuantitativamente los avances o retrocesos hacia las metas, y con ello
darle seguimiento a las actividades o planes” (Chávez Alzaga, 2007, p.3). Entonces, el objetivo
fundamental de esta herramienta ha sido estimular y facilitar procesos de gestión participativa entre las
comunidades y los gobiernos locales para lograr una efectiva participación de la sociedad civil en la toma
de decisiones y en la solución de los problemas de las localidades.

A través de la medición de indicadores, los actores locales pueden asumir la visión estratégica de su
localidad, “como un propósito definido y compartido, con el cual comprometerse para que, mediante
acciones concretas, ofrezcan soluciones para los problemas identificados durante el ejercicio de
planificación participativa. La concreción de resultados se hace frente a una motivación sostenida
mediante la cual el proceso gana credibilidad y podrá ir sumando cada vez a más ciudadanos interesados
en contribuir en el proceso de desarrollo” (Quintana, s.f., s.p.). Además, metodologías como esta
fomentan la vida democrática, ya que la planificación participativa es un método que privilegia el diálogo
y el consenso en la toma de decisiones, lo cual incide en el clima de confianza necesario entre los actores.
El sistema de planeación democrática en Baja California

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De acuerdo a la Ley de Planeación en México de 1983, esta debe ser democrática y participativa, y el
organismo creado para conducirla en cada estado son los Comités para la Planeación del Desarrollo
(COPLADE). Según afirma Gómez (1983), “[l]os COPLADE son organismos públicos, dotados de
personalidad jurídica y patrimonios propios, que tienen como propósito compatibilizar, a nivel local, los
esfuerzos de los gobiernos federal, estatales y municipales, en materia de planeación durante las distintas
etapas del proceso, propiciando la participación de los diversos sectores de la comunidad” (p.72).

En Baja California, el COPLADE es un organismo paraestatal del Gobierno del Estado y se constituye
como el único conducto de propuesta en el ámbito estatal para la coordinación que establece el Ejecutivo
del Estado con el Ejecutivo Federal y los Ayuntamientos, de acuerdo a Ley de Planeación del Estado de
Baja California de 2001. El decreto de creación del COPLADE se publicó en el Diario Oficial el 23 de
julio de 1999, definiéndose las actividades a través de las cuales se realiza la planeación del desarrollo en
Baja California.

La Ley de Planeación de la entidad, promulgado en 2008, establece el mecanismo para la elaboración del
Plan Estatal de Desarrollo con participación ciudadana a través de los foros de consulta pública, los cuales
serán organizados por COPLADE. Para sistematizar la consulta permanente en el proceso de planeación
del desarrollo, el COPLADE en Baja California cuenta con 21 subcomités que trabajan aspectos
prioritarios de la entidad, los cuales están integrados por representantes de los sectores social, económico
y gubernamental.

METODOLOGÍA

El propósito de este estudio consistió en proponer una batería de indicadores para medir de manera
participativa el desempeño del COPLADE. Con esta finalidad se planteó una metodología mixta a partir
de: 1) un análisis del comportamiento del organismo de 2002 a la fecha; 2) la aplicación de una encuesta a
participantes en los subcomités para conocer su percepción sobre su organización y funcionamiento; 3)
dos grupos de discusión sobre el desempeño del organismo con asistentes al mismo; y 4) el análisis de los
indicadores de desempeño que utilizan actualmente.

RESULTADOS

Los resultados obtenidos en el estudio a partir de los métodos de consulta empleados muestran la
necesidad de un control y seguimiento más estricto del trabajo que se desarrolla en el COPLADE. La
percepción de los ciudadanos sobre el trabajo que realiza el organismo indica que: aún cuando hay un
aparato gubernamental que funciona para hacer planeación participativa, no hay un conocimiento claro de
las funciones del organismo ni del papel de los participantes en el mismo; y existe un desconocimiento
sobre la visión gubernamental del desarrollo estatal y de la relación de ésta con la vida cotidiana de los
ciudadanos, el cual propicia una desvinculación en los esfuerzos entre sociedad y gobierno. Por otra
parte, se hizo evidente la necesidad de mejorar los canales de comunicación hacia dentro y fuera de la
dependencia, de trasparentar sus funciones y manejo presupuestal, y de generar un plan de trabajo con
medios de verificación y evaluación para garantizar que sea llevado a cabo.

En el análisis del sistema de medición de indicadores de desempeño que tiene actualmente el gobierno del
estado de Baja California se identificaron diez indicadores para evaluar los avances de las metas del
COPLADE en relación al cumplimiento de las líneas de acción del Plan Estatal de Desarrollo actual y el

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ejercicio presupuestal. Estos evalúan las acciones que desempeña la Dirección General, el Departamento
de Planeación Sectorial y el del Sistema Estatal de Indicadores. Delhumeau (2011) señala que:

Los indicadores asignados al Comité miden la calidad de la representatividad de los
sectores gubernamental, privada y social en las reuniones de los Subcomités, así como el
porcentaje de participación de los sectores. Asimismo, miden el número de Subcomités
que cuentan con proyectos de coordinación y evalúan sus avances, así como los avances
en los Programas Operativos Anuales (POAS) de los mismos (p. 75).

Se encontró que “[a] la fecha, los dos indicadores que corresponden a conocer el porcentaje de
instituciones del gobierno estatal y el porcentaje de Subcomités con POAS que dan atención a las
prioridades de la política de población aún no son aplicados” (Delhumeau, 2011, p. 75). No obstante, las
autoridades estatales tienen planeado evaluarlos en un futuro cercano.

A partir del análisis de la información se construyó una propuesta para complementar los indicadores con
que cuenta actualmente la dependencia gubernamental, incorporando algunas propuestas que realizaron
los participantes por medio de la encuesta y los grupos de discusión. Dentro del modelo de indicadores
para medir la gestión para resultados de gobierno del estado, se consideran los indicadores de: impacto,
gestión, operación y satisfacción.

Propuesta de indicadores de medición participativa

La propuesta de indicadores de medición del desempeño para COPLADE constituye un medio para la
evaluación sistemática del organismo para realizarse dentro de los subcomités, con la participación de
todos los sectores representados. A través de estos se propone medir: 1) la eficiencia del proceso y del
trabajo conjunto entre ciudadanos y gobierno; 2) los productos resultantes del trabajo de los subcomités; y
3) el impacto en las áreas y sectores a corto y largo plazo.

Se recomiende realizar la medición a través de las siguientes unidades de medida: 1) la recepción y
selección de propuestas de proyectos a desarrollar; 2) la realización de estudios y diagnósticos para
determinar su factibilidad y pertinencia; 3) el desarrollo de mecanismos de coordinación intersectorial; 4)
la información que generan sobre los proyectos y su influencia; 5) los beneficios en las condiciones de
vida de la población objetivo; 6) el mejoramiento en infraestructura resultado de las propuestas recibidas
que fueron llevadas a cabo; y 7) la variabilidad de las relaciones e intercambio de ideas entre sectores.

CONCLUSIONES

En conclusión, se puede afirma que los mecanismos de control en la gestión pública producen
información que permite evaluar el nivel de eficacia y eficiencia en la toma de decisiones y los alcances
de las mismas. En la actualidad, distintas dependencias gubernamentales en México buscan flexibilizar
sus procesos de gestión incorporando mecanismos para la evaluación del desempeño que permitan que las
metas sean alcanzadas bajo los criterios de eficiencia y eficacia de la gerencia moderna y que, además,
incorporen la participación ciudadana. En Baja California, el COPLADE tiene el mandato por ley de
incorporar la participación ciudadana en el proceso de la planeación y en el funcionamiento general del
organismo. Sin embargo, en la práctica la estructura y sus inercias hacia el sistema organizacional rígido
tradicional de la administración pública en México ha ido debilitando su función y desalentando la
participación. A través de la propuesta de indicadores que se presenta en este trabajo, se busca generar un
mecanismo de evaluación y control que incluya la participación ciudadana en los subcomités en el

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proceso, de tal manera que este ejercicio permita una autorreflexión que lleve a la propuesta de formas de
participación y evaluación más eficientes y flexibles.

REFERENCIAS

Chávez Alzaga, O. E. (2007). Estructura y enfoque de un sistema de medición del desempeño de una
municipalidad para aportar al proceso de toma de decisiones. Ponencia presentada en el XII Congreso
Internacional del CLAD sobre la Reforma del Estado y de la Administración Pública, Santo Domingo,
República Dominicana, del 30 octubre al 2 noviembre de 2007.

Del Castillo, C. y Vargas, B. (2009). El proceso de gestión y del desempeño organizacional. Una
aproximación a la nueva gestión pública desde el ámbito de los gobiernos locales. Cuadernos de Difusión,
14 (26): 57-80.

Delhumeau Rivera, S. (Coord.) (2011). Estudio de percepción ciudadana de los mecanismos de
participación para la planeación en el estado de Baja California. Informe técnico. Ensenada: COPLADE-
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.

Gómez C., R. (1983). La participación popular en la planeación democrática del desarrollo estatal en
México. Revista de Administración Pública, (55-56): 65-76.

Guirnat I S., J. M. (2004). Indicadores de gestión para las entidades públicas. Revista de Administración
Pública, (110): 315-334.

Quintana, E. (s.f.). Nociones básicas sobre medición. Disponible en:
http://www.escuelapnud.org/biblioteca/index.php?doc=1473

RECONOCIMIENTOS

Las autoras agradecen el apoyo financiero del Comité para la Planeación del Desarrollo del estado de
Baja California para realizar esta investigación, a partir del proyecto “Estudio de percepción ciudadana de
los mecanismos de participación para la planeación en el estado de Baja California”, realizado entre 2009
y 2011. El propósito del estudio fue elaborar la propuesta de indicadores que se presentan en esta
publicación. Asimismo, agradecen los comentarios de árbitros y editores del IBFR que contribuyeron a
mejorar la calidad de esta investigación.

BIOGRAFÍA

Sheila Delhumeau Rivera es Doctora en Ciencias Sociales por El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. Profesora
de Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Se le puede contactar en el correo
electrónico: sheila@uabc.edu.mx

Andrea Spears Kirkland es Doctora en Historia por la Universidad de Texas en Austin. Profesora de
Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Se le puede contactar en el correo
electrónico: aspears@uabc.edu.mx

http://www.escuelapnud.org/biblioteca/index.php?doc=1473

mailto:sheila@uabc.edu.mx

mailto:aspears@uabc.edu.mx

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Mónica Lacavex Berumen es Doctora en Estudios del Desarrollo Global por la Universidad Autónoma de
Baja California. Profesora de Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Se le
puede contactar en el correo electrónico: monical@uabc.edu.mx

mailto:monical@uabc.edu.mx

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INDICADORES DE DESEMPEÑO Y PERCEPCIÓN
CIUDADANA. REFLEXIONES SOBRE EL CASO DE
SEGURIDAD PÚBLICA EN ENSENADA, BAJA
CALIFORNIA
Isabel Adriana Escobedo Fuentes, Pronatura
Sheila Delhumeau Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Andrea Spears Kirkand, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

La adaptación al cambio es una de las cualidades más valiosas que la iniciativa privada ha desarrollado
para subsistir, sin embargo no le es privativa, ya que la administración pública también se ha visto
impactada por esta necesidad. Es por ello que los gobiernos han realizado un benchmarking con la
iniciativa privada, adoptando tendencias que han revolucionado a la administración pública tradicional
y dando lugar a lo que se conoce como la Nueva Gestión Pública. Los indicadores de desempeño, como
medidas de control, constituye una herramienta que utiliza el gobierno para determina si cumple con los
estándares establecidos en sus planes y programas. Este trabajo revisa el caso del organismo municipal
de seguridad pública en Ensenada, Baja California para el periodo que comprende 2007 a 2010 y
analiza la pertinencia del sistema de indicadores de desempeño de la dependencia partiendo de la
comparación de sus resultados con la opinión de los usuarios sobre el mismo.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Gestión Pública, Indicadores de Desempeño, Percepción del Usuario

JEL: M48, R50, Z18

INTRODUCCIÓN

A raíz de los procesos globalizantes actuales, por medio de los cuales las reglas del neoliberalismo
influyen en los diversos ámbitos de índole social, económica, cultural y política, se ha visto afectada la
iniciativa privada, así como la administración pública, con la necesidad de encontrar y adoptar nuevas
herramientas y técnicas administrativas. Estas han venido a revolucionar lo que hasta últimamente se
conocía como la administración pública tradicional, convirtiéndose ahora en lo que se llama la Nueva
Gestión Pública (NGP).

Si bien es cierto que el sector público mostró indicios de evaluar el desempeño, no fue hasta que la
Asociación de Municipios de México, Asociación Civil (AMMAC) integrara un conjunto de municipios
en 2001 que fueron utilizados, con mayor esfuerzo y empeño, sistemas de evaluación de desempeño. El
Ayuntamiento de Ensenada, ubicado en el estado de Baja California, creó un sistema de indicadores
similar, conocido como el Sistema de Indicadores de Desempeño y Desarrollo Municipal (SIDEMUN).
Con el SIDEMUN el gobierno local evalúa el desempeño de las Secretarías que lo integran vinculando los
resultados que alcanzan con las metas del Plan Municipal de Desarrollo. En este trabajo se analiza la
efectividad del SINDEMUN como un medio de evaluación del desempeño de la Secretaría de Seguridad
Pública del municipio de Ensenada para el periodo de 2007 a 2010, siendo una de las dependencias que
ha generado información con mayor regularidad desde la implantación del sistema, además, constituye un
tema preocupante para la población de la región.

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REVISIÓN DE LITERATURA

La administración pública tiene como objetivos asegurar la estabilidad, expansión y desarrollo de los
organismos gubernamentales, teniendo como enfoque principal las acciones del gobierno federal, estatal y
municipal (Sánchez, 2001). Por ende, han utilizado varios modelos de seguimiento y control en busca de
hacer eficiente sus actividades y procesos como respuesta a la demanda de los ciudadanos, de obtener más
y mejores servicios, así como eficacia y transparencia en el uso de los recursos públicos, aunque sin haber
logrado cambios sustanciales en la percepción ciudadana respecto a su rol como administrador, según
Ballart (2001).

La Nueva Gestión Pública (NGP) nace a raíz del descontento por parte de la ciudadanía en los servicios
ofrecidos por el gobierno y los crecientes costos internos, los cuales dieron lugar a la búsqueda de
estrategias que permitieron implementar soluciones, para lo cual las autoridades gubernamentales
adoptaron las técnicas de benchmarking como una herramienta de mejora al imitar al sector privado
(Araya & Cerpa, 2009). Según López (2003), la NGP constituyó un conjunto de iniciativas de reforma de
la gestión pública, así como los procesos y estructuras de la organización, con la finalidad de mejorar las
funciones gubernamentales.

Los planteamientos que aporta la Nueva Gestión Pública a la gestión gubernamental, sumado al desarrollo
de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y comunicación, así como el gobierno digital, entre otros,
hacen posible la gestión para resultados (GPR). De acuerdo al Centro Latinoamericano de Administración
para el Desarrollo (CLAD, 2007), “[l]a gestión para resultados es un marco conceptual cuya función es la
de facilitar a las organizaciones públicas la dirección efectiva e integrada de su proceso de creación de
valor público, a fin de optimizarlo asegurando la máxima eficacia, eficiencia y efectividad de su
desempeño, la consecución de los objetivos de gobierno y la mejora continua de sus instituciones”(s.p.).
La GPR responsabiliza a las organizaciones y las autoridades gubernamentales con la entrega de
resultados a la ciudadanía con la cual trabajan, de tal manera que la implementación de esta técnica, a
través de sistemas nacionales, obtenga un mejoramiento disponible de los resultados en el desarrollo del
país.

Actualmente, la mayoría de los gobiernos operan con la certeza de que, para medir el desempeño, se
requiere evaluarlo a través de indicadores (Bonnefoy & Armijo, 2005). Estos indicadores deben ayudar a
los directivos a determinar el grado de eficiencia y efectividad en el logro de los objetivos
organizacionales y, por ende, el cumplimiento de la misión organizacional. Por lo mismo, se requiere
saber en qué medida un sistema integral de medición del desempeño hace posible el seguimiento
simultáneo y consistente en todos los niveles operativos de la organización, desde el logro de los
objetivos estratégicos hasta el desempeño individual de cada ejecutivo y empleado (Sanín, 1999).

Tal como afirma el Foro Permanente de Direcciones de Presupuesto y Finanzas de la República Argentina
(2005), “[l]os indicadores de desempeño, son una medida estadística que permite describir y evaluar
fenómenos” o permite “resumir la información relevante de un fenómeno particular”. Además, “es una
medida específica, objetivamente verificable, de los cambios o resultados de una actividad” (p. 8).
Mediante el uso de los indicadores para evaluar el desempeño en la administración privada se ha
descubierto que estos no sólo deben ser un mecanismo de revisión de desempeño, sino que su verdadera
utilidad debe ser contribuir a mejorar el futuro a través de la toma de decisiones acertadas y oportunas. No
tiene ningún sentido evaluar al empleado, señalar sus deficiencias y proporcionarle retroalimentación, si

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ésta no funciona para proyectarlo hacia el futuro y mejorar su desempeño para alinearse con los objetivos
de la compañía (Sanín, 1999).

La incorporación de puntos de mejora que se establezcan en el tiempo para revisar el progreso de los
empleados a través de metas específicas, será evidente hasta la próxima evaluación para determinar el
progreso. La administración del desempeño provee un marco práctico para establecer metas, objetivos, así
como bases para tomar decisiones relacionadas con estrategias operacionales de la organización. Sin
embargo, es importante señalar que el sistema de indicadores no es un sistema perfecto, pero sí una
herramienta útil para mejorar el desempeño de la institución (Stubbs, 2004).

La Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Municipal en Ensenada y la medición del desempeño de la gestión
municipal

En 2004, al inicio del periodo gubernamental del XVIII Ayuntamiento de Ensenada en el año 2004, se
creó el Sistema de la Programación (SPOA), en el cual se logró vincular el presupuesto municipal con las
acciones del Plan Municipal de Desarrollo y las dependencias municipales a cargo de las mismas. A partir
de la organización de la información lograda con el SPOA y a partir de los criterios de AMMAC para el
Sistema de Indicadores (SINDES), se construyó el Sistema de Desarrollo Municipal (SIDEMUN).

El tema de Seguridad Pública es el tema más escuchado en los últimos tiempos, resultando ser un tópico
de mucha controversia entre sus participantes, y en el gobierno local no es la excepción. Por esta razón, la
Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Municipal (SSPM) se considera un pilar para el bienestar del municipio
de Ensenada. El caso de la SSPM resulta relevante para este estudio no sólo por la coyuntura que se vive,
sino que, adicionalmente, presenta indicadores objetivos que han sido medidos con mayor consistencia a
partir de 2007 que otras dependencias municipales. Es por esto que para este análisis exploratorio se
decidió tomar este caso.

En el manual de procedimientos del Sistema de Indicadores (SINDES) de 2008, se presentaron los nuevos
indicadores que se tomaron como base para la medición del desempeño de los ayuntamientos inscritos en
dicho programa. Estos son cuatro grupos de indicadores, los cuales se han utilizado desde 2008 en el área
de Seguridad Pública a través del SIDEMUN y son: 1) Quejas que sí procedieron para la SSPM; 2)
Incidencia delictiva para la SSPM; 3) Bajas definitivas para la SSPM; y 4) Inversión en Programas de
Prevención por cada mil habitantes de la SSPM (AMMAC & ICMA, 2008).

METODOLOGÍA

El tipo de investigación realizada fue cuantitativa y exploratoria. Para realizarla, en un primer momento
se condujo una búsqueda de información primaria, analizando los indicadores del SIDEMUN para la
Secretaría de Seguridad Pública en Ensenada. Como segunda fase se realizó una encuesta a 166 personas
mayores de 18 años en seleccionadas a partir de un método de muestreo no probabilístico por criterio. Por
ser Ensenada un puerto turístico, otro de los criterios para ser encuestado consistiá en que el participante
debía ser habitante del centro de población.

RESULTADOS

En el análisis se buscó hacer un contraste de los resultados que los indicadores municipales muestran con
respecto a los cuatro rubros anteriormente mencionados, con respecto a la percepción ciudadana obtenida

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en las encuestas aplicadas. Se presentan a continuación organizadas a partir de los cuatro grupos de
indicadores que propone el SINDES.

Respecto al indicador Quejas que sí procedieron, para la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Municial
(SSPM) en 2006 procedieron 15.33% de quejas del total; el año siguiente, el total de quejas que acogió el
Ayuntamiento pertenecían a esta Secretaría. Sin embargo, para el 2008 el número de quejas disminuyó a
77.4% lo que demuestra un comportamiento nada constante con respecto a la seguridad. Por su parte, la
encuesta de percepción ciudadana en 2010 arrojó que casi 60% de los encuestados no sienten confianza
en la Secretaría ni en el trato que brinda a los ensenadenses.

En cuanto al indicador Incidencia Delictiva para la SSPM, en el 2007 se presentaron 15,583 denuncias de
delitos en Ensenada y para el año 2008 esta cifra se redujo en 1.8%, ya que se registraron 15,305
denuncias. En 2009 se mantuvo la tendencia a la baja en la incidencia ya que hubo 14,942 (2.4 menos que
en 2008) denuncias ante el Ministerio Público. Para el año 2010, en total se presentaron 14,963 (tan solo
21 delitos más que en 2009). Con esas cifras, en ese mismo año, Ensenada fue el segundo municipio del
estado con menor proporción de delitos respecto al tamaño de su población al registrar 3,209 denuncias
por cada 100 mil habitantes, por debajo del resultado estatal que reflejo 3,425 para ese mismo periodo,
solo superado por Playas de Rosarito con una tasa de 3,155. No obstante, los resultados de la encuesta
revelan que 7 de cada 10 personas están total o parcialmente de acuerdo en que la inseguridad pública en
Ensenada aumentó en 2010.

Para el indicador Bajas Definitivas para la SSPM, en el año 2006 se presentaron 8 bajas definitivas de
elementos, para 2007 se registraron 5 bajas y en 2008 sólo hubo 2 muy por debajo del promedio de
AMMAC, el cual es de 27.62. Estos resultados contraste con la respuesta que dio la gente encuestada la
cual opina 5 de cada 10 no perciben que los cuerpos policiacos se caractericen los valores como el
servicio, respeto y honestidad.

Finalmente, en el indicador de Inversión en Programas de Prevención por cada mil habitantes de la
SSPM, del año 2006 a 2010 se ha ido reduciendo el gasto para los programas de prevención, de $3,976.27
para 2006 a $138.69 para 2008. Por su parte los resultados de la encuesta indicaron que sólo 4 de cada 10
de las personas encuestadas (38.5%) conocían los programas preventivos que implementa la SSPM de
Ensenada.

CONCLUSIONES

Los controles administrativos, como una herramienta de mejora continua, en la iniciativa privada son
instrumentos que se utilizan cotidianamente desde hace más de una década. Sin embargo, en la
administración pública su implementación ha representado toda una revolución, mediante la cual pueden
evaluarse los resultados de la administración pública. En este trabajo se analizaron los indicadores de
desempeño que son utilizados por la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Municipal del Ayuntamiento de
Ensenada como un sistema de monitoreo de las acciones de la dependencia.

Dentro de los principales hallazgos se encontró que, si bien para la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública
Municipal (SSPM) los indicadores de desempeño son herramientas idóneas que permiten evaluar sus
resultados en la ejecución y cumplimiento de sus tareas institucionales, para que estos sean útiles y
arrojen resultados que aporten información para la toma de decisiones se requiere se realicen de manera
estricta y objetiva, de lo contrario puede provocar fácilmente la manipulación de los indicadores para que

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arrojen resultados predecibles. Por ejemplo, la falta de periodicidad y continuidad en los indicadores
aplicados por la Secretaría trae como consecuencia lógica que la confiabilidad y por lo tanto la validez
sean cuestionables.

La aportación brindada por el presente trabajo deja en claro la necesidad de encontrar formas para obtener
mayor información estadística hacia el interior de las Instituciones de seguridad pública, además de
generar mecanismos de validación a través de la ciudadanía con la finalidad de tener procesos de calidad
y transparencia.

REFERENCIAS

Asociación de Municipios de México & International Capital Market Association (2009). Manual para la
implementación del sistema de indicadores de desempeño, SINDES.

Asociación de Municipios de México & International Capital Market Association (2008). Manual para la
implementación del sistema de indicadores de desempeño, SINDES.

Araya. E. & Cerpa, A. (2009). Después de la Nueva Gestión Pública, ¿Qué? Agenda Pública, XII (12), 1-
8. Disponible en: www.agendapublica.uchile.cl/n12/1%20Araya%20Cerpa

Ballart, X. (2001). Innovación en la gestión pública y en la empresa privada: los casos de Oscar Fanjul,
Pedro Fontana, Alberto Ledesma, Mercè Sala y Rafael Villaseca. Madrid: Ediciones Díaz de Santos.

Bonnefoy, J. & Armijo, M. (2005). Indicadores de Desempeño en el Sector Público. Series manuales 45.
Santiago de Chile: Instituto Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Planificación Económica y Social-ILPES.
Disponible en: www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/2/23572/manual45

Centro Latinoamericano de Administración para el Desarrollo (2007). Gestión por resultados. Disponible
en: http://www.clad.org/siare_isis/innotend/evaluacion/taxonomia/1-GestionparaResultados.html

Coordinación de Planeación y Evaluación de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Municipal (2007).
Manual de Organización. Ensenada: sin editorial.

Foro Permanente de Direcciones de Presupuesto y Finanzas de la República Argentina (2005). Propuesta
de Plan de Trabajo. Indicadores de Gestión Pública. Disponible en: http://www.eclac.org

López, A. (2003). La nueva gestión pública: algunas precisiones para su abordaje conceptual. Serie I:
Desarrollo Institucional y Reforma del Estado. Documento No. 68. México: INAP.

Sánchez, J. (2001). La administración pública como ciencia, su objeto y su estudio. México: Editorial
Plaza y Valdés.

Sanín, H. (1999). Control de gestión y evaluación de resultados en la gerencia pública (Metaevaluación-
Mesoevaluación). Series Manuales 3. Santiago de Chile: Instituto Latinoamericano y del Caribe de
Planificación Económica y Social-ILPES. Disponible en:
unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/…/uneclac/unpan014539

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Stubbs, E. (2004). Indicadores de desempeño: naturaleza, utilidad y construcción. Ciência da Informação,
33, (1). Disponible en: http://revista.ibict.br/index.php/ciinf/article/viewArticle/49/47

RECONOCIMIENTO

Se hace un agradecimiento al Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología por el apoyo brindado para la
formación de Isabel Adriana Escobedo Fuentes como Maestra en Administración.

BIOGRAFÍAS

Isabel Adriana Escobedo Fuentes, Maestra en Administración por la Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California. Actualmente reside en la ciudad de Ensenada Baja California aplicando sus conocimientos en
el área de administración de proyectos en Pronatura Noroeste, una organización sin fines de lucro
dedicada a la preservación de la naturaleza. Para aclarar dudas o profundizar en la información su correo
electrónico es: ia_escobedo@hotmail.com

Sheila Delhumeau Rivera es Doctora en Ciencias Sociales por El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. Profesora
de Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Se le puede contactar en el correo
electrónico: sheila@uabc.edu.mx

Andrea Spears Kirkland es Doctora en Historia por la Universidad de Texas en Austin. Profesora de
Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Se le puede contactar en el correo
electrónico: aspears@uabc.edu.mx

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RELACIONES INTERGUBERNAMENTALES
TRANSFRONTERIZAS. UN INSTRUMENTO DE
ANÁLISIS PARA LAS INTERACCIONES ENTRE
CALIFORNIA Y BAJA CALIFORNIA
Sheila Delhumeau Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

Las fronteras entre países construyen en sus dinámicas cotidianas problemáticas compartidas que en la
práctica demandan mecanismos de gestión rápidos y eficientes para solucionarlas, pero que en lo legal
enfrentan limitaciones para la toma de decisiones y la coordinación en los asuntos fronterizos. Estas
regiones artificiales, creadas por las dinámicas mismas de la vida binacional, son espacios privilegiados
para observar los intercambios y reorganización de las relaciones institucionales entre las distintas
agencias gubernamentales que en ellas actúan. En México, estas relaciones han sufrido transformaciones
a lo largo del tiempo y en los últimos veinte años han sido afectadas por los procesos de
descentralización, fortalecimiento municipal y liberalización económica que han cambiado las
atribuciones y responsabilidades públicas de estos actores, con efectos en la organización de sus
prácticas y sus relaciones con la sociedad. El enfoque de las Relaciones Intergubernamentales ofrece un
marco para el análisis de las relaciones transfronterizas que tienen lugar entre California y Baja
California. En este trabajo se analiza la propuesta de las Relaciones Intergubernamentales en el marco
de la Teoría de la Organización y se revisan las posibilidades y alcances de este modelo en el estudio de
las relaciones transfronterizas.

JEL: Z18

PALABRAS CLAVE: Relaciones Intergubernamentales, Teoría de la Organización, Relaciones
transfronterizas.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Las interacciones cotidianas en las fronteras de los países presentan a los gobiernos una problemática
compartida, y en la práctica demandan mecanismos de gestión rápidos y eficientes para solucionarlas,
mientras que sus acciones se ven restringidas por aspectos legales que limitan su desempeño. Es por esto
que estas regiones construidas por las dinámicas mismas de la vida binacional, son espacios privilegiados
para observar los intercambios y reorganización de las relaciones institucionales entre las distintas
agencias gubernamentales que en ellas actúan: municipales, estatales y federales, así como entre estas y
sus contrapartes en el país vecino.

En México, estas relaciones han sufrido transformaciones a lo largo del tiempo y en los últimos veinte
años han sido afectadas por los procesos de descentralización, fortalecimiento municipal y liberalización
económica que han cambiado las atribuciones y responsabilidades públicas de estos actores, con efectos
en la organización de sus prácticas y sus relaciones con la sociedad.

El objetivo de este ensayo es explorar el enfoque de las Relaciones Intergubernamentales (RIG) como un
instrumento de análisis para las relaciones transfronterizas que tienen lugar entre California y Baja

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California. Con esta finalidad, el texto se ha dividido en tres apartados: en el primero se desarrolla una
comparación de los sistemas federales de gobierno en México y en los Estados Unidos, al constituir estos
el marco normativo de referencia en el que se desarrollan las RIG; en el segundo se presenta y analiza la
propuesta de las Relaciones Intergubernamentales en el marco de la teoría de la organización y se revisan
en ese marco las posibilidades y alcances de este modelo en estudio de las relaciones transfronterizas. Por
último, se hacen algunos comentarios finales.

REVISIÓN TEÓRICA

En la frontera entre California y Baja California interactúan los tres ámbitos gubernamentales de ambos
países (el local, el estatal y el federal) para la gestión de asuntos transfronterizos, creando en sus
interacciones un espacio binacional a partir del cual se construye una agenda con los problemas
binacionales que comparten. Cada país tiene mecanismos de política y gestión para tratar con los asuntos
fronterizos de acuerdo a la organización de su sistema político federal.

Federalismo y descentralización en la frontera México-Estados Unidos.

En los sistemas federales los gobiernos tienen intensas interacciones entre unidades de gobierno de
distintos niveles, creando en ocasiones fricciones por las restricciones que el mismo sistema ofrece en
términos de autonomía y atribuciones para la toma de decisiones. La normatividad de cada país determina
con qué instituciones se vincula cada nivel y sus atribuciones en dichas interacciones.

En las ciudades fronterizas en México, se comparten recursos, cultura, economía y medios ambiente, se
construyen regiones en sus similitudes y dinámicas, que se enfrentan a la limitación de no compartir un
mismo sistema político y administrativo. La mayoría de los problemas políticos transfronterizos son
resueltos formalmente en el ámbito federal debido a que pueden implicar cuestiones de soberanía y de
seguridad nacional, pero los problemas locales a menudo se resuelven por medios informales en esta
esfera. Sin embargo, la capacidad gubernamental, política y económica, de los gobiernos locales a cada
lado de la frontera es distinta, aún cuando muchos de los problemas que enfrentan son los mismos. “Los
sistemas federalistas en ambos países han impedido que los gobiernos locales gestionen exitosamente los
desafíos que se encuentran en las comunidades fronterizas” (Collins, 2006, p.10).

En el federalismo estadounidense los poderes de los gobiernos locales y su autoridad para abordar ciertos
asuntos están definidos por las constituciones estatales, que desde la década de 1980 promueven la
descentralización y transferencia de autoridad. Sin embargo, la federación y el gobierno estatal siguen
teniendo control en decisiones mayores de políticas en áreas que se cree que son para el bien de la nación.

Otro obstáculo que enfrentan los gobiernos locales en Estados Unidos es la escasez de recursos para
financiar su gestión. Durante la década de 1990 se pone el énfasis en la competencia por recursos
federales entre los estados y localidades, limitando “el proceso de toma de decisiones de arriba hacia
abajo con respecto a quien obtiene financiamiento, en el cual el gobierno federal tiene mayor voz,
estableció un sistema de competencia entre gobiernos locales” (Collins, 2006, p.26).

Por su parte en México, la Constitución y las legislaturas estatales establecen los derechos básicos y
autoridad municipal, respectivamente. A partir de las reformas al Artículo 115 constitucional que tuvieron
lugar en los años ochenta, se inicia el proceso de descentralización otorgando más atribuciones y recursos
financieros a los municipios. A pesar de estos cambios, el poder municipal aún es limitado en cuanto a

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toma de decisiones y campos de acción en áreas estratégicas, como el desarrollo económico y la
seguridad pública. Asimismo, carecen de atribuciones para establecer por si mismos convenios o tratados
con sus contrapartes en Estados Unidos para gestionar problemas comunes.

En cuanto a capacidades financieras, al igual que en Estados Unidos, el gobierno federal mexicano
concentra la mayor parte de los recursos al tener la atribución de recaudar mayores impuestos, mientras
que la capacidad de los gobiernos estatales y municipales es limitada.

Tanto el sistema federal mexicano como el estadounidense promueven la división de poderes. En el caso
mexicano, dos factores han contribuido a la centralización del sistema: la consolidación del
presidencialismo, por un lado, y la creación de los partidos políticos nacionales.

Las asimetrías que se encuentran en la región fronteriza estadounidense y mexicana hacen preguntarnos
sobre las posibilidades de adoptar medidas conjuntas para solucionar las problemáticas compartidas por
sus habitantes en distintas materias, como el medio ambiente, la economía y la movilidad poblacional.
Collins (2006) concluye que el federalismo ha limitado la capacidad de las administraciones locales tanto
en México como en Estados Unidos, mostrando que “aun cuando los sistemas federalistas son diferentes
en ambos países, el impacto en las administraciones locales ha sido similar” (p. 29).

De esta manera, un importante aspecto a resolver en México para la promoción de una política
transfronteriza de manejo de problemas más eficiente es la descentralización de estas facultades a los
municipios y de la autonomía en la toma de decisiones.

La perspectiva de las Relaciones Intergubernamentales.

Las administraciones públicas han sufrido transformaciones en las últimas décadas como parte del
proceso de la aplicación de principios de la Nueva Gestión Pública al desarrollo de sus funciones. Se ha
señalado que para observar los procesos de cambio al interior de los gobiernos se requiere modificar los
supuestos tradicionales sobre la conceptualización del gobierno y entenderlo como un conjunto de
estructuras organizacionales, diferenciadas y complejas, con una lógica que obedece a las necesidades y al
marco legal que les dieron origen. Esto implica el entendimiento del gobierno como un conjunto de
organizaciones duales, que se deben a una doble lógica: “nacen predeterminadas, en sus fines y en los
mecanismos generales de acción y obtención de resultados. A la vez, continúan siendo organizaciones por
sí mismas, con su vida interna, su cultura y su contexto” (Arellano y Cabrero, 2000, p.12).

El estudio de las relaciones intergubernamentales (RIG) es considerado una aportación reciente de la
ciencia política, cuyos antecedentes surgen en Estados Unidos en los años treinta; es considerada una
teoría de alcance medio y aplicaciones concretas para comprender las prácticas gubernamentales y
proponer una manera más eficiente de prestar los servicios públicos. Estas se refieren al conjunto de
actividades e interacciones que tienen lugar entre unidades de gobierno de todo tipo y nivel territorial de
actuación. Por su novedad, no es un enfoque que se utiliza comunmente en México.

Cuando se habla de las RIG en los sistemas federales, se toma como punto de partida al gobierno central
y, a partir de este, se habla de las interacciones entre agencias de un mismo nivel -relaciones horizontales,
o de niveles distintos -relaciones verticales. Sin embargo, en la práctica pueden aparecer instancias
intermedias de relación (como representaciones regionales para determinados asuntos, como la Comisión
para asuntos de la Frontera Norte del gobierno federal creada el sexenio pasado).

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Mediante las RIG se busca comprender los nuevos problemas que han traído consigo la democratización,
el federalismo y la descentralización. A partir de este enfoque es posible examinar las actitudes, la
interacción, la negociación, la cooperación, la coordinación y el conflicto intergubernamental. También
pretende explicar el funcionamiento del sistema de relaciones de gobierno aplicado a la solución de
problemas específicos (políticas y programas) y detectar obstáculos institucionales, políticos o
administrativos que limitan el desarrollo de la coordinación y la cooperación y determinan en última
instancia el fracaso o ineficacia de las actuaciones públicas.

Esta perspectiva estudia al gobierno como una estructura compleja, dinámica e interdependiente. Los
estudios sobre las RIG se enfocan a aspectos específicos, cotidianos de las administraciones públicas, en
los agentes que representan a las unidades y órganos de gobierno, así como en los intercambios reales
entre ellos y los resultados de los procesos de negociación. Sus principales aplicaciones han sido en
análisis sobre el sistema político nacional y problemas públicos regionales.

A partir de estos trabajos se han observado nuevas pautas en las prácticas de gestión gubernamental,
relacionadas con las capacidades de los agentes gubernamentales para negociar y coordinarse, dentro de
los marcos jurídicos y normativos determinados, resultando en innovaciones en las relaciones
intergubernamentales entre las unidades de gobierno.

Las herramientas de análisis del proceso intergubernamental.

Las RIG se presentan en dos planos de acción institucional donde se construye en el espacio de las
interacciones: el formal, integrado por las leyes, acuerdos y convenios de coordinación para la
administración, distribución y ejecución de los recursos; y el real (de la política), compuesto por las
interacciones entre los funcionarios de las diferentes unidades: cómo llevan a la práctica los acuerdos del
plano formal y los traducen en prácticas concretas. Esta capacidad, que pueden o no tener los gobiernos,
está determinada por sus intereses y poder dentro de la relación.

La aportación de este enfoque consiste en la inclusión del factor humano en el análisis de las relaciones,
ya que considera que son los actores (los funcionarios), quienes negocian e interactúan en representación
de estas organizaciones, lo que define el carácter las relaciones intergubernamentales. De esta manera, en
contrapeso del contexto que provee el marco regulatorio, indicando las relaciones y el carácter de las
mismas para la atención de los asuntos públicos, está el aspecto político, en el cual la posición de la
organización la define el proyecto e intereses de cada grupo de gobierno. Cuando la capacidad y poder de
cada actor durante la interacción es desigual, se tiende a la cooperación y la búsqueda de consensos.

Para el análisis del comportamiento gubernamental a partir de las RIG, se identifican una serie de
dimensiones que exploran los diferentes momentos por los que pasan los organismos al interactuar en el
proceso intergubernamental:
– De legitimación: cuando la demanda o problema se hace presente y entra en la agenda
gubernamental.
– De competencia: al identificarse las unidades gubernamentales competentes y gestionarse las
atribuciones y responsabilidades de cada una de ellas.
– De límites: dados por las prácticas, normas, agenda e intereses políticos de los involucrados.
– De tácticas: para negociar las posibles soluciones a la problemática.
– De costos: políticos, económicos y sociales al tomar una decisión.

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Para el análisis de las RIG en la frontera Baja California – California, se pueden trasladar estos criterios y
aplicar las dimensiones para comprender el proceso de las relaciones entre distintos órganos de gobierno,
que convergen en un determinado problema público.

El tránsito por estos momentos durante las interacciones y la negociación tiene lugar en un contexto
regulado por un pacto federal que regula las relaciones entre los distintos órdenes de gobierno, apoyado
en ordenamientos jurídicos concretos, como lo son la Constitución y las Leyes, acuerdos y convenios de
coordinación, etcétera. De esta manera, las RIG son un proceso continuo que trasciende eventos como los
cambios sexenales o trianuales de gobierno, ya que son relaciones normadas y reguladas a partir de las
atribuciones y responsabilidades mismas de los órganos que las realizan.

CONCLUSIONES.

Las principales limitaciones del estudio de las RIG en el contexto binacional es que los organismos
públicos que interactúan parten de diferentes marcos regulatorios en los que basan sus acciones los
actores de uno y otro lado de la frontera. Esto requiere un esfuerzo adicional al aplicar esta perspectiva en
este contexto, pues hace necesario considerar dos marcos legales distintos para explicar el proceso
intergubernamental. Otro aspecto a considerar es la variedad de los funcionarios que toman parte en las
interacciones. Es común encontrar a lo largo de la frontera problemáticas que pasan por largos procesos
de cabildeo y consenso antes de que puedan llegar a soluciones que beneficien a los ciudadanos de ambas
partes.

Uno de los principales aportes de las Relaciones Intergubernamentales (RIG) al análisis de las políticas
públicas consiste en haber integrado el pluralismo institucional y territorial en el estudio de los procesos
de decisión y ejecución de las mismas, con la finalidad de analizar el papel de actores públicos y privados,
sus interacciones y los mecanismos formales o informales de articulación institucional. A partir de este
enfoque, es posible examinar las actitudes, la interacción, la negociación, la cooperación, la coordinación
y el conflicto intergubernamental transfronterizo y elaborar propuestas para la creación de mecanismos de
cooperación y mejoras a los procesos de toma de decisiones.

En este contexto, el enfoque de las RIG proporciona un modelo de análisis de las interacciones entre los
actores que participan en los procesos institucionales, así como sus distintos intereses políticos,
económicos e ideológicos. De esta manera, es una útil herramienta para analizar las negociaciones y
estrategias políticas que desarrollan las agencias gubernamentales y los grupos de interés transnacionales,
nacionales y subnacionales ante los distintos problemas que afectan la vida fronteriza, así como sus
consecuencias en la centralización o descentralización del sistema a partir de sus acciones. Al incluir en
su propuesta, además de los actores gubernamentales, a otros actores políticos que interfieren en distintos
momentos de la toma de decisión gubernamental, las RIG se presentan como un instrumento de gran
utilidad para estudiar la coyuntura política y social en que se encuentran los municipios fronterizos en
México y sus contrapartes en los Estados Unidos.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Arellano, D. y E. Cabrero (2000). Reformando al gobierno. Una visión organizacional del cambio
gubernamental. México, Miguel Angel Porrúa.

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Cabrero Mendoza, Enrique (1996). La nueva gestión municipal en México. Análisis de experiencias
innovadoras en gobiernos locales. México, Miguel Angel Porrúa-CIDE.

Collins, Kimberly R. (2006). La capacidad de gobierno local y la calidad de vida en la frontera de los
Estados Unidos y México: el caso de Calexico y Mexicali. Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor en
Ciencias Sociales Aplicadas. México, Colef.

BIOGRAFÍA

Sheila Delhumeau Rivera es Doctora en Ciencias Sociales por El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. Profesora
de Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Se le puede contactar en el correo
electrónico: sheila@uabc.edu.mx

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EL INVENTARIO DE BAR-ON EN EL DEPARTAMENTO
DE ASIENTOS DE DESARROLLO TÉCNICO DE
VOLKSWAGEN DE MÉXICO
Rafaela Martínez Méndez, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Josué Aldo Machorro Vázquez, Benemérita. Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Mariana Nocedal de la Garza, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Sandra Olivera Pomposo, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla

RESUMEN

En este trabajo se presenta un estudio acerca del adecuado manejo y control de las emociones,
manifestado a través de las relaciones intra e interpersonales del Departamento de Asientos de
Desarrollo Técnico de Volkswagen de México, con la finalidad de diagnosticar la mejor forma de
aprovechar los aspectos que abarca la inteligencia emocional. De tal forma que se conozca cómo los
empleados manejan sus relaciones sociales y controlan sus emociones, respecto al ambiente laboral.
En este sentido, la pregunta central de la investigación es: ¿Cuáles son los factores de inteligencia
emocional, que se pueden mejorar de las relaciones personales, del departamento de asientos de
Desarrollo Técnico de Volkswagen de México? Por lo tanto el objetivo de la presente investigación, es
determinar a través del instrumento Inventario de Bar-On, en qué medida los factores de la inteligencia
emocional, específicamente en el manejo de las relaciones sociales de los integrantes del grupo de
Asientos de Desarrollo Técnico de Volkswagen de México, son relevantes en el desempeño de sus
actividades, a fin de mejorar la calidad en el servicio.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Inteligencia emocional, emociones, relaciones interpersonales, relaciones intra
personales.

INTRODUCCIÓN

La inteligencia emocional es la base de las relaciones interpersonales tanto en el ambiente laboral como
personal de cada individuo, en este sentido los seres humanos somos entes sociales por lo cual no
podemos vivir aislados unos de otros. Existen diversas publicaciones sobre inteligencia emocional que se
han realizado, entre las cuales se pueden mencionar las de los autores Goleman y Boyatzis, en ellas se
plantea el porqué de la importancia de este tema y cómo es que las personas podrían mejorar sus
relaciones interpersonales si pudieran controlar sus emociones.

Se ha demostrado que las emociones manejadas adecuadamente en el ambiente laboral promueven
innovaciones, logros individuales, grupales y organizacionales, creando beneficios como compromiso y
satisfacción de los empleados, todo esto se ve reflejado en un servicio de excelencia hacia todos los
clientes, por tanto la actitud y calidez del prestador de servicios son claves en los resultados económicos
de las empresas. El objeto de estudio en esta investigación se centra en la empresa Volkswagen de
México, que en adelante se denota como VWM, en específico se estudió a la gerencia de asientos de
Desarrollo Técnico de Volkswagen de México, debido a que le interesa mejorar este indicador, para
mantener en todo momento el mayor grado de eficiencia laboral de sus empleados. Es por ello, la
necesidad de determinar y conocer cómo los trabajadores de este departamento, enfocan sus habilidades
hacia el adecuado manejo y control de las emociones, manifestado a través de las relaciones intra e

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interpersonales, con la finalidad de diagnosticar la mejor forma de aprovechar los aspectos que abarca la
inteligencia emocional. (IE).

Cabe resaltar la presente investigación, no pretende medir el nivel de inteligencia emocional de los
trabajadores, únicamente se determinará la forma en cómo éstos manejan sus relaciones sociales y
controlan sus emociones, respecto al ambiente laboral. Lo anterior con la finalidad de detectar áreas de
oportunidad que permitan mejorar dichas relaciones y fomentar así un mejor clima laboral y prestar un
excelente servicio a los clientes de VWM. En este sentido, la pregunta central de la investigación es:
¿Cuáles son los factores de inteligencia emocional, que se pueden mejorar en las relaciones
personales, del departamento de asientos de Desarrollo Técnico de Volkswagen de México? Por lo tanto
el objetivo de la presente investigación, es determinar a través del instrumento Inventario de Bar-O, en
qué medida los factores de la inteligencia emocional, específicamente en el adecuado manejo de las
relaciones sociales de los integrantes del grupo de Asientos de Desarrollo Técnico de Volkswagen de
México, son relevantes en el desempeño de sus actividades, a fin de mejorar la calidad en el servicio.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Inteligencia Emocional

Por mucho tiempo, el término de inteligencia se utilizaba para denotar únicamente la habilidad cognitiva
para aprender y razonar. Aunque existen diferentes tipos de inteligencia, en términos generales este
concepto implica la reunión de información, el aprendizaje y el razonamiento sobre esta información. En
la psicología contemporánea se ha puesto énfasis en la funcionalidad de las emociones como fuente
principal para la motivación, como modelador de la opinión y juicio de las personas (Salovey y Mayer,
1990). La palabra emoción, viene del latín “Motere” (Moverse) es lo que hace que nos acerquemos o
alejemos a una determinada persona o circunstancia. Se puede entender también la emoción como una
respuesta mental a un evento que incluye aspectos psicológicos, cognitivos y experiencias. (Salovey y
Mayer, 1990). Goleman acude a un sentido más literal, del diccionario Oxford: “cualquier agitación y
trastorno de la mente, el sentimiento, la pasión; cualquier estado mental vehemente o excitado”. El
concepto de Inteligencia Emocional tiene sus antecedentes iniciales en los estudios de Thorndike (1920)
sobre la Inteligencia social la cual define como: “La habilidad para comprender, dirigir a los hombres y
mujeres, y actuar sabiamente en las relaciones humanas”.

Howard Gardner, en 1983 desarrolló la teoría sobre “Inteligencia Múltiple” y propuso dentro de ella, los
conceptos de “Inteligencia interpersonal” y la “Inteligencia intrapersonal”. Weisinger (1998) define
inteligencia emocional como el uso inteligente de las emociones: de forma intencional, hacemos que
nuestras emociones trabajen para nosotros, utilizándolas con el fin de que nos ayuden a guiar nuestro
comportamiento y a pensar de manera que mejoren nuestros resultados. Así, Bar-On (1997), denomina a
la Inteligencia Emocional como el “conocimiento emocional de sí mismo, seguridad, empatía, relaciones
interpersonales, tolerancia a la tensión y control de los impulsos (habilidades emocionales)”. Se relaciona
con otros determinantes de la capacidad para tener éxito en el manejo de las exigencias del entorno. En
todas las definiciones el punto más importante se refiere a las emociones. Todo gira alrededor de cómo se
identifican, cómo se controlan y cómo se utilizan de forma positiva, tanto en nuestro interior (lo que se
puede hacer con nuestras emociones en nuestro comportamiento y en nuestras relaciones con los demás)
como en el exterior (lo que se puede hacer con las emociones de los demás, las que podemos identificar o
generar en otros).

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Modelo de competencia emocional y social

El modelo de Bar-On (1997, 2000) –Inteligencias no cognitivas (EQ-i) se fundamenta en las
competencias, las cuales intentan explicar cómo un individuo se relaciona con las personas que le rodean
y con su medio ambiente. Por tanto, la IE y la inteligencia social son consideradas un conjunto de factores
de interrelaciones emocionales, personales y sociales que influyen en la habilidad general para adaptarse
de manera activa a las presiones y demandas del ambiente. En este sentido, el modelo “representa un
conjunto de conocimientos utilizados para enfrentar la vida efectivamente”. (Bar-On, 1997).

Este modelo está compuesto por cinco elementos: 1) el componente intrapersonal, que reúne la habilidad
de ser consciente, de comprender y relacionarse con otros; 2) el componente interpersonal, que implica la
habilidad para manejar emociones fuertes y controlar sus impulsos; 3) el componente de manejo de estrés,
que involucra la habilidad de tener una visión positiva y optimista; 4) el componente de estado de ánimo,
que está constituido por la habilidad para adaptarse a los cambios y resolver problemas de naturaleza
personal y social; y por último, 5) el componente de adaptabilidad o ajuste.

Además, Bar-On dividió las capacidades emocionales en dos tipos principales: 1) las capacidades básicas
(core factors), que son esenciales para la existencia de la IE: la autoevaluación, la autoconciencia
emocional, la asertividad, la empatía, las relaciones sociales, el afrontamiento de presiones, el control de
impulsos, el examen de realidad, la flexibilidad y la solución de problemas; y 2) las capacidades
facilitadoras (facilitators factor), que son el optimismo, la autorrealización, la alegría, la independencia
emocional y la responsabilidad social. Cada uno de estos elementos se encuentra interrelacionado entre sí.
Por ejemplo, la asertividad depende de la auto seguridad; mientras que la solución de problemas depende
del optimismo, del afrontamiento de las presiones y de la flexibilidad. El modelo de Bar-On provee la
base para el EQ-i, Inventario de Coeficiente Emocional, instrumento que se comenzó a usar en l988. De
acuerdo a este modelo, la inteligencia emocional-social es una interrelación de competencias emocionales
y sociales, habilidades y facilidades que determinan que tan efectivos nos entendemos y expresamos con
otros, nos relacionamos y lidiamos con nuestras tareas diarias.

Departamento De Asientos De Desarrollo Técnico De Volkswagen México

El Departamento de Desarrollo Técnico se encuentra dentro de la planta VW en las naves 54, 62, 70 y 71,
éste es uno de los departamentos de más reciente creación dentro de la empresa en México. La principal
función de este departamento es la innovación. Desarrollo Técnico está constituido por diferentes
departamentos, todos y cada uno tienen una gran importancia para que esta área sea una de las más
importantes dentro de VWM; los departamentos más representativos que la conforman son: 1) Dirección
de desarrollo técnico; 2) Coordinación general; 3) Vehículo completo; 4) Desarrollo de motores y
transmisiones;5) Desarrollo de chasis; 6) Diseño; 7) Desarrollo Carrocería, Interiores, Asientos y
Seguridad Vehicular; 8) Desarrollo Eléctrico – Electrónico

En Seguridad Vehicular como su nombre lo indica, se dedican a buscar la máxima eficiencia en cuanto a
los componentes con que cuenta un automóvil para brindar la mayor seguridad y confort a los pasajeros.
Dentro del área de asientos y seguridad existe una célula llamada Fakom que se encarga de las telas,
pieles, vinil y claves de colores con que se confecciona el interior del automóvil completo. Asientos, es la
célula que coordina temas de prueba y construcción para nuevos modelos de asientos, así como para
asientos de la serie (que ya se encuentran en producción), cambios según requerimientos de mercado y
nuevas normas internacionales, además de pruebas de duración; esta célula se encuentra conformada por

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10 ingenieros especialistas en pruebas y 20 especialistas en construcción. La parte de construcción se
dedica a verificar todos los componentes con que cuenta un asiento, desde metálicos hasta fundas; en
cuanto a pruebas, esta es la parte que se encarga de corroborar que todos los componentes del asiento
realicen correctamente la función para la cual han sido creados.

METODOLOGÍA

Se aplicó el test de Inteligencia emocional denominado Inventario de Bar-On, al personal que labora en el
Departamento de Asientos de Desarrollo Técnico, integrado por 30 personas los cuestionarios fueron
aplicados de junio a diciembre 2010. El cuestionario de Bar-On está compuesto por 133 ítems que deben
responderse de acuerdo a la siguiente escala, ver tabla 1.

Tabla 2: Escala de calificación.

Escala de calificación
Rara vez o nunca es mi caso 1
Pocas veces es mi caso 2
A veces es mi caso 3
Muchas veces es mi caso 4
Con mucha frecuencia o siempre es mi caso 5
Esta tabla muestra la escala de calificaciones en escala de likert que va de 1= rarar vez a 5 = que se presenta con mucha frecuencia.

Las respuestas se traducen en un puntaje total de cociente emocional, se evalúan además los 5
componentes y las 15 sub escalas del modelo, los componentes a evaluar son:

1) Componente intrapersonal (CIA): área que reúne las siguientes sub escalas: comprensión emocional de
sí mismo, asertividad, autoconcepto, autorrealización e independencia.: a) Comprensión emocional de sí
mismo (CM): la habilidad para percatarse y comprender nuestros sentimientos y emociones diferenciarlos
y conocer el porqué de éstos: b) Asertividad (AS): la habilidad para expresar sentimientos, creencias y
pensamientos sin dañar los sentimientos de los demás y defender nuestros derechos de una manera no
destructiva: c) Auto concepto (AC): La habilidad para comprender, aceptar y respetarse a sí mismo,
aceptando nuestros aspectos positivos y negativos, así como también nuestras limitaciones y
posibilidades: d) Autorrealización (AR): La habilidad para realizar lo que realmente podemos, queremos
y disfrutamos hacerlo: e) Independencia (IN): Es la habilidad para auto dirigirse, sentirse seguro de sí
mismo en nuestros pensamientos, acciones y ser independientes emocionalmente para tomar nuestras
decisiones.

2) Componente interpersonal: (CIE): área que reúne las siguientes sub escalas: empatía, responsabilidad
social y relación interpersonal: a) Empatía (EM): Habilidad de percatarse, comprender, y apreciar los
sentimientos de los demás: b) Relaciones interpersonales (RI): Habilidad para establecer y mantener
relaciones mutuas satisfactorias que son caracterizadas por una cercanía emocional e intimidad.: c)
Responsabilidad Social (RS): Habilidad para demostrarse a sí mismo como una persona que coopera,
contribuye y es un miembro constructivo del grupo social.

3) Componente de adaptabilidad: área que reúne las siguientes sub escalas: prueba de la realidad,
flexibilidad, y solución de problemas.: a) Solución de problemas (SP): La habilidad para identificar y
definir los problemas como también generar e implementar soluciones efectivas. : b) Prueba de realidad

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(PR): La habilidad para evaluar la correspondencia entre lo que experimentamos y lo que en la realidad
existe: c) Flexibilidad (FL): La habilidad para realizar un ajuste adecuado de nuestras emociones,
pensamientos y conductas a situaciones y condiciones cambiantes.

4) Componente del manejo del estrés (CME): área que reúne las siguientes sub escalas: tolerancia al
estrés y control de impulsos: a) Tolerancia al estrés (TE): la habilidad para soportar eventos adversos,
situaciones estresantes y fuertes emociones sin desmoronarse, enfrentando activa y positivamente el
estrés.: b) Control de los impulsos (CI): La habilidad para resistir o postergar un impulso o tentaciones
para actuar y controlar nuestras emociones.

5) Componente del estado de ánimo en general (CAG): área que reúne las siguientes sub escalas: felicidad
y optimismo: a) Felicidad (FE): habilidad para sentirse satisfecho con nuestra vida, para disfrutar de sí
mismo y de otros y para divertirse y expresar sentimientos positivos.: b) Optimismo (OP): habilidad para
ver el aspecto más brillante de la vida y mantener una actitud positiva, a pesar de la adversidad y los
sentimientos negativos.

El enfoque topográfico organiza los componentes de la inteligencia no cognitiva de acuerdo con un orden
de rangos, distinguiendo “factores centrales” (FC o primarios) relacionados con “factores resultantes” (FR
o de más alto orden) y que están conectados por un grupo de “factores de soporte” (FS de apoyo o
secundarios o auxiliares). Los tres factores centrales más importantes de la inteligencia emocional son: la
comprensión de sí mismo; la asertividad y la empatía. Los otros dos factores centrales son: la prueba de
la realidad y el control de los impulsos. Estos factores centrales traen como resultado la solución de
problemas, las relaciones interpersonales y la autorrealización ver tabla 2.

Tabla 2: El modelo Bar-On de la inteligencia emocional y social

Componente intra personal
Evalúa la auto identificación general del individuo, la autoconciencia emocional, la asertividad, la autorrealización e
independencia emocional, la autoconciencia, la autoevaluación.
Componente interpersonal
La empatía, la responsabilidad social, las relaciones sociales.
Componente de manejo de emociones
La capacidad para tolerar presiones y la capacidad de controlar impulsos.
Componente de estado de ánimo
El optimismo y la satisfacción.
Componente de adaptación-ajuste
Este componente se refiere a la capacidad del individuo para evaluar correctamente la realidad y ajustarse de manera eficiente a
nuevas situaciones, así como a su capacidad para crear soluciones adecuadas a los problemas diarios. Incluye las nociones de
prueba de la realidad, flexibilidad y capacidad para solucionar problemas.
Esta tabla muestra los componentes intra personal, interpersonal,, manejo de conflictis, estado de ànimo y adaptación-ajuste. Del modelo de
Bar-On.

RESULTADOS

El Departamento de Desarrollo Técnico, como ya se mencionó, está integrado por 30 personas, los cuales
representan la población total, a continuación se muestra la clasificación de dicha población conforme al
sexo, edad y escolaridad.

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MUJERE
S, 12
HOMBRES,
18
SEXO. La población del departamento de desarrollo técnico se distribuye de la siguiente forma , en 40%
mujeres y 60% hombres, ver figura 1.

Figura 1: Sexo.

Esta figura muestra que en el departamento de Desarrollo técnico trabajan 18 hombres y 12 mujeres.

EDAD. Se distribuyó a la población en 5 intervalos, todos los integrantes se encuentran en edad
productiva. El 40% de la población tiene entre 31 y 35 años de edad siendo el rango más representativo.
Únicamente el 3% de la población (1 persona) está en los rangos de edad entre 41 y 45 años, ver figura 2.

Figura 2: Población por edad.

Esta figura muestra la edad de los empleados de Desarrollo Técnico de Volkswagen de México. Que el promedio de edad es de 31-35 años de
edad.

Escolaridad: Según la variable escolaridad, la población tiene en un 50% grado de licenciatura, siendo en
su mayoría hombres ver figura 3. Es importante mencionar que el 30% de la población tiene únicamente
carrera técnica y sólo el 20% tienen estudios de posgrado, siendo en su mayoría hombres.

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50
Mujeres
Hombres

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Figura 3. Población por escolaridad

Esta figura muestra la escolaridad de los empleados del departamento de Desarrollo técnico de VW.

A continuación se presentan los resultados del Inventario de Bar-On. Los datos de la estadística
descriptiva se concentraron en la tabla 3.

Tabla 3: Estadística descriptiva de sub escalas del inventario de Bar-On

N Mínimo Máximo Media
Desviación
típica
CM: Comprensión emocional de sí mismo 30 21 38 29.83 4.579
AS: Asertividad 30 20 34 25.27 5.092
AC: Auto concepto 30 23 43 35.07 6.357
AR: Autorrealización 30 25 43 36.00 5.305
IN: Independencia 30 16 33 26.43 4.629
EM: Empatía 30 23 35 29.60 2.621
RI: Relaciones Interpersonales 30 33 54 42.70 4.991
RS: Responsabilidad Social 30 32 46 37.73 3.118
SP: Solución de Problemas 30 20 40 32.63 5.255
PR: Prueba de la realidad 30 26 45 38.43 5.853
FL: Flexibilidad 30 17 34 26.83 4.371
TE: Tolerancia al estrés 30 22 43 32.53 5.124
CI: Control de Impulsos 30 21 42 33.73 5.614
FE: Felicidad 30 26 45 35.97 6.688
OP: Optimismo 30 19 38 31.87 5.296
IPS: Impresión Positiva de Sí Mismo 30 16 35 30.13 5.557
INS: Impresión Negativa de Sí Mismo 30 15 29 23.73 4.186
N. válido 30

Esta tabla muestra la estadística descriptiva de las sub escalas del inventario de Bar-On.
El puntaje mínimo obtenido en la evaluación de las sub escalas del inventario es de 15 puntos, mientras
que el valor máximo es de 54. Con este rango los resultados obtenidos se clasificaron en 5 intervalos,
definidos de la siguiente manera, ver tabla 4:

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Técnica Licenciatura Posgrado
Mujeres
Hombres

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Tabla 4: Intervalos por puntaje

Puntaje Obtenido Clasificación
14 – 22 Necesario Mejorar
23 – 31 Por Mejorar
32 – 40 En Equilibrio
41 – 49 Desarrollado
50 – 58 Muy Desarrollado
Esta tabla muestra los intervalos por puntaje que va de 14-22, es necesario mejorar; hasta de 50-58 muy desarrollado

Con ellos, se pretende determinar si el componente o sub escala del Inventario de Bar-On requiere
mejorarse o se tiene ya desarrollados. La aplicación del Inventario de Bar-On muestra los siguientes
resultados promedio. Los puntaje promedio no deben ser revisados de manera absoluta sino sólo
indicativa. En este sentido, los empleados del Departamento de Asientos de Desarrollo Técnico de
Volkswagen México perciben que las subescalas “Relaciones Interpersonales” y la “Prueba de la
Realidad” están muy desarrolladas; por el contrario, las sub escalas “Flexibilidad”, “Independencia” y
“Asertividad” podrían mejorarse, ver figura 4.

Figura 4: Puntajes en las sub escalas del Inventario de Bar-On

Esta figura muestra el puntaje promedio de las 15 sub escalsa del inventario de Bar-On.

En promedio los empleados perciben que tienen las Sub escalas en equilibrio, circunstancia favorable
dentro del grupo, porque nos indica que ya han trabajado con sus emociones, ver figura 5.

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Figura 5: Evaluación de las sub escalas del Inventario de Bar-on

Esta figura muestra en una sub escala del inventario de Bar-ON.

Al realizar los histogramas por separado para cada sub escala del Inventario de Bar-On,, se obtienen los
siguientes resultados:Para el componente Intra personal compuesto por las sub escalas: Comprensión
Emocional de Sí Mismo, Asertividad, Auto concepto, Autorrealización e Independencia los resultados
indican que la mayoría de los empleados del Departamento perciben tener este componente en Equilibrio
y algunos por Mejorar, ver figura 6, 7, como ejemplo.

Figura 6: Comprensión emocional de sí mismo.

Esta figura muestra la sub escala comprensión emocional de sí mismo.

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Figura 7: Asertividad

Esta figura muestra la asertividad de los empleados del departamento de Desarrollo técnico de VW

En resumen se puede decir que los empleados del departamento de Asientos de VWM, en promedio se
encuentran dentro del rango en equilibrio, en las 15 subescalas comprendidas en el Inventario de Bar-On,
lo cual representa que los empleados de alguna manera han trabajado con el manejo de sus relaciones
sociales. Por lo tanto los puntajes más altos y bajos del inventario de Bar-On nos indican que, las
subescalas “Relaciones Interpersonales” y la “Prueba de la Realidad” están muy desarrolladas,
presentando una escala de calificación arriba de 40 puntos; por el contrario, las subescalas “Flexibilidad”,
“Independencia” y “Asertividad” se encuentran dentro del rango por Mejorar, con menos de 30 puntos.
De los 5 componentes que integran el Inventario de Bar-On, se observó que los resultados de las pruebas
aplicadas a los empleados de VWM, se encuentran en promedio en un nivel intermedio, es decir, en
calificaciones por mejorar y en equilibrio.

De tal forma que el puntaje promedio por género indica que en la herramienta del cuestionario de Bar-On,
en los 5 componentes que lo integran, las mujeres obtuvieron puntajes más altos que los hombres,
obteniendo una calificación de 2 puntos arriba. En la sub escala Comprensión emocional de sí mismo, los
hombres calificaron más alto que las mujeres, con menos de un punto de diferencia. El promedio general
obtenido en la aplicación de la encuesta de satisfacción de los clientes internos fue de 3 puntos, lo cual
según la escala de calificación indica que es buena. El puntaje correspondiente a la satisfacción de los
clientes externos fue de 3.5 puntos lo que representa también que la calificación es buena. Adicional a las
15 subescalas, se evaluaron la Impresión positiva y negativa de uno, cuyos resultados fueron baja y alta
respectivamente, lo que nos indica que son los factores en los que se debe trabajar con los empleados, ya
que se considera que las calificaciones no son las adecuadas.

CONCLUSIONES

A manera de conclusión se puede decir que la clave de la inteligencia emocional está en desarrollar la
habilidad para reconocer los sentimientos propios y los sentimientos de los demás, con la finalidad de
manejar en forma adecuada las relaciones inter e intra personales. Un factor esencial dentro de las
empresas, consiste en conocer las necesidades de los clientes y más aún el nivel de satisfacción alcanzado

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por ellos al consumir el producto o al recibir el servicio. Se determina que los resultados de esta
investigación muestran que las personas que obtienen mayor éxito en las organizaciones no son siempre
las que tienen más capacidades intelectuales, el verdadero éxito requiere algo más: desarrollar la habilidad
de tratar en forma conveniente, a las personas convenientes, en la situación favorable. En este contexto se
responde a la pregunta central de investigación planteada al inicio, estableciendo que las relaciones inter e
intrapersonales desempeñan un papel fundamental en la vida de todo individuo, a nivel personal y laboral,
cuyo adecuado manejo le permiten sobrellevar las diversas situaciones que se le presentan diariamente.

Las relaciones inter e intrapersonales, mediante diversas prácticas y con el tiempo, pueden desarrollarse
de tal modo que permitan mejorar el desempeño laboral. De tal forma que desarrollar la inteligencia
emocional hará mejores personas, y ayudará a que los demás lo sean. El obtener un buen desarrollo de la
inteligencia emocional no es fácil, sin embargo, si se tiene la intención firme de desarrollarla, traerá
múltiples beneficios tanto personales como a nivel organizacional.

REFERENCIAS

Página dedicada al modelo de habilidad de IE de Salovey y Mayer http://www.emotionalIQ.com/

Agüero, T. (2008). Inteligencia Emocional: un reto para el directivo del siglo XXI. 25 de Octubre 2008.
Hkmk Consultores, página WEB. http//www.hkmk.cl

B.Marset, “La Inteligencia emocional en el trabajo. Competencias Emocionales”,
Bar-On, R. (1997). The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): A Test of Emotional Intelligence.
Toronto, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.

Boyatzis, R. E., Goleman, D., & Hay/McBer. (1999). Emotional competence inventory. HayGroup
Cherniss y Goleman “Inteligencia Emocional en el trabajo: Cómo seleccionar y mejorar la inteligencia
en individuos, grupos y organizaciones”

Codina,A.(2008). Inteligencia emocional para el trabajo gerencial: antecedentes y fuentes.
http://www.degerencia.com/ articulo/inteligencia_emocional_ para_el_trabajo_gerencial

Cortese, A. (n.d.). Inteligencia emocional en la empresa y el trabajo. http://www.inteligencia-
emocional.org/trabajoyempresa/index.htm

Gabel, R. (2005). Inteligencia Emocional. Perspectivas y aplicaciones ocupacionales.
Agosto 2005. Lima: Universidad ESAN. Serie Documentos de Trabajo n. º 16. Página WEB: http://
www.esan.edu.pe

Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. (Trad. Cast.
Kairós, 1999).

Goleman, D. (2008). Inteligencia emocional. Por qué es más importante que el coeficiente intelectual.
D.F. Vergara.

Kafati K, Adib, (Nov 2001) Calidad total en el servicio al cliente. Instituto Nacional de Formación
Profesional. Departamento de Desarrollo Empresarial.

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http://www.12manage.com/methods_kano_customer_satisfaccion_model_es.html

http://mayumayu.obolog.com/liderazgo-primal-41771, 25 de noviembre de 2007

http://secretosenred.com/articles/7133/1/LA-INTELIGENCIA-EMOCIONAL-EN-EL-
TRABAJO/Page1.html

http://www.biblioteca.uson.mx/digital/tesis/docs%5C19064%5CCapitulo4

http://www.coninpyme.org/pdf/CulturayValoresOrganizacionales

http://www.grupoelron.org/autoconocimientoysalud/inteligenciaemocional.htm

http://www.monografias.com/trabajos10/inem/inem.shtml
moodle.uho.edu.cu/mod/resource/view.php?inpopup=true&id=9171

Olguín, J.R. (n.d.) Inteligencia Emocional.

Orozco E. (n.d). Preguntas y respuestas sobre la inteligencia empresarial.
http://www.nuevaempresa.cu/documentos/1preguntas .

Salovey, P. y Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.
Baywood Pub. Corp.

Seagal, J. (2003). Su Inteligencia Emocional. D.F. De bolsillo.

BIOGRAFÍA

Rafaela Martínez Méndez. Maestra en Administración. Desde 1992 es Profesora-investigadora de tiempo
completo en la Facultad de Contaduría Pública de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla,
México. E-Mail: rafaela72280@hotmail.com

Josué Aldo Machorro Vázquez, estudiante de la Maestría en Administración en la FCP de la BUAP. E-
Mail: josue.machorro@vw.com.mx

Mariana Nocedal de la Garza, estudiante de la Maestría en Administración en la FCP de la BUAP. .E.-
Mail: mariana.noc@gmail.com

Sandra Olivera Pomposo, estudiante de la Maestría en Administración en la FCP de la BUAP..E-Mail:
s_oliverap@yahoo.com.mx

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MÉTODOS MIXTOS PARA EL ESTUDIO DE LAS
DECISIONES ESTRATÉGICAS EN LAS PYMES
Fabiola Baltar, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
Natacha Gentile, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata

ABSTRACT

Tradicionalmente la literatura sobre el análisis de las decisiones estratégicas se ha sustentado en
modelos teóricos que bien se ajustan a describir el comportamiento de las grandes empresas pero que
presentan algunos problemas de aplicación al entorno de las Pymes. Es por ello que en la actualidad se
evidencia una creciente necesidad por indagar en las diferencias para promover la construcción de
teorías que incorporen el contexto y las características específicas de las Pymes. Esta necesidad implica,
simultáneamente, discutir acerca del modo de abordaje empírico y las estrategias de investigación
utilizadas para analizar los procesos decisorios teniendo en cuenta las especificidades del sector. De ahí
que, el objetivo de este artículo es presentar una revisión teórica y metodológica de los estudios
publicados en el ámbito de las decisiones estratégicas en las Pymes y presentar, a modo ilustrativo, un
diseño metodológico integral que permita caracterizar los perfiles decisorios y las prácticas observadas
en este tipo de empresas. La hipótesis es que el uso de métodos mixtos mejora la fiabilidad de los
resultados ya que favorece la triangulación de datos (cuantitativos y cualitativos) y permite captar las
características idiosincráticas. Además, facilita la elaboración de modelos integrales y naturalizados que
amplían la comprensión del fenómeno estudiado.

JEL: M10- M20

PALABRAS CLAVES: decisiones estratégicas- metodología mixta- Pymes argentinas

INTRODUCCIÓN
Las pequeñas y medianas empresas cumplen un rol clave en la economía de mercado moderna por su
dinamismo y capacidad para generar empleo. Además, la flexibilidad de su estructura le permite
enfrentar los cambios propiciados en el entorno. En un contexto actual de alta incertidumbre, de
disponibilidad inmediata de información global y escenarios competitivos se requieren competencias que
faciliten la toma de decisiones adecuadas para enfrentar estos cambios. Es por ello que en el ámbito de la
dirección estratégica cada vez más se destaca la importancia de las decisiones empresariales como
elementos claves para el desarrollo competitivo de las empresas. De hecho, se ha observado que aquellas
empresas que toman decisiones oportunas y efectivas han evidenciado comportamientos empresariales
más exitosos que las que no lo hacen (Pekar y Abraham, 1995).

En los últimos años, la literatura ha profundizado en la elaboración de modelos teóricos y diseños
metodológicos que analizan el proceso de toma de decisiones empresariales. Sin embargo, en muchos
casos, estos modelos son poco aplicables al contexto de las Pymes, dadas las características
idiosincráticas de las mismas- por ejemplo sus rasgos estructurales, las estrategias que implementan, las
características del empresario, el grado de formalización y descentralización de las decisiones, etc.-. De
hecho, el escaso desarrollo de la temática en el entorno específico de las Pymes da cuenta de la baja
eficacia que ha tenido la investigación académica para estudiar el proceso de decisiones en este colectivo
empresarial. Una posible reflexión respecto a este problema está directamente asociado al uso de técnicas
metodológicas que si bien se adaptan en muchos casos a la realidad de las grandes empresas

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(disponibilidad de estadísticas, acceso a muestra de gran tamaño, entre otras) en ocasiones son de baja
aplicabilidad en otros sectores. Es en este sentido que el artículo propone discutir las estrategias
metodológicas utilizadas en la investigación sobre los procesos decisorios en las Pymes. Específicamente
se formulan las siguientes preguntas de investigación: a) ¿cómo ha sido tradicionalmente estudiado el
fenómeno de la toma de decisiones en las empresas Pymes en las publicaciones académicas?; b) ¿cuáles
son las características que definen los diseños mixtos y el grado de aplicabilidad a la temática? y, c)
¿cómo elaborar una estrategia de investigación mixta que permita caracterizar los perfiles decisorios en
las empresas y describir las prácticas asociadas a dichos perfiles? En base a esta revisión metodológica, el
objetivo de este trabajo será proponer una metodología mixta (cuantitativa y cualitativa) para indagar
empíricamente en el campo de la decisión estratégica desde el enfoque descriptivo de la toma de
decisiones en las Pymes.

Es decir, diseñar una estrategia de abordaje que contemple al proceso de toma de decisiones y al decididor
“real” con sus expectativas muchas veces contradictorias, con sus conflictos de intereses, valores y de
poder. Esto es, en el caso particular de las Pymes, incorporar la heterogeneidad y flexibilidad que
caracteriza a estas organizaciones y revalorizar el contexto donde toman las decisiones. En base a estas
consideraciones, creemos que el uso excluyente de metodología cuantitativa o cualitativa reduce el
alcance explicativo de la problemática ya que su visión parcializada subestima la comprensión de alguno
de estos atributos. De hecho, la hipótesis que formulamos es que el uso de métodos mixtos mejora la
fiabilidad de los resultados ya que favorece la triangulación de datos (cuantitativos y cualitativos) y
permite captar las características particulares del sector.

El trabajo se estructura de la siguiente manera. En primer lugar se sintetizan los avances teóricos en la
caracterización de las Pymes, resaltando los aspectos metodológicos que describen las contribuciones
empíricas en el tema. En segundo lugar se describen las ventajas y desventajas observadas por la
literatura respecto al uso de la metodología mixta a fin de reflexionar sobre su aplicabilidad a los estudios
empresariales. En tercer lugar se presenta la propuesta de diseño metodológico para el análisis empírico
de los perfiles decisorios en las Pymes aplicado a un estudio del empresariado pyme argentino,
describiendo las principales dimensiones de análisis y las ventajas y recomendaciones para su aplicación.
Finalmente se exponen las conclusiones y las futuras líneas de investigación.

REVISIÓN TEÓRICA

La Toma De Decisiones En Las Pymes Desde La Perspectiva Teórica. Características Generales

Distintos modelos se han desarrollado para intentar explicar cómo se toman las decisiones y por qué
varían considerablemente entre distintos agentes. De hecho, de acuerdo a la perspectiva y a los
fundamentos metodológicos que sostienen los modelos, suelen agruparse los mismos en torno a tres
enfoques teóricos: descriptivo, prescriptivo y normativo (Simon, 1979). Mientras que el enfoque
descriptivo analiza las decisiones que se han tomado en el pasado o se ejecutan en la actualidad, el
enfoque el normativo se centra en el estudio de lo que en teoría deberían hacer y decidir los agentes de
acuerdo a principios racionales de decisión. Y finalmente, el enfoque prescriptivo, de modo integrado,
focaliza en lo que los individuos deberían y/o pueden hacer (combinación del enfoque normativo y
descriptivo). Con la consolidación de los principios de Simon (1979) acerca de los supuestos conductistas
que limitan la maximización de las decisiones (racionalidad limitada e información perfecta), el
predominio de la perspectiva descriptiva en la mayoría de los estudios empíricos ha sido absoluta.

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Perfilar las características de quien decide dentro de la empresa, cómo elabora su estrategia y el tipo de
decisiones que adopta sigue siendo un aspecto fundamental para el diseño de estas estructuras de soporte,
procurando maximizar el rendimiento de la empresa tanto en su configuración interna como en el entorno
competitivo que enfrenta. Si bien se han desarrollado numerosos modelos desde la perspectiva
descriptiva, en general se basan en las fases del proceso de decisión propuesto por Simon (1979): a)
inteligencia (identificación de la necesidad de decidir); b) diseño (investigar y diseñar las estrategias de
resolución del problema) y, c) elección (selección la alternativa más apropiada de las identificadas
previamente). Asimismo esta elección tiene implícita una estrategia de evaluación de las decisiones de
acuerdo al modo de comparar las alternativas consideradas.

En este sentido, Dillon (2003) divide los modelos de toma de decisiones en holísticos, donde la elección y
evaluación del impacto de la decisión es global y con ausencia de procedimientos secuenciales de
elección, y no holísticos donde cada alternativa es comparada con otras en base a atributos singulares y
procedimientos estandarizados. Esta clasificación no es menor, si se tiene en cuenta que para realizar un
adecuado abordaje a la problemática en las Pymes es necesario comprender no sólo el proceso decisorio
sino los factores contextuales que definen las acciones ejecutadas. De hecho, mientras que los métodos
cuantitativos permiten analizar los procesos singulares, la comparación de atributos y focalizar en los
procesos individuales, el método cualitativo permite captar los procesos holísticos, asistemáticos, de
difícil abordaje mediante técnicas de análisis estandarizadas.

Esta reflexión orienta la propuesta que presentamos posteriormente en la revisión metodológica.Junto a la
consolidación del enfoque descriptivo, en los últimos años, se ha comenzado a reconocer también que,
tradicionalmente, el análisis de las decisiones empresariales ha aportado evidencia empírica que bien
ilustra el comportamiento de las grandes corporaciones dirigidas por los gerentes profesionales, pero que
ignora las peculiaridades que se presentan en las empresas pequeñas y medianas dirigidas por los
emprendedores (Gibcus et al. 2004; Papadakis et al., 1998; Brouthers, 1998; Gilmore y Carson, 2000).
Estas teorías pueden reflejar erróneamente la realidad de las Pymes dado que: a) las Pymes tienden a
tomar decisiones menos racionales; b) enfrentan entornos más hostiles e inciertos, y c) los empresarios de
las Pymes suelen tener características particulares que influyen en el proceso de decisión que los
diferencian de los gerentes profesionales. Además, otro problema que algunos autores han criticado es el
método utilizado y las conclusiones planteadas al analizar el fenómeno decisorio en las Pymes. Hart
(1991) plantea que la proliferación de numerosas tipologías de análisis de los perfiles ha llevado a
carencias en la consistencia de resultados y una tendencia confusa en cuanto al avance en el conocimiento
de la problemática. Más aún si se intenta responder preguntas como ¿qué estrategias y decisiones se
adoptan en las empresas Pymes teniendo en cuenta el perfil decisor del emprendedor? o ¿cómo inciden
estas decisiones en las estrategias y desempeño de la empresa? Partiendo de estas limitaciones, en el
siguiente apartado se analizan los principales aportes de la literatura internacional y argentina en el campo
de las decisiones estratégicas en las Pymes desde un abordaje empírico.

Una Revisión Sobre La Contribución Empírica En El Campo De Las Decisiones En Las Pymes

En relación a la investigación empírica en las Pymes, se realizó la búsqueda de artículos publicados en
revistas indexadas en la base del Social Science Citation Index (ISI, inglés) y la base del Centro de
Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (ISOC, español), que analizan el fenómeno de las decisiones estratégicas
dentro de este colectivo empresarial. En total, se han registrado 115 artículos, observándose una
tendencia creciente a la producción científica en la temática en los últimos 5 años. Los pilares temáticos
que han dado origen a los distintos modelos de decisión en la década de los 80, basados en los sistemas de

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información y control y en los mecanismos de gestión de las organizaciones profesionalizadas desde la
perspectiva normativa, han sido reemplazados por líneas de investigación que más se ajustan a explicar la
realidad de las Pymes. En este sentido, destacamos que los principales aportes de la literatura se han dado
en áreas relacionadas con las decisiones de financiamiento (Larrán et al, 2010; Rodríguez, 2004),
comercialización e internacionalización (Alshawi et al, 2011; García y Avella, 2010; Fabian et al. 2009),
decisiones de cooperación y alianzas estratégicas (Fink et al, 2010; Díaz et al. 2010; Saviano y Berardi,
2009) , gestión del conocimiento e innovación (Heavon y Adam, 2010; Coduras, 2010; Camisón et al.
2010; Rubio y Aragón, 2008; Fernández et al. 2005); gestión de recursos humanos (Jansen et al, 2011);
gestión de la información (Velmurugan y Narayanasami, 2009; Sadok y Lesca, 2009); decisiones de e-
commerce (Wang y Lin, 2009; Guan, 2009) y en responsabilidad social empresaria (Redmond et al.
2008). En la tabla 1 presentamos una muestra de artículos académicos para analizar de forma cronológica
cuál ha sido el método de abordaje predominante en el estudio de las decisiones empresariales en las
Pymes y las muestras diseñadas para tal fin.

Tabla 1: Artículos empíricos publicados sobre decisiones en las Pymes.

año autores metodología muestra
1987 Miller, D. cuantitativa 97 empresas
1987 Segev, E. cuantitativa 252 empresas
1989 Sterman, J. cuantitativa 192 sujetos
1994 Hart, S. y Banbury, C. cuantitativa 285 gerentes
1995 Lumpkin, G.T. y Dess, G. G. cuantitativa 96 ejecutivos
2000 Culkin, N. y Smith, D. cualitativa 2 empresas
2003 Wiesner, R. y Millett, B. cuantitativa 1230 empresas
2004 Perks, K y Bouncken, R. cualitativa 24 empresas
2004 Gibcus, P.; Vermeulen, P. y Jong, J. cuantitativa 646 empresas
2005 O’Regan, N., Sims, M. y Ghobadian, A. mixta 1000 empresas
2005 Gibbons , P. y O’Connor, T. cuantitativa 359 empresas
2005 Verreynne, M. y Meyer,D. cuantitativa 477 empresas
2006 Verreynne, M. cuantitativa 447 empresas
2006 Salles, M. mixta 158 empresas
2007 Raspin, P. y Terjesen, S. cuantitativa 394 gerentes
2007 Brunetto,Y. y Wharton, R. cuantitativa 40 gerentes
2008 Boohene, R.; Sheridan, A. y Kotey, B. cuantitativa 600 propietarios
2009 Xueli, H. mixta 20 empresas
2009 Kalinic, I. cualitativa 5 empresas
2009 Metts, G. cuantitativa 500 empresas
2011 Díaz, K.; Rietdorf, U. y Dornberger, U. mixta 149 empresas
2011 Rausch, E. y Anderson, C. cualitativa 8 procedimientos
2011 Jansen, R. et al. cuantitativa 443 decisiones
Fuente: Elaboración propia

Analizando la información presentada e indagando en los artículos referenciados se observó una clara
tendencia en los primeros estudios a la utilización de muestras de mayor tamaño analizadas mediante el
uso de métodos cuantitativos. Cabe destacar que los primeros trabajos se originan principalmente en
países anglosajones (Estados Unidos, Inglaterra, Australia). Países con larga trayectoria en el uso de
estadísticas en las Pymes y un alto nivel de sistematización de la información en este colectivo
empresarial. De ahí la posibilidad de acceder a muestras de empresas adecuadas para el manejo de este
tipo de metodología. En cambio, los trabajos cualitativos que se identificaron durante la década de los 90
tienen su origen en países latinos (México, Francia, Italia, Portugal) y asiáticos (China, Japón). Una
explicación podría ser, por un lado, el menor desarrollo en muchas de estas economías de la información
y estadísticas sobre las Pymes, pero también, por otro lado, podríamos inferir que existen características
culturales diferentes que influyen en la participación de los empresarios en las encuestas empresariales.

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Las técnicas cualitativas permiten realizar un trabajo de campo más interactivo y comprometido entre el
investigador y el empresario que facilita el involucramiento de éstos en los estudios académicos.

Cualquiera sea el motivo que explique el uso alternativo de estas metodologías, la conclusión relevante
que extraemos de la tabla anterior es que en los últimos años, aparecen trabajos que utilizan un enfoque
mixto en el estudio del proceso decisorio en las Pymes. Enfoque que se construye a partir de una
perspectiva epistemológica pragmática, es decir, un modo de analizar el fenómeno partiendo de la
asunción de que no hay una perspectiva predominante para este tipo de estudios, sino que la validez está
relacionada a la utilización del mejor método para responder a la pregunta de la mejor forma posible
(Burke y Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Frente a este supuesto, la posibilidad de combinar técnicas cuantitativas y
cualitativas en el análisis de la misma problemática aumentaría el nivel de validez de los estudios
empresariales. A continuación sintetizamos las principales características que definen la
metodología mixta en el estudio de los fenómenos sociales.

La Metodología Mixta De Investigación Aplicada A Los Estudios Empresariales

Tashakkori y Teddlie (2003) definen el diseño mixto como un estudio en donde se aplican diferentes
abordajes en una o varias fases del proceso de investigación, combinando métodos cualitativos y
cuantitativos en diversas formas y secuencias. De esta manera, el surgimiento de una postura
epistemológica que contempla la posibilidad de integrar técnicas cuantitativas y cualitativas constituye
uno de los avances más importantes en el campo metodológico. Burke y Onwuegbuzie (2004: 16)
consideran que “filosóficamente la postura pragmática es un tercer movimiento en investigación que
aparta la guerra de paradigmas ofreciendo una alternativa lógica y práctica. Esta lógica incluye la
inducción (o descubrimiento de patrones), la deducción (contrastación de teorías e hipótesis), y la
abducción (descubriendo y confiando en lo mejor de una serie de explicaciones para comprender cada
uno de los resultados)”. Bajo este paradigma, se legitima la adopción de múltiples métodos de distinta
naturaleza en vez de restringir su uso, siempre que mejore la validez teórica de acuerdo a las preguntas de
investigación. En este sentido, los autores identifican las siguientes características que definen los
métodos mixtos: a) se niega el dualismo tradicional (racionalismo versus empirismo, etc.) se adopta una
postura basada en el sentido común basado para la resolución de los problemas planteados; b) se reconoce
la existencia e importancia de la realidad, las instituciones humanas y los pensamientos subjetivos; c) se
otorga un papel importante a la experiencia y a la acción como ejes para analizar la realidad social; d) el
conocimiento se construye sobre la base de la realidad; e) las teorías son temporales y contextuales y
constituyen el instrumento que permite enmarcar perspectiva de análisis de los fenómenos.

Por lo tanto la validez de las investigaciones, su significado y contribución es contextual y cambiante a lo
largo del tiempo; f) se prefiere la acción a la especulación filosófica, y g) la situación presente siempre es
un punto de partida.Para la discusión que planteamos en este trabajo, queda claro que la postura
pragmática es altamente pertinente para investigar las decisiones estratégicas en las Pymes desde un
enfoque descriptivo. Las ventajas más importantes que ofrece son: a) palabras, figuras y relatos pueden
ser usados para interpretar números; b) números pueden ser usados para añadir precisión a las palabras,
figuras y relatos; c) los investigadores puede generar y testar una “teoría fundamentada en datos”; d)
puede responder un amplio y completo rango de preguntas de investigación porque el investigador no está
atado a un único método o enfoque; e) permite el diseño secuencial de la investigación y por etapas; f)
puede añadir otra visión y comprensión que puede perderse utilizando un único método y de esta forma
mejorar la validez y representatividad de los resultados (Burke y Onwuegbuzie, 2004). En los últimos
años, se observa en las investigaciones empíricas en procesos decisorios en las Pymes distintas estrategias

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metodológicas que combinan la utilización de técnicas cuantitativas (encuestas a muestras grandes de
Pymes o estadísticas secundarias) con cualitativas (entrevistas a gerentes, estudios de caso en empresas,
etc.). A modo de ejemplo podemos mencionar los artículos de García et al. (2006) sobre la influencia de
las estrategias en el crecimiento y rentabilidad de las Pymes españolas, Chong y Shafaghi (2009) para
analizar las capacidades de las Pymes para capitalizar las oportunidades del entorno virtual. Otros
artículos que pueden consultarse son O´Reagan et al. (2005); Salles (2006); Xueli (2009) y Díaz et al
(2011).

METODOLOGÍA

Una propuesta metodológica para el estudio de los perfiles decisorios en las Pymes.

De acuerdo a la revisión teórica y metodológica que hemos expuesto, a modo de ilustración, presentamos
la estrategia metodológica que hemos utilizado para caracterizar los perfiles decisorios en un grupo de
Pymes argentinas. A través del análisis de los atributos de las decisiones y de los empresarios que las
toman, se diseñó una investigación mixta para comprender cómo influyen estas características decisorias
en el desempeño de la empresa a corto plazo y a largo plazo.

En lo que refiere al contexto argentino, las investigaciones a nivel empírico sobre los perfiles decisorios
en las Pymes son prácticamente inexistentes. Respecto a estudios sobre las generalidades de la toma de
decisiones en las Pymes argentinas se destaca el trabajo de Kantis (1996, 1998) e investigaciones
aplicadas al área de las decisiones de financiamiento (Briozzo y Vigier, 2004; Bleger, y Rozenwurgel,
2000) o de las estrategias exportadoras (Kantis, 1996). Sin embargo no hemos localizado artículos
empíricos que identifiquen los perfiles decisorios en las Pymes argentinas en base a datos de
características sociodemográficas del empresario, niveles de decisión y fuentes de información utilizada
para la toma de decisiones. Por ello, proponemos presentar una estrategia de recolección y análisis de
datos que permita analizar el proceso decisorio en las Pymes identificando en primer lugar la
heterogeneidad en los perfiles decisorios y posteriormente indagando en profundidad en aspectos de las
decisiones desde una perspectiva naturalizada, es decir, a través de la interpretación de la percepción del
empresario y del contexto dónde éste decide. Consideramos que la principal contribución es poner a
discusión los instrumentos de recolección y análisis de datos para su replicabilidad en otros contextos.
La estrategia metodológica mixta se diseñó para aplicar a una muestra de Pymes que operan en Mar del
Plata, Argentina. Las características del entramado productivo de Mar del Plata favorece para la
aplicación de este tipo de diseños ya que cuenta con un gran número de empresas Pymes, que representan
el 95% del empleo total, una elevada diversificación sectorial y, a nivel regional, existen adecuadas
fuentes de información secundaria que facilita la triangulación de información (Producto Bruto
Geográfico y los datos del Observatorio Pyme de Mar del Plata). La figura 1 resume la metodología y las
fases de análisis que consideramos relevante para elaborar una propuesta integral y holística sobre las
decisiones en las Pymes.

El estudio se diseñó de forma secuencial. Para la fase de identificación de los perfiles se administró un
cuestionario semi estructurado y estandarizado que indagó en las principales dimensiones que considera
la literatura sobre las características de las decisiones empresariales y el decididor. Dado el carácter
exploratorio y descriptivo de la investigación se priorizó la representatividad de la muestra mediante la
diversidad sectorial y las características socioeconómicas diferenciales de los empresarios. En total se
realizaron 175 encuestas a empresarios Pyme de Mar del Plata. El tamaño de la muestra alcanzado así
como la información del cuestionario facilitó la realización de un análisis de clasificación por etapas
(clusters) que permitió observar el grado de heterogeneidad y especificidad de las Pymes según

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características estructurales como son el sector, los atributos socio demográficos del empresario, el tipo de
información utilizada y las características de la decisión. De esta forma, la clasificación permitió agrupar
empresarios con características homogéneas dentro del grupo de pertenencia pero heterogéneas respecto
al resto. En la segunda fase, se seleccionaron 20 empresas para interpretar, mediante entrevistas en
profundidad, las acciones realizadas por estos empresarios, las actitudes y estilos de conducción y
dirección que practican. La entrevista indagó en ejes temáticos como los factores que inciden en la toma
de decisiones, las especificidades en relación a las distintas áreas de la empresa, la temporalidad y el costo
de la toma de las decisiones y la evaluación que los mismos empresarios realizan de sus procesos
decisorios. Dada la validez teórica del muestreo cualitativo, se pudo obtener información contextual y de
comportamiento que permitió comprender las acciones y reflexiones que los mismos empresarios
reconocen y evalúan.

Figura 1: Proceso de análisis de la información mixta. Una propuesta de análisis secuencial

Fuente: Elaboración propia.

REFLEXIONES FINALES

Hacia una reflexión metodológica en estudios sobre decisiones en las Pymes.

DATOS DE CLASIFICACIÓN

PROCESO DE TOMA DE
DECISIONES
LA INFORMACIÓN Y LA
DECISIÓN
LAS FUENTES DE
INFORMACIÓN
SISTEMAS DE INFORMACIÓN
EMPRESARIO PYME
PRÁCTICAS DECISORIAS PERFIL DECISOR
175
empresarios
Pyme
20 empresarios
Pyme s/grupo
FACTORES QUE INCIDEN EN
LA TOMA DE DECISIONES
Importancia de las decisiones
Relación tiempo-costo
Incertidumbre
Complejidad
Personalidad del decisor
TIPO DE DECISIONESQUE SE
EJECUTAN EN LA EMPRESA

DECISIONES SEGÚN ÁREA
FUNCIONAL
De la clasificación……………………………………………….…al análisis en profundidad

Información
Procedimientos
Centralización de la decisión

Área financiera
Área comercial
Área de recursos humanos
Área de administración
Área de producción
EVALUACIÓN DE LAS
DECISIONES

INFORMACIÓN CUANTITATIVA INFORMACIÓN CUALITATIVA

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Como hemos desarrollado a lo largo del artículo, el objetivo de esta revisión teórica y metodológica en el
ámbito de las decisiones estratégicas en las Pymes es reflexionar sobre las prácticas de investigación en la
temática y discutir sobre la eficacia de métodos para describir adecuadamente la realidad empresarial en
un grupo con características particulares, las Pymes. Los resultados de la búsqueda de la literatura han
arrojado una serie de conclusiones que llevan a repensar sobre la relevancia de los modelos que
habitualmente se utilizan para describir fenómenos de naturaleza idiosincrática, tácita y contextual. De
hecho, desde el enfoque estratégico cada vez más se consolida la idea de que las empresas necesitan del
desarrollo de capacidades singulares orientadas a la innovación y al desarrollo de aprendizajes
organizativos que constituyan la base para la obtención de ventajas sostenible a largo plazo. Entender
este proceso de desarrollo requiere de herramientas académicas fiables y adecuadas para captar la esencia
de estos fenómenos. En este sentido, hemos plateando la propuesta metodológica que hemos presentado
en este artículo. El objetivo de esta ejemplificación es demostrar la factibilidad de aplicación del método
mixto a los estudios en el ámbito de las decisiones estratégicas en las Pymes, por un lado, y de poner en
evidencia la baja aplicación de esta metodología en la trayectoria de investigación de la temática.

Del diseño mixto basado en el análisis de contenido de las entrevistas y en los resultados derivados de la
realización de la encuesta semiestructurada hemos observado que la información cualitativa favorece a la
contextualización de los datos categóricos (mediante el uso de ejemplos, análisis del entorno,
interpretación de las acciones y las expectativas). Fundamentalmente, resaltamos que el uso combinado
de métodos potencializa las ventajas reconocidas en la metodología cuantitativa y cualitativa. En lo que
refiere a la metodología cuantitativa se destaca: 1) la capacidad para generar datos comparables y en
muestras grandes que favorecen la representatividad de los estudios empresariales; 2) la facilidad en la
captación y análisis de sus datos, en términos de tiempo de ejecución y rapidez de procesamiento, y 3) la
capacidad de describir comportamientos agregados. Sin embargo, su carácter ahistórico es una debilidad
frente a la utilización de otras metodologías, especialmente en estudios que indagan en procesos y
conductas empresariales. En este sentido, muchos estudios basados únicamente en datos cuantitativos
descansan en el rigor estadístico, pero carecen de una amplia interpretación de los resultados,
especialmente porque ignoran las características del contexto donde se aplican, perdiendo la información
idiosincrásica y particular del objeto inserto en un contexto determinado.

A diferencia del enfoque cuantitativo, en la fase cualitativa de la investigación, el investigador puede
indagar en profundidad diversas categorías que son interpretadas por los mismos sujetos y que permite
describir situaciones complejas y dinámicas (Burke y Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Más aún, el análisis de la
información en casos reducidos permite explorar situaciones que no se orientan al contraste de hipótesis
previamente definidas, sino que son capaces de dar lugar a nuevos interrogantes y planteamientos. La
objeción en este caso, es que la ganancia en “profundidad” que alcanzan sus resultados se logra
sacrificando su “alcance”, dada su imposibilidad de generalización.

En base a estas consideraciones es que creemos que el uso combinado de métodos cuantitativos y
cualitativos mejora la validez de los estudios en el ámbito de las decisiones estratégicas ya que permite
captar la heterogeneidad del colectivo Pyme a través de la ampliación de técnicas de muestreo
estratificado e indagar en profundidad en casos de relevancia teórica que faciliten la comprensión de los
procesos decisorios en contextos específicos y complejos. De esta forma se evita el abuso en la
manipulación de las variables en búsqueda del modelo que más se “ajusta” a la realidad a estudiar, como
la posibilidad de fallar en el control de la neutralidad en los cualitativos. La triangulación no sólo amplía
el alcance y los objetivos de las investigaciones en el área de las decisiones estratégicas, sino que controla
eficazmente la validez teórica y operativa de estas investigaciones. Asimismo, la presentación de un

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modelo operativo que permita estudiar de forma holística las características del proceso decisorio en las
Pymes mejora la validez externa y la transferibilidad a otros contextos.

Finalmente, cabe destacar que dada la incipiente utilización de estos diseños en la temática considerada,
surgen algunos interrogantes en relación a la forma de administración de las técnicas propuestas (orden de
selección e importancia), de la prioridad que tiene cada uno de estos métodos en la construcción de los
resultados agregados o las decisiones que deben adoptarse en el caso de obtener resultados contradictorios
entre los datos cuantitativos y cualitativos. Futuras investigaciones deberían contribuir en la contrastación
de este tipo de modelos y en la reflexión metodológica que hemos propuesto discutir en este artículo.

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https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/0921-898x/

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LA RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL CORPORATIVA
Juan Manuel Alberto Perusquía Velasco ,Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez , Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

INTRODUCCIÓN
Tradicionalmente la pequeña y mediana empresa se ha definido como a una organización cuyo objetivo
es la maximización de beneficios. Este tipo de empresa se preocupa por el bienestar y los beneficios de
los propietarios de la empresa, los accionistas. Recientemente, sin embargo, ha ganado fuerza la visión de
que la empresa debe tener un comportamiento Socialmente Responsable. Desde el enfoque de gestión
empresarial Socialmente Responsable, la empresa a la hora de diseñar e implementar sus estrategias debe
tener en cuenta los efectos externos de las mismas sobre todos los agentes sociales implicados en su
actividad, los stakeholders. Desde el punto de vista de la Ventaja Competitiva, esta forma de gestión va a
conducir además de a una redistribución del excedente de la empresa, a una mejor asignación final de los
recursos globales además de una mayor aceptación y por ende a un mejor posicionamiento. El objetivo de
este trabajo no radica en hacer una revisión de la literatura referente a la responsabilidad Social
Corporativa, si no identificar los conceptos claves de la ésta con un enfoque crítico, discutiendo los pros y
los contras de este tipo de gestión empresarial, desde el punto de vista de la Ventaja Competitiva
Empresarial.

METODOLOGÍA

Se plantea un esquema sencillo de “Best Practice”, a través de un análisis literario que permite clarificar
algunos aspectos del debate que rodea la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa. Observándose cómo la
motivación subyacente en las decisiones y estrategias empresariales juega un papel importante en el
concepto de la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa; analizando y diferenciando aquellas políticas de la
empresa que favorecen a alguno de los involucrados o stakeholders. Es decir, las que estén simplemente
destinadas a incrementar la rentabilidad de la empresa de las que verdaderamente van encaminadas a
favorecer al total de los involucrados, y que por ende pueden llegar a catalogarse como parte verdadera de
la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa de la pequeña y mediana empresa.

Marco Teórico
La Responsabilidad Social Corporativa consiste en un comportamiento que voluntariamente adoptan las
empresas, que van más allá de sus obligaciones jurídicas, que contribuye al desarrollo económico de la
comunidad y de la sociedad en general, mejorando la calidad de vida de las personas y sus familias, y que
redunda a largo plazo en su propio interés. (Iturbide & Reyes, 2005) La responsabilidad social de las
empresas es una parte importante de este contrato social. La responsabilidad social se define como el
conjunto de relaciones, obligaciones y deberes generalmente aceptados que las organizaciones tienen con
la sociedad. (Robin & Reindenbach, 1987) Tradicionalmente se ha definido la ética empresarial como “un
conjunto de principios que prescriben un código de conducta que explica lo que es bueno o malo, lo que
está bien o mal” (Kaler, 2003), o como “la aplicación de los valores morales en la solución de problemas
a través de un proceso racional de toma de decisiones” (Churchill, 1982).

La función de la responsabilidad social consistiría en clarificar lo que constituye el bienestar social y el
tipo de conducta necesaria para alcanzarlo. Definir el bienestar de la sociedad es un proceso continuo en
respuesta a los cambios políticos y demográficos, las nuevas tendencias sociales, las nuevas tecnologías y

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los vaivenes económicos. (Kreps, 2000). Se entiende por ventaja competitiva aquel conjunto de atributos
que posee una empresa que la distinguen de sus competidores y que hace posible la obtención de unos
rendimientos superiores a los de éstos, los cuales son además reconocibles por sus clientes. (Villalba,
1996) Para que una ventaja competitiva sea sostenible en el tiempo los recursos y capacidades que la
sustentan deben reunir las siguientes características (Collins & Montgomery, 1995): Una de las estrategias
para formar las pequeñas y medianas empresas responsables y altamente competitivas es, precisamente,
formando alianzas con la gran empresa, donde el gobierno, la academia, las asociaciones y cámaras
empresariales y de comercio juegan un papel importante para fomentar la relación y el acercamiento entre
empresas, generando un ambiente de negocios de entendimiento y ayuda mutua.

RESULTADOS

A continuación se presenta de acuerdo al análisis literario realizado como una pequeña y mediana
empresa puede implementar políticas que se alinean con los intereses de sus fundadores y accionistas,
sino con un esquema de “Best Practice”, con las siguientes figuras. El dilema de los directivos es que no
pueden separar las consecuencias individuales y colectivas de las organizaciones, como lo muestra la

figura 1: Allen & Gale, 2000)
:

Figura 1:La realidad cambiante de nuestras organizaciones nos plantea la necesidad de encontrar una
definición más dinámica que la aproxime a los conflictos y dilemas empresariales y cumpla con objetivo

de servir de guía. El bienestar social se va transformando a partir de las percepciones cambiantes de la
sociedad. Satisfechas la mayoría de necesidades básicas, la sociedad se plantea nuevos niveles d
bienestar, como el respeto al medio ambiente, la calidad de vida, etc.

RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL
Planteamiento Dinámico
Asumir consecuencias
Individuales Colectivas
De nuestras acciones
No las podemos separar
Conflicto entre:
Principios Responsabilidades
Individuales Organizativas

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Figura 2 :(Hassman, 1996)

Desde el nivel más bajo, la empresa amoral, hasta la empresa socialmente responsable, las empresas se
desplazan bajo unas coordenadas enmarcadas por los resultados económicos y la responsabilidad social.
Alcanzar el último estado, en que las organizaciones se plantean el reto de conseguir el difícil equilibrio
entre los resultados económicos y la responsabilidad social, requiere un modelo de organización cuya
misión, valores, estrategia y normas de comportamiento sea coherente con el concepto de bienestar y la
conducta definida para alcanzarlo, como lo muestra la

figura 3: (Young, Campbell, & Devine, 2000)

Figura 3

Las empresas socialmente responsables deben incorporar el modelo de bienestar social desarrollado por la
sociedad en que se hallan inmersas, adaptando al mismo el porqué de la existencia de la organización, la
visión de lo que la organización quiere hacer y llegar a ser a largo plazo, es decir la propia misión;
adaptando los objetivos que se plantea alcanzar en su definición de de esta.

BIBLIOGRAFIA

Allen, F., & Gale, D. (2000). Corporate Governance and Competition. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

Baron, D. (2001). Private Politics, Corporate Social Responsability and Integrated Strategy. Journal of
Economics and Management.

Bushman, R., & Smith, A. (2003). Transparency, Financial Accounting Information, and Corporate
Governance. Economic Policy Review.
Churchill, L. (1982). The Teaching of Ethics and Moral Values. Journal of Higher Education.

Socialmente
Responsable
Socialmente
Sensible
Legalista
Amoral
Equilibrada
Desequilibrada
Responsabilidad Social
Resultados Económ
icos
Organización
Socialmente
Responsable
Estrategia Valores
Misión
Normas

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Collins, D., & Montgomery, C. (1995). Competing on Resources. Harvard Business Review.

Dupre, D., Girerd, I., & Kassoua, R. (2004). Adding and Ethical Dimension to Portfolio Management.
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Feddersen, T., & T, G. (2001). Saints amd Markets. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy.
Hassman, H. (1996). The Owership of Enterprise. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.

Iturbide, L. & Reyes J. (2005). La Responsabilidad Social Empresarial: una fuente de ventaja
competitiva, Revista IDEARSE, Universidad Anahuac.

Jastram, S. (2007). The Link Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Management.
Hamburg: Center of International Studies.

Kaler, J. (2003). An Introduction to Business Ethics. London: Chapman and Hall.

Kramer, M., & M, P. (2006). Strategy and society: the link between competitive advantage and corporate
social responsibility. Harvard Business Review.
Kreps, D. (2000). Corporate Culture and Economic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge Univesity Press.

Malachowski, A. (2002). Business Ethics, Critical Perspectives on Business and Management. Routledge.

Mcwilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2001). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Therory from the Perspective of
the Enterprise. Academy of Management Review.

Robin D.P. & Reindenbach E. (1987). Social Responsibility Ethics and Marketing Strategy: Closing the
gap between concept and the application. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51 pp. 44-58.

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Review.

Tirole, J. (2001). Corporate Governance. Econometrica.

Young, Campbell, & Devine. (2000). A Sense of Mission. London: Hutchinson Business.

Villalba, Julián (1995, Abril): “Estrategias empresariales”. En: Revista Talento. Espacio para la
Promoción de la Competitividad. Nº 2. Caracas, Venezuela. pp. 13-15.

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ANÁLISIS DE LA PRESCRIPCIÓN FISCAL EN MÉXICO
Leonel Rosiles López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Nelson Isaac Padilla Castro, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Cruz Elda Macías Terán, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Santiago Pérez Alcalá, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

En la presente investigación se analiza el tema de la prescripción de las obligaciones en materia fiscal en
México. La figura de la prescripción ha sido considerada como un medio para adquirir el derecho de
extinguir una obligación, por el simple transcurso del tiempo al cumplirse los requisitos que marca la
ley. Por consiguiente, la prescripción desempeña un papel de seguridad y certeza jurídica en la relación
del particular frente al Estado, por una parte regula el derecho de las autoridades hacendarias para
exigir un crédito fiscal a cargo del contribuyente, y por otra, regula la obligación de la propia autoridad
a restituir un importe generado a favor del gobernado, al configurarse la prescripción. El objetivo del
presente estudio es determinar los factores a favor del contribuyente, que se desprenden al configurarse
la prescripción fiscal y el procedimiento legal que éste debe seguir para solicitar a la autoridad la
cancelación de la carga tributaria prescrita. Este es un estudio de corte cualitativo de tipo documental
que analiza la normatividad vigente y las resoluciones del Tribunal Fiscal, así como el procedimiento a
seguir. El resultado de esta investigación confirma la importancia que tiene esta figura jurídica en la
práctica en México.

PALABRAS CALVE: prescripción, fiscal, crédito, autoridad.

INTRODUCCIÓN

La prescripción es una de las figuras más antiguas del Derecho e introducida por los romanos al Derecho
Común, que la ha reglamentado y de donde las demás ramas de la ciencia jurídica la han adoptado. Sin
embargo, el pago de los impuestos y la omisión del pago de los mismos, es un proceso casi tan antiguo
como el hombre mismo, el hombre en su devenir, ha estado cobrando y pagando impuestos
respectivamente, en este sentido la actividad tributaria ha ido de la mano con la omisión del pago, por
consiguiente, el sujeto obligado a tributar, desde siempre ha buscado la forma de extinguir la obligación.
En este sentido, se puede entender que la prescripción proviene de nuestros antepasados al igual que la
creación del impuesto mismo.

Atendiendo su naturaleza y efectos se ha definido a la prescripción como la adquisición de un derecho o
la extinción de una obligación por el simple transcurso del tiempo, al cumplirse las disposiciones
establecidas en la ley, de esto deriva la existencia de dos tipos de prescripción: la adquisitiva y la
liberatoria. La primera se caracteriza por ser un medio legal que otorga el derecho para llegar adquirir
ciertos bienes. En cambio la prescripción liberatoria consiste en la extinción de una obligación. Así, en
materia fiscal la obligación de pagar el adeudo de un Crédito Fiscal se extingue por prescripción en un
plazo de cinco años a partir de la fecha en que el pago pudo ser legalmente exigido y la autoridad no haya
ejercido sus facultados, exigiendo al contribuyente el pago del adeudo.

Sin embargo de acuerdo con Carrasco (2008) el derecho fiscal en México solo contempla la prescripción
liberatoria, en efecto, dentro de nuestra disciplina la prescripción opera como una forma de extinguir dos
clases de obligaciones, por una parte la obligación del contribuyente de pagar las contribuciones y por la

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otra la obligación de la autoridad fiscal de devolver al contribuyente los importes que hubiere pagado de
manera indebida o las cantidades que éste tuviera a su favor, cuya devolución deba hacerse conforma a la
ley. El presente trabajo tiene por objeto hacer un análisis de lo dispuesto en Código Fiscal de la
Federación, así como del procedimiento para obtener la declaratoria de prescripción de créditos
fiscales.Cuando la autoridad determine un crédito fiscal, este debe ser notificado de manera correcta para
que pueda hacerse exigible legalmente, por consiguiente, la autoridad debe actuar conforme a la
normatividad que rige la materia, de esta manera podrá realizar la ejecución forzosa de las cantidades
determinadas. El crédito fiscal puede estar integrado por impuestos omitidos, multas, recargos,
actualizaciones, así como sus accesorios legales. De acuerdo con Margain (2008), en beneficio del orden
público y de la seguridad y certeza jurídica, el derecho de las autoridades para determinar y exigir
prestaciones fiscales o restituirlas a los contribuyentes, deberá extinguirse por la prescripción.

Con base en lo establecido en el Código Fiscal de la Federación, la facultad de la Autoridad de hacer
exigible el crédito fiscal, se extingue en 5 años, luego entonces, el contribuyente está en condición una
vez superado el plazo para solicitar que se confeccione a su favor dicha figura En este sentido cabe
resaltar que bien podemos saber cuándo opera la figura jurídica de la prescripción, más sin embargo el
cómo obtener la declaratoria de prescripción es distinto, más aún, cuando la Autoridad no otorga la razón
al contribuyente que solicito tal declaratoria, o en caso contrario cuando es la propia Autoridad quien hace
uso de tal figura para no regresar las cantidades pagas indebidamente por parte del contribuyente. Luego
entonces, es necesario rescatar la figura de la prescripción como una manera de extinguir obligaciones en
materia fiscal, de tal forma que el contribuyente no tenga una deuda indefinida con el fisco federal por la
inactividad de la Autoridad, o en su caso, la indebida forma de dar a conocer al Contribuyente el adeudo
determinado, a través de un crédito fiscal.

De la misma manera, cuando es la propia autoridad quien hace uso de esta figura, recurriendo a la
configuración de la prescripción, evitar la devolución de cantidades que tengan derecho a percibir los
contribuyentes. Con base en esta figura jurídica los importes no devueltos dentro de los plazos
establecidos, en los mismos términos y condiciones quedan a favor de la Autoridad hacendaria.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

El origen constitucional de la figura de la prescripción en nuestro país, se traduce en garantía de seguridad
y certeza jurídica, se encuentra establecida en el artículo 16 de la Constitución Política de los Estados
Unidos Mexicanos (2011), el cual estable, el derecho a la privacidad, al mencionar que nadie puede ser
molestado en su persona, familia, domicilio, papeles o posesiones, sino en virtud de mandamiento escrito
de autoridad competente, mismo que debe estar fundado y motivado.

Por su parte el Código Fiscal de la Federación (2011), establece en su artículo 146 que el crédito fiscal se
extingue en un término de cinco años, a partir de la fecha en que la autoridad pudo haber exigido la
contraprestación, este término inicia, a partir de que el crédito pudo haber sido exigido por la autoridad.
La gestión de la autoridad para recuperar el crédito fiscal, interrumpe el término de ley, siempre que se
haga del conocimiento del deudor. Se considera gestión de autoridad cualquier diligencia que ésta lleve a
cabo tratando de recuperar el monto del crédito fiscal, incluyendo el procedimiento administrativo de
ejecución. Es necesario tener en cuenta que de acuerdo al CFF, se considera interrumpido el término de la
prescripción, cuando el contribuyente, haya cambiado su domicilio fiscal sin haber dado aviso a la
autoridad correspondiente, también cuando este señale de manera incorrecta su domicilio y no sea
encontrado por la autoridad fiscal que le busca para notificarle. La interrupción corta el cómputo del

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plazo, de manera que cada vez que se actualiza una causal de interrupción, se debe iniciar nuevamente el
cómputo de los cinco años.

Por el contrario, si el crédito fiscal ya prescribió por el transcurso del plazo que estipula el artículo 146
del CFF, la interposición de los medio de defensa que después se hagan valer no interrumpirán el plazo
correspondiente, pues jurídicamente no es posible interrumpir lo que ya venció; es decir, si ya transcurrió
el plazo de la prescripción, ningún reconocimiento podría interrumpir plazo, ya que antes de dicho
reconocimiento el crédito fiscal ya se había extinguido por prescripción.

Cuando haya transcurrido el plazo establecido para que se configure la prescripción fiscal, el
contribuyente podrá solicitar la declaratoria de prescripción por parte de la autoridad fiscal, con base en el
artículo 146 del C.F.F. último párrafo, a través de escrito dirigido a la propia autoridad. A continuación
se muestran algunas resoluciones y contradicciones de los de los tribunales colegiados, respecto de la
configuración de la prescripción fiscal. Nulidad de la Notificación del Requerimiento de Pago o Gestión
de Cobro. No Interrumpe el Plazo para que Opere la Prescripción a que Alude el Artículo 146 del Código
Fiscal de la Federación.

En términos de la disposición legal de mérito, el plazo de cinco años para que opere la prescripción de las
facultades de las autoridades para hacer efectivos créditos fiscales, inicia a partir de la fecha en que el
pago de éstos pudo ser legalmente exigido, y se interrumpe con cada gestión de cobro que el acreedor
notifique o haga saber al deudor; o, por el reconocimiento expreso o tácito del deudor respecto de la
existencia del crédito. En ese sentido, cuando no pueda acreditarse de manera fehaciente que el deudor
tuvo pleno conocimiento de la existencia del crédito, y la gestión de cobro no se notificó con las
formalidades exigidas, dando lugar a que se declare la nulidad de dicha notificación, ésta no surte efecto
jurídico alguno, por lo que se entiende que el contribuyente no conoció tal acto. Por tanto, esa diligencia
no puede tomarse en consideración para la interrupción del plazo de la prescripción a que alude el artículo
146 del Código Fiscal de la Federación, pues es precisamente la notificación la que genera certeza de las
gestiones que lleva a cabo la autoridad hacendaria para hacer efectivo un crédito. 2a./J. 198/2009.
Contradicción de tesis 353/2009. Entre las sustentadas por el Décimo Sexto Tribunal Colegiado en
Materia Administrativa del Primer Circuito y el Tercer Tribunal Colegiado del Octavo Circuito. 28 de
octubre de 2009. Cinco votos. Ponente: Margarita Beatriz Luna Ramos. Secretaria: Claudia Mendoza
Polanco. Tesis de jurisprudencia 198/2009. Aprobada por la Segunda Sala de este Alto Tribunal, en
sesión privada del cuatro de noviembre de dos mil nueve. Prescripción en Materia Fiscal. Su Plazo se
Interrumpe con Cada Gestión de Cobro, aun Cuando sea Declarada su Nulidad por Vicios Formales.

De conformidad con el artículo 146 del Código Fiscal de la Federación, el plazo de prescripción se
interrumpe con cada gestión de cobro que el acreedor notifique o haga saber al deudor o por el
reconocimiento expreso o tácito de éste respecto de la existencia del crédito. Bajo esa óptica, el término
de cinco años previsto en el referido precepto para que opere la prescripción de un crédito fiscal cuyo
pago se exige al deudor principal o, en su caso, a la institución afianzadora, se interrumpe con cada
gestión de cobro efectuada por la autoridad hacendaria competente, aun en el supuesto de que se combata
y sea declarada su nulidad para efectos, por contener algún vicio de carácter formal. Ello es así, pues el
acto fundamental que da lugar a la interrupción del plazo de la prescripción lo es la notificación, por la
cual se hace saber al deudor la existencia del crédito fiscal cuyo pago se le requiere, así como cualquier
actuación de la autoridad tendente a hacerlo efectivo, es decir, la circunstancia de que el actor quede
enterado de su obligación o del procedimiento de ejecución seguido en su contra, lo que se corrobora con
el indicado artículo 146 al establecer como una forma de interrumpir el término de la prescripción, el

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reconocimiento expreso o tácito del deudor respecto de la existencia del crédito, de donde se sigue que tal
interrupción no necesariamente está condicionada a la subsistencia del acto que constituye la gestión de
cobro, sino a la circunstancia de que el deudor tenga pleno conocimiento de la existencia del crédito fiscal
exigido por la autoridad hacendaria. 2a./J. 141/2004. Contradicción de tesis 50/2004-SS.

Entre las sustentadas por los Tribunales Colegiados Tercero del Décimo Sexto Circuito, Octavo y
Noveno, ambos en Materia Administrativa del Primer Circuito. 10 de septiembre de 2004. Cinco votos.
Ponente: Genaro David Góngora Pimentel. Secretaria: Marcia Nava Aguilar. Tesis de jurisprudencia
141/2004. Aprobada por la Segunda Sala de este Alto Tribunal, en sesión privada del veintidós de
septiembre de dos mil cuatro. Prescripción de Créditos Fiscales. Una Vez Transcurrido el Término para
que Opere, no se Interrumpe por el Posterior Reconocimiento Expreso del Contribuyente al Interponer la
Demanda del Juicio Contencioso Administrativo Contra la Resolución que Determina Aquéllos.

De la interpretación del artículo 146 del Código Fiscal de la Federación, se colige que los créditos fiscales
se extinguen por prescripción en el término de cinco años, el cual inicia a partir de la fecha en que puede
ser legalmente exigido y se interrumpirá con cada gestión de cobro que la autoridad realice dentro del
procedimiento administrativo de ejecución y que se notifique al deudor, o por el reconocimiento expreso
o tácito de éste sobre la existencia del crédito; bajo tal premisa, una vez transcurrido el citado término, no
es dable considerarlo interrumpido por el posterior reconocimiento expreso del contribuyente al
interponer la demanda del juicio contencioso administrativo contra la resolución determinante de los
créditos impugnados, pues si bien tal reconocimiento constituye uno de los supuestos previstos en el
aludido precepto para interrumpirlo, ese reconocimiento se realizó cuando ya los créditos fiscales se
habían extinguido al haber transcurrido el plazo previsto para ello. De ahí que si la Sala responsable, toma
como base para el cómputo del plazo de cinco años la fecha en que se interpuso el juicio contencioso
administrativo y determina que los créditos fiscales no se han extinguido, infringe en perjuicio del
quejoso las garantías de legalidad y seguridad jurídica consagradas en los artículos 14 y 16 de la
Constitución Federal al interpretar y aplicar indebidamente el precepto en cita. Segundo Tribunal
Colegiado en Materias Penal y Administrativa del Vigésimo Primer Circuito. XXI.2o.P.A.84 A. Amparo
directo 10/2008. Rigoberto Gallegos Contreras. 15 de mayo de 2008. Unanimidad de votos. Ponente:
Jesús Rafael Aragón. Secretaria: Ma. Guadalupe Gutiérrez Pessina.

METODOLOGÍA

Se realizó un estudio documental sobre los ordenamientos constitucionales y fiscales que regulan la
materia de la prescripción, se verificaron casos reales en los cuales el contribuyente solicita la
prescripción en materia fiscal y el pronunciamiento de los tribunales federales al respecto. El método
que se utilizó en esta investigación es el descriptivo, ya que se realizó un análisis, acerca de cómo
influyen los factores o elementos para que se confeccione la prescripción en materia fiscal. Se describió la
relación entre el fisco federal y el contribuyente a partir del diagnóstico previo de la prescripción, lo cual
se podrá corroborar con las situaciones de hecho y de derecho que los propios Tribunales del Poder
Judicial de la Federación han emitido en sus tesis en relación a la prescripción.La solicitud de la
prescripción por parte del contribuyente y la resolución de las autoridades correspondientes, así como el
análisis de las demás disposiciones aplicables a la prescripción permiten dar contestación a la pregunta de
esta investigación.

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RESULTADOS

Como principales factores a favor del contribuyente para que se configure la prescripción fiscal y se
cancele su obligación de pago tenemos:

1) Que haya transcurrido el tiempo establecido en las disposiciones fiscales.

2) Que durante el periodo establecido en ley, no haya habido acto de autoridad mediante notificación al
propio contribuyente, para exigir el pago del crédito fiscal.

3) Que el contribuyente deudor no haya hecho cambio de domicilio fiscal sin informar al fisco.

4) Una vez que se han reunido los requisitos establecidos en las disposiciones fiscales para que se
configure la prescripción fiscal, el contribuyente debe solicitar mediante escrito a la autoridad
correspondiente, la declaratoria de prescripción del crédito, a efecto de concluir su responsabilidad.

CONCLUSIONES

Primera. Con base en la resolución de los Tribunales Colegiados de Circuito, la omisión de requerir el
pago en el plazo previsto por el Código Fiscal de la Federación da lugar a que el contribuyente ejerza el
mecanismo legal para obtener la declaratoria de prescripción. Segunda. Se confirma la importancia que
tiene esta figura jurídica para en la extinción de obligaciones fiscales. Tercera. Es un hecho que la
prescripción puede ser ejercitada por cualquier contribuyente, cuando el plazo de cinco años ha
transcurrido y éste no ha sido requerido de pago por parte de la autoridad.

REFERENCIAS

Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (2011). Anaya Editores. México, D.F.
Código Fiscal de la Federación (2011). Editorial ISEF. México D.F.

Instancia: Segunda Sala. Fuente: Semanario Judicial de la Federación y su Gaceta, Novena Época. Tomo
XXX, Diciembre de 2009. Pág. 306. Tesis de Jurisprudencia.

Instancia: Segunda Sala. Fuente: Semanario Judicial de la Federación y su Gaceta, Novena Época. Tomo
XX, Octubre de 2004. Pág. 377. Tesis de Jurisprudencia.

Instancia: Tribunales Colegiados de Circuito. Fuente: Semanario Judicial de la Federación y su Gaceta,
Novena Época. Tomo XXVIII, Octubre de 2008. Pág. 2394.

Carrasco, H. (2008). Diccionario de Derecho Fiscal, Editorial Oxford, México D.F.
Margain, E. (2008). Introducción al estudio del Derecho Tributario Mexicano, Editorial Porrúa, México,
D.F.

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ESTUDIO DEL COMPROMISO ORGANIZACIONAL EN
UN COLEGIO PARTICULAR, EN ENSENADA, B.C.
Rocio Gutierrez Alanis, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Concepcion Ramirez Baron, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Blanca Rosa García Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

En este trabajo se analiza el compromiso organizacional de los colaboradores en un colegio de
educación básica en la ciudad de Ensenada, Baja California Norte, a través del compromiso afectivo,(el
cual consiste en la identificación del colaborador con los valores y filosofía de la empresa), del
compromiso continuo (revela el apego de carácter material que el colaborador tiene con la empresa
como planes de pensiones, de compra de acciones o por antigüedad o liquidación) y del compromiso
normativo (fuerte sentimiento de obligación de permanecer en la empresa por lealtad o adeudo).
El método es cuantitativo, de forma censal, los instrumentos de medición son el de Mowda y Porter y
Steers (1979, 1982), se utiliza una combinación de la versión corta de 9 reactivos puntuados en una
escala tipo Likert y también el cuestionario desarrollado por Meyer et al. (1993) versión corta en una
escala tipo Likert.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Compromiso organizacional, afectivo, normativo y continuo.

INTRODUCCION

Las investigaciones realizadas sobre compromiso organizacional inician a partir de 1960 y se
incrementan en la siguiente década, cuando se crean modelos para entender este concepto de gran interés
principalmente para los psicólogos, (Becker, 1960; Blau y Scott, 1962; Grusky, 1966; Hrebiniak y
Alutto,1972;Porter Steers, Mowday y Boulian, 1974; Dubin, Champoux y Porter, 1975; Steers1977).

El compromiso organizacional ha sido definido por diferentes investigadores y coinciden en que es
considerado el lazo ó vinculo entre la organización y el trabajador (Mathiew y Zajac, 1990). Por lo cual la
definición destaca la relevancia del vínculo como “La fuerza relativa de la implicación y participación del
individuo con una organización en particular” (Mowday, Steers y Porter, 1979, p.226).

Como comenta Bentazos y Paz (2007), para los investigadores y personal de recursos humanos la
importancia del compromiso organizacional se debe principalmente a que tiene un impacto directo en
actitudes y conductas del empleado; como aceptación de metas, valores y cultura de la organización,
menor ausentismo y baja rotación de personal entre otros.

A través de diferentes estudios realizados y conforme el término va evolucionando, los investigadores lo
han clasificado en 3 perspectivas, desde una perspectiva de intercambio social, definen el compromiso
con la organización como el vínculo que establece el individuo con su organización, fruto de las pequeñas
inversiones realizadas a lo largo del tiempo, según Becker (1960).

Asimismo, la perspectiva psicológica lo señala como “la fuerza relativa a la identificación individual e
implicación con una organización en particular”, un fuerte deseo de permanecer como miembro de una
organización en particular, un acuerdo de mantener altos niveles de esfuerzo en beneficio de la

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organización y una creencia definitiva y aceptación de los valores y metas de la organización, que
resulta de la orientación individual hacia la organización como un fin en sí mismo (Mowday, Steers, y
Porter, 1979).

Desde una perspectiva de atribución, se define el compromiso como una obligación que el individuo
adquiere como resultado de realizar ciertos actos que son voluntarios, explícitos e irrevocables (Reichers,
1985). Para este estudio, se adoptan los componentes que proponen Allen y Meyer (1990): El
compromiso afectivo refleja el apego emocional, la identificación e implicación con la organización,
mientras que el continuo se refiere al reconocimiento de los costos asociados con dejar la organización, y
el normativo revela los sentimientos de obligación del colaborador de permanecer en la empresa.

Existen una variedad de estudios realizados sobre el compromiso organizacional, sin embargo, el
compromiso se ha analizado poco desde la perspectiva de una organización educativa de Latinoamérica,
para conocer las diferencias en la percepción que existe en este tipo de instituciones y que además nos
permita establecer nuevos modelos aplicables a los países latinos que funcionan con dinámicas
completamente distintas a las que se observan en países del primer mundo.

El problema se identifica como la falta de motivación, falta de satisfacción en las compensaciones y
estabilidad laboral, variables del compromiso organizacional que tienen los empleados hacia la
organización, así como la alta rotación, provocando a la organización empleados que no están
comprometidos con la misión, visión y los valores de la institución.

El objetivo general en este estudio de caso es: Describir la relación del compromiso afectivo, compromiso
continuo e involucramiento que permiten determinar en un colegio particular en Ensenada. Como
objetivos específicos tenemos: el identificar el grado de compromiso afectivo de los empleados en la
organización, identificar el involucramiento que mueve a seguir en la organización y relacionar el grado
de compromiso continuo de los empleados, basado en utilizar el instrumento de medición de Mowday
Porter y Steers (1979, 1982).

Las preguntas de investigación son ¿Cuál es el grado de compromiso afectivo que tienen los empleados
hacia el colegio particular? Cuál es el grado de compromiso continuo que tienen los empleados hacia el
colegio particular? ¿Cuál es el grado de involucramiento que tienen los empleados hacia el colegio
particular? ¿Cuál es el grado de compromiso organizacional que tienen los empleados hacia el colegio
particular? y ¿Qué tipo de compromiso los mueve a seguir en la organización?

La justificación del presente estudio de caso que dentro de la organización debe de realizarse diferentes
actividades en función de la Misión y Visión, que dependen del desempeño en cada uno de los puestos,
las cuales afectan el funcionamiento de la misma y los colaboradores puedan satisfacer sus necesidades y
una satisfacción laboral, lo que presenta la necesidad de identificar el grado de compromiso
organizacional que tienen los colaboradores hacia la organización y qué tipo de compromiso los mueve a
seguir en la organización o a tomar la decisión de irse, los datos que se obtengan serán de utilidad para el
personal directivo, para tomar las medidas necesarias e implementar estrategias para integral el total de
los colaboradores a tener un alto compromiso organización y así aumentar su desempeño en el trabajo.

El alcance de esta investigación es descriptivo, realizada a un colegio de Ensenada, B.C., México, de
nivel primaria y secundaria de forma censal a los 45 empleados de todos los niveles de la organización,

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utilizando el método cuantitativo, se les entregó el cuestionario correspondiente con un encabezado que
contiene la explicación y presentación del propósito.

REVISION LITERARIA

Compromiso Organizacional

Allport (1942) El grado en que un empleado participa en su trabajo teniendo en cuenta necesidades,
prestigio, auto-respeto, autonomía y autoimagen. Involucrándose en la organización, por sus propios
intereses personales de auto superación y centrado en sus propios beneficios para Lodahl y Kejner
(1965) Definen el compromiso como el grado en el que el desempeño del trabajo de una persona afecta a
su autoestima.

Porter y Lawer (1965) Como el deseo de realizar elevados esfuerzos por el bien de la institución, el
anhelo de permanecer en la misma y aceptar sus principales objetivos y valores. La involucración en la
organización para los sesentas ya se relaciona con el intercambio de intereses de la organización poniendo
como principal no tanto en base a lo económico según Kanter (1968) Mantiene, desde una perspectiva
ideal, que el compromiso se debe cimentar en unas bases algo más complejas que un simple intercambio
económico.

Buchanan (1974) Ve al individuo comprometido, como un miembro de la institución, lo cual genera un
sentimiento de apego hacia los objetivos y valores organizacionales. Cuando existe la relación de
comprender la misión y visión de la organización y relacionarse con sus valores, el empleado tiene una
implicación positiva en la organización como señala Etzioni (1975) El compromiso es la implicación
positiva del individuo en la institución.

Esta perspectiva sugiere que se debe integrar la experiencia de compromiso que siente el individuo con
los otros aspectos organizacionales que tradicionalmente se han asignado al concepto de compromiso.
Para estos autores la integración del individuo en la organización reafirma el sentido de pertenencia que
representa continuar en la organización y acatar normas y reglas.

Mathieu y Zajac, (1990) Es un vínculo o lazo del individuo con la organización Identificación:
(aceptación de las metas organizacionales) tener las mismas creencias, propósitos, ideas, objetivos, que
los de la empresa. Membresía: (deseo de permanecer como miembro) sentimiento de pertenencia hacia la
organización (ser parte de) Lealtad: cumplimiento y respeto hacia la organización mediante acciones
dirigidas a defenderla. La relación que establece con la organización aceptar, deseo de ser parte y tener el
sentido de respeto hacia la organización es el grado de compromiso.

Meyer y Allen (1991) Es un mejor predictor de desempeño y contribución del capital humano, pues es
una respuesta más global y duradera a la organización como un todo, que la satisfacción en el puesto. Un
empleado puede estar insatisfecho con un puesto determinado, pero considerarlo una situación temporal
y, sin embargo, no sentirse insatisfecho con la organización como un todo. Pero cuando la insatisfacción
se extiende a la organización, es muy probable que los individuos consideren la renuncia.

Schein, (1992) En una organización pueden existir múltiples culturas, y cualquier grupo de trabajadores
desarrolla su propia cultura, por lo que esta puede diferir de unos equipos a otros, incluso dentro de una
misma organización cultura de equipo se maneja como un término sinónimo de cultura organizacional. La

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combinación de grupos dentro de la organización influyen para determinar si los empleados se involucran
obteniendo compromiso organizacional.

Desde perspectivas empleados y organizaciones

En el compromiso organizacional intervienen empleados y organizaciones, que son las principales
protagonistas en propiciar el compromiso y han sido objeto de estudio las relaciones entre sí,
identificando los beneficios que representa como nos señala Betanzos y Paz (2007) Empleados Permite
estabilidad laboral, que impacta en prestaciones, jubilación, beneficios sociales, y garantiza cubrir
necesidades tanto materiales como psicológicas (reconocimiento, desarrollo de habilidades, socialización,
estatus) beneficiando a las familias y economía del país. Investigadores y personal de R. H un impacto
directo en actitudes y conductas del empleado; como aceptación de metas, valores y cultura de la
organización, menor ausentismo y baja rotación de personal entre otros.

Desde perspectiva de intercambio social, intercambio psicológico, perspectiva de atribución el
compromiso. La perspectiva de intercambio social Becker (1960) definió el compromiso con la
organización como el vínculo que establece el individuo con su organización, fruto de las pequeñas
inversiones (sidebest) realizadas a lo largo del tiempo. Según esto, la persona continúa en la organización
porque cambiar su situación supondría sacrificar las inversiones realizadas.

La perspectiva psicológica es la fuerza relativa a la identificación individual e implicación con una
organización en particular” Un fuerte deseo de permanecer como miembro de una organización en
particular, Un acuerdo de mantener altos niveles de esfuerzo en beneficio de la organización, Una
creencia definitiva y aceptación de los valores y metas de la organización, que resulta de la orientación
individual hacia la organización como un fin en sí mismo (Mowday, Steers, y Porter, 1979) La formación
del compromiso psicológico, depende del intercambio que mantiene el empleado con la organización,
puesto que la persona espera recibir determinadas recompensas psicológicas como obtener nuevos
conocimientos, reconocimiento de su grupo de trabajo etcétera. (Mathieu y Zajac, 1990).

La perspectiva de atribución el compromiso como una obligación que el individuo adquiere como
resultado de realizar ciertos actos que son voluntarios, explícitos e irrevocables (Reichers, 1985) está más
vinculada a la dimensión de “ética del trabajo” propuesta por Morrow (1983). Esta ética del trabajo puede
ser definida como una responsabilidad que nace del interior del individuo y que impulsa a hacer el mayor
esfuerzo posible por realizar un buen trabajo Varona, (1993).

El compromiso es la implicación en el puesto es un constructo diferente del compromiso organizacional.
Mowday et al., (1979) y Porter et al., (1974) consideran la implicación en el puesto como parte del
compromiso, aspecto que también fue hipotetizado. Kanungo (1982) Incluye en su definición de
implicación ya sea con un trabajo en particular o con el trabajo en general. Marca que la implicación se
lleva a cabo bajo un proceso de discriminación del individuo que decide intencionalmente orientarse a la
organización como un fin en sí mismo y que es “una creencia o estado cognitivo de identificación
psicológica”.
Morrow (1983) Considera a la implicación en el puesto como aspecto del compromiso y la incluye como
faceta del compromiso con la organización. O Reilly y Chatman (1986) Lo enfocan principalmente a la
atadura psicológica por medio de una identificación e implicación empleado – empresa.

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Mathieu y Zajac (1990) Indicaron que las dos variables pueden estar correlacionadas pues la organización
provee a los empleados de trabajos que ellos desean y esto hace que los trabajadores se liguen a su
organización. Meyer y Allen (1991) No la consideran como variable relevante en su modelo Guthrie,
Spell, y Ochoki (2002) Investigaron el compromiso y la implicación como variables correlacionadas.

Compromiso Organizacional

Las dimensiones propuestas por Allen y Meyer incluyen el compromiso afectivo, el cual consiste en la
identificación psicológica del colaborador con los valores y filosofía de la empresa. En realidad es muy
frecuente que el colaborador no se percate de la sintonía entre sus valores y los de la empresa, sin
embargo, esta identificación y afinidad con la organización se manifiestan con actitudes tales como un
marcado orgullo de pertenencia del colaborador hacia su compañía. Esta identificación también se refleja
en la solidaridad y aprehensión del colaborador con los problemas de su empresa, se preocupa cuando su
empresa va mal, y muestra una gran felicidad cuando va bien. En términos coloquiales, el colaborador
que tiene un alto compromiso afectivo es aquel que “tiene bien puesta la camiseta”. Normalmente los
colaboradores con un alto compromiso afectivo, tienden a manifestar una buena predisposición a los
cambios organizacionales, se implican en ellos, y están dispuestos a trabajar más de lo que está
establecido, actitudes que son altamente deseables por gerentes y directores. Por otra parte, diversos
estudios han demostrado que el compromiso afectivo de los colaboradores tiende a aumentar en la medida
en que éstos experimentan mayor autonomía, responsabilidad, y significación de su trabajo (Arciniega. y
González, 2002).

El compromiso continuó revela el apego de carácter material que el colaborador tiene con la empresa.
Con el paso del tiempo el colaborador percibe que va haciendo pequeñas inversiones en la compañía, las
cuales espera que le reditúen, pudiendo ser inversiones monetarias tales como planes de pensiones, de
compra de acciones o bien la parte que se paga por antigüedad en una liquidación, hasta inversiones
intangibles como el estatus que tiene en la empresa y que perdería si se fuera (Bayona, Goñi y Madorrán
1999).

Otro aspecto que considera esta variable son las oportunidades que tiene el colaborador para conseguir
otro trabajo de condiciones similares al que tiene en su empresa actual, luego entonces en la medida en
que percibe que sus oportunidades fuera de la compañía son reducidas, se incrementa su apego con la
empresa para la cual trabaja.

El colaborador que tiene un alto compromiso continuo, y que en los otros dos tipos mantiene un nivel
bajo o moderado, tiende a manifestar estabilidad laboral, la cual puede ser puramente situacional. Por otra
parte, su esfuerzo, dedicación y entrega al trabajo radican en alcanzar los niveles de “mínimos
aceptables”, es decir el colaborador sólo cumple con lo estrictamente necesario para seguir trabajando en
la empresa y capitalizar sus inversiones, o bien, espera una mejora en las oportunidades externas para
dejar la empresa. (Arciniega. y González, 2002).

El compromiso normativo, el cual al igual que el compromiso afectivo es de naturaleza emocional, y
consiste en la experimentación por parte del colaborador de un fuerte sentimiento de obligación de
permanecer en la empresa. Este sentimiento de obligación suele tener sus orígenes en la formación del
valor de lealtad en el individuo desde su niñez, su adolescencia, e inclusive en sus primeras experiencias

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laborales, es decir el sujeto aprende y da por hecho, que debe ser leal con la empresa que le contrate,
desde luego la aplicación de este valor se hace presente en otros contextos de la vida de la persona.

Por otra parte, el individuo puede llegar a desarrollar un fuerte sentimiento de obligación a permanecer en
su empresa, por efecto de experimentar una sensación de deuda hacia su compañía por haberle dado
alguna oportunidad y/o recompensa que fue intensamente valorada por el colaborador.

En síntesis, y recurriendo nuevamente al lenguaje cotidiano el colaborador con un alto compromiso
normativo es el “colaborador incondicional”. El colaborador con un alto compromiso normativo será por
tanto, un incondicional al momento de desarrollar un nuevo proyecto, aunque quizás no con la energía y
el entusiasmo del colaborador con alto compromiso afectivo, pero si con la garantía que estará presente en
todo momento (Arciniega y González, 2002).

El instrumento de medida utilizado con más frecuencia para cuantificar esta dimensión ha sido el OCQ de
Porter et al. (1974), si bien el instrumento pone más énfasis en la lealtad (la intención de continuar) y el
esfuerzo en beneficio de la organización, que en el contenido afectivo. Más recientemente se han
propuesto el cuestionario de Meyer, Allen y Smith en el año de 1993 cuyo contenido apunta de una forma
más precisa al aspecto emocional, que coincide con la descripción de la dimensión afectiva, el vínculo
psicológico a través de sentimientos como la lealtad, afecto, calor, apego y pertenencia, entre otros.

Compromiso Personal hacia la Organización, de Meyer y Allen (1991), el cual fue construido con el
propósito específico de medir los tres componentes del compromiso descrito antes. Dicho instrumento ha
sufrido diversas modificaciones a lo largo del tiempo. Una de los dos instrumentos aplicados el primero
se tomo la versión dada a conocer por Meyer, Allen y Smith en 1993. Ha mostrado validez y
confiabilidad en otras culturas, incluyendo la coreana Ko, Price y Mueller (1997). Vandenberghe (1996)
aplicó una versión un tanto modificada de este instrumento.

entre personas dedicadas a la enfermería en la región francoparlante de Bélgica. Encontró apoyo para el
modelo de los tres factores mencionados. En esas pesquisas, la confiabilidad de las escalas de
compromiso afectivo y normativo han sido las aceptadas internacionalmente, mientras la correspondiente
al compromiso de continuidad ha resultado baja. Mencionan Galicia, Mercado y Beláusteguigoitia (1998)
En México igualmente, se encontraron índices adecuados de confiabilidad en las escalas de Compromiso
Afectivo, y Normativo (alphas respectivas: afecto, de .71 a .81; Normativo, de .63 a .82; de Continuidad,
de .47 a .48. En un Análisis psicométrico del compromiso organizacional como variable actitudinal
menciona Betanzos y Paz (2007) Se analizó la estructura factorial y consistencia interna a partir de la
respuesta de 369 empleados de una empresa de telecomunicaciones, el análisis factorial exploratorio
arroja tres factores empíricos. Posteriormente mediante un análisis factorial de segundo orden, estos
factores quedan agrupados en un macro factor que tiene un valor propio de 2.2, explica el 71.8% de la
varianza y muestra una adecuada consistencia interna α = 0.80

METODOLOGIA

Proceso

Es una investigación realizada a un colegio de Ensenada, B.C., México, de nivel primaria y secundaria
turno matutino de forma censal a los 45 empleados de todos los niveles de la organización. Se
consideraron como variables de control el involucramiento y el compromiso afectivo. Las dimensiones

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que se manejan son el compromiso afectivo evaluando la percepción de un trabajo seguro y estable en el
futuro, el saber su percepción sobre si la empresa le faculta para tomar decisiones que repercuten sobre su
trabajo diario y, además, si siente que su trabajo le llena como persona, entre otras.

Instrumentos

Los instrumentos utilizados de medición es el de Mowday Porter y Steers (1979, 1982). Se utiliza una
combinación de la versión corta de 9 reactivos puntuados en una escala tipo Likert que va de (a) siempre
(b) Casi siempre (c) Neutral (d) Casi Nunca (e) Nunca. Se tiene una consistencia interna alpha de
cronbach del instrumento de 0.87 (Bayona et al., 2000) y también se aplicó el cuestionario desarrollado
por Meyer et al. (1993) versión corta de 9 reactivos en una escala tipo Likert que va de (a) siempre (b)
Casi siempre (c) Neutral (d) Casi Nunca (e) Nunca. La muestra se compone de 32 mujeres y 12 hombres
de una edad promedio de 43 años, con escolaridad promedio de licenciatura, con una antigüedad
promedio de 6. 4 años en la empresa. Utilizando el método cuantitativo, de forma censal se les entregó el
cuestionario correspondiente con un encabezado que contiene la explicación y presentación del propósito
del estudio, se les permitió responderlo sin recibir información o ayuda adicional.

Las variables independientes estudiadas son: Compromiso Afectivo (CA),Compromiso Normativo (CN)

La variable dependiente es: Involucramiento (INV)

RESULTADOS

En los resultados obtenidos se observa un alto compromiso afectivo en la mayoría, pues de los 44
empleados, el 79% respondieron que se sienten orgullosos de laborar en la empresa.

Figura No.1 Estar orgulloso de pertenecer a esta empresa.

laboración propia
En la pregunta 9, ya observamos que el involucramiento va siendo menor, pues hay un 27.3% que dice
sentirse neutral ante la propuesta de que sea su trabajo central en su existencia y solo el 47.7% declara
sentirse así. (Tabla 5, página 48)

Siempre Casi Siempre Neutral Casi Nunca Nunca
Pregunta 1.- Estoy muy orgulloso (a) de decirles que soy parte de esta empresa (CA)
Series1 35 8 1 0 0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40

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Figura No.2 El trabajo es central en su existencia

Elaboración propia

La mayoría de los empleados tienen intereses en permanecer en la organización porque han invertido
muchos años en la empresa como para considerar renunciar.

Figura 3 Respecto a los intereses normativos

Elaboración propia

Correlacion De Pearson-En cuanto a las correlaciones, se observa una alta correlación entre el
compromiso afectivo y el normativo, no siendo así para el involucramiento, aunque es significativo a un
nivel de significancia de 0.01

CONCLUSIONES

Se observan las distintas escalas del compromiso que van desde el afectivo hasta el normativo en las
respuestas recibidas de esta muestra, ya que el empleado también percibe el alto costo que representaría
para el dejar la organización, pero igualmente manifiesta su identificación con las metas de la empresa.

El compromiso afectivo alude a lo que el empleado siente por la empresa como un todo, ya que el
sentimiento refleja la cualidad afectiva (Vega y Garrido, 1998) en Bentazos y Paz (2007).
Siempre Casi Siempre Neutral Casi Nunca Nunca
Pregunta 9.- Mi trabajo es central en mi existencia (INV)
Series1 21 10 12 0 1
0
5
10
15
20
25
Siempre Casi Siempre Neutral Casi Nunca Nunca
Pregunta 17.- He invertido muchos años en la empresa como para considerar renunciar
Series1 13 5 16 4 6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18

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La mayor parte de empleados que tienen alto compromiso afectivo son los que han estado en la
organización un promedio de 6.4 años, sin embargo, dentro de la muestra existen empleados con 20 años
de antigüedad o más, los cuales demuestran mayor compromiso normativo que afectivo, por el alto costo
que para ellos representaría dejar su trabajo después de haber invertido tanto tiempo ahí.

REFERENCIA

Allport (1942). The use of personal documents in psychological science . New York: Social Science
Research Council.
Arciniega y González (2002). What is the influence of work values relative to other variables in the
development of organizational commitment. Paper presentado en la 8ª conferencia bienal de la
International Society for the Study of Work and Organizational Values. Varsovia, Polonia.

Bayona, Goñi y Madorrán (1999). “Compromiso organizacional: implicaciones para la gestión estratégica
de los recursos humanos” Revista Europea de Direccion y Economia de la Empresa. 139-149

Bayona, Garcia y Huerta (2000). Situación de la cooperación en ID en España con universidades y
centros de investigación, documento de trabajo 45/00, Universidad Pública de Navarra.

Becker (1960) Notes on the concept of commitment. The American Journal of Sociology, vol.66, pp. 32 –
40.

Betanzos, Andrade y Paz (2006). Compromiso organizacional en una muestra de trabajadores mexicanos
Volumen 22. n.” 1 – Piigs. 2S-43. ISSN: 1576-5962

Betanzos y Paz (2007). Anales de psicología 2007, vol. 23, nº 2 (diciembre), p.207-215
Dubin, Champoux y Porter (1975).Central Life Interest and organisational commitment of Blue collar and
clerical workers. Administrative Sciences Quanterly, pp. 20

Etzioni (1975). A comparative analysis of complex organizations, The Free Press of Glencoe Inc, New
York.

Grusky (1966). Career mobility and organizational commitment. Administrative Science Quarterly,10,
pp.488-503

Hrebiniak y Alutto (1972).Personal and Role Related Factors in the Development of Organizational
Commitment. Administrative Science Quartely, v.17, p.555-572.

Kanungo (1982). Measurement of job and work involvement.Journal of Applied Psychology, 67,341-349
Kanter (1968). Commitment and social organization. A study of commitment mechanisms in utopian
communities, American Sociological Review, 33, pp. 499.

Mathieu y Zajac (1990). A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of
organizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin, vol. 108, pp. 171–194.

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Meyer y Allen (1991). A three-component conceptualization of Organizational Commitment. Human
Resource Management Review, Vol.1, Nº 1, pág. 61-89

Meyer, Allen y Smith (1993). Compromiso con las organizaciones y ocupaciones: Extensión y prueba
de una de tres componentes conceptualización. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 538-551.

Morrow (1983): Concept redundacy in organizational research: the case of
work commitment. Academy of Management Review, 8, 486-500.

Mowday, Steers, y Porter (1979). The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational
Behavior, vol 14, pp. 224-247.

Mowday, Porter y Steers (1982). Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment,
absenteeism, and turnover. New York: Academic Press.

O’Reilly y Chatman (1986). Organizational commitment and psychological attachment. The effects of
compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71,
492- 499.

Porter y Lawler (1965). Properties of organization structure in relation to job attitudes and job behavior.
Psychological Bulletin, 64, 23-51.

Porter, Steers, Mowday,y Boulain (1974). Organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover
among psychiatric technicians. Journal of Applied Psychology, pag. 59, 603-609.
Reichers (1985). A review and reconceptualization of organizational commitment. Academy of
management review, 10,465-476.

Schein (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Steers (1977). Antecedents and outcomes of organizational commitment.

BIOGRAFIAS

María Concepción Ramírez Barón. Coordinadora de la Maestría en Administración. Profesora-
investigadora de Tiempo Completo adscrita a la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales de la
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Doctora en Educación, Maestría en Pedagogía y su
licenciatura es en Administración de Empresas, una especialidad en docencia y otra especialidad en
administración de recursos marinos. Sus líneas de investigación abordan temas de estilos de aprendizaje,
uso de tecnología, competencias profesionales, recursos humanos, capital intelectual. Cuenta con
reconocimiento de perfil deseable PROMEP. Imparte clases a nivel de licenciatura, y maestría y es tutora
y directora de alumnos de maestría y ha participado en numerosos congresos a nivel nacional e
internacional. cony@uabc.edu.mx

Rocío Gutiérrez Alanís. Licenciada en Administración de Empresas a la Facultad de Ciencias
Administrativas y Sociales de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, pasante de la Maestría en
Administración en a la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales de la Universidad Autónoma de
Baja California. rga_alanis@hotmail.com

mailto:cony@uabc.edu.mx

mailto:rga_alanis@hotmail.com

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Blanca Rosa García Rivera Doctorado en Ciencias con especialidad en Ciencias de la Administración por
la E.S.C.A. del Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Maestría en Administración Industrial en CETYS
UNIVERSIDAD. Licenciatura en Ingeniería Industrial por la UPIICSA del Instituto Politécnico Nacional,
México, D.F. 2011 Coordinadora del Doctorado en Ciencias de la Administración y Profesora
Investigadora de Tiempo Completo en la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales de la
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Cuenta con SIN y Perfil Promep. Imparte clases a nivel de
licenciatura, y maestría y es tutora y directora de alumnos de maestría y ha participado en numerosos
congresos a nivel nacional e internacional. blanca_garcia@uabc.edu.mx

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ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIALIZACIÓN
INTERNACIONAL DEL QUESO COTIJA REGIÓN DE
ORIGEN
Oscar Hugo Pedraza Rendón, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Rubén Molina Martínez, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
María Soledad Ramírez Flores, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo

RESUMEN

Este estudio analiza la posibilidad de comercializar internacionalmente el Queso Cotija Región de
Origen, por medio de estrategias de marketing. Es importante señalar que la elaboración de los
productos elaborados a base de leche, es una de las principales actividades económicas en México.
Durante el desarrollo de la investigación se especifica la situación económica y social del Queso Cotija
Región de Origen, así como la aceptación que éste tiene a nivel internacional. Los resultados indican que
dicha situación y aceptación ha generado una demanda del producto que deberá satisfacerse. En este
sentido se demuestra que, con base en la aceptación que el queso tiene, y a la demanda actual del mismo,
existen las condiciones para generar una mayor comercialización que beneficiará a productores y al
estado de Michoacán en general. A partir de los argumentos vertidos en esta investigación para afirmar
el potencial del producto en el exterior, se analizarán y discutirán los factores que determinan el diseño
de una estrategia eficiente para la comercialización internacional de este producto.

PALABRAS CLAVES: Estrategias, Comercialización, Producto Artesanal.

INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES MARKETING CHEESE COTIJA REGION OF ORIGIN

ABSTRACT

This study examines the possibility of marketing internationally the Cheese Cotija Region of Origin
through marketing strategies. Importantly, the development of products made from milk, is one of the
main economic activities in Mexico. During the development of research specified the economic and
social situation of Cheese Cotija Region of Origin, and acceptance that it has internationally. The results
indicate that this situation and acceptance, has generated a demand of the product, to be should
satisfy.Works focused on the acceptance the cheese have, and the current demand, there are conditions to
generate increased trade that producers benefit and the state of Michoacán, Mexico. From the arguments
presented in this investigation so affirm the potential of the product abroad, is analyzed and discuss the
factors that determine the design of an efficient strategy for the international marketing of this product.

JEL: M16, M30, M31, M39

KEYWORDS: Strategies, Marketing, products crafts.

INTRODUCCIÓN

El problema del fracaso empresarial de microempresas impacta en la actividad económica de la misma y
en el desarrollo del lugar donde se encuentra. La situación de crisis actual en el mundo se manifiesta por
la gran cantidad de empresas quebradas y por la falta de estrategias por parte de la empresa para adaptarse

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de manera ágil a los cambios constantes del ámbito empresarial. Esto ha impulsado el desarrollo de
estrategias de comercialización que sean competitivas internacionalmente, para que la empresa se
mantenga en constante actualización de sus actividades diarias, así como de los cambios de en su entorno,
logrando así una rápida y eficiente toma de decisiones.

Esta investigación se presenta organizada de la siguiente forma. En la sección de revisión de la literatura
se plantean los argumentos que sustentan el uso de las estrategias de comercialización basados en las
necesidades de la empresa y del mercado en el que se desempeña. Posteriormente se presenta la
metodología utilizada, en donde se describe el procedimiento para la recopilación de información
necesaria para ver el impacto de la aplicación de estrategias en las empresas que conforman la asociación
de productores de Queso Cotija Región de Origen; se identifican las variables que impactan en toda
estrategia de mercado (producto, precio, plaza y promoción), se evalúa la estrategia que se está utilizando
en cada una de las variables, así como de qué manera se podría hacer más eficiente. Posteriormente se
presentan los resultados de la investigación, para finalmente presentar las conclusiones, limitaciones y
futuras líneas de investigación.

PANORAMA GENERAL
El Queso Cotija Región de Origen es un producto que se ha elaborado de manera artesanal desde hace
más de 400 años. Su producción ha representado el sustento económico de las familias que lo producen
(200 familias, actualmente), las cuales se han visto afectadas por la aparición de las grandes industrias
productoras de quesos (Villegas, 2000). Su periodo de elaboración se restringe a los meses de lluvia
debido a que la vegetación con la que se alimenta el ganado es más abundante durante esta época,
aumentando la producción de leche (Álvarez, 2005). Las piezas suelen ser de 20 kilos en promedio
derivados de los 200 litros de leche de excelente calidad.
El Colegio de Michoacán afirma que la demanda del citado queso ha entrado en un proceso de
recuperación ya que hasta el año 2000 esta había disminuido en más del 80%, sin embargo, gracias a una
serie de eventos y que ilustran con toda elocuencia la bondad de la organización y el comino posible a
seguir para los actores económicos lo constituyen la experiencia de un grupo de productores de queso
Cotija que ha impulsado una serie de acciones tendientes a lograr el reconocimiento de la denominación
de origen para el queso Cotija.
En el año 2005, los productores de la región de Jalmich crearon una asociación llamada Asociación
Regional de Productores de Queso Cotija mediante la cual han logrado obtener la Marca Colectiva (MC)
para el queso que se elabora en esta región, bajo la figura legal de la Sociedad de Producción Rural, por
parte del Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI) (Álvarez, 2005).
De acuerdo con lo publicado por Bustar Alimentos en 2007, los productos lácteos participaban con un
97% dentro del mercado de nostalgia hasta agosto del 2006, lo que implica en que en realidad se cuenta
con un mercado potencial. Así mismo también publico la demanda queso semi-seco que para finales 2006
en algunos estados de Estados Unidos era de: California 1,559,220 lb, Texas 952,043 lb, New York
1,341,718 lb, Lousiana 299,321 lb y Florida 1549,305 lb, todas estas anualizadas.
REVISIÓN DE LITERATURA
En la literatura de la comercialización internacional revisada se distinguen por tener un enfoque
mercadológico, ya que integra estrategias propias del marketing, para ello Lerma (2004), destaca varios

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elementos que intervienen en la aplicación de la mercadotecnia internacional:Producto. Aquellos bienes o
servicios que puedan ser necesitados en el mercado meta, además que presenten alguna ventaja
competitiva significativa y observable con respecto a otras opciones que puedan tener los
consumidores.Precio. Se establece para ser manejado dentro del país del vendedor, el cual debe cubrir los
costos fijos y variables, gastos y margen de utilidad correspondientes, además de atender a la situación del
mercado, competencia y objetivos de la organización.Plaza (Distribución). Consumidores, clientes,
mercado meta, segmento, nichos, canales de distribución, logística, posicionamiento, mapas perpetuables
y diferenciación.Promoción. Actividad o proceso destinado a estimular al comprador potencial a la
adquisición de bienes, servicios, ideas, valores y estilo de vida y Posventaque se refiere a la atención al
cliente después de la venta.
En general los estudios teóricos respecto a la comercialización hacen énfasis a las variables antes
mencionadas, y en el desarrollo de una estrategia para cada variables de acuerdo a las necesidades del
mercado y de la propia empresa, (McCarthy y Perreault, 2006; Kotler y Armstrong, 2002; Fischer y
Espejo, 2004; Lamb, Hair y McDaniel, 2002; Czinkota,, 2002; Keegan y Green, 1998; entre otros). En el
proceso de selección de la muestras, se tomaron a todos los productores de Queso Cotija Región de
Origen que pertenecen a la asociación y que no han obtenido resultados, para implementar una estrategia
de comercialización basada en el marketing.

MÉTODO
Para recolectar la información se recurrió a la aplicación de una encuesta 92 productores miembros de la
Asociación de productores de Queso Cotija Región de Origen los días 11, 12 y 13 de Agosto de 2010.
Dicha encuesta incluyó 42 preguntas, dividida en cinco aspectos: Producto, Precio, Distribución,
Promoción y Comercialización. Para ordenar las respuestas, se utilizó una escala de medición tipo likert,
la información obtenida se procesó mediante una distribución de frecuencias.
En la primera fase, se entrevisto de manera presencial a cada uno de los 92 productores, posteriormente se
procesaron los datos obtenidos, para verificar la relación directa de las estrategias usadas con la
comercialización internacional, y poder proponer, de ser necesario estrategias más eficientes.
RESULTADOS
Aplicando la metodología descrita en la primera fase se obtuvo como resultado que no se cuenta con
estrategias establecidas para una comercialización eficiente, el producto es elaborado con los mayores
estándares de calidad, sin embargo no se tienen planes para mejorar el atractivo en la presentación del
producto, de igual manera no hay estrategias para el precio, este se establece mediante costos y gastos
aplicados en el producto. Los canales de distribución son muy escasos y es el único apartado donde se
cuenta con una estrategia para nichos de mercado.
El 48% de los productores encuestados consideran que el mayor obstáculo para comercializar
internacionalmente son las normas existentes para la exportación de productos elaborados de manera
artesanal, sin embargo no cuentan con ninguna estrategia para garantizar el cumplimiento de dichas
normas.
CONCLUSIONES

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La validación interna y externa se realizó para poder hacer una propuesta de estrategia para comercializar
internacionalmente, a través de encuestas, análisis de capacidades y aplicación de estrategias, esto dio
como resultado que la falta de comercialización del Queso Cotija Región de Origen se debe a falta de
planeación estratégica dentro de la propia asociación de productores.

El Queso Cotija Región de Origen es un producto de calidad que es demandado en el sector externo, la
demanda ha crecido anualmente preponderantemente, por lo cual hay un porcentaje muy alto de garantía
para la comercialización. La gran mayoría de este producto se destina a mercados nacionales, donde
extrañamente la mayoría de los clientes no saben diferenciar entre un Queso Cotija genuino y un queso
Tipo Cotija, sin embargo esta cuestión si es puramente identificada entre los clientes del extranjero. Los
productores no realizan la comercialización internacional. El principal factor para la falta de
comercialización internacional, es que no tienen estrategias por lo tanto no hay un plan a seguir y eso
detona la falta de estudios para el logro de la internacionalización del producto.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Álvarez, B.R., Barragán, L.E. y Chombo, M.P. (2005). “Reglas de uso. Marca colectiva Queso Cotija
Región de Origen”. El Colegio de Michoacán, México.

Czinkota, M. (2002). Marketing Internacional.6° Edición.Edit. Pearson. México.
Fischer, L., y Espejo J., (2004). Mercadotecnia,TerceraEdición, Ed.McGraw Hill, Pág. 47.
Keegan, W. y Green, M. (1998).Fundamentos de mercadotecniainternacional (1ra ed.). México: Pearson
educación.
Kotler P. y Armstrong G., (2004).Fundamentos de Marketing, SextaEdición, de Prentice Hall, Pág. 65.
Kotler P., Armstrong G., (2004). Marketing, DécimaEdición, , Prentice Hall, Págs. 392 al 394
Lamb C., Hair J. y McDaniel C., (2002).Marketing, SextaEdición, de International Thomson Editores,
Págs. 607 al 610
Lerma, A. (2004). Comercio y MercadotecniaInternacional.3ra Ed. Thomson. México.
McCarthy, J. y Perreault W., (2006). Marketing PlaneaciónEstratégica de la Teoría a la Práctica,Tomo 1,
11a. Edición, de, Mc Graw Hill, Pág. 47.
Villegas, A. (2000). Tecnología quesera. México. Edit. Trillas, pp. 13-53
BIOGRAFÍA

Oscar Hugo Pedraza Rendón es Doctor en Ciencias por la el Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Profesor de
Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, adscrito al Instituto de
Investigaciones Económicas y Empresariales. Se puede contactar en el edificio ININE, Ciudad
Universitaria, Morelia, Michoacán, Correo electrónico ohprend@hotmail.com

mailto:ohprend@hotmail.com

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Rubén Molina Martínez es Doctor en Ciencias por la el Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Profesor de
Tiempo Completo en la Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, adscrito al Instituto de
Investigaciones Económicas y Empresariales. Se puede contactar en el edificio ININE, Ciudad
Universitaria, Morelia, Michoacán, Correo electrónico ruben.molinam@gmail.com

María Soledad Ramírez Flores es Maestra en Ciencias en Comercio Exterior por el Instituto de
Investigaciones Económicas y Empresariales de la UMSNH (ININE). Alumna de tiempo completo en el
Doctorado en Ciencias en Negocios Internacionales del mismo Instituto. Se puede contactar en el edificio
ININE, Ciudad Universitaria, Morelia, Michoacán, Correo electrónico lic.msramirez@live.com.mx

mailto:ruben.molinam@gmail.com

mailto:lic.msramirez@live.com.mx

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FACTORES QUE INTERVIENEN EN EL DESARROLLO
Y CONTINUIDAD DE LAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES DE
TEHUACÁN
Hilario Díaz Guzmán, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Gabriela Sánchez Bazán, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla

RESUMEN

La empresa familiar es un motor generador de riqueza económica y bienestar social a nivel mundial. Sin
embargo, presenta una tasa de mortalidad muy alta, debido principalmente al reto que representa el
conjuntar los diferentes fines e intereses de los sistemas que la componen. Un problema grave al que se
enfrenta la empresa familiar en México es la falta de formalidad, la ausencia de reglas para diferenciar
sus sistemas y poder conservar por un lado la armonía en la familia y por el otro, la competitividad y
rentabilidad en la empresa. Esta es una investigación documental y de campo mediante la aplicación de
cuestionarios a empresas familiares de manufactura, comercio y servicios de la ciudad de Tehuacán,
Puebla, cuyo objetivo principal es determinar el grado de profesionalización de las empresas familiares
de dicha ciudad y analizar cómo se relaciona con el desempeño exitoso de la organización familiar.

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HABILIDADES SOCIALES, FACTOR DETERMINANTE
EN LA TOMA DE DECISIONES EN EL SECTOR
SERVICIOS: RESTAURANTES TURÍSTICOS, EN
ENSENADA, B. C.

Karla Ramírez-Barón, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Omaira Cecilia Martínez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Concepción Ramírez Barón, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

Las habilidades sociales, también definidas como competencias genéricas, contemplan la comunicación,
la influencia, el establecimiento de vínculos y la empatía. El desarrollo de estas por los individuos que se
desempeñen en una organización, puede generar la consolidación de una ventaja competitiva. La
presente investigación analizará, que tan determinante son las habilidades sociales (de comunicación,
influencia, establecimiento de vínculos y empatía), respecto a la toma de decisiones, del modelo racional
limitado, en el nivel directivo, (Simón, 1957, citado en Lambarry, V. 2010), en el sector servicios de
Ensenada, Baja California, específicamente en los restaurantes turísticos del mismo. La investigación es
descriptiva, correlacional transversal, contempla una fase de investigación cuantitativa, complementada
con la cualitativa que permitirá obtener información para mejorar los procesos de gestión interna,
gracias al desarrollo de estas habilidades. En primera instancia, la hipótesis plantea que las habilidades
sociales son determinantes en la toma de decisiones. Como aportación, de la investigación, se pretende
generar una caracterización del sector en relación a las variables, y a la par, un esquema relacional que
permita identificar la importancia que tiene el desarrollo de estas habilidades sociales en un sector que
por sí solo aporta al PIB del país, 70% para el 2006 (Coll- Hurtado & Ordoñez, J.)

JEL: M1

PALABRAS CLAVE: habilidades sociales, toma de decisiones, inteligencia emocional

INTRODUCCIÓN

Esta investigación está dirigida principalmente a todos los directivos de organizaciones, en particular
restaurantes turísticos, los cuales son responsables de adaptarse y adaptar a su organización a los cambios
vertiginosos del entorno económico global, debido a que es necesario permanecer y sobresalir en este
medio.

Actualmente a nivel mundial, las organizaciones requieren de directivos que respondan al ritmo de la
economía, en cuanto a conocimiento, ideas, formación, productos, tecnología, apoyándose en la
Inteligencia Emociona, (IE), la cual otorga a las personas la posibilidad de generar habilidades que
apoyen para una adecuada gestión. (Trujillo, 2006).

Los últimos estudios realizados en el campo empresarial han hecho visible, que entre los profesionistas
que requieren mayor grado de IE son los directivos pero también los psiquiatras, ingenieros, docentes,
asistentes sociales. Por lo contrario, los informáticos, los técnicos de laboratorio o los contables no

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precisan tanta IE en su trabajo, aunque ésta nunca está de sobra (Enebral, F., 2003, citado en Trujillo,
2006).

¨Actualmente los países llamados del primer mundo han empezado a requerir directivos que presenten
altos rangos de IE en su currículo¨ (Trujillo, 2006). Dadas las consideraciones anteriores, este estudio
se enfoca en los términos de Inteligencia Emocional, y toma de decisiones, debido a que lo directivos de
las organizaciones son los responsables directos de su aplicación, para generar habilidades de liderazgo y
lograr una gestión adecuada a sus necesidades, en esta ocasión para fines prácticos de la investigación,
solo se tomara de la IE, la variable Habilidad Social (HS) a diferencia de otros estudios dónde consideran
otros aspectos.

ANTECEDENTES

La toma de decisiones dentro de una organización es una tarea sistemática con tiempos específicos en
cada una de estas, donde una decisión mal tomada puede conllevar una situación que comprometa al
individuo que la llevo a cabo. (Cabeza de Vergara, 2010).

En ese mismo sentido, es indispensable que la persona encargada de tomar las decisiones cuente con una
adecuada capacitación, conociendo de manera amplia los pasos y características que constituyen los
procesos para tener opciones a la hora de elegir una alternativa.

Dentro de las disciplinas científicas de occidente, se investiga la toma de decisiones en la gerencia, donde
ha existido una fijación especifica en la explicación de lo que (Hadit, 2001 citado en Salas, 2010).
Llamo ¨ adoración de la razón¨ y por otro lado se habla que ¨ los investigadores han encontrado que la
intuición desempeña un papel crítico en la toma de decisión experta. (Trujillo, 2006).

De acuerdo a los conceptos anteriores, e incluyendo la variable habilidades sociales, en la cual
intervienen factores como: la influencia, que determina si una persona puede llevar a cabo la decisión;
seguida de la manera de comunicarlo, siendo claro de preferencia, o confuso en su defecto; luego la
manera de vincularse con los colaboradores; si el tomador de decisiones incluye el interés de las
personas o solo el de la organización; continuando con la manera de empatizar con estos y si se adapta o
no a todos estos factores que pudieran determinar la toma decisión.

Analizar cómo se relacionan estas variables a la hora de tomar una decisión, debido a que cada directivo
puede tomar, o no en cuenta todos estos aspectos, ya sea de manera nata o aprendida, conociendo o
ignorando los procesos estructurados para ello, o simplemente actuando conforme la situación lo
amerite, generándose a si innumerables decisiones, sean trascendentales u ordinarias, pero que al final
se reflejan en los resultados que se planearon o se desean obtener. Otra variable a considerar en esta
investigación, son las (HS), debido a la implicación que tienen estas en el proceso anterior.

PLANTEAMIENTO DEL PROBLEMA

Adaptarse y adaptar a la organización a los cambios vertiginosos del entorno económico global, debido a
que es necesario permanecer y sobresalir en este medio. Por ello, se ve, a la Inteligencia Emocional como
una habilidad para una adecuada gestión. Los países del primer mundo han empezado a requerir
directivos con alto rango en Inteligencia Emocional en su currículo. Trujillo, 2006.

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Como se afirma anteriormente, en el sector servicios es indispensable contar con habilidades, debido al
trato directo de persona a persona, ya sea cliente, proveedor, empleado, compañero o jefe inmediato
superior, para generar una ventaja y permanencia en el gusto de los demás, y con mayor razón, si este
sector son los restaurantes turísticos de esta ciudad, ya que su actuación afecta directamente en los
ingresos de estas organizaciones y a su vez de la ciudad.

Se ignoran que factores determinan la toma de decisiones de los directivos en el sector servicios de
restaurantes turísticos y las Habilidades Sociales que esto les requiere.

IMPORTANCIA DEL ESTUDIO

Importancia teórica

Generar una caracterización de las habilidades sociales de los directivos de Organizaciones del sector
servicios: restaurantes turísticos, en Ensenada, B. C.

Importancia práctica

Promover la visión sobre de la inteligencia emocional y las habilidades sociales, reconocerlas para
luego desarrollarlas, logrando con esto ayudar y motivar a los directivos, para valorarlo como una
ventaja.

Impacto social

Brindar los conocimientos, para que los directivos de las organizaciones del sector servicios.
Restaurantes turísticos, cuenten con una herramienta que les permita desarrollar sus actividades de una
manera profesional

OBJETIVO

Establecer el impacto de las habilidades sociales la toma de decisiones, sector servicios: restaurantes
turísticos en Ensenada, B.C.

Pregunta de investigación
¿Cuál es el impacto que tienen las habilidades en la toma de decisiones en sector servicios: restaurantes
turísticos, en Ensenada, B.C.?

Hipótesis
Ho: Las Habilidades Sociales son determinantes en la Toma de decisiones.
Hi: Las Habilidades Sociales no son determinantes en la Toma de decisiones.

MARCO CONTEXTUAL

Economía del conocimiento

El tomar una decisión es un proceso, en donde intervienen conocimientos y habilidades, que puede ser
analítico o por intuición, pero en cualquiera de estos que se elija, el tomador de decisiones,

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indudablemente debe de contar con un conocimiento previo de la situación o problema, información a
considerar, habilidades para resolverlo, eligiendo el método de su preferencia o el que su contexto le
requiera.
Según el informe del Banco Mundial (2003).
La economía global del conocimiento está transformando los requisitos del mercado laboral
a lo largo y ancho del orbe. Por otra parte, está imponiendo nuevas exigencias a los
ciudadanos, que necesitan más habilidades y conocimientos para poder desempeñarse en su
vida cotidiana

Por otra parte para producir y generar riqueza en la actualidad, es necesario considerar el conocimiento
como capital humano ya que estos son tomados en cuenta como insumos, el ritmo que lleva la economía
del conocimiento hace que estos se deprecien a una velocidad mayor que en otros tiempos, esto como
elemento para poder competir de manera efectiva en los ambientes cambiantes, se les debe de dar a los
trabajadores la posibilidad de mejorar su nivel de habilidades, Banco Mundial (2003).
Los sistemas de formación deben dejar de poner énfasis en destrezas específicas para ciertas
tareas y, más bien, centrarse en desarrollar en los estudiantes las habilidades relacionadas con
la toma de decisiones y la solución de problemas y, además, enseñarles la manera de
aprender estudiando por su propia cuenta y mediante su interrelación con otras personas. El
aprendizaje permanente es crucial para hacer competitivos a los trabajadores. Banco Mundial
(2003).

En suma lo que el Banco Mundial sugiere, es tener conocimiento que te lleve a tener habilidades para
funcionar, ser tomado como un elemento valuable dentro de la organización por lo que se sabe, por como
lo hace y por los proceso con los que llega a tomar decisiones que tienen implicaciones a fin de cuentas
económicas dentro de una organización. Otro indicador en el que se puede ver el valor del capital del
capital humano, es el grado de migración a otros países, distintos del de nacimiento donde su inversión
como las habilidades adquiridas en sus estudios son mejor retribuidos.

Producto interno bruto (PIB)

El PIB se define como: ¨valor de mercado de todos los bienes y servicios finales producidos en una
economía durante un determinado período de tiempo¨ (citado en Cárdenas R, s. f.)
En el mismo sentido, Brida 2008, indica que la percepción del turismo como industria ha tenido de
manera positiva un impacto, sobre el crecimiento y desarrollo económico, lo cual beneficia a muchos
países, haciendo que crezca el interés en el desarrollo del turismo. A demás a nivel mundial, su
contribución como sector, ha sido sumamente importante, tanto que actualmente ocupa el segundo lugar
como industria, con una contribución estimada en 10% del PIB, según el (WTTC, 2003).
Según Organización Mundial de Turismo habla de la situación donde el turismo mundial sigue en
recuperación después de la crisis en la cual llego a una caída del 4.2%, actualmente recuperándose,
informando que ¨las tendencias actuales indica que las llegadas de los turistas internacionales, aumentaran
entre un 5 % y 6 % en todo el año¨. (Barómetro, 2010, p.1)

A nivel nacional este sector se ha convertido en uno de los más importantes:
El sector terciario mexicano da ocupación hoy día a más de la mitad de la población trabajadora
del país (18 millones de trabajadores) y genera más del 70% de los ingresos totales; es, por tanto,
el sector más dinámico de la economía nacional. (Coll – Hurtadol; Córdoba, O. 2006 p. 7).

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Para describir que grupos forman parte de este sector Coll-Hurtado, 2006 tomo la taxonomía que utiliza
a partir de que se firmó el Tratado de Libre Comercio con Estados Unidos y Canadá, el SCIAN (Sistema
de Clasificación Industrial de América del Norte), en la cual se encuentran las siguientes actividades que
podemos diferenciar en este sector:
Comercio, transportes, correo y almacenamiento, información en medios masivos, servicios
financieros y de seguros, servicios inmobiliarios y de alquiler de inmuebles, servicios
profesionales, servicios de apoyo a los negocios, servicios educativos, servicios de salud y
asistencia social, servicios de esparcimiento y culturales, servicios de hoteles y restaurantes,
servicios personales y actividades de gobierno. (p. 7-8).

MARCO TEÓRICO

Toma de decisiones

La UNESCO, (1999:18) señala que, “la eficacia en las decisiones está directamente vinculada al
conocimiento pertinente, la educación deberá apoyarse en el conocimiento humano para dar respuesta a
la necesidad de abordar los problemas globales para inscribir allí los comunitarios, locales o
institucionales (Colmenares, H. 2008).

Cabe apoyar esta idea con una analogía para la elaboración de un pastel, es decir, para tomar la decisión
de elaborarlo se debe tomar en cuenta diversos factores de los cuales dependerá hacerlo; como la altura
de la ciudad para que esponje, el grado y tiempo de calentamiento del horno, y por su puesto el toque del
panadero, así de igual manera la en cualquier ámbito en el que se tome una decisión, no existe comunes
denominadores exactos para todas las situaciones, o circunstancias.

Se observa claramente que dentro del concepto de toma de decisiones, se encuentran diversos puntos de
vista, donde los autores se refieren al proceso en sí de cómo se lleva a cabo la elección de la decisión, es
decir que se puede preferir alguna corriente que apoya a la elección, como lo es la toma de decisiones
racional o por intuición, así se verán distintos definiciones y modelos que ejemplifican a grandes rasgos
estas teorías. Al respecto Salas, (2010), describe estas opciones como intuitiva y deliberativa aunque
estos sistemas siempre estén actuando de manera recíproca, y las personas tienden a utilizar alguna de
estas dos.

A demás se sabe que los humanos acomodan la información de alguna manera en particular como por
ejemplo el estudio de (Markman, 1999 citado en Salas, 2010), menciona el orden de los conocimientos
en vías redes, teorías y esquemas semánticas, donde un principiante tardara más en elegir una opción, que
una persona con experiencia, porque está ya tendrá conexiones anteriores del suceso en específico. A
demás se incluye en la toma de decisiones la preferencia o facilidad de elegir el modo de proceso, es
decir elige entre lo racional analítico o meramente intuitivo alternativas porque así el individuo lo
determina (Salas, e. 2010)

Mientras que Lambarry, V., Rivas, T., & Peña, C. 2010, se dieron a la tarea de recopilar modelos de
decisión que a continuación se presenta el cuadro donde resumen su trabajo el cual menciona las
distintas teorías desde distintas perspectivas como lo es la toma de decisiones a nivel individual; dentro
de la organización y entre las organizaciones, dejando ver así las diferencias entre estas. Figura 1.

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Figura 1. Principales teorías de los procesos de toma de decisiones

Teorías/Modelos de toma de decisiones

Individuales Organizacionales

Teoría de la intuición
(Simón, 1987; Kahenman, 2002). Internos Entre Organizaciones
Teoría de las emociones
(Simón, 1987; Schwarz, 2000). Decisión basada en reglas Modelo de consensos Seeds
Modelo racional (March, 1997). For Change
(Archer, 1980). Modelo Dess-Priem (Seeds For Change Network, 2000).
Teoría de las perspectivas (Dess y Preim, 1995). Modelo de construcción de
(Kahneman y Tversky, 1979). Modelo Harvard consensos
Modelo de la racionalidad (Fisher, Ury y Patton 1981). (Susskind, 1999).
Limitada Modelo de decisiones Consenso Formal
(Simón, 1957). progresivas (Butler, 1994).
Teoría del inconsciente (Mitzberg et al. 1976). Decisines por consenso
(Freud, 1921). Modelo de bote de basura (Organización Tree Bressen, 1984).
(Cohen, March y Olsen, 1972). Técnica Delphi
Modelo Político (Dakey Halmer, 1963).
(Pettigrew, 1973).
Group Biases
(Allison, 1971; Bion, 1948)
Modelo Carnegie
(March y Simón, 1958)
Teoría de la utilidad

Esta tabla muestra a nivel individual y organizacional de las teorías y procesos de la toma de decisiones.
Fuente: Lambarry Vilchis, Rivas Tovar, & Peña Cruz, 2010

Con referencia a lo anterior, es conveniente menciona que de esta serie de teorías y desde el punto de
vista que requiere analizar la variable toma de decisiones, la teoría que observo más precisa para esta
investigación es el Modelo de la racionalidad limitada (Simón 1957), que toma en consideración ¨las
restricciones personales (deseo de prestigio, éxito, de satisfacción de necesidades emocionales y manejo
de precisión). Y las restricciones organizacionales (necesidad de acuerdos, perspectiva compartida,
cooperación, apoyo, valores éticos y cultura corporativa) ¨ p.152. Se puede ver en la Figura 2.

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Intercambio
Intercambio
Intercambio Intercambio
Intercambio
Tabla 2. Enfoque de racionalidad limitada

Racionalidad limitada
Tiempo, información y recursos Decisión
Limitados para tratar temas complejos /Elección
y multidimensionales Restricciones Búsqueda
personales de una
Deseo de prestigio, alternativa de
Éxito, deseo de alta calidad
Satisfacer necesidades para la decisión
Emocionales, enfren-
tarse a la presión

Restricciones organizacionales
Necesidad de acuerdos, perspectiva
Compartida, cooperación, apoyo
Valores éticos, cultura corporativa

Esta tabla, muestra los elementos que se toman en cuenta en el modelo de racionalidad limitada.
Fuente: Janis 1989, citado en Lambarry, 2010
Considerando lo anterior, la toma de decisiones tiene otra cara que es la no analítica, sino la heurística o
por intuición o emociones y para ello se presenta la siguiente definición.

Salas (2010) menciona que la intuición es más probable de ser eficaz cuando la persona que toma la
decisión ya se encuentra informada y con experiencia previa del tema o situación, debido a que la
intuición está basada e implícita en el aprender y de manera automática se procesa la mejor elección, de
acuerdo a los modelos internos.

La Inteligencia Emocional

¨Promover el interés en cuanto a la importancia que tiene el efecto emocional en la toma de decisiones,
en la adaptación al cambio, en general sobre las acciones individuales y colectivas, por tanto en los
resultados consecuentes¨ Arteaga, A; Ramón, S, (2009).

Como antecedente Trujillo (2005) menciona, que la inteligencia, se remonta al siglo pasado con
investigadores como Galton que en 1870 fue uno de los primeros en realizar estudios acerca de la mente
humana, con distintas perspectivas la mente siguió siendo estudiada, tanto que se distinguió a la
inteligencia como una capacidad de adaptación. Sternberg, 1997 citado en Trujillo 2005, establece que
debido a la globalización en el término psicológico, ¨la inteligencia está ampliamente vinculada con la
emoción, la memoria, la creatividad, optimismo y de cierto modo salud mental¨.

Entre otros investigadores como Gardner (1983), el cual formula el concepto de inteligencia con
subdivisiones interdependientes, en 1990, gracias a Salovey y Mayer surgió la teoría de la IE,
fundamentada en el concepto de Gardner y Thorndike, el cual realizo tesis doctoral sobre inteligencia
animal, que se basa en la ley del efecto. (Trujillo, 2005)

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Esta nueva teoría de IE estructuró el conocimiento a partir de la inteligencia intrapersonal e interpersonal,
basada en Gardner, la cual fue conocida gracias a Goleman 1983, quien se llevó el mérito de difundir el
término a nivel mundial donde a manera de introducción dio a conocer la IE, sus alcances y los
beneficios de la misma.(Trujillo, 2005).

Desde entonces se han hecho estudios al respecto, algunos enfocados al ámbito educativo, llevados a
cabo en España principalmente, Australia, Estados Unidos, otros en el ámbito psicológico, en los
mismos países antes mencionados, sobre conductas en americanos y españoles, Trujillo (2006 ) comenta
que desafortunadamente algunos carecen de carácter científico. Utilizando los diversos modelos
existentes.

Por otro lado la importancia del el estudio de la IE se ha vertido en el ámbito organizacional, donde se ha
relacionado directamente con las conductas de los líderes y empleados de estas y resultados sobre sus
efectos, En países como Colombia y Venezuela y Estados Unidos y México, se han hecho estudios
sobre este rubro solo que desde distintos términos que se integran con la IE como lo son habilidades,
capacidades, emociones, competencias y aspectos cognitivos que tienen que ver de una o de otra manera
con la manera de conducirse ante los demás, dentro y fuera de una organización y su impacto.
Salmeron, 2002 comenta lo siguiente al respecto:

Para llegar a ser competentes en el control de las emociones de los demás y dominar el ámbito de
las relaciones es preciso haber desarrollado el autocontrol y la empatía. La carencia de estas
habilidades es la causa de que hasta las personas intelectualmente más brillantes, desde una
perspectiva cognitiva, fracasen en sus relaciones y resulten en ocasiones arrogantes, insensibles y
hasta odiosas.

En apoyo a la idea anterior y a manera de ejemplo, todos hemos sido testigos de que en algunos casos
están los científicos, eminentes en su área, no así en su vida personal y relaciones de trabajo, siendo estas
no satisfactorias o aproximadas al desastre, por no haber desarrollado la competencia en el ámbito social.
La inteligencia emocional pueden contribuir a la calidad de las relaciones de las personas en el trabajo
porque las emociones tienen funciones comunicativas y sociales, la transmisión de información acerca de
los pensamientos e intenciones, y ayudar a coordinar los encuentros sociales (Keltner y Haidt, 2001
Citado en Slovey 2006).

Varios autores han generado teorías donde mencionan que IE contribuye a la capacidad de las personas
también para trabajar eficazmente en equipo y a la vez gestionar el estrés producido por el trabajo
(Caruso y Salovey, 2004; Goleman, 1998, citado en Lopes, 2006).

Resulta oportuno mencionar que entre los de modelos que existen para la medición de la IE, están el
modelo de Mayer y Slovey, (1995), el cual llaman Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS). de Extremera y
Fernández-Berrocal (2001), llamado TMMS-24, basado en anterior, además modelos mixtos como el de
Bar-On (1997), entre otros, donde distinguen distintas variables en cada uno de estos, uno más que
existe y que es donde se basara para medición de esta investigación, proviene del modelo de Goleman
(1995), el cual propone en su variable HS, las siguientes características sujetas a medir como los son:
influencia., comunicación, manejo de conflictos, liderazgo, catalizador de cambio, establecer vínculos,
habilidades de equipo, de donde para cumplir los objetivos de la presente, se retoman algunas de las
anteriores. (Trujillo, 2006).

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¨La inteligencia emocional puede contribuir a la calidad de las relaciones de las personas en el
trabajo por que las emociones tienen funciones comunicativas y sociales, la trasmisión de
información acerca de los pensamientos e intenciones y ayudar a coordinar los encuentros
sociales¨. (Keltner y Haidt, 2001, citado el Lopes, 2006).

Las competencias
Las competencias, son parte esencial a considerar, con las que un directivo debe contar o desarrollar, ya
sea por experiencia o por capacitación para ser un elemento eficiente en su organización. La competencia
como concepto, pasa a ser parte de la planeación de recursos humanos, la selección, la capacitación, la
evaluación del desempeño, y en menor medida en la retribución y compensación (Calderón, 2004).
Según Hernández, (2006). En la tipología que menciona se encuentra las Competencias organizacionales
o corporativas o empresariales, en las que considera la comunicación, la toma de decisiones, orientación
al logro, trabajo en equipo, enfoque al cliente, innovación y pensamiento estratégico por ello esta
conceptualización se adecua a las competencias que un directivo organizacional, en este caso de
institución educativa, puede o debe contar.

(Spencer y Spencer, 1993) ¨ una característica subyacente en un individuo que esta casualmente
relacionada a un estándar de efectividad y/o a un desempeño superior en un trabajo o situación (Levy-
Lebory 1997), ¨ repertorios de comportamientos que algunas personas dominan mejor que otras, lo que
las hace eficientes en una situación determinada. (Citado en Hernández, 2006).

Bisquerra, (2007) describe un tipo de competencias a la cual se aproxima en algunos conceptos a las
habilidades sociales las llama competencias sociales que implican empatía, conciencia de la
organización, servicio, respeto a los demás comunicación receptiva y expresiva, compartir emociones,
comportamiento pro-social y cooperación, asertividad y prevención de conflictos y la capacidad de
gestionar situaciones emocionales.

Habilidades sociales

De acuerdo don Goleman, (1995):
Aquellos que son expertos en la inteligencia social pueden relacionarse con las demás personas
muy fácilmente y son sagaces en la interpretación de sus reacciones y sentimientos.
Adicionalmente, son capaces de dirigir, organizar y aclarar las disputas que pueden
desencadenarse en cualquier actividad humana.
Afzalur, R. (2002) define las habilidades sociales como
¨la capacidad para hacer frente a los problemas sin degradar los que trabajan con él o ella, para no
permitir que los sentimientos propios o ajenos sean negativos inhibiéndolos, y para manejar con
tacto afectivo y una pizca de diplomacia los conflictos¨

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METODOLOGÍA
Cuantitativa positivista, descriptivo, correlacional, transversal
Métodos
Características Información
Población Objeto de estudio Organizaciones del sector servicios: restaurante turístico en Ensenada,
B.C.
Periodo de recolección 2012-1
Medio de recolección Encuesta
Unidad muestral / universo 40
Error experimental / nivel de confianza .05%/95%
Fuente Directivo /gerente
Instrumento Encuesta tipo Likert
Fuente: elaboración propia
BIOGRAFIA

Karla Ramírez Barón. Estudiante del Doctorado en Ciencias Administrativas, El tema de la tesis
habilidades sociales, factor determinante en la toma de decisiones. Ella vive en Ensenada, B.C., México.
Profesora de asignatura de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California. Maestra en Administración por la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California y su licenciatura
es en Administración de empresas. Imparte clases a nivel licenciatura y puede ser contactada en
ckarlita_rb@hotmail.com

Omaira Cecilia Martínez Moreno. Profesora-investigadora adscrita a la Facultad de Turismo y
Mercadotecnia de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Doctora en Ciencias Administrativas por
la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Cuenta con una Maestría en Administración Internacional y
su licenciatura es en Administración de Empresas. Sus líneas de investigación abordan temas de gestión
empresarial, mercadotecnia y gestión turística. Es miembro del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, de la
Academia Mexicana de Investigación Turística, de la Academia de Ciencias Administrativas, y del
Cuerpo Académico consolidado “Las Organizaciones y su Entorno”. Cuenta con reconocimiento de perfil
deseable PROMEP. Imparte clases a nivel de licenciatura, especialización y maestría y ha participado en
numerosas publicaciones y congresos a nivel Latinoamérica y Europa. Su líneas de investigación abordan
temáticas relacionadas con el turismo y la mercadotecnia. omairam@uabc.edu.mx

María Concepción Ramírez Barón. Coordinadora de la Maestría en Administración. Profesora-
investigadora adscrita a la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales de la Universidad Autónoma
de Baja California. Doctora en Educación, Maestría en Pedagogía y su licenciatura es en Administración
de Empresas, una especialidad en docencia y otra especialidad en administración de recursos marinos. Sus
líneas de investigación abordan temas de estilos de aprendizaje, uso de tecnología, competencias
profesionales, recursos humanos, capital intelectual. Cuenta con reconocimiento de perfil deseable
PROMEP. Imparte clases a nivel de licenciatura, y maestría y es tutora y directora de alumnos de
maestría y ha participado en numerosos congresos a nivel nacional e internacional. cony@uabc.edu.mx

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REFERENCIAS

Afzalur, R., Clement, P, (2002). A model of Emotional Intelligence and conflict management strategies:
A study in seven countries. The international Journal or Organizational Analysis, 10(4), p. 302-326.
Arteaga, A., Ramón, S. (2009). Gerencia cognicional: la integración del pensamiento y las emociones en
la gerencia de las organizaciones. Telos, 11(3), p.386-401.

Banco Mundial (2003). Aprendizaje permanente en la economía global del conocimiento. Desafíos para
los países en desarrollo. Editorial, Alfa Omega.

Barómetro OMT del Turismo Mundial, (2010). Breve visión general de las tendencias clave. Turismo
Internacional.

Bisquerra, A, R., Pérez, E, Nuria., (2007). Las competencias Emocionales. Educación XX1, 10, p.61-82.

Calderón, H., Naranjo, V. (2004). Competencias laborales de los gerentes del talento humano.
INNOVAR, 23, p.79-97.

Cárdenas, Rodríguez, Oscar (s. f.) ¿Es el PIB una buena medida de bienestar? Escuela de economía,
ponencia en coloquio:
http://www.dcsea.uqroo.mx/fwalla/Ponencias_Coloquio/ponencia%20OCardenas

Calderón, G. (2006). Competencias distintivas en las Pymes: Un aporte desde Gestión Humana.
INNOVAR, 16 (27), p. 57-72.

Coll- Hurtado Atlántida, Córdoba y Ordoñez Juan (2006). La globalización y el sector servicios en
México. Investigaciones geográficas, no.61, p.114-131.

Colmenares, H., Villasmil, S, Liliana, M. (2008). Toma de decisiones y perfil de competencias del
gerente de las instituciones de educación superior en Venezuela, REDHECS, 5 (3).

Lambarry, V., Rivas, T., & Peña, C., (2010). Modelos de decisión bajo una perspectiva de análisis de
sus procesos. Redalyc, 18, p.146-173.

Lopes, P., Grewal, D., Kadis, J., Gall, M. & Slovey, P. (2006). Evidence that EI is related to job
performance and effect and attitudes at work. Psicothema, 18, p.132-138.

Salas, E., Rosen, M. & Díaz, G, D. (2010). Expertise-Based Intuition and Decision Making in
Organizations. Journal of Management, 36(4), 941-73. doi: 10.1177/0149206309350084.

Trujillo Flores, Mara, Marisela. (2006). La Inteligencia Emocional de directivos de Centros de
Investigación y la Productividad. Caso de estudio. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Icnología, Instituto
Politécnico Nacional. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, (Tesis Doctoral).

http://www.dcsea.uqroo.mx/fwalla/Ponencias_Coloquio/ponencia%20OCardenas

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LA IMPORTANCIA DE UN SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN
VIRTUAL EN EL CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO DE LA
COSTA SUR DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA
(CUCSUR)
Oscar Guzmán Vargas, Universidad de Guadalajara
Martha Sheila Gómez González, Universidad de Guadalajara

RESUMEN

La presente ponencia sostiene como eje central la necesidad de los sistemas virtuales de Educación
Superior, caso Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur de la Universidad de Guadalajara. La pertinencia
del objeto de estudio nace a partir de la ausencia de programas educativos en un ambiente virtual dentro
del propio Centro Universitario, ya que el 100% de los programas educativos son presenciales, y es
donde se pretende diseñar un sistema virtual para ampliar la cobertura educativa, además de que sea
una herramienta para profesores y alumnos para actualización, adquisición de competencias y una
formación integral de su educación presencial.

Se aborda la importancia de la educación virtual, el conocimiento del surgimiento de ésta, definiciones y
conceptos de términos manejados en los ambientes virtuales, la cobertura, con porcentajes que dan una
amplia panorámica respecto a la importancia y oportunidad existente en ese rubro, así como las
experiencias de éxitos y fracasos de universidades que han implementado sistemas virtuales.
También se mencionan algunos beneficios que conlleva esta modalidad, así como la tendencia al uso de
las diferentes modalidades del sistema virtual en el medio internacional y muy especialmente en
Latinoamérica por tener un contexto similar.

Palabras claves: Educación virtual, cobertura, formación.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Esta investigación aborda la importancia y surgimiento de la educación virtual, definiciones y conceptos
de términos manejados en los ambientes virtuales, la cobertura con porcentajes que dan una amplia
panorámica respecto a la importancia y pertinencia en ese rubro, las experiencias de éxitos y fracasos de
universidades que han tenido práctica con sistemas virtuales.

También se mencionan algunos beneficios que conlleva esta modalidad, así como las diferentes
modalidades del sistema virtual en el medio internacional y muy especialmente en Latinoamérica por
tener un contexto similar. Se menciona muy especialmente el caso de la Universidad de Guadalajara,
Jalisco, Campus Autlán, ya que es donde se pretende diseñar un sistema de educación virtual, que sirva
para que se amplíe la cobertura y de herramienta a profesores y alumnos de la universidad en cuanto a que
los actualiza, los complementa y los enriquece aún más que la educación presencial.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Llamas (1986) señala que la Educación Virtual es una estrategia educativa basada en la aplicación de la
tecnología del aprendizaje sin la limitación del lugar, tiempo, ocupación o edad de los estudiantes.

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Pío Navarro (1980) define a la educación virtual como aquellas formas de estudio que no son guiadas o
controladas directamente por la presencia de un profesor en el aula, pero se beneficia de la planificación y
guía de los tutores a través de un medio de comunicación que permita la interrelación profesor-alumno.

En Tanto que para Ramos (1985) la Educación a Distancia es una estrategia para hacer operativos los
principios y fines de la educación permanente y abierta, de manera que cualquier persona, independiente
del tiempo y del espacio, pueda convertirse en sujeto protagónico de su aprendizaje.

La educación a distancia no pretende combatir ni suplantar la enseñanza tradicional, la enriquece, la
complementa, la actualiza, la trasciende en tiempo y espacio. Como recurso para la capacitación de
maestros, si bien no es un concepto nuevo ni totalmente original, no ha el nivel de consenso y difusión
que merecería si tomáramos en cuenta su eficacia. La educación a distancia ha demostrado ser capaz de
acercar formas de capacitación y de trabajo más actuales y eficientes a los sectores geográfica y/o
socialmente aislados.

METODOLOGÍA

Se utilizo el método de investigación bibliográfica documental, con una base de información sobre las
experiencias de otras universidades, en donde nos dicen que tipo de elementos fueron los que
intervinieron en sus éxitos y fracasos al momento de implementar un sistema de educación virtual y de
esta manera investigar con que contamos y cuales debemos de incorporar o tomar en cuenta para una
implementación acertada.

RESULTADOS

Iniciaremos mencionando un fracaso, donde según el artículo de Hafner (2002) no ha tenido el éxito
previsto es el proyecto NYUonline de la Universidad de New York, creado en 1998 con el objetivo de
ofrecer capacitación y entrenamiento a las empresas. Los cursos desarrollados para este programa no
estaban dirigidos a la obtención de títulos académicos, y se vendían como paquetes a los clientes
corporativos. Algunos ejemplos de estos cursos son “Capacitando al capacitador”, dirigido a gerentes de
recursos humanos y que tenía un costo de 1.600 dólares; “Técnicas de administración” dirigido a jóvenes
administradores, y que costaba 600 dólares.

En dos años de funcionamiento la universidad de New York invirtió en este programa cerca de 25
millones de dólares; no obstante, las matrículas no alcanzaron los niveles esperados, llegando a un punto
máximo de 500 alumnos. Por esta razón el programa fue prácticamente cerrado, trasladando algunas de
sus funciones al Departamento de Educación Permanente de la Universidad, donde debió estar desde su
inicio según opinión de uno de sus directivos. Una lección aprendida de esta experiencia es que si una
institución universitaria quiere incursionar en el campo de la educación virtual puede hacerlo sin tener
que crear nuevas unidades o centros académicos.

Analizando la información obtenida se observa que uno de los fracasos en la implementación de los
sistemas virtuales, es no tener claro la diferenciación de los tipos de Educación que existen, esto repercute
en que se ocasionen confusiones y claridad en el camino a alcanzar objetivos definidos, por lo iniciaremos
delimitando las definiciones de cada uno de los tipos de educación que existen y a la vez dar forma a el
sistema que pretendemos establecer en el Centro Universitario.

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Educación Continua

La educación continua es aquella educación que el educando va ir construyendo de acuerdo a sus propios
intereses a través de capacitaciones, seminarios u otros. Este tipo de educación se llevara a cabo en el
transcurso de vida del propio educando.

A continuación se apreciará una definición que refuerza este concepto.

“Existen varias definiciones del concepto de educación continua, una definición que engloba todos los
aspectos relacionados con esta modalidad es la de García Aretio que la describe como: un principio
organizador de la educación que pretende hacerla llegar en todos sus niveles y modalidades, a toda la
población, a lo largo de toda la vida, con la colaboración de los diversos sectores, instituciones y
agentes.”

La Educación Virtual

Para definir este concepto, se necesita tener conocimiento de la tecnología actual, porque ambas, la
educación y la tecnología, se unen para brindar de esa forma una excelente ayuda al ambiente cognitivo
de cada ser humano, siendo esta combinación una realidad cada vez más perfecta y de gran ayuda a las
personas ubicadas en lugares geográficos de difícil acceso. Por el lado de la tecnología, que día tras día
suscita mejoramientos; en cambio por el lado del aprendizaje sólo se puede decir que también mejora,
pero no con tal celeridad.

Se reforzará el concepto de educación virtual a través de las siguientes citas:
“La Educación Virtual enmarca la utilización de las nuevas tecnologías, hacia el desarrollo de
metodologías alternativas para el aprendizaje de alumnos de poblaciones especiales que están limitadas
por su ubicación geográfica, la calidad de docencia y el tiempo disponible.”

La UNESCO (1998), define como “entornos de aprendizajes que constituyen una forma totalmente nueva,
en relación con la tecnología educativa… un programa informático – interactivo de carácter pedagógico
que posee una capacidad de comunicación integrada. Son una innovación relativamente reciente y fruto
de la convergencia de las tecnologías informáticas y de telecomunicaciones que se ha intensificado
durante los últimos diez años.

“La Educación Virtual es “la modalidad educativa que eleva la calidad de la enseñanza aprendizaje… que
respecta su flexibilidad o disponibilidad dentro de cualquier momento, tiempo y espacio. Alcanza su
apogeo con la tecnología hasta integrar los tres métodos: asincrónica, sincrónica y autoformación.”

“La educación virtual es una combinación entre la tecnología de la realidad virtual, redes de
comunicación y seres humanos. En los próximos, la educación virtual será de extender y tocar a alguien –
o una población entera – de una manera que los humanos nunca experimentaron anteriormente”

Para continuar, la educación virtual debe dividirse en dos partes, que al parecer son practicadas por la
mayoría de cibernautas, como son la Educación en Tiempo Real y La Educación en Tiempo Diferido.
\

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Educación En Tiempo Real

Denominada de esa forma porque se da entre el educador y uno o varios educandos, obligatoriamente
tienen que estar entrelazados vía Internet y por supuesto utilizar ciertas herramientas como las
computadoras, Web cam, micrófonos con auriculares y / o parlantes. Ambas personas tienen que tener
cierta noción del uso de herramientas de Internet.

Ella, la educación virtual, utiliza una metodología muy especial la cual ya ha sido aplicada en Europa y
Norteamérica, en ambos utilizan otro tipo de conexión, llamada Internet 2, la cual sólo se nombra, ya que
no es tema de este trabajo de investigación.

Educación Diferida

Se le denomina así, a la educación recibida por personas en diferentes lugares, las cuales no poseen la
facilidad de contar con la tecnología y el tiempo adecuado, este tipo de educación suele ser utilizado por
las personas que viven en lugares muy distantes. Una de las universidades peruanas que la usa con mucha
frecuencia es la Universidad Nacional de Educación Enrique Guzmán y Valle, así como también las que
se ubican en las distintas provincias del país, los alumnos reciben sus clases por correspondencia, y son
citados para dar sólo sus evaluaciones.

Diferencias Entre Educación A Distancia Y Educación Presencial

La Educación a Distancia es consecuencia de la demanda educativa, la cual no siempre es satisfecha, ya
que esta no puede desplazar a la educación presencial, porque ambas tienen fortalezas y debilidades, las
cuales los usuarios tratan de aprovechar al máximo. Además la educación a distancia esta en crecimiento
ya que para su mejor desarrollo necesitamos utilizar tecnología de punta.

Diferencias Entre Educación A Distancia Y Educación Virtual

Siendo ambas muy parecidas tienen pequeñas diferencias pero a su vez marcadas.

Por un lado, la educación virtual se basa en una educación “no presencial” mientras que la educación a
distancia puede ser no con presencia física, es decir abierta, que esto es diferente a estar distante, la
apertura básicamente está en el currículo y en los tiempos; puede ser también mixta donde hay elementos
presenciales y elementos a distancia.

La educación virtual a distancia tiene sus contenidos básicamente presentados de manera digital mientras
la educación a distancia tiene un sub-contenido con el uso combinado de medios que pueden ser digitales
o no ya que no se han desechado los medios que tradicionalmente se habían estado utilizando.

También existe en la educación virtual una comunidad virtual a través de los medios de comunicación
mediante la incorporación de Internet y de las llamadas nuevas tecnologías, porque como en su momento
el proyector de acetatos, la filmina o las diapositivas también fueron considerados una nueva tecnología,
hoy es preferible llamarles tecnologías innovadoras; en este sentido se incorpora una nueva comunidad
virtual. En ambos casos el modelo está centrado en los alumnos y en la educación virtual hay un uso muy
intenso de redes de telecomunicaciones, mientras que en la educación a distancia se hace uso combinado
de medios.

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Siguiendo con un caso de éxito tenemos la universidad de Phoenix online es un caso particularmente
exitoso de educación virtual. En al año 1989 fue una de las primeras en obtener acreditación para sus
programas vía Internet.

Su misión es ofrecer una oportunidad a personas adultas que trabajan para que adquieran los
conocimientos y habilidades necesarias para alcanzar sus metas profesionales, mejorar la productividad
de sus empresas o instituciones y apoyar con liderazgo y servicio a sus comunidades. Busca una
enseñanza equilibrada entre la teoría y la práctica apoyándose en un equipo docente que no sólo posee
una preparación académica avanzada, sino amplia experiencia en su ejercicio profesional. Tiene alrededor
de 37,600 estudiantes de pregrado, maestría y doctorado, residentes en más de 70 países diferentes, y
matriculados en programas de Negocios, Administración, Tecnología, Educación, y Enfermería. Esta
universidad ofrece el 100% del currículo a través de la Red. Utiliza un formato asincrónico que resulta
muy flexible y conveniente para los alumnos. Los programas están diseñados para que se puedan aplicar
inmediatamente en el ambiente de trabajo.

Por lo tanto la educación virtual se distingue de la educación a distancia básicamente en la introducción
de las nuevas tecnologías que favorece entre los usuarios formas de diálogo más próximas a los procesos
tradicionales, permiten un mayor contacto y acercamiento. Esta comunicación se obtiene a través de
nuevas tecnologías, tecnologías innovadoras y, ¿cuáles son éstas?, tenemos a la tecnología satelital, el
video-enlace mediante fibra óptica, el CD multimedia y el Internet con sus diferentes modalidades: nos
estamos refiriendo al correo electrónico, al Chat o conferencias en tiempo real, a los foros de discusión, y
a la página web.

La universidad pública mexicana y, en particular, la Universidad de Guadalajara, reconoce, en este
contexto, la importancia de analizar la cultura informática, específicamente los conocimientos
informáticos en su planta docente para proporcionarle elementos de innovación y fomentar la utilización
de las TIC en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje, como un soporte que coadyuve a llevar a la práctica
los principios básicos del modelo educativo.

Haciendo un poco de historia sobre los sistemas de conferencia informática para impartir y desarrollar
cursos se usaron por primera vez en la década de los 80’s, y es a partir de aquí, cuando las redes han
servido como foro para la comunicación y difusión de conocimientos y como entorno principal de la
enseñanza ya sea como parte del curso o en su totalidad.

Ahora bien, estos nuevos canales del conocimiento obligan al replanteamiento de nuevas estructuras,
nuevas metodologías, nuevos contenidos, nuevos diseños de materiales; a la aplicación de nuevas
estrategias de enseñanza, nuevas formas de evaluar el conocimiento y nuevas dinámicas grupales; lo que
significa finalmente una revolución educativa de proporciones insospechadas y es a la educación superior
a quien le corresponde iniciar la puesta en marcha de este servicio, así como emprender el camino de la
investigación sobre todos los puntos antes señalados.

En el sistema virtual se van a encontrar tres áreas desde las cuales se generará la educación:

Tecnológica: Centrada en la implementación de las tecnologías más avanzadas para difundir la señal y
lograr la comunicación a grandes distancias.

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Administrativa: Dedicada al estudio de mercado, registro y seguimiento de los estudiantes; inscripciones,
tarifas, pagos, registro, certificación y acreditación de estudios.

Académica: Cuyas funciones se basan en el diseño de programas, capacitación de personal, elaboración y
distribución de materiales de estudio, enseñanza, tutorías y evaluación del aprendizaje

La educación presencial exclusiva fue la educación dominante de la sociedad industrial. Hoy la sociedad
del conocimiento está planteando la creación de una nueva modalidad educativa, que tiene escalas
diferenciadas, que no tiene fronteras, que permite un fraccionamiento de los procesos educativos
localizando en un país las tutorías, en otro los softwares o hardwares, en otros los alumnos o los
profesores.

En los nuevos escenarios de la sociedad del conocimiento, la educación, cada vez con más intensidad, es
la apuesta de los hogares y de las sociedades hacia el futuro, en tanto mecanismo de incremento de los
ingresos económicos, dada la clara relación desarrollada por las teorías del capital humano y las fórmulas
de Mincer entre ingresos económicos y años de escolarización. Así, la inversión ha reorientado las
demandas de las familias, expresada en el incremento de la cobertura en todos los ciclos educativos y
también significativamente en educación superior.

Hace apenas una década algunas universidades tenían como objetivo el lograr el aprendizaje fuera de las
escuelas con el propósito que la enseñanza estuviera al alcance de las personas que no tenían oportunidad
de continuar su formación escolar. Muchos años después gracias a los avances de las (TICS) mencionadas
anteriormente, se han podido actualizar las ofertas educativas desarrollando las modalidades a distancia y
los ambientes virtuales para responder de una manera innovadora a las necesidades detectadas en las
distintas comunidades.

Es importante conocer la capacitación que hay para los profesores cuando se va a diseñar un sistema
virtual de los profesores en general y muy especialmente a los vayan a ser facilitadores en los campus con
sistemas virtuales y a distancia. El eje de Innovación de ambientes de aprendizaje del programa
Interinstitucional de Capacitación para el Aprendizaje y la Superación Académica (PICASA) incorporó
todos aquellos cursos que buscaban promover en los profesores las competencias para el manejo de las
TICS.

Considerando que los procesos de formación del profesorado debieran incidir en la práctica docente, al
menos ayudando al profesor a tomar conciencia de la importancia de su papel en el aprendizaje de sus
estudiantes y a reflexionar en los contenidos de su curso, en cómo se acerca un alumno a esos contenidos
y qué debe de hacer él como profesor para organizar esos contenidos y volverlos más accesibles (De
Vicente, 2001), se impulsaron desde el PICASA todos aquellos cursos relacionados con las competencias
tecnológicas de los profesores.

El primer nivel se refiere a docentes que requieren asistencia continua o aprendizaje guiado para adquirir
competencias básicas en el uso de las TIC; en el segundo nivel, el docente ya adquirió la capacidad de
aprendizaje autónomo y usa creativamente las TIC en su trabajo cotidiano, y en el tercero se espera que el
docente se proyecte en sus colegas y genere un nuevo ciclo de capacitación.

Es importante hacer notar que si los docentes mismos no se involucran en el proceso, lo que se ha dado
en llamar “apropiación de las TIC” será sólo un asunto externo, no una interiorización, por lo que no

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habrá un proceso sostenible, es decir, el proceso de capacitación debe producir un docente que aprenda
por sí mismo y no un docente que para cada novedad o innovación requiera una capacitación.

Por otro lado, este proceso no establece contenidos fijos, sino que cada grupo de docentes recibe o elige
las herramientas de software que le convienen según sus necesidades educativas. Eso fortalece el
“involucramiento”, pues ellos se vuelven expertos en el tipo de software elegido, lo que crea un núcleo de
asesores sobre ello.

Los profesores ahora llamados facilitadores, ya no centran su trabajo docente en exposiciones orales de
los contenidos de los libros, ahora asumen que los estudiantes pueden leer estos contenidos y por lo tanto
conciben la clase como un espacio, para estimular el trabajo colaborativo y autónomo.

La función de los docentes no es enseñar en el sentido convencional, actúan como consejeros que
determinan lo que el estudiante sabe o desconoce y los cursos que necesita para que pueda afrontar con
éxito las pruebas.

Por lo mencionado anteriormente sobre la capacitación el profesorado se evidencia que sí lo hay, así
mismo la infraestructura para lograr insertar el sistema virtual. Lo que queda en el tintero es el diseño con
todos los contenidos, materiales y el servidor con los que el autor del presente se compromete a investigar
y llegar a la implantación del mencionado sistema.

CONCLUSIONES

A manera de conclusión se encontró que la educación virtual y a distancia se está volviendo un tema
central en la mayoría de las entidades educativas. La importancia por generar una educación de calidad,
hacer programas educativos cada vez más flexibles y pertinentes, abarcar cada vez más la matrícula, son
objetivos que se están trazando las instituciones de educación superior.

Para que un sistema virtual tenga éxito es necesario conocer y atender a los conceptos básicos de la
educación a distancia y la educación presencial, para poder conocer así las diferencias y acceder a la
elaboración de un sistema híbrido que determine las ventajas que cada uno de estos otorga.

En cuanto al uso de las TICS es muy importante contar con el equipo y la infraestructura necesaria para
entrar de lleno en el uso de las mismas, ya que para la enseñanza, la sola comunicación no es suficiente,
ya que faltaría la capacitación sobre el manejo y diseño de cursos en línea para que realice su función.

Es relevante destacar que ninguna acción será suficiente si no se trabaja intensamente para promover una
toma de conciencia de los académicos, de la urgente necesidad de usar las TICS y la adquisición de
competencias tecnológicas e informativas, como el soporte que permita incrementar la calidad de su
trabajo docente y de investigación.

Se llega a la conclusión de que es indispensable que todos los docentes del centro Universitario cuenten
con su computadora personal y su debido manejo, para que tengan las herramientas necesarias que le
permitan su inclusión en la sociedad del conocimiento.

Para poder diseñar los cursos virtuales es menester la incorporación de hipervínculos, la utilización de
colores llamativos, imágenes, bancos de información, grupos de noticias, ya que esto permite que el

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manejo de los cursos en línea tanto para los docentes y estudiantes, sea agradable y cómodo. Los grupos
chat y las videoconferencias no deben faltar al momento de diseñar un curso en línea, este último
elemento es muy útil para auditorios grandes, y la aplicación de exámenes orales desde sus centros
remotos.

Los seminarios virtuales son indispensables por ser un complemento y se usan como sustitución de los
seminarios presenciales tradicionales. La educación es un proceso productivo que se basa en un triangulo
de equilibrio entre calidad, costos y cobertura, donde la primera es una función directa de los costos e
inversa de la cobertura.

Uno de los beneficios encontrados de los sistemas virtuales dentro de la expansión de la educación no
presencial es el resultado de las prácticas de las universidades públicas para aumentar su cobertura,
reducir el peso de las demandas insatisfechas y legitimarse como ámbitos de equidad.

En cuanto al futuro de los sistemas virtuales se prevé que tomarán relevancia de competitividad en el
mercado educativo internacional al momento de forjar alianzas estratégicas entre universidades de
Educación Superior.

Queda como tarea la organización y vinculación de los bancos de datos, la entrega electrónica, el pago, la
facturación y cuestiones de derechos de autor ya que son éstos algunos de los problemas por resolver para
que los sistemas virtuales sean cómodos y agradables para su enseñanza.

REFERENCIAS

García Llamas, J. L. (1986). Un modelo de análisis para la evaluación del rendimiento académico en la
enseñanza a distancia, Madrid, OEI.

De Vicente, P. S. (2001), Viaje al centro de las instituciones educativas, España: ICE-Universidad de
Deusto.

Rodríguez Armenta, C. E., Padilla Muñoz R., La alfabetización digital en los docentes de la Universidad
de Guadalajara, Revista Apertura.

Loaiza Álvarez, R. Facilitación y Capacitación Virtual en América Latina.

HAFNER, K., (2002). Lessons Learned at Dot-Com U., Mayo 2.

BIOGRAFÍA

Oscar Guzmán Vargas es Maestro en Ciencias área Administración por la Universidad de Colima.
Profesor Investigador Asociado en la Universidad de Guadalajara, adscrito al Departamento de Ciencias
Administrativas. Se puede contactar en el Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de
Guadalajara, avenida Independencia Nacional 151, Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, México. Correo
electrónico osguva@cucsur.udg.mx

mailto:osguva@cucsur.udg.mx

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MOVILIDAD HACIA LOS MEDIOS MASIVOS DE
INFORMACIÓN
Helbert Eli Gazca Santos, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida
Andrés Miguel Pereyra Chan, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida
Karina Concepción González Herrera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana

RESUMEN

La movilidad laboral que se aborda en el presente documento es la que se presenta en el sector terciario
de manera específica en la actividad económica desempeñada en medios masivos de información, en ella
se determinaron cuales son los factores que afectan con mayor relevancia a los móviles y a los
empresarios, sin excluir los beneficios que ambos perciben de este flujo laboral. Se logró identificar de
manera clara el lugar de donde provienen las personas que laboran en esta actividad, la frecuencia con
la cual retornan al lugar de origen, de igual forma se presenta la caracterización de los móviles. El
objetivo es determinar los factores económicos que inciden en la movilidad laboral a la ZM de Mérida en
el estado de Yucatán. Se puede concluir señalando que la movilidad con dirección a la Zona
Metropolitana de Mérida (ZMM), estará presente para esta actividad económica debido a que se vuelven
escasos los empleos para la actividad en los municipios de Kanasín y Umán principalmente. La expulsión
en los municipios se genera para mejorar los ingresos y por la falta de actividades económicas
demandantes de mano de obra alterna. Finalmente se hace mención que la gran mayoría de las empresas
se sitúan en las Zonas Metropolitanas (ZM), convirtiéndola en un nodo de gran atracción.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Movilidad, Zona Metropolitana, Medios Masivos de información

INTRODUCCIÓN

Para conocer los factores socioeconómicos que inciden en la Movilidad laboral hacia las zonas
metropolitanas, se requiere en primera instancia conocer aquellas conceptualizaciones que giran en torno
a la investigación. Partiendo de que la migración, es todo desplazamiento de población que se produce
desde un lugar de origen a otro de destino, e implica el cruce de algún límite político-administrativo o
ecológico y lleva consigo un cambio de residencia habitual, esto según Macció citado por Vivas (2007).
De acuerdo con Castells (1996), el incremento de la movilidad constituye un fenómeno cada vez más
presente en las sociedades avanzadas del siglo XXI, erigiéndose como un aspecto cada vez más central
para interpretar el cambio social y las transformaciones que suceden en las sociedades modernas. Su
expansión puede interpretarse como una causa o como una consecuencia de los procesos de globalización
o del desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías de la comunicación; y su impacto, puede analizarse tanto en la
esfera ecológica y política, como en relación a la sociabilidad y la economía, tal y como pretende este
trabajo.En España, las aproximaciones al estudio de la movilidad laboral, se han realizado desde distintas
perspectivas; de acuerdo con Bentolila, Carnicer et al., citados por Meil y Ayuso (2006), los trabajos de
movilidad referentes a la economía han estado enfocados principalmente a la movilidad de los recursos
humanos en relación al mercado laboral y al desempleo.

Por otro lado, según Jiménez (2010), en datos de la Encuesta 2007 origen-destino de la Zona
Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México, un 46% de los viajes con origen en el hogar fueron para ir a
trabajar, un 16% para ir a estudiar, un 10% para llevar o recoger a alguien, un 9% para ir de compras, y el
19% restante por otros motivos.De igual forma, Partida (2003) menciona que en México, la composición

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por edad de las personas que incurren en la movilidad se encuentra estrechamente vinculada al ciclo de
vida de las personas y de los hogares. Generalmente, es en la juventud y las primeras edades adultas
cuando los individuos se movilizan porque necesitan mudarse para conseguir el empleo deseado o porque
el cambio de residencia les permitirá garantizarse el sustento y el de sus familiares.

En el Estado de Yucatán, en la década de 1980, se empezaron a experimentar cambios radicales en el
proceso de urbanización. Para esa fecha se comienza a delinear claramente la formación de una ZM,
región a la que Baños (1992) denomina: “el complejo urbano Mérida-Zona Henequenera”, esto debido a
los fenómenos de concentración de población y actividades económicas que experimentaba.

Posteriormente se fueron sumando otros factores que reforzaron la metropolización de la región,
impulsado el crecimiento de la movilidad hacia la ZM; entre ellos destacan: la aparición de la industria
maquiladora de exportación en otros municipios cercanos a la capital, la modernización de las vías
terrestres de comunicación, el crecimiento hegemónico del sector terciario de la economía y la
globalización, esto según Bolio, citado en CINVESTAV (2005).

La extensión de la Zona Metropolitana de la Ciudad de Mérida (ZMCM) ha sido delimitada por el
Ayuntamiento de Mérida (2001) como la región comprendida por los municipios de Mérida, Kanasín,
Conkal, Ucú, Umán, pues estos municipios en torno a la capital reportaron la mayor concentración de
población residente en el estado en el año 2000 (CINVESTAV 2005).

REVISIÓN DE LITERATURA

Según Ortiz (1999) La movilidad territorial de la población es un proceso de profunda significancia social
y con todas las variables demográficas, se relaciona estrechamente con la estructura socio-económica, la
historia y otras características del territorio en el cual se desarrolla. La complejidad del fenómeno y las
consecuencias que acarrea el desplazamiento, tanto como el migrante como para las sociedades de origen
y destino, depende no solo del volumen del flujo migratorio sino esencialmente del tipo de movimiento
que se trate, sobre saliendo la migración por su mayor complejidad. En efecto, junto al traslado de un
medio geográfico a otro, el migrante experimenta movilidad ocupacional y profesional, movilidad social
y cultural.Este fenómeno trae consigo una intensa concentración de actividades económicas y de
población en pocas regiones, lo que se traduce en una desigual distribución geográfica del ingreso,
diferentes condiciones ocupacionales, desigualdades de acceso a bienes y servicios para la población
según sea su localización, así como una movilidad espacial hacia las zonas urbanas. Es por ello que
Vázquez citado en Cortez (2006) menciona que para que no exista entre las diversas partes del territorio
profundas disparidades de desarrollo, debe establecerse un desarrollo local; concepto que obedece no a
una visión territorial únicamente contemplada desde el crecimiento y cambio estructural, sino también
desde la organización de todas las actividades productivas. El estudio de la movilidad espacial de la mano
de obra, teniendo en cuenta las características de la movilidad y su frecuencia, puede dar lugar a varios
tipos como se muestra en la figura 1.

En primer lugar se encuentra la movilidad circular, es decir de ida y vuelta, que comprendería: A las
personas que se mueven diariamente (daily commuters), que se refieren a todas aquellas personas que
tardan al menos dos horas en ir y volver a su trabajo al menos 3 días a la semana.

Los que se mueven semanal o mensualmente (weekly) que comprenden a los Overnighters o
“pernoctadores”, que se refieren a personas que duermen al menos 5 días al mes (o 60 días al año) fuera

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de su casa debido a su trabajo; así como a los Shuttles o trabajadores que tienen una segunda residencia
cerca de su trabajo (hotel o pensión) donde pasan su semana laboral o varios días de la misma. Este tipo
de movilidad da lugar a los llamados “matrimonios de fin de semana” que han sido escasamente
abordados, Becerril y Rodrigo citados en Meil y Ayuso (2006). Personas que se movilizan de forma
irregular (vari-mobile), que son las personas que varían su movilidad en función de las demandas. La
duración y el lugar de trabajo cambian constantemente (azafatas de vuelo, choferes, etc.).

Figura 1: Tipos de movilidad espacial de la mano de obra

Fuente: Meil y Ayuso (2006), movilidad laboral geográfica y vida familiar, P.7.

Y los que se mueven temporalmente (Seasonal/season workers). Que son trabajadores temporales lejos de
su residencia, a menudo en el extranjero. Otra de las tipologías que emergen con el aumento de la
movilidad espacial con motivos de trabajo es la movilidad no circular, que es aquella en la que se presenta
la pérdida paulatina de referencia del lugar de origen, y contiene: A los Movers, cuya movilidad por
trabajo se ha realizado durante los tres últimos años a más de 1000 Km. de su lugar de residencia.
Personas que en los últimos 2 años se han mudado a otro lugar a más de 50 Km. por motivos de trabajo
(Recent relocators). Existen pocos datos que puedan medir este fenómeno. Los Migrants, que son las
personas que incurren en la emigración, y cruzan la frontera nacional.

Los delegados en el extranjero, empleados que han trabajado por lo menos un año en el extranjero, y que
permanecen actual o definitivamente durante los tres últimos años (Foreing delegates). Y los Job nomads,
personas sin una residencia constante debido a que cambian muy a menudo de trabajo (corresponsales en
el extranjero). En tercer lugar está la movilidad que es independiente de la circularidad, que incluye: El
fenómeno de las relaciones de pareja a distancia (Long Distance Relationships), parejas en donde ambos
trabajan y no conviven por trabajo (no porque no quieran), su separación es por razones laborales. Su
construcción metodológica no es sencilla, pues para ajustarse a este modelo deben mantener una relación
de pareja estable, pero sin compartir un mismo hogar (lo que los diferencia de los “matrimonios de fin de
semana”); ambos miembros deben tener un trabajo remunerado y estar dispuestos a convivir si su trabajo
lo permitiera (lo que los diferencia de los Living apart togheter (LAT), caracterizados éstos por su deseo
de independencia). El último requisito exigido es que sus residencias deben estar separadas a 60 minutos
o más de distancia una de otra, Meil y Ayuso (2006). Los factores económicos que inciden en la
movilidad laboral se encuentran divididos en cuatro ámbitos; el ámbito económico/laboral del empleado,
el ámbito de movilidad espacial del empleado, el ámbito empresarial y el ámbito socioeconómico del
empleado.

a) Ámbito económico/laboral del empleado.
• Prestaciones que otorga la empresa. Los servicios o facilidades que un empleador otorga a sus
trabajadores en adición a su salario estipulado ofrece al trabajador una ayuda económica en adición a

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su salario, lo que origina que las personas busquen empresas que las otorguen con la finalidad de
reducir sus gastos, fomentar su desarrollo, crear condiciones de trabajo satisfactorias, mejorar el nivel
de calidad de su vida personal, familiar y social, en el mediano y el largo plazo.
• Nivel de ingresos percibidos por el empleado. Las personas que se movilizan siempre van a buscar
laborar en empresas en las que obtengan un alto nivel de ingresos, debido a que quieren conseguir el
bienestar económico que no pueden conseguir en su lugar de origen.

• Puestos que desempeña el empleado. Los puestos que requieren una mayor preparación por parte de
los empleados son los menos demandados, mientras que los puestos que requieren una menor
preparación representan mayor demanda originando una mayor movilidad a los lugares en donde las
empresas busquen personal que no requiera una alta preparación para realizar las actividades propias
de la organización.
• Margen de utilidad del empleado. Se considera margen de utilidad, a la cantidad de dinero que le
sobra al empleado después de haber cubierto los gastos relacionados a al traslado y sustento en el
trabajo (como comidas, estancias, transporte, etc.). Si existen empresas retribuyan al empleado
dejándole un elevado margen de utilidad, las personas se dirigirán hacia ellas.

b) Ámbito de movilidad espacial del empleado.

• Tiempo de desplazamiento al lugar de trabajo. Se supone que debido a la existencia de un mayor
tiempo de recorrido al lugar de trabajo menores posibilidades hay de que la gente se desplace hacia
aquellos lugares en los que existen mayores ofertas de trabajo.

• Distancia del municipio de residencia. Se considera que al existir una mayor distancia entre el lugar
de origen y el lugar de destino con fines de empleo, hay menos probabilidades de que la gente se
movilice debido a gastos mayores y desgaste físico.

• Frecuencia de retorno al lugar de origen. Se percibe que al haber una mayor frecuencia de retorno al
lugar de origen se incrementa de igual manera la movilidad espacial, ya que al existir una menor
frecuencia de retorno las personas pueden quedarse definitivamente en su lugar de origen o incurrir en
migración al ya no trasladarse y establecerse en un solo lugar.

• Medio de transporte utilizado para desplazarse. Muchos empleados que se desplazan por motivos de
trabajo no cuentan con vehículos motorizados lo que impide que las personas recorran largas
distancias para conseguir un mejor empleo.

• Diferencia entre la calidad de vida del lugar de origen y la calidad de vida del lugar de destino. Las
personas que se movilizan siempre lo hacen porque desean conseguir todos aquellos elementos que
den lugar a su tranquilidad y satisfacción. Desean desplazarse porque saben que podrían encontrar en
otro lugar las condiciones para satisfacer sus necesidades materiales (comida y cobijo), psicológicas
(seguridad y afecto), sociales (trabajo, derechos y responsabilidades) y ecológicas (calidad del aire,
del agua).

c) Ámbito empresarial.

• Número de trabajadores que provienen de otros municipios. Se consideran que si existen en la
empresa una cantidad considerable de trabajadores que provienen de distintos municipios del estado

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se crea una mayor frecuencia de intercambio de redes sociales, lo que significa que es muy probable
que estos trabajadores informen a otras personas de su comunidad que en las ciudades de Mérida y
Umán hay una gran oferta de trabajo, lo cual aumente el nivel de movilidad espacial laboral.
Densidad empresarial en Mérida y Umán. La creciente concentración de actividades en estas
ciudades, las transforma en puntos de atracción para la población circundante provocando
alteraciones en la dinámica espacial, las personas se desplazan a estas ciudades desde la periferia para
encontrar trabajo.

• Grado en que influye el lugar de procedencia con la contratación de personal. Existen mayores
posibilidades de que haya un mayor nivel de movilidad espacial de la mano de obra hacia las ciudades
de Mérida y Umán, si en las empresas que hay en estas ciudades no establecen como condición que
sus empleados provengan únicamente del mismo municipio en donde la empresa se encuentra, es
decir, si no hace distinción entre los trabajadores de Mérida y Umán y los del resto de los municipios
del estado.
• Número de empleados que posee la empresa. Las empresas que posean una mayor cantidad de
empleados son las empresas que no requieren de más mano de obra por lo que la MEMO disminuye,
por el contrario, si la empresa no tiene suficientes empleados surgirá una carencia de mano de obra lo
que hará que las persones se movilicen hacia ellas.

d) Ámbito socioeconómico del empleado.

• Nivel educativo. De acuerdo a lo investigado por otros autores las personas con un mayor nivel
educativo manifiestan mayor conformidad para viajar si el trabajo lo requiere. Mientras que las
personas con un bajo nivel educativo representan menos porcentajes. En cuanto al nivel de formación,
se destaca que, en general, a mayor nivel de formación, mayor disponibilidad para viajar.

• Intervalo de edad. Según el factor edad, se ha corroborado que son los más jóvenes los que poseen un
menor grado de responsabilidades familiares y mayores expectativas de inserción laboral y búsqueda
de mejores oportunidades, los que expresan mayor disposición para la movilidad. Posteriormente,
comienza una línea de progresión descendente debido a la asunción de compromisos familiares y al
afianzamiento profesional.

• Género. Se percibe que existe una mayor disponibilidad a desplazarse en los hombres más que en las
mujeres debido al rol que desempeña cada uno de ellos.

• Estado civil. También se observa una mayor disponibilidad a moverse en aquellos que son solteros,
separados y divorciados, invirtiéndose la tendencia en los casados y viudos, es decir, se comprueba
una mayor resistencia a moverse geográficamente desde que se contraen las responsabilidades
familiares.

METODO

El presente estudio de investigación es descriptiva y correlacionar, debido a que las variables contenidas
en el instrumento, se tratan de manera independiente y se podrán relacionar unas con respecto a otras, es
decir, se identificará la forma en cómo es y cómo se manifiesta el fenómeno de interés con respecto a la
actividad económica de Yucatán, los factores de localización de las empresas y la dinámica espacial del
trabajo a la Zona Metropolitana.

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Sujetos de estudio: La población objeto de estudio fueron los empleados, así como los directivos o
gerentes que laboran en las unidades económicas, los que dieron respuesta al instrumento de
investigación, que se encuentran localizadas en la ciudad de Mérida y Umán, de la Zona Metropolitana,
cuya condición fue que cuenten con empleados o trabajadores que provengan del interior del estado de
Yucatán. Los empleados identificados en las empresas que se encuentran incorporados en los tres
sectores económicos del estado (Agropecuario, industrial y de servicios) e inmersos en los municipios de
Mérida y Umán. El instrumento fue aplicado a los empleados siempre y cuando se tuvieran en la empresa
a una persona proveniente del interior del estado de Yucatán laborando formalmente en ella.

Determinación de la muestra: Para determinar el tamaño de la muestra, se consideró un nivel de
confianza del 98%, con un margen de error del 2%, tomando como base a la población Económicamente
activa ocupada, en las empresas establecidas en Mérida y Umán de los tres sectores que integran la
economía.Fue una muestra probabilística, para su distribución se consideraron estratos de confiabilidad
con base al porcentaje establecido en el cálculo. Se entrevistó a un directivo de la empresa que arrojó la
información necesaria y requerida para el estudio que se propone. Considerando al Promedio de
trabajadores por empresa, para identificar el total de unidades económicas a encuestar.

Para el establecimiento del tamaño de la muestra se consideró información proveniente de fuentes
secundarias, información generada por el INEGI, por medio de la publicación del Directorio Estadístico
Nacional de Unidades Económicas (DENUE, 2010). Los empleados y/o trabajadores identificados en las
unidades económicas que cumplen la condición fueron encuestados, considerando de igual forma a los
empleados que provienen de otros estados y que son de la misma localidad estudiada. Debido a que en la
empresa se encontraron a trabajadores del mismo municipio, de otros estados y de municipios del interior
del estado de Yucatán.

Es por ello que se dividió a la población en empleados del mismo municipio, del interior del estado y de
otros estados, para estudiar a precisión nuestra población, integrando de esta manera, en el estudio a los
demás grupos identificados de empleados, en cada empresa.

El criterio considerado para identificar a los móviles laborales fueron las siguientes.

1. Que provenga del interior del estado de Yucatán.

2. Que formalmente labore en la Unidad económica.

Los criterios que se siguieron para identificar a las unidades económicas fueron las siguientes:

1. Que se encuentren dentro del listado de Directorio Estadístico Nacional de Unidades
Económicas.

2. Contar con empleados que provengan del interior del estado de Yucatán.
Tipo de muestra probabilística

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Se utilizó el muestreo tipo probabilístico por estrato para identificar la cantidad de Población
Económicamente Activa Ocupada, a la que se le aplicó el instrumento, una vez determinada la muestra, se
establecerá la proporción que por rama económica corresponda. Para determinar el tamaño de la muestra
se realizó el siguiente procedimiento: Los datos utilizados son: un margen de error del 2%, con un nivel
de confianza del 98%. El tamaño total de la población para los tres sectores económicos es de 245,671, de
la rama económica 0051 aporta con 4,577 personas ocupadas ver anexo 1. Una vez determinada la
muestra para la rama 0051 denominada medios masivos de información se establece como criterio
segmentar la muestra para poder conocer el comportamiento de los móviles en relación a los no móviles,
esto con la finalidad de poder contar con elementos contundentes para sustentar los factores asociados a la
movilidad y determinar si este flujo es efectivo para las personas que se trasladan de otros municipios a la
ciudad de Mérida.

RESULTADOS

Referente en a el factor Ámbito económico/laboral del empleado se obtuvieron los siguientes resultados.
Prestaciones que reciben los empleados: Las prestaciones que reciben los empleados móviles como no
móviles varían entre si ya que no todas las empresas proporcionan las mismas prestaciones a sus
empleados. En la tabla 1 se muestra las prestaciones que reciben los empleados.

Tabla 1: Prestaciones que recibe los empleados de las distintas empresas.
Empleados móviles Empleados no móviles
Prestaciones Si No Si No
Vales de despensa 41.9% 58.1% 45.2% 54.8%
Vales de gasolina 9.7% 90.3% 6.5% 93.5
Servicio médico privado 6.5% 93.5% 6.5% 93.5%
Servicio médico publico 93.5% 6.5% 93.5% 6.5%
Seguro de vida 9.7% 90.3% 16.1% 83.9%
Bonos de puntualidad/asistencia 16.1% 83.9% 32.3% 67.7%
Infonavit/Fovisste 93.5% 6.5% 87.1% 12.9%
Préstamos 29% 71% 9.7% 90.3%
Reparto de utilidades 77.4% 22.6% 83.9% 16.1%
Aguinaldo 96.8% 3.2% 100%
Transporte 16.1% 83.9% 16.1% 83.9%
Uniformes 12.9% 87.1% 29% 71%
Sin prestaciones
Bono de productividad 12.9% 87.1% 25.8% 74.2%
Fuente: Elaboración propia.

Ingresos de los empleados: Sus ingresos de los empleados móviles oscilan entre los $1701 hasta los
$17,010 en cambio los de los empleados no móviles está entre los $1,701 hasta más de $17,010. Como lo
muestra la figura 2.

Puestos que ocupan en la empresas los empleados. El 58.1% de los empleados móviles contesto que
ocupan el puesto operativo, el 32.3% el puesto administrativo, el 3.2% en intendencia y el 6.5% faltante
en otras actividades. En contra parte los empleados no móviles el 64.5% ocupa el puesto operativo, el
19.4% el puesto operativo, el 6.5% intendente y el 9.7% otros puestos. Ámbito de movilidad espacial del
empleado. La frecuencia con la que retornan a su lugar de origen los empleados móviles es de diaria
como primera respuesta, le sigue a la semana, luego otro y de ultimo a la quincena.

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Figura 2: Sueldo de los empleados móviles y no móviles.

Fuente: elaboración propia.

Figura 3: Frecuencia con la que retornan a su lugar de origen.

Fuente: Elaboración propia.

Lugar de origen de los empleados móviles. El lugar de procedencia de los empleados se puede observar
en la tabla 2

Ámbito empresarial. El número de trabajadores que provienen de otros municipios oscilan entre 1 a 20
trabajadores y los que provienen de otros estados es la misma, mientras que los que son de el mismo
municipio (Mérida) va de 1 a 100 trabajadores. Criterios para la contratación del personal Los directivos
para admitir al personal que labora en sus empresas se basa en la preparación que tengan los empleados y
se les pregunto si era importante su procedencia y contesto que no es de importancia el lugar de origen así
pueden ser de Mérida, de otros municipios ó de otros estados.

Ámbito socioeconómico del empleado. Nivel educativo y rango de edades. El nivel educativo de los
empleados móviles es de media superior ya que el 35.5% tiene cursado la Preparatoria y el rango de edad
se encuentra entre 25 a 29 años con un 38.7%. Como lo muestra la figura 4. En comparación de los
empleados no móviles su nivel educativo es más alto ya que el 35.5% tiene una Licenciatura, y su rango
de edad está entre 30 a 34 años como lo muestra la figura 5.

5
18
4
1 2 1
9 9
11
1 1 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
H
as
ta
$
1,
70
1
D
e
$1
,7
02
a
$3
40
2
D
e
$3
40
3
a
$5
10
3
D
e
$5
10
4
a
$8
50
5
D
e
$8
50
6
a
$1
70
10
M
ás
d
e
$1
70
10
Empleados no
móviles
Empleados móviles
0
5
10
15
20
25
Diario Semanal Quincenal Otro
Frecuencia de retorno

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Tabla 2: Municipios de procedencia de los empleados móviles.

municipios frecuencia
acanceh 2
conkal 2
dzilam gonzalez 1
hunucma 2
ixil 1
kanasin 4
kinchil 1
maxcanu 1
motul 2
peto 1
progreso 2
tekal de venegas 1
tekanto 1
tixkokob 1
tixmehuac 1
tixpehual 2
tizimin 1
ucu 1
uman 4
total 31
Fuente: Elaboración propia.

Figura 4: Nivel educativo vs rango de edad de los empleados móviles.

Fuente: Elaboración propia.

Figura 5: Nivel educativo vs rango de edad de los empleados no móviles.
Composición de género de los empleados y su estado civil. Sobre la composición por genero de los
empleados móviles está conformado por 15 mujeres y representan el 48.4% y de 16 hombres, es decir el
51.6%, como lo muestra la figura 6. Y la composición de de género de los no móviles está conformada
por 12 mujeres que representan 1l 38.7% y de 19 hombres, es decir el 61.3% como lo muestra la figura
7.El estado civil de los empleados móviles entrevistados el 54.8% son Solteros mientras que el 41.9% son
Casados y el 3.2% es Divorciado, como lo muestra la figura 6. Mientras los no móviles el 32.3% es
Soltero, el 58.1% es Casado, el 6.5 es divorciado y el 3.2 es Viudo como lo muestra la figura 7. Como se
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
20
-2
4
añ
os
25
-2
9
añ
os
30
-3
4
añ
os
35
-3
9
añ
os
40
-4
4
añ
os
45
-4
9
añ
os
50
-5
4
añ
os
55
-5
9
añ
os
Primaria
Secundaria
Preparatoria
Carrera Tecnica
Lic. Ó Ing.

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puede apreciar hay una gran diferencia entre los que son móviles y lo que no ya que los móviles su estado
civil predominante es el Soltero mientras que para él no móvil es el Casado.

Fuente: Elaboración propia.

Figura 6: Estado civil vs género de los empleados móviles.

Fuente: Elaboración propia.

Figura 7: Estado civil vs género de los empleados no móviles
.

Fuente: Elaboración propia.

CONCLUSIONES

Es visible identificar por la cercanía del interior del estado los municipios de Kanasín, Umán y Progreso
son lo que se movilizan por cuestiones laborales inmediatas a esta actividad económica. Sus ingresos
están dados por la preparación académica que tienen para ocupar el puesto ya que la mayoría tiene la
0
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
20
-2
4
añ
os
25
-2
9
añ
os
30
-3
4
añ
os
35
-3
9
añ
os
40
-4
4
añ
os
45
-4
9
añ
os
50
-5
4
añ
os
55
-5
9
añ
os
60
-6
4
añ
os
Primaria
Secundaria
Preparatoria
Carrera Tecnica
Lic. O Ing.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
soltero casado divorsiado
Femenino
Masculino
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Soltero Casado Divorciado Viudo
Femenino
Masculino

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preparatoria hasta una licenciatura. La contratación de personal del interior del estado es para las
empresas de medios masivos de comunicación de mayor dificultad debido a que por la disponibilidad de
horario por los eventos, noticias y por la distribución se requiere la presencia de estas personas; sin
embargo la distancia en una limitante para poder optar de mayor jerarquía dentro de la rama económica
que impulse el crecimiento económico de los dependientes del empleado y del empleado mismo.

Anexo 1: Determinación de la muestra por sector

Código Personal ocupado Personal ocupado Total tamaño de la
muestra
de la
rama/personal
ocupado

11 Agricultura, cría y explotación de animales, aprovechamiento
forestal, pesca y caza.
61 0,0002483 0,829072214
21 Minería 159 0,000647207 2,161024297
22 Generación, trasmisión y distribución de energía, suministro
de agua y gas por ductos al consumidor final
2530 0,010298326 34,38610988
23 Construcción 18660 0,075955241 253,6145495
31 Industria manufacturera 37029 0,150725971 503,2740169
43 Comercio al por mayor 16021 0,065213232 217,7469828
46 Comercio al por mayor 60597 0,24665915 823,5949013
48 Transporte, correos y almacenamiento 10440 0,042495858 141,8936708
51 Medios masivos de información 4577 0,018630608 62,20759878
52 Servicios financieros y de seguros 1733 0,00705415 23,5538057
53 Servicios inmobiliarios y de alquiler de bienes muebles
intangibles
4356 0,017731031 59,20391092
54 Servicios profesionales, científicos y técnicos 9878 0,040208246 134,2553334
56 Servicios de apoyo a los negocios y manejo de desechos y
servicios de remediación
17798 0,072446483 241,8988078
61 Servicios educativos
10892
0,044335717
148,03696
62 Servicios de salud y de asistencia social
9251
0,037656052
125,733558
71 Servicios de esparcimiento culturales y deportivos y otros
servicios 2584
0,010518132
35,1200427
72 Servicios de alojamiento temporal y de preparación de
alimentos y bebidas 21948
0,089338994
298,302901
81Otros servicios excepto actividades gubernamentales
14305
0,058228281
194,42423
93 Actividades legislativas, gubernamentales de impartición de
justicia de organismos internacionales y extra nacionales
2852
0,011609022
38,7625239
Total 245671 3339

REFERENCIAS

Baños, O. (1992). Reconfiguración rural-urbana en la zona henequenera de Yucatán. Estudios
sociológicos XI. Recuperado en red de
http://codex.colmex.mx:8991/exlibris/aleph/a18_1/apache_media/S491SNMI48GCR6XUKMMJJ23VXH
86KM

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Castells, M. (1996) La era de la información: economía sociedad y cultura. Madrid: Alianza.
Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados, CINVESTAV. (2005). La ZM y la Aglomeración
Urbana de la Ciudad de Mérida a principios del siglo XXI. Recuperado en red de:
http://www.mda.cinvestav.mx/oumid/HTML/General/1_PRESENTACION/ZONA_ESTUDIO.

Cortez, Y. H. (2006). Descentralización productiva y territorio, un enfoque del ordenamiento territorial
desde la dimensión de las estructuras territoriales. México: Colegio de Tlaxcala A.C.

Jiménez, M. A. (2010), Potencialidades de la medición de la movilidad cotidiana a través de los censos.
Notas de población N ° 88 C E PA L. Recuperado en red de:
http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/9/38299/lcg2409-P_6 .

Meil, G. y Ayuso, L. (2006), Movilidad laboral geográfica y vida familiar. Madrid, España. De la base
de datos del Departamento de Sociología, Facultad de CC. Económicas, Universidad Autónoma de
Madrid. Recuperado en red de: http://www.jobmoband-famlives.eu/

Ortiz, D’Arterio J. (1999). La movilidad territorial de la población en los contextos rurales. Una
revisión teórica. De la base de datos de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina. Recuperado en
red de:
http://www.filo.unt.edu.ar/centinti/cehim/jornadas_antrop/movilidad%20territorial%20de%20la%20pobla
ci%F3n%20en%20los%20contextos%20rurales

Partida, B. V. (2003), Aspectos demográficos de la urbanización. La situación demográfica de México.
Publicaciones CONAPO. Recuperado en red de:
http://www.conapo.gob.mx/publicaciones/sdm/sdm2003/02 .

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IMPACTO DEL BURNOUT Y LA SATISFACCIÓN
LABORAL EN LOS GERENTES DE LAS
MAQUILADORAS EN TECATE, B.C. MÉXICO
Silvia Hernández Solis, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Omaira Cecilia Martínez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Lourdes Evelyn Apodaca del Angel, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

El burnout y la satisfacción laboral son variables que han sido estudiadas desde hace décadas, la
revisión de marco teórico señala que existen numerosos estudios del síndrome de estar quemado en
instituciones de asistencia médica y en las educativas, sin embargo el burnout se ha generalizado en
diversas organizaciones y por ende ha afectado la satisfacción laboral de las personas que lo padecen.
Este artículo presenta una investigación de carácter documental donde se analiza el contexto regional,
nacional e internacional en el cual se encuentran inmersas las maquiladoras su importancia y
trascendencia, así mismo se realizó una revisión del estado del arte presentado las definiciones y
constructos ya elaborados sobre satisfacción laboral y burnout, esto con la finalidad de en un futuro
inmediato determinar el impacto que tienen estas dos variables en los gerentes de maquiladora en la
ciudad de Tecate, Baja California, México, cuales son las causas que lo producen y como afectan a los
individuos y a las organizaciones, como el estudio se realizará en dos sectores de la industria se
efectuará un comparativo para determinar si los índices de las variables son iguales o diferentes, y en
este último caso verificar en qué punto difieren.

PALABRAS CLAVE: burnout, síndrome de estar quemado, satisfacción laboral, gerentes, maquiladoras.

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DE LA MOVILIDAD A LA MIGRACIÓN: FACTORES
ASOCIADOS
Karina Concepción González Herrera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
Adrian González Romo, El Colegio de Tlaxcala A.C

RESUMEN
En el presente documento se asocia a la movilidad con la demanda laboral y la migración, debido a que
en estudios anteriores de la Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, se pudo identificar que las personas
de las regiones de Yucatán migran primeramente debido a la necesidad de contar con un empleo o de
tener un mejor empleo, siendo los principales lugares de destino la ciudad de Mérida, el estado de
Quintana Roo y Estados Unidos de Norteamérica. La movilidad se presenta cuando la direccionalidad de
las personas se genera dentro del mismo municipio, estado o país. Se identifica a la ciudad de Mérida
como el lugar de mayor atracción estatal, presentándose la movilidad de las personas del interior del
estado hacia la capital con fines netamente laborales, ocupacionales y de mejoría económica, siendo la
estrategia principal para contar con ingresos, un salario adicional o complementario. Se puede concluir
que cuando no se logra tener frutos, es decir no se alcanza cubrir las necesidades de la familia con los
ingresos adquiridos en el empleo en la localidad, surge el interés del individuo por migrar, realizar el
traslado hacia otro país siendo este proceso necesario para el individuo.

Palabras Clave: Movilidad, Migración.

INTRODUCCION

El presente documento registra información teórica relativa a la movilidad y migración que se ha
identificado en el Estado de Yucatán, en los municipios de Chacsinkin, Peto y Tahdziú. Registro
generadas por fuentes secundarias pero que con el proceso primario en operativo de campo se logra
acercarse a la realidad de los municipios de la entidad, considerando sus potencialidades pero más aun sus
carencias socioeconómicas.

REVISION DE LITERATURA

Para realizar un abordaje a la temática en cuestión se parte de la contextualización de ambos fenómenos
mismos que fueron identificados en el Estado de Yucatán. Clarence Senior (citado por Herrera, 2006,
p.23) entiende a la migración como un cambio permanente de residencia, el cual debe de ser lo
suficientemente estable y largo para que pueda clasificarse como migración, de lo contrario debe ser
considerado como movilidad espacial. Eisenstadt adiciona además del factor tiempo, la necesidad de
existir un cambio sociocultural, es decir, el abandono de un estado social para entrar en otro diferente.
Por su parte Petersen (citado por Herrera, 2006, p. 24) menciona que el término asociado a la definición
latina migrare, implica cambio hacia otra comunidad, abandonando la de uno. Una persona que se mueve
de una casa a otra dentro de la misma vecindad y que por lo tanto se mantiene dentro del mismo marco
socio-cultural, no debe ser clasificada como migrante. Bogue (citado por Herrera, 2006, p.24) coincide
con este criterio y opina que los factores básicos involucrados en la migración son, por un lado, la
distancia y por el otro, el cambio en el ámbito sociocultural; sostiene además que teóricamente, el término
migración debe ser reservado para aquellos cambios de residencia que involucran un reajuste completo de
las afiliaciones del individuo en la comunidad. Cada miembro de una población reside en algún punto o
serie de puntos en el espacio y un mero cambio en la ubicación de su residencia, debe ser definida
únicamente, sin mayores implicaciones, como movilidad espacial. Es decir, si no hay un cambio cultural
involucrado en el traslado de un lugar a otro, no puede hablarse de migración.Distinguiéndose de ésta

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manera a los migrantes y móviles, los primeros son los que se trasladan entre unidades políticas y los
segundos lo hacen dentro de las mismas (Herrera, 2006, p.30). Por otra parte se considera el factor
económico de la nueva economía sobre la migración, tomando como base los Mercados de Capital,
argumentando los deseos de los miembros de los hogares para aumentar la productividad de sus bienes o
posesiones, pero para hacerlo necesitan adquirir capital para hacer inversiones adicionales (mejorar su
economía).

Se concibe al movimiento migratorio como una decisión personal para maximizar el ingreso. La “nueva
economía sobre la migración”, en contraste, considera las condiciones de una variedad de mercados, no
sólo mercados laborales. Ve la migración como una decisión familiar tomada para minimizar los riesgos
al ingreso familiar o para superar restricciones de capital en las actividades productivas familiares
(Massey, et, al, 2000). Las decisiones de migrar de los habitantes de Yucatán son primordialmente por
“tener un empleo” y por “contar con un mejor empleo”, resultado arrojado en el estudio denominado
“Estudio regional de la migración en el Estado de Yucatán”

Para que el individuo tome la decisión de migrar, relativamente deberá considerar si dentro de su
localidad o área geográfica tendrá oportunidades de aprovechamiento laboral, para trasladarse a otro
espacio que le genere lo que no encuentra en su lugar de origen sin importar la distancia que se tenga que
recorrer, contrario a lo señalado por Von Thünen que reconoce que el hombre trata de resolver sus
necesidades económicas en el entorno inmediato, reduciendo sus desplazamientos al mínimo. En el
presente documento se asocia a la movilidad con la demanda laboral y la migración, debido a que en
estudios anteriores de la Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, se pudo identificar que las personas de
las regiones de Yucatán migran primeramente debido a la necesidad de contar con un empleo o de tener
un mejor empleo, siendo los principales lugares de destino la ciudad de Mérida, el estado de Quintana
Roo y Estados Unidos de Norteamérica (González, et. al, 2010). Por tanto la movilidad es aquella que se
presenta ante el desplazamiento de las personas del lugar de origen a otro, o conocido también como el
cambio de residencia, temporal o permanente. Es decir cuando la direccionalidad de las personas se
genera dentro del mismo municipio o país.

Al identificar a la ciudad de Mérida como el lugar de mayor atracción estatal, presentándose la movilidad
de las personas del interior del estado hacia la capital con fines netamente laborales, ocupacionales y de
mejoría económica, siendo la estrategia principal para contar con ingresos, un salario adicional o
complementario. Pero cuando el flujo no logra tener frutos, es decir no se alcanza cubrir las necesidades
de la familia con los ingresos adquiridos en el empleo, surge el interés del individuo por migrar, realizar
el traslado hacia otro país siendo este proceso necesario para el individuo. Lo anterior conlleva al
planteamiento de la movilidad a la migración, situación derivada de factores económicos, provocados por
falta de inserción de unidades económicas en las localidades expulsoras, adicionando a lo anterior la
carencia de accesos viales en condiciones adecuadas, medios de comunicación, mano de obra calificada,
entre otros, situación que limita en mayor medida las condiciones de los habitantes de localidades
expulsoras. Detallando la necesidad e importancia del presente estudio se consideran los siguientes
puntos:

• Se podrá detectar a nivel región las necesidades económicas y sociales de los núcleos
familiares de migrantes.
• El identificar las repercusiones ocasionadas en las familias debido a la migración laboral
hacia EUA.

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• Podrá generarse información que sea de utilidad para el diseño de estrategias para fortalecer
al municipio y a la región en donde se encuentra.
• La importancia del presente estudio radica en que se podrá realizar un análisis de la relación
del costo-beneficio de la migración en las familias.
• Se identificaran los factores que afectan a los familiares que se quedan en los municipios
selectos.
METODOLOGÍA

La investigación se desarrolló en los municipios de Chacsinkin, Peto y Tahdziú, ubicados
geográficamente en la región VI del Estado de Yucatán. Con la finalidad de contar con información del
comportamiento del fenómeno migratorio, los efectos provocados en el núcleo de la familia y el impacto
de las remesas en el ingreso familiar. El estudio fue dirigido a los familiares de mayor cercanía (papá,
mamá, hijo, o en su caso hermano) de los migrantes, que habitaban en la vivienda, a quienes se les aplicó
la encuesta, siendo un solo instrumento empleado para cada una de las viviendas identificadas en el
municipio. La investigación se realizó en un período de dos años iniciando en septiembre de 2010, para
concluir en septiembre de 2012. La investigación es de tipo transversal, ya que el levantamiento de la
información se realizó en un solo período de tiempo.

RESULTADOS

Como resultados generales identificados se puede señalar que se presenta la decisión de migrar en los
pobladores, presenta consideraciones económicas y sociales que se tendrán que tomar antes de partir, sin
embargo, ésta decisión tanto del entorno como de la familia, destacan como fundamentales para el
presente estudio. Ya que identificando las causas principales podrán generarse medidas que a mediano o
largo plazo sean favorables para los municipios objeto de estudio, y para municipios aledaños que
conforman la región VI. También se podrán identificar los problemas que presentan los familiares de los
migrantes cuando no se cuenta con ése integrante. Con la partida del migrante las estructuras familiares
tambalean, se vuelven frágiles y dependiente a la comunicación o forma de comunicación en la que se
reportará el que se fue. Lo cual se vuelve más difícil cuando la migración se presenta externamente
(internacional e ilegal). A su vez los municipios son identificados como de alto grado de marginación y la
realización del presente, arrojará información detonante, requerida para los municipios que reúnan las
características de marginación establecidas por la CONAPO, en relación a propuestas de estrategias,
programas o acciones, orientadas a mejorar las condiciones económicas y sociales del municipio. Al
vincularse los resultados con las diversas dependencias de la entidad, también podrá utilizarse como
referencia para otros estudios, y acciones en beneficio de la localidad en materia migratoria.

CONCLUSIONES

Para concluir se puede señalar que la movilidad es requerida en familias Yucatecas debido a las
dificultades económicas identificadas en sus lugares de origen, y la falta de un espacio en las unidades
económicas para el desempeño de actividades inherentes a sus capacidades y conocimientos. Sin embargo
este flujo toma otros destinos cuando el individuo no obtiene ingresos suficientes para subsanar las
carencias que la familia presenta, en la ciudad de Mérida, seguidamente toma como dirección el estado de
Quintana Roo y finalmente EUA. Lo anterior involucra el amplio diferencial salarial que encontrará en la
unión americana y las limitantes actividades ocupacionales a desempeñarse por el nivel educativo del
individuo.

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REFERENCIAS

COMEY. (2008). Decreto de constitución de la Coordinación Metropolitana de Yucatán. 16 de junio de
2008.

DENUE (2010). Directorio Estadístico Nacional de las Unidades Económicas. Instituto de Estadística,
Geografía e Informática. México, D.F. http://gaia.inegi.org.mx/denue/viewer.html, consultado el 05 de
mayo de 2011.

González H, et. al. (2010). Estudio Regional de la Migración. México. Universidad Tecnológica
Metropolitana.

Herrera C. R. (2006) La perspectiva teórica en el estudio de las migraciones. (1era. Ed)
México: Siglo veintiuno editores.

INEGI (2010). XIII Censo de Población y Vivienda. México, D.F.
http://www.censo2010.org.mx/, Consultado el 03 de Abril de 2010.

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ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIALIZACION DE LA
MICRO Y PEQUEÑA EMPRESA AGROINDUSTRIAL EN
LA CIUDAD DE ENSENADA BAJA CALIFORNIA
Santiago González Velásquez, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
María de los Ángeles Reyes Nevares, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
Imelda Yáñez Ruiz,Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana

RESUMEN

Este trabajo tiene como finalidad conocer las estrategias comerciales que tienen la micro y pequeña
empresa agroindustrial en la región de Ensenada Baja California, México. Para delimitar el marco
muestral se consultaron datos estadísticos que ofrece el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía
(INEGI), en el agregado del sector primario que incluye empresas: agropecuarias, silvícolas y de pesca.
Se considera también a la industria manufacturera del sector secundario, en la división de productos:
alimenticios y bebidas. En base a la información resultante se realizó un muestreo no probabilístico a
juicio, para identificar productores agrícolas y empresas que fungen como transformadoras de alimentos
e intermediarios dentro del canal de distribución, con el fin de identificar factores que describan el
modelo de negocio a través de la observación directa y la entrevista a profundidad. Se concluye con una
descripción del manejo de los canales de distribución y su compromiso con los productores agrícolas;
factores clave en la definición de sus estrategias comerciales.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Pequeña y mediana empresa, agroindustria, comercialización, canales de
distribución.

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES
AGRIBUSINESS IN THE CITY OF ENSENADA BAJA CALIFORNIA

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to understand the business strategies that are micro and small agro-industrial company
in the region of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. To define the sampling frame were consulted
statistics provided by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), in the aggregate of the
primary sector which includes companies: agricultural, forestry and fishing. It is also considered the
secondary manufacturing sector, the division of products: food and beverages. Based on the resulting
information is made a non-probability sampling to trial, to identify farmers and companies that serve as
food processors and intermediaries in the distribution channel, to identify factors that describe the
business model through direct observation and in-depth interviews. It concludes with a description of the
management of distribution channels and its commitment to agricultural producers, key factors in
defining their business strategies.

JEL: M31, Q12, Q13

KEYWORDS: Small and medium enterprises, agribusiness, marketing, distribution channels.

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INTRODUCCION

El Sector agroindustrial de Ensenada ha contribuido por muchos años al desarrollo económico de la
región, debido a que el suelo es dedicado en una gran parte a desarrollar actividades agrícolas y ganaderas
en valles costeros e ínter montañosos, así como a agostaderos naturales con características agroclimáticas
que permiten, en su conjunto, explotar una amplia gama de cultivos en 84,400 hectáreas y el
aprovechamiento de 4’103,541 hectáreas en uso pecuario mismas que representan el 77.1% de la
superficie total del municipio con 7,800 usuarios.

Esta investigación integra una revisión bibliográfica sobre los canales de distribución de los productos, la
importancia que tienen dentro de la mezcla de mercadotecnia. Posteriormente muestra la metodología que
se utilizó para llevar a cabo el proceso de investigación y al final se da a conocer el proceso de
comercialización de las micro y pequeñas empresas agroindustriales de Ensenada Baja California,
pretende conocer la forma en que el sector elige y evalúa el canal de distribución.

OBJETIVOS

Objetivo general: Conocer las estrategias comerciales que tiene la micro y pequeña empresa
agroindustrial en la Ciudad de Ensenada Baja California.

Objetivos específicos: (1) Medir los resultados que obtiene la micro y pequeña empresa agroindustrial en
Ensenada baja California con la implementación de las estrategias comerciales. (2)Conocer el proceso y
factores de comercialización y distribución de los productos agroindustriales en Ensenada Baja
California. (3)Crear estrategias de comercialización óptimas para el sector agroindustrial de la región.

REVISION LITERARIA

Agroindustria

La agroindustria inicia con los productos del sector agrícola, cuando son cosechados requieren servicios
de transporte, almacenaje, logística, servicios de mercadeo y el proceso final que es la preparación de
alimentos y su consumo.

El término agroindustria, proceso agro industrial, o industria alimentaria excluye industrias que producen
equipo industrial o agrícola y maquinaria o insumos químicos para la agricultura. (FAO, 1997)
La actividad agroindustrial no puede ser analizada en forma aislada al formar parte de un sistema
compuesto de elementos que la definen y la explican como entrada, salida procesos, fronteras y medio
ambiente donde se involucran personas, tecnología, capital, materiales, datos, regulaciones. (Heylighen,
1998)

Los clientes demandan alimentos procesados que les cubran sus necesidades, con calidad, de fácil
manejo; alimentos e ingredientes que no dañen su salud, frescos, alimentos complementarios de acuerdo
al estilo de vida, ricos en vitaminas, comidas rápidas que ayuden al consumidor a conservar su forma y
alimentos con alto valor nutrimental. (Cuevas, 1998)

Las estrategias comerciales para la industria agrícola se deben basar en cumplir con los requerimientos de
los consumidores, regulaciones y expectativas para producir bienes con calidad y seguros. La industria de

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los alimentos debe tener un impacto positivo sobre la seguridad alimentaria, contar con la capacidad de
ofrecer alta calidad a los consumidores sobre bases sustentables y ser innovadores en los procesos de este
sector,

Comercialización agroindustrial
El marketing agroindustrial estudia el movimiento y el comportamiento de los bienes y servicios
dedicados al sector agrario, haciendo énfasis en temas como la conducta del consumidor y la promoción
de productos agrícolas en el país y el mundo. Analiza los cambios y tendencias en los mercados de
productos alimentarios y sus implicaciones para las cadenas productivas agrarias. (Jáuregui, 2001)

La comercialización de los productos agrícolas se lleva a cabo en cuanto el productor vende a las
compañías encargadas de la distribución o transformación de estos bienes, estas empresas que le dan un
valor agregado al producto ya sea porque lo procesan o porque lo acercan a los consumidores tienen un
margen de rentabilidad más amplio que el mismo productor. Ante tal situación, es necesario capacitar a
los agricultores sobe las estrategias idóneas para comercializar sus productos.

Como en todo proceso administrativo debe hacerse una planeación, diseñar las estrategias de
mercadotecnia para la comercialización y los cursos alternativos de acción sobre los cuales se generan
decisiones más acertadas para el beneficio de la empresa agrícola. (Fischer, 2004) Para hacer realidad las
estrategias de marketing agroindustrial, serán necesarios varios elementos:

Estudios financieros: Análisis de inversiones a largo plazo y de costo de capital para los agronegocios,
incluyendo decisiones a largo plazo, valorización de activos durables, utilización de estrategias de
inversión, contabilidad en momentos de riesgo y relaciones de liquidez.

Logística de Agronegocios: Operaciones necesarias para llevar realizar procesos de comercialización
exitosos: a saber: transporte, bodegaje, cuidado y presentación.

Gerencia: Posicionamiento estratégico y dinámica competitiva. Coordinación vertical en las cadenas
agroindustriales. Estudios de mercado, de cambio tecnológico y como elemento importante la
investigación agrícola y técnica agrícola incluyendo capacitación.

Entre los elementos fundamentales se encuentra la remuneración de los recursos productivos (mano de
obra, capital tierra), las características de los precios y los aspectos medioambientales de la producción
con el fin de mejorar la productividad.

Analizar el funcionamiento y desarrollo de los mercados agrícolas y de alimentos y la evolución
comercial del mercadeo de los mismos, puede ser una estrategia válida para buscar desarrollo en las
sociedades y mejores oportunidades en los campos latinoamericanos. (Jáuregui, 2001)

Importancia de los canales de distribución

Las decisiones que se deben hacer sobre los canales de distribución dan a los productos los beneficios del
lugar y los beneficios del tiempo al consumidor.

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El beneficio de lugar se refiere a la acción de llevar el producto lo más cerca posible del consumidor para
que este no tenga que recorrer grandes distancias para obtenerlo y satisfacer así una necesidad. El
beneficio de lugar se puede ver desde dos puntos de vista:

El primero considera los productos cuya compra se favorece cuando están muy cerca del consumidor, el
cual no está dispuesto a realizar un gran esfuerzo por obtenerlos.

El segundo punto de vista considera los productos exclusivos, los cuales deben encontrarse solo en ciertos
lugares para no perder su carácter de exclusividad; en este caso, el consumidor está dispuesto a realizar
algún esfuerzo mayor o de menor grado para obtenerlo según el producto que se trate. (Thompson, 2007)
El beneficio de tiempo es consecuencia del anterior, ya que si no existe el beneficio de lugar, tampoco
este puede darse. Consiste en llevar un producto al consumidor en el momento más adecuado.
Hay productos que deben estar al alcance del consumidor en un momento después del cual la compra no
se realiza; otros han de ser buscados algún tiempo para que procuren una mayor satisfacción al
consumidor. (Fisher, 2000)

Proporcionar especialización y división de la mano de obra: es el desglose de una tarea compleja en otras
más pequeñas y sencillas para asignarlas a los especialistas, crea una mayor eficiencia y reduce los costos
promedio de producción.

Los canales de mercadotecnia también logran economías de escala por medio de la especialización y
división de la mano de obra al ayudar a los productores que carecen de motivación, financiamientos o
conocimientos para vender directamente a los usuarios o consumidores finales. (Moscoso, 2000)

METODOLOGIA

Hipótesis

La micro y pequeña empresa agroindustrial de Ensenada Baja California no ha desarrollado su potencial
económico, debido al desconocimiento de la creación de canales de distribución óptimos.

Tipo de diseño y estudio

Este trabajo de investigación tiene un alcance descriptivo, ya que pretende analizar el proceso de
comercialización de la agroindustria en la región. Es no experimental transeccional, pues no existe una
manipulación deliberada de variables, sino que estudia un fenómeno en su ambiente natural y en un
momento único.

Se utilizaron dos tipos de fuentes: las fuentes primarias que son los productores agrícolas del municipio
de Ensenada Baja California y las empresas que fungen como transformadores de alimentos o
intermediarios principales de los canales de distribución. También se utilizaron fuentes secundarias como
las bases de datos o de información que tiene el Gobierno del Estado sobre información económica y que
son para consulta de todo el público principalmente en Internet.

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Determinación de la muestra

Se analizaron las estadísticas de Municipio de Ensenada Baja California en el agregado del sector
primario, que incluye divisiones del sector agropecuario, silvicultura y pesca, también del sector
secundario que incluye a la industria manufacturera, en la división de productos alimenticios y bebidas.

El muestreo es a juicio no probabilístico, se identificarán a los principales productores del sector agrícola
del municipio de Ensenada Baja California, así como el canal de distribución y los intermediarios del
canal de cada uno de ellos.

Aspectos que no se incluyen en la investigación:
• Productos silvícolas de uso industrial al margen del sistema alimentario.
• Agroquímicos que contribuyen con insumos al sector agropecuario y que forman parte de otro
sector,
• Ramas del sector industrial que aportan maquinaria agrícola.
• Ganadería y pesca por producto, que forman parte del sector agro alimentario y que por la
magnitud del estudio no se incluyen.
• Los productos agrícolas con escasa representatividad en la actividad agroalimentaria del Estado.

Técnicas de recopilación de datos

Los métodos de investigación que se utilizaron para la recolección de información serán de dos tipos: la
observación y la entrevista. La observación se hizo directamente con los productores y con el
intermediario del canal de distribución. Las entrevistas se hicieron con base a un cuestionario directo no
estructurado y se grabarán, esto con el fin de organizarlos posteriormente.

RESULTADO DE LA INVESTIGACION

Al hacer un análisis del proceso que se lleva a cabo en el sector agroindustrial, pudimos percibir un atraso
tecnológico en el sistema de siembra y cosecha del 75% de las pequeñas empresas agrícolas, situación
expresada por los dueños de estas compañías, pues los productores con quienes platicamos identifican la
tecnología que se utiliza para la producción agrícola; solo que ellos no tienen acceso a ella debido a la
falta de crédito.

El proceso de producción agrícola comienza con un trabajo arduo en la tierra, pues el terreno se debe
preparar con anticipación para ser sembrado, los productores aprovechan las temporadas después de sus
cosechas para dejar “descansar” el suelo y luego adecuarlo para la siguiente siembra. Seleccionar la
semilla es vital para que la planta y el fruto sean de alta calidad.

La mayoría de los pequeños productores agrícolas de la región, se autoempleo en sus tierras, ello son los
dueños y trabajadores de su negocio. Empresas medianas de producción de productos agrícolas, contratan
personal por temporadas, es importante mencionar que este personal es capacitado para realizar las
actividades encomendadas; esta capacitación y actualización para la optimización de los recursos, no llega
a los pequeñas empresas.

El 50% de los productores entrevistados, dijo estar en contacto con compradores mayoristas para
venderles sus productos; sin embargo el otro 50% no negoció su producción de forma previa a la siembra;

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por lo que esto se traduce en un riesgo para la colocación de sus productos al mercado. Cabe señalar que
empresas más grandes y con capacidad económica, tienen contratos con distribuidores mayoristas para la
comercialización de su producción.

Los productores que han optado por buscar compradores mayoristas, lo hacen a través de las referencias
de otras personas; sin embargo no todos los años se venden al mismo mayorista y esto puede ocasionar
riesgo para el productor.

En la región de Ensenada, Tijuana y Mexicali, existen empresas mayoristas de estos productos, que
facilitan la comercialización entre el mercado. COLIMAN es uno de ellos. Esta empresa mayorista ayuda
a productores agrícolas para la siembra y cosecha. Este mayorista intermediario entre los productores y
los autoservicios o pequeños comercios que venden este tipo de artículos, ha generado una confianza
entre sus proveedores, de tal forma que ha participado financieramente en el proceso de producción; claro
comprando a precios especiales y asegurando la cosecha de los productos. Hay otros mayoristas como
ALTISA, que no participan directamente con la producción, pero realizan contratos para asegurar la
producción, optimizando el tiempo y sus recursos para mejor provecho.

Ambas empresas mayoristas, tienen prácticas que fomentan el crecimiento agroindustrial, ya sea
financiando o comprando la cosecha por adelantado; pero sus negociaciones van dirigidas principalmente
a empresas de producción agrícola de tamaño mediano o grande.

El sistema de canales de distribución en este sector económico es variado, pues puede utilizarse
únicamente un intermediario entre el productor y el cliente, o puede comercializarse con un mayorista que
le vende la mercancía al detallista; y éste a su vez lo hace llegar al cliente final, o simplemente el
productor lo comercializa de forma directa. Pero se revisó que entre las ventajas que se tiene al utilizar un
canal de distribución largo (productor – mayorista – detallista – cliente), el producto es cosechado en un
momento en el que éste ha crecido en su totalidad y sólo faltará madurar, esto hace que en la cosecha se
reduzca la merma pues el producto no ha madurado, manteniendo una alta calidad. Los mayoristas
transportan las mercancías en camiones con refrigeración aumentado el tiempo de vida y manteniendo la
calidad. Los sistemas de refrigeración o maduración que utilizan estas empresas son ideales para su
conservación, complementando y haciendo eficiente el proceso de distribución.

El pequeño productor agrícola que no utiliza canales de distribución complejos sino que él es que vende
su producto, no puede ofrecer la misma calidad que una empresa más grande.

Se observó el proceso de conservación y tratamiento de diversos productos agrícolas al visitar a los
mayoristas, y se comprendió el porqué de su existencia en este sector primario. El mayorista de este
sector es vital en el canal de distribución, pues cubre funciones de financiamiento, de almacenamiento de
mercancía, de distribución física de los productos y transfiere información hacia todo el canal para
eficientizar los recursos y mantener la calidad de los productos.

Los productos agrícolas líderes en la región según INEGI están la vid. La producción de vinos ha
impulsado que se desarrolle y repunte a nivel internacional.

La producción de fresa en el valle de San Quintín ha ido aumentando, aunque Baja California es el
segundo productor de fresa, se considera que en esta región se produce este fruto con alta calidad.
Ensenada es líder en la producción de hortalizas, pero tiene una baja producción de granos.

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CONCLUSIONES

En una economía competida, las empresas llevan a cabo estrategias agresivas de comercialización para
ganar y mantener a sus clientes. La competencia se lleva a cabo en todos los sectores industriales y a
todos los niveles, no importa que sean grandes, medianas, pequeñas o microempresas pues la lucha por
ganar mercado es una constante.

La industria agrícola de la región se encuentra compitiendo por ganar una parte del mercado,
enfrentándose a grandes retos para colocar sus productos entre los favoritos, para lograr tener una ventaja
competitiva debe tomar en cuenta varios aspectos importantes como: la creación del producto, el
establecimiento del precio así como de las estrategias de promoción y distribución, marcando con esto
una ventaja competitiva.

Los micro y pequeños productores agroindustriales de la región de Ensenada Baja California, no han
crecido debido a varios factores:

Falta de conocimiento de la existencia de programas de financiamiento que pueden ayudarlos a mejorar
las condiciones de trabajo y aumento de la producción.

La concentración de manera específica en producir sólo la cantidad de acuerdo a sus capacidades, o lo que
el mercado local requiera; por lo que se deduce que no hay un espíritu de desarrollo.

El micro y pequeño productor agrícola, no hace negociaciones con mayoristas debido a que su producción
es baja, y los mayoristas compran en grandes cantidades.

Si el productor tuviera acceso al crédito, entonces puede comenzar a incrementar su producción y utilizar
los beneficios que el canal de distribución puede ofrecer.

Por lo que se necesita mayor difusión de programas gubernamentales, o de la iniciativa privada, que
fomenten el desarrollo del campo, capaciten al productor micro y pequeño de este sector para la
optimización de sus recursos.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

(s.f.). Obtenido de http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/2002/santiago_del_estero/madre-fertil/agroind.htm

Cuevas, R. (1998). La competitividad en la Industria Alimentaria y la Educación de los Tecnólogos de
Alimentos. Guatemala: Asociación Guatemalteca de Tecnólogos de Alimentos.

Diez de Castro, E. J. (1994). Distribución Comercial. México DF: Mc Graw Hill.
FAO. (1997). The State of food and agriculture 1997. Rome.

Fischer, L. (2004). Mercadotecnia. México DF.: Mc Graw Hill.

Heylighen, F. (14 de Octubre de 1998). Basic Concepts of the systems approach. Recuperado el 26 de
julio de 2010, de http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SYSAPPR.HTML

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Jáuregui, A. (junio de 2001). Marketing Agroindustrial: una alternativa de desarrollo. Recuperado el 23
de julio de 2010, de
http://www.gestiopolis.com/canales/demarketing/articulos/no15/marketingagroindustrial.htm

Kotler, P. (2006). Dirección de Mercadotecnia. México DF: Prentice Hall.

Paz, H. R. (2008). Canales de distribución, gestión comercial y logística. Buenos Aires: Lectorum
Egerman.
Stanton, W. (2007). Fundamentos de Marketing. México DF: Mc Graw Hill.

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LA INTELIGENCIA COMPETITIVA EN LAS EMPRESAS
DE LA CIUDAD DE TIJUANA B.C.
Norma Leticia Vizcarra Vizcarra, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
Virginia Guadalupe López Torres, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Dora Rocío Guerrero Muñoz, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana

RESUMEN

El presente trabajo pretende ofrecer información que muestre la utilidad de la Inteligencia Competitiva
mediante el análisis de conceptos que describan la aplicación de esta en el desarrollo y creación de
empresas. Por tal motivo se llevo a cabo una investigación exploratoria de tipo cualitativo, mediante
consulta a diferentes fuentes secundarias de información, relacionadas con el tema y entrevistas a
profundidad realizadas a representantes de centros en los que se realiza inteligencia competitiva en la
ciudad de Tijuana, Baja California, México. Los resultados obtenidos, ponen de manifiesto la
importancia de esta herramienta en el desarrollo empresarial, al mismo tiempo que ilustran que su uso
en las empresas de Tijuana es incipiente.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Inteligencia Competitiva, desarrollo empresarial, empresas de Tijuana B.C.

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to provide information showing the usefulness of Competitive Intelligence by analyzing
concepts that describe the application of this development and entrepreneurship. For this reason
conducted a qualitative exploratory research, through consultation with various secondary sources of
information related to the topic and depth interviews with representatives of centers that perform
competitive intelligence in the city of Tijuana, Baja California , Mexico. At the same time, they show the
use of it in Tijuana emerging companies is not enough.

KEYWORDS: Competitive Intelligence, Business Development, Tijuana BC companies

JEL: D80

INTRODUCCIÓN

La innovación es un proceso informacional, en el cual el conocimiento – información con significado – es
adquirido, procesado y transferido (Hauschildt, 1992). Para Rothwell (1994) la innovación es un proceso
de acumulación de Know How y aprendizaje, cuyas principales ventajas se obtienen a partir de la gestión
dinámica de la información, donde la conexión entre las áreas internas y el entorno externo (proveedores,
distribuidores, clientes) de la organización busca realizarse en tiempo real y paralelo.

Ello demanda que las organizaciones cuenten con sistemas de información que les permitan transformar
datos en conocimiento, ante esta imperiosa necesidad emerge la Inteligencia Competitiva (IC), disciplina
definida como un proceso ético y sistemático de recolección de información, análisis y diseminación
pertinente, precisa, específica, oportuna, predecible y activa, acerca del ambiente de negocios, de los
competidores y de la propia organización (Sociedad de Profesionales de Inteligencia Competitiva (SCIP)
de Estados Unidos, citado por Massón, 2006).

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Massón (2006) cita a Deschamps y Nayak (1995) [citado en Rouach y Santi (2001)] para argumentar que
existen tres clases de IC: Market Intelligence, Competitor Intelligence y Technological Intelligenc.

Por otra parte, es pertinente destacar que los problemas que presentan las micro, pequeñas y medianas
empresas están asociados en gran medida a la obsolescencia tecnológica. El conocimiento y tecnología
contenido en las patentes de uso libre son una solución potencial cuando se hace uso de ella.

Para ello es necesario primeramente conocer dichas patentes, las búsquedas tecnológicas son una opción
para que el espectro empresarial, adquiera el conocimiento y la cultura de consultar las diversas bases de
patentes como fuente de solución a sus problemas tecnológicos, de producto y proceso, mediante la
incorporación del “saber hacer” (know how) contenido en las patentes.

Bajo este contexto el propósito de la presente es identificar 1) el nivel de conocimiento que tienen los
empresarios sobre IC, y 2) las fuentes que apoyan el proceso de la IC en los negocios de la ciudad de
Tijuana, Baja California.

Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, el trabajo se articula en cinco apartados. El primero de ellos se compone
de la presente introducción; en un segundo momento, se revisan distintas concepciones y referencias
sobre la IC, posteriormente, en el tercer apartado se describe el método utilizado para determinar el nivel
de conocimiento los apoyos para la aplicación de la IC en las empresas de Tijuana. Finalmente, los
últimos dos apartados muestran los principales resultados encontrados para concluir con las conclusiones
del estudio.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

De acuerdo con Sanmartín (2007) la Inteligencia Competitiva (IC) es una nueva disciplina importada de
Estados Unidos, inicialmente centrada en aspectos de marketing, pero que actualmente se extiende a un
amplio abanico de actividades, entre ellos tareas de Investigación y Desarrollo (I+D), recursos humanos,
y producción, como elementos clave en la adopción de decisiones estratégicas en la empresa.

Según Merino (2005) la IC surge cuando la empresa toma conciencia de la importancia del enfoque de
dirección estratégica, un enfoque de capacidades y recursos que permite mejorar el nivel competitivo
basado en la adaptación al cambio, el desarrollo de una cultura innovadora, la creación de estructuras
flexibles, el manejo de la anticipación y respuesta, entre otros.

Lígia (2008) cita a Valentim et ál. (2003) para definir la IC como un proceso organizacional cuyo
propósito es examinar el contexto de la empresa, para descubrir oportunidades y reducir riesgos, conocer
su ambiente interno y externo, a fin de coordinar el establecimiento de estrategias de acción a corto,
medio y largo plazo. Además Lígia (2008) argumenta que el proceso de IC necesita la gestión de la
información y la del conocimiento para desarrollar acciones en el ámbito corporativo.

El objeto de la IC es proveer la información necesaria para la toma adecuada de decisiones, adelantándose
a los acontecimientos. La IC es una actividad lícita y propia de un mercado competitivo, por ello siempre
debe obtenerse de forma lícita la información de competidores. La lógica de libre mercado se orienta a ser
mejor que el competidor, por lo cual es necesario saber cómo funciona dicho competidor (Sanmartín,
2007).

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Al respecto Merino (2005) señala que de todos los tipos de información en IC, la relativa a los
competidores siempre es un referente clave, dado que ellos se ubican en el llamado entorno específico,
que es el espacio más cercano e influyente en la realidad de cada empresa. Asimismo, Merino destaca que
la IC es más una cultura orientada a la creación de actitudes a favor de la creatividad, flexibilidad y
sentimiento de alerta organizativa.

La supervivencia de la empresa también depende de prevenir posibles actuaciones agresivas en el
mercado por parte de competidores. Por lo que no es suficiente mejorar; hay que hacerlo antes que los
demás (Sanmartín, 2007).

Es importante destacar que la información es la materia prima fundamental para el proceso de IC, también
es la base para la construcción del conocimiento corporativo (Davenport y Prusak, 1998; citados por
Ligia, 2008).

Para Lígia (2008) el proceso de IC necesita de la gestión de la información y la gestión del conocimiento
para desarrollar sus acciones en el ámbito corporativo, donde la gestión de la información, se refiere a un
proceso internacional que se desarrolla apoyado en el conocimiento explícito y enfocado hacia el negocio
de la organización.

Mientras la gestión del conocimiento es entendida como un conjunto de acciones integradas que intenta
mapear el conocimiento tácito con vistas a desarrollar en las personas un comportamiento dirigido a la
creación, intercambio y socialización del conocimiento en el ámbito corporativo.

Derivado de ello Sanmartín (2007) establece que la IC es una actividad lícita basada en información
accesible sobre una empresa, por lo que es imperativo proteger la información propia para imposibilitar o
dificultar que los competidores puedan predecir las futuras actuaciones en el mercado, conocer los
secretos o captar personal clave de la empresa. De ahí que los trabajos de IC incluyan la seguridad en la
protección de la información y la formación del personal. Además plantea que el último campo en materia
de IC radica en la contra-IC.

Rodríguez (2005) indica que en Alemania, Francia y Japón se reconoce la aplicación de la IC como un
factor fundamental para el desarrollo y logro de la competitividad, por ello se han creado diferentes
mecanismos que facilitan esta actividad, por ejemplo se crearon instituciones para facilitar el acopio,
análisis y diseminación de la información, apoyando programas de educación (tanto para estudiantes
como para empresarios) y a través de la implementación de programas específicos del gobierno, por
ejemplo los programas franceses de Inteligencia Territorial enfocados hacia la movilización de empresas
y territorios. De esta manera, en estas naciones varias de sus empresas cuentan con células formales de
Inteligencia Competitiva y Tecnológica desde hace varios años.

Sin embargo, en México aún no se ha llegado hasta este grado, ello se debe en parte a que en términos
generales existe aún desconocimiento acerca de la metodología de la IC y del valor que esta tiene, a pesar
de saber que la base de toda proyecto de innovación es realizar una buena búsqueda de la información
técnica existente.

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Rodríguez (2005) indica que los sistemas de IC pretenden determinar qué información sobre el entorno es
la más valiosa a fin de definir estrategias para obtenerla, procesarla y generar oportunamente un resultado
incorporable a la toma de decisiones de la organización.

Castorena y Salvador (2007) argumentan que cada vez se recolecta, procesa y se utiliza mejor la
información de diversas fuentes, aunque no se ha llegado a una adopción generalizada de prácticas de IC.
Citan a Rideg (2005) para señalar que a nivel internacional las empresas en general no han adoptado
prácticas sistemáticas de IC y continúan tomando decisiones muchas veces sin procesar la información.

Las empresas de carácter innovador y de base tecnológica, suelen desarrollar la IC como fase derivada del
enfoque aplicado de Vigilancia Tecnológica, centrado en el departamento de I+D y en las tareas de
análisis de patentes, tecnologías de competidores, entre otros (Merino, 2005).

La búsqueda tecnológica se hace para determinar el estado actual de una solución para un problema
técnico dado, así como servir de información de antecedente para actividades de I+D y para conocer lo
que está publicado en torno al campo tecnológico o investigación. Otras razones para emprender esta
clase de búsqueda son el deseo de identificar tecnologías alternativas que puedan reemplazar tecnologías
conocidas o evaluar una tecnología específica que se esté ofreciendo para licenciar o que se esté
considerando para la adquisición. Las búsquedas del estado de la técnica son especialmente útiles para el
desarrollo de tecnología o para propósitos de transferencia tecnológica.
De acuerdo con Merino (2005) la necesidad de la IC surge de los requerimientos de información sobre el
ámbito comercial y de mercado que completen y aseguren el éxito de los desarrollos de nuevos productos
y servicios.

Con este marco de referencia, se realiza el presente estudio diagnóstico de la situación de una muestra de
empresas tijuanenses, para conocer si utilizan la IC para la mejor toma de decisiones en cuanto a su
capacidad innovadora, la cual se puede traducir en nuevos procesos, productos, estructuras
organizacionales, entre otros, que les ayude a ser más competitivas.

METODOLOGÍA

El estudio exploratorio consistió en realizar entrevistas a profundidad a gerentes y/o directivos de nueve
empresas de la ciudad de Tijuana, las cuales fueron seleccionadas aleatoriamente de una población de
empresas grandes y de capital nacional, con el fin de identificar si conocen y aplican la IC, si la aplican
cuáles son sus prácticas, aunque en la investigación no se utilizó el término de IC per se (para evitar
interpretaciones confusas del término). Las preguntas se orientaron a conocer:
– Estilo de gestión y cultura de la información. Enfocada a conocer si la empresa utiliza la
información para la toma de decisiones y la valora.
– Conocimiento – Explotación de la IC.
– Hábito del uso de la IC y la información para la toma de decisiones. Evalúa la forma en que la
información en realidad se utiliza para mejorar la toma de decisiones en las empresas.

RESULTADOS

Respecto al estilo de gestión y cultura de la información, el hallazgo indica que en plena era del Internet
las empresas no suelen usar bases de datos especializadas en la búsqueda de información clave, muchos
de ellos desconocen su existencia, más aún que pueden acceder a ellas a través de cualquiera de las

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Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES) de la localidad dado que el 50% de los entrevistados tienen
convenios de vinculación con las universidades. Sin embargo, a pesar de que la calidad de la información
y su fuentes no sea del todo confiable las empresas si utilizan la información para la toma de decisiones.

En relación al conocimiento de la IC sobresale el hecho de que se ha escuchado el término, pero no se
tiene claridad del concepto. Se vincula a la IC con actividades de inteligencia de mercado, inteligencia
organizacional e inteligencia tecnológica, en particular orientada a tareas de canales de distribución,
estrategias de comercialización, desarrollo de modelos de negocios, capacitación empresarial, gestión de
crédito, sistemas de calidad en producción, análisis de tecnología y ciclo de vida de la tecnología.

Sin embargo, respecto a la inteligencia tecnológica, una tarea común son las búsquedas tecnológicas, a
través de las cuales las empresas identifican tecnologías alternativas que puedan reemplazar las
tecnologías propias. La figura uno ilustra la numeralia de 2003 a marzo de 2011, la cual denota que esta
práctica en Baja California es incipiente, infiriendo que en Tijuana la situación es la misma.

En cuanto a la explotación de la IC los resultados dejan ver que su uso es una práctica esporádica que
poco a poco va abriéndose camino impulsada por distintos programas de gobierno entre ellos destaca el
programa de desarrollo de proveedores de la Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico (SEDECO) del estado,
programa que apoya la IC de las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas en Baja California, este servicio
consiste en obtener y brindar información de productos, procesos y servicios que propicie la realización
de negocios en la región (SEDECO, 2008).

La figura dos muestra que las empresas que más utilizan la IC en Tijuana corresponden al sector
agroindustrial y a las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación, estas últimas ligadas a tareas diarias
de evaluación de tecnología y aprendizaje dado el dinamismo del sector. Dicha información fue tomada
de las nueve empresas seleccionadas, que sin ser una muestra representativa, debido al tipo de
investigación que se desarrollo en el presente trabajo, si representa un indicador del conocimiento y uso
de esta herramienta en el sector productivo de Tijuana.

Figura 1: Búsquedas Tecnológicas Baja California (2003 – Enero/Marzo 2011)

5 4 2
7
25 27 24
36
18
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

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La figura muestra la estadística de búsquedas tecnológicas realizadas en Baja California en el periodo de 2003 al primer trimestre de
2011según datos del Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial.
Fuente: IMPI (2011)

Figura 2: Sectores Explotan IC En Tijuana

La figura ilustra la conformación de la muestra de empresas utilizada en el estudio
Fuente: Elaboración propia

Por último, llama la atención de que la IC se use preferentemente para toma de decisiones estratégicas,
aún está lejos de hacer de su uso un hábito en la toma de decisiones, hecho que sin duda inhibe el
incremento en la competitividad de las empresas.

CONCLUSIONES

La IC es una herramienta común que se utiliza en Europa, Japón, Estados Unidos y otros países en las que
existen organismos especializados que brindan los servicios de la IC, dado que cada vez son más
empresas que hacen uso de ella para la toma de decisiones lo que las ha llevado a tener un amplio
panorama sobre su competencia y actuar oportunamente en consecuencia.

En el caso de México son pocas las organizaciones y empresas que ofrecen el servicio de la inteligencia
competitiva, el Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI), ha realizado incursiones en estudios
de Vigilancia Tecnológica y Competitiva dentro de diferentes sectores de actividad, apoyando
significativamente a los emprendedores en sus procesos de innovación, algunas de las secretarias del
estado como Economía y Relaciones Exteriores tambien brindan servicio de Vigilancia Estrategica
Competitiva para las pymes y mypimes del pais. El Banco de Comercio Exterior (BANCOMEXT)
también proporciona los servicios de Vigilancia Estrategica Competitiva.

En el caso de Tijuana, la investigación realizada ilustra que no se esta utilizando la IC, su conocimiento es
escaso, por lo que es necesario dar difusión a los beneficios que genera su uso, siendo conveniente dar
formación en IC a los estudiantes universitarios y a los empresarios en general a fin de apoyarlos para que
en el corto plazo la toma de decisiones se realice con base a información oportuna y pertinente de tal
forma que las empresas se tornen competitivas. Asimismo se propicie el desarrollo de una cultura en IC
que permita fortalecer los negocios, la generación de empleos y la mejora de la economía de Tijuana.

TIC’s
56% Agroindustrial
22%
Otras
22%

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Para ello sería importante impulsar la creación de un Sistema Regional de Inteligencia Competitiva y
Tecnológica (SRICyT) el cual integre al conjunto de actores e interacciones necesarios para impulsar la
transformación de información hacia el conocimiento estratégico a través de la operación del ciclo
virtuoso de un sistema de Inteligencia.

Los actores principales del SRICyT deben ser: el capital humano, recursos económicos, infraestructura y
herramientas de soporte (bases de datos, metodologías, software de tratamiento y análisis de
información). También es importante que participe el gobierno, las universidades e institutos y otros
agentes involucrados con la educación, las empresas (mercado de bienes y servicios), las asociaciones, las
entidades externas (fuera del país) y otros actores (colegios invisibles, agencias u otras organizaciones)
(Rodríguez, 2005).
.
En Baja California la educación en IC es nula, por lo que es urgente encaminar esfuerzos en esta
dirección. Según Rodríguez (2005) en México existe una necesidad latente por sensibilizar y educar sobre
la disciplina de la ICyT. Si bien se han desarrollado algunos esfuerzos significativos, aún falta mucho por
hacer.

La IC proporciona importantes beneficios para la innovación, tales como: generación de nuevos
conceptos, redefinición de los procesos productivos, desarrollo de los productos, redefinición de los
procesos de comercialización, así como gestión del conocimiento y de la tecnología.

REFERENCIAS

Castorena, D., y Salvador, M. (2007). La relación entre la inteligencia competitiva y la capacidad
innovadora de las empresas mexicana. PUZZLE: Revista Hispana De La Inteligencia Competitiva, 6(26),
21-27.

Hauschildt, J. (1992), External acquisition of knowledge for innovations a research agenda, R&D
Management, 22(2), 105-110.

Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (2011) IMPI en cifras. Consultado el 2 de junio de 2011, de:
http://www.impi.gob.mx/work/sites/IMPI/resources/LocalContent/820/27/IMPI_en_CIFRAS_ene_mzo_2
011

Lígia Pomim Valentim, M. (2008). La construccón del conocimiento corporativo: insumo del proceso de
inteligencia competitiva. Scire, 14(1), 15-29.

Massón G. J. (2006) Inteligencia competitiva: bases teóricas y revisión de literatura. Consultado el 2 de
junio de 2011, de:
http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=jose_luis_masson_guerra

Merino Moreno, C. (2005). Inteligencia competitiva y pymes. PUZZLE: Revista Hispana De La
Inteligencia Competitiva, 4(17), 10-14.

Rodríguez Salvador, M. (2005). Sistema nacional de inteligencia competitiva y tecnológica: educación
para un desarrollo innovador. PUZZLE: Revista Hispana De La Inteligencia Competitiva, 4(16), 12-19.

http://www.impi.gob.mx/work/sites/IMPI/resources/LocalContent/820/27/IMPI_en_CIFRAS_ene_mzo_2011

http://www.impi.gob.mx/work/sites/IMPI/resources/LocalContent/820/27/IMPI_en_CIFRAS_ene_mzo_2011

http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=jose_luis_masson_guerra

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Rothwell, R. (1994). Towards the fifth-generation innovation process, International Marketing Review,
11(1), pp. 7-31.

Sanmartín, D. A. (2007). Inteligencia competitiva: la aplicación de técnicas de inteligencia militar en la
toma de decisiones en la empresa. PUZZLE: Revista Hispana De La Inteligencia Competitiva, 6(25), 35-
39.

Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico (SEDECO, 2008) Sistema de Investigación, Innovación y Desarrollo
Tecnológico del Estado de Baja California. Consultado el 2 de junio de 2011, de:
http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/sedeco/2008/siidebaja.html

BIOGRAFÍA

Norma Leticia Vizcarra Vizcarra: Grado de Maestría en Administración, egresada de la Universidad
Autónoma de Guadalajara, Maestra de tiempo completo de la Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana (UTT)
y docente de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), integrante del Cuerpo Académico de
Mercadotecnia UTT, estudiante de doctorado en la UABC. Correo:vizcarranorma@hotmail.com

Virginia Guadalupe López Torres, Docente investigador de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y
Sociales de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Doctora en Ciencias Administrativas, Miembro
del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores. Correo: vglopeztorres@gmail.com

C.P. Dora Rocío Guerrero Muñoz: Licenciada en Contaduría Pública, Maestra de tiempo completo de la
Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana (UTT) integrante del Cuerpo Académico de Mercadotecnia UTT,
postulante a Maestría en Pedagogía en CETYS Tijuana. rocio.guerrero@uttijuana.edu.mx

http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/sedeco/2008/siidebaja.html

mailto:vizcarranorma@hotmail.com

mailto:vglopeztorres@gmail.com

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ESTRATEGIAS DE MERCADOTECNIA EN EMPRESAS
MANUFACTURERAS DE LA ZONA METROPOLITANA
DE LA CIUDAD DE PUEBLA 2010
Maria del Carmen Domínguez Ríos, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Maricela Resendiz Ortega, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Michele Alexandra Corona Domínguez, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla

RESUMEN
Este estudio es de carácter exploratorio y pretende comparar la utilización de la mercadotecnia en
micro, pequeñas, medianas y grandes empresas ubicadas en la ciudad de Puebla. Se diseñó una muestra
estratificada de quince empresas de diferente tamaño (8 micro y pequeñas, 2 medianas, y una empresa
grande) a las que se les aplico una encuesta. Las empresas presentaron diferencias en su apreciación de
la importancia de la mercadotecnia en función del nivel de escolaridad del gerente, de la aplicación de la
administración científica, del porcentaje que destinan de sus ventas a la mercadotecnia y del destino de
su producción.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Estrategia, mercadotecnia, manufactureras y México.

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS LOCATED
IN THE METROPOLITAN ZONE OF PUEBLA MEXICO 2010.

ABSTRACT
This study is descriptive and exploratory. It is an attempt to compare the use of marketing strategies
between small, medium and big companies. All the analyzed firms are located in Puebla. A stratified
sample was created. The sample had 15 firms, 8 micro and small, 2 medium and 1 big enterprises. All of
them answered a survey. The preliminary results are presented. One main conclusion is that every firm
had a different perspective of the importance and use of marketing strategies. This was correlated with the
manager’s years of education. Other factors that also were linked to better use of marketing strategies
were a professional and scientific management, the percentage of the sales devoted to marketing
department and the destination of its production.

KEYWORDS: Strategy, marketing, manufacturing sector and Mexico.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Las actividades que implican la mercadotecnia contribuyen, en forma directa o indirecta, a la venta de los
productos de una empresa. Con esto no solo ayudan a la misma a vender sus productos ya conocidos,
sino también crean oportunidades para realizar innovaciones en ellos. Esto permite satisfacer en forma
más completa las cambiantes necesidades de los consumidores, y a su vez, proporciona utilidades a la
empresa.

Estas ayudan a producir no solo la supervivencia de los negocios, sino también el bienestar y la
supervivencia de toda una economía.

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Los empresarios mexicanos requieren ser competitivos en el mercado nacional e internacional, para
poder sobrevivir en este escenario. Esto implica la necesidad de que las empresas administren con un
enfoque global la organización, planteándose una serie de cuestiones para tomar sus decisiones.

La investigación de mercados aporta la base de datos necesaria para facilitar la toma de decisiones de la
dirección de la empresa, que se apoyara en su experiencia, buen juicio y en el análisis de otros hechos.
Se realizo una investigación sobre las cuestiones básicas mencionadas en una muestra de empresas de la
industria manufacturera de Puebla, para determinar la importancia que tiene la mercadotecnia en el
proceso de toma de decisiones.

REVISION LITERARIA

“Mercadotecnia es el proceso interno de una sociedad mediante el cual se planea con anticipación o se
aumenta y satisface la composición de la demanda de mercancías y servicios de índole mercantil,
mediante la creación, promoción, intercambio y distribución física de tales mercancías y servicios”
(Kotler, 2005)

Marketing Staff de la Ohio State University.

“Mercadotecnia es aquella actividad dirigida a satisfacer necesidades, carencias y deseos a través de
procesos de intercambio.”(Kotler, 2005) Al interrogar a los empresarios sobre los conceptos de
mercadotecnia y ventas, se encontró que confunden estos términos por lo que es necesario señalar la
diferencia entre los dos conceptos. (Kotler, 2005)

El concepto de ventas se inicia a partir de los productos ya existentes en la empresa, y su función está
relacionada con la comercialización y la promoción con el fin de estimular un volumen creativo de
ventas. En cambio la mercadotecnia empieza con las necesidades de los clientes reales y potenciales de
la empresa, realiza un plan coordinado de productos y programas para satisfacer tales necesidades y sus
utilidades se derivan de la satisfacción del cliente.

La mercadotecnia es una filosofía de dirección que abarca todas las actividades de una organización
(Kotler, 2005)El objetivo de la mercadotecnia es el de buscar la satisfacción de las necesidades de los
consumidores mediante un conjunto de actividades coordinadas, que al mismo tiempo permita a la
organización alcanzar sus metas.

Las actividades que implica la mercadotecnia, contribuyen en forma directa o indirecta a la venta de los
productos de una empresa. Con esto no solo ayudan a la misma a vender sus productos ya conocidos, sino
también crean oportunidades para realizar innovaciones en ellos. Esto permite satisfacer de forma más
completa las cambiantes necesidades de los consumidores y, a su vez proporcionan mayores utilidades al
empresa. Están ayudan a producir no solo la supervivencia de la empresa, sino también el bienestar y la
supervivencia de toda una economía.

La seis funciones de la mercadotecnia proporcionan en conjunto el método de la mercadotecnia, porque
para desarrollar un producto el fabricante necesita saber primero quienes son los consumidores y sus
necesidades. La distribución sigue al desarrollo del producto ya que es imposible trasladar el artículo
antes de que exista. La promoción debe seguir a la distribución, porque si no es así se creara una
demanda cuando aun no se dispone del producto.

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La venta impulsa a los consumidores a efectuar el intercambio y la posventa afirma su satisfacción. Las
funciones de la mercadotecnia tiene una secuencia; este orden fue colaborado por las personas
entrevistadas. (Kramer, 2000)

Para que una empresa alcance los beneficios de la mercadotecnia deberá coordinar y administrar
adecuadamente las actividades que involucra la mercadotecnia y tomara en consideración la planeación
de la empresa con relación al departamento de mercadotecnia. La administración de la mercadotecnia
será entonces: el proceso de planeación, organización, dirección y control de los esfuerzos destinados a
conseguir los intercambios deseados con los mercados que se tienen como objetivo por parte de la
organización. (Kerin, 2000)

Ventajas de la planeación en la mercadotecnia

a) Estimula el pensamiento sistemático de la gerencia de mercadotecnia.
b) Ayuda a una mejor coordinación de todas las actividades de la empresa.
c) Orienta a la empresa sobre los objetivos, políticas y estrategias que deberá llevar a cabo.
d) Evita que existan sorpresivos desarrollos dentro de las actividades de toda la empresa.
e) Contribuye a que exista una mayor participación de los ejecutivos al interrelacionar sus
responsabilidades. (Konrad, 2001)

Muchas empresas argumentan que sin llevar planeación alguna en sus actividades ha logrado éxito en sus
negocios por lo que no la considera muy importante. Otras empresas, no aceptan la idea de dedicar
tiempo a documentar los objetivos, políticas, estrategias y programas de acción, ya que se lleve bastante
tiempo y creen como sus mercados y el medio en si cambian muy rápidamente, el plan ya no sería útil y
relevante. Estas son algunas de las razones que argumentaron algunos entrevistados que aun no han
introducido un plan de mercadotecnia que contribuya a una mejor realización de sus actividades.
(Kinnear, 2001)

Las empresas que si han desarrollado la planeación de la mercadotecnia han comprendido la necesidad
de desarrollar, coordinar y controlar en forma eficaz las actividades de la mercadotecnia. La
mercadotecnia se caracteriza por ser un proceso de resolución de problemas y de toma de decisiones.
Estas representan uno de los puntos cruciales de la empresa, afectan su imagen, tienen una influencia
crítica en sus ventas, es sus utilidades y el impacto es tan fuerte, que a veces influye en la resolución de
los problemas de la sociedad.

Los gerentes no solo deben sincronizar y armonizar las acciones individuales para alcanzar los objetivos
de la mercadotecnia, sino que deben coordinar también las actividades del grupo, con los esfuerzos de
organización externas como pueden ser agencias de publicidad, mayoritarias, investigadores, etc. La
mercadotecnia es una de las áreas principales en que constantemente existe la posibilidad de que resulten
anticuados los objetivos, las políticas y los programas.

En primero lugar el medio de la mercadotecnia tiene de a experimentar cambios continuos y rápidos. En
segundo lugar, intervienen también las deficiencias de organización que invaden todos los departamentos
obstaculizando su eficiencia óptima. Debido a estos factores es necesario llevar a cabo un control de la
mercadotecnia que es una consecuencia natural de la planeación de la mercadotecnia.

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El proceso de control en la mercadotecnia consiste en establecer normas de operación, evalúan los
resultados actuales contra los estándares ya establecidos y disminuir las diferencias entre el
funcionamiento deseado y lo real. Si los encargados de mercadotecnia descubren que hay diferencias
notables entre lo esperado y los resultados reales seguirán un curso de acción correctivo. Si consideran
que las diferencias son insignificantes, pueden no aplicar ninguna acción de esa índole.

Para fines de control, los objetivos deben ser factibles de medir. En la mercadotecnia se tienen dos clases
de medición: medidas de eficacia y medidas de eficiencia. Las medidas de eficacia reflejan el grado en
que se alcanzan las metas, en tanto que las medidas de eficiencia reflejan el costo de llegar a las mismas.
(Kerin, 2000)

Puesto que las cifras de venta reflejan la eficacia para satisfacer las necesidades y deseos del mercado, los
criterios de venta son las medidas de actuación más frecuentemente utilizadas. Los encargados de la
mercadotecnia de una empresa usan diversas cifras de venta para medir la eficacia como seria: el
segmento de mercado, el porcentaje de cambio en las ventas, cantidad de artículos devueltos, ventas
caídas del producto, tipo de cliente, etc.

La eficiencia mide en enfoque de los costos de las actividades de la mercadotecnia. Los encargados de
esta área emplean en ocasiones un índice tanto de eficacia como de eficiencia para medir las utilidades
estas se miden en función de las ventas (medida de eficacia) menos los costos (medidas de eficiencia).
El análisis de ventas, constituye un estudio detallado de las ventas netas del estado de pérdidas y
ganancias de una empresa. La administración debe analizar el volumen total de ventas y también el
volumen por líneas de productos y segmentos de mercado. Las ventas deben ser: comparadas con las
metas de la empresa.

El rendimiento de las ventas de una empresa, no indica si está ganando o perdiendo terreno en relación
con la competencia. Para esto, es importante analizar su participación en el mercado. (Kerin, 2000).
Existen por lo menos dos motivos para que la gerencia se interese por medir la participación en el
mercado. En primer lugar indica si los cambios en las ventas se debieron a factores externos
incontrolables o las deficiencias en el mercado de mercadotecnia. En segundo lugar, el estándar de
participación en el mercado supone la comparación del rendimiento de la empresa con el rendimiento
promedio de las demás empresas, no únicamente con el de las mejores compañías. (Kotler, 2005)

Una empresa puede observar el progreso de su participación en el mercado por líneas de productos, tipos
de clientes, regiones u otras clasificaciones. El análisis de la participación en el mercado requiere
información periódica sobre el total de ventas de la empresa y si es posible, sobre las ventas individuales
de los competidores.

La investigación de mercado surge como una herramienta de salvación para muchos directores y
personas encargadas de llevar a cabo el buen funcionamiento de la mercadotecnia y que son las personas
que enfrentan los problemas, con base en la investigación de mercados se van a gestar y tomar las
decisiones adecuadas para alcanzar las metas deseadas.

Para Harvard Bussines School la investigación de mercados es la obtención, registro y análisis de todos
los hechos acerca de los problemas relativos a la transferencia y venta de bienes y servicios desde el
productor hasta el consumidor. (Levin, 2001)

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Kotler la define como el análisis sistemático del problema, construcción de modelos y hallazgos que
permiten mejorar la toma de decisiones y el control en el mercado de bienes y servicios. La
investigación de mercados es una técnica sistematizada de recopilación e interpretación de hechos y datos
que sirvan a la dirección de una empresa para la adecuada toma de decisiones y para establecer una
correcta política de mercado. (Kotler, 2005)

Objetivos de la investigación de mercados

Objetivo económico. Determinar el grado económico de éxito o fracaso que pueda tener una empresa
dentro del mercado real o potencial y así determinar el sistema adecuado a seguir.

Objetivo administrativo. Ayudar a la empresa en su desarrollo mediante la adecuada relación,
organización control de los recursos y elementos de la empresa para que esta lleve el producto correcto y
en el tiempo oportuno al consumidor final.

En las empresas privadas la investigación de mercados juega un papel fundamental ya que es un
instrumento básico de desarrollo que va a proporcionar información en la fase de planeación ya sea a
corto o mediano plazo, sobre consumidores, distribuidores, precios, productos, promoción, competencia,
etc., y va a dar las políticas y planes a seguir en lo referente al mercado real o potencial.

Las empresas pequeñas muy difícilmente pueden contar con un departamento de investigación de
mercados pero bien deberían pedir asesoramiento a alguna agencia dedicada a la investigación de
mercados según las posibilidades que tenga y el giro al que este dedicada.

Por lo que respecta a las empresas medianas y grandes deben contar con un departamento pequeño de
investigación de mercados, ya que ellas tienen mayor necesidad, por el hecho de manejar unja gran
variedad de productos y de tener cadenas de tiendas en todo el país.

Objetivo De La Investigación

El objetivo de la investigación es conocer la situación que guardan las empresas en relación a la
utilización de los estudios de mercado.

1.-Nos interesa conocer la importancia que las empresas de la industria manufacturera le atribuyen a la
mercadotecnia, según su tamaño (de empresas).

2-. La relación que guarda la aplicación de estudios de mercadotecnia y el empleo de la administración
formal en la organización.

3.- La influencia que ejerce el tamaño de empresa en la utilización de mercadotecnia.

4.-La relación que guarda el empleo de la administración formal y al incursión del mercado
internacional.
5.- La incidencia que tiene el grado de escolaridad del gerente de la empresa en la utilización de la
planeación de la mercadotecnia.

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Hipotesis

Es de esperarse que en las empresas donde existe una administración científica, el conocimiento y la
importancia de la mercadotecnia sea considerado como vital para la supervivencia de la organización.
Las que consideran la mercadotecnia como parte de la estrategia de la organización son aquellas que han
incursionado o que están por incursionar en el mercado internacional.

En contraste, en las empresas donde no hay cultura organizacional, la mercadotecnia no existe como tal y
se utiliza la intuición para incursionar en el mercado, por lo tanto, su radio de acción se ve limitado al
mercado local y en el mejor de los casos al regional.

Los directivos de empresas que tienen estrategias de mercadotecnia consideraron ventajosa la apertura
comercial.

En contraste, aquellos que no tienen mostraran una mayor incertidumbre con respecto a su permanencia
en el mercado.

De acuerdo a las hipótesis, los indicadores que nos interesan son:
Nivele de escolaridad del gerente.
La existe una estructura organizacional.
Utilización de la planeación.
Utilización de estudios de mercado.
El porcentaje de ventas que se destina a la mercadotecnia.
Destino de la producción.

Para la obtención de la información se diseño una muestra estratificada de quince empresas de diferente
tamaño (8 microempresas, empresas pequeñas, 2 medianas, y una grande) y se aplico un cuestionario.
El tamaño de la empresa considero el número de trabajadores y en otros casos el volumen de ventas en
2010.

Las empresas que integraron la muestra tenían los siguientes giros: ensamble de vehículos, textiles, e
hilaturas, confección de ropa, purificación de agua, herrería, marmolería, y elaboración de alimentos.

RESULTADOS

Con base en la información procesada y que aparece en los cuadros que se encuentran al final de este
apartado, la muestra de empresas encuestadas mostró los siguientes resultados:

En cuanto al uso de esquemas de administración formal para el desarrollo de sus funciones, las empresas
encuestadas reportaron lo siguiente: las empresas medianas y grandes la utilización al 100% mientras que
las microempresas solo el 12.5%, concentrándose dichas funciones en el gerente que generalmente es el
mismo dueño. En las pequeñas empresas solo el 25% aplica la administración formal en la estructura de
su organización.
Lo anterior se relaciona con el nivel de escolaridad de los gerentes de las empresas, en las empresas
mediana y grandes donde se utiliza la administración de manera formal, el nivel de escolaridad es de
licenciatura y maestría en un 100% .En las empresas pequeñas, el 50% tiene gerentes con un nivel de

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escolaridad de secundaria o escuela técnica, el 25% terminaron la preparatoria y el otro 25% restante
posee el nivel de licenciatura.

En la microempresas, la preparación académica de quienes las dirigen se concentra con el 50% en la
educación primaria el 25% en la secundaria, el 12.5 % en el bachillerato y el otro 12.5% en licenciatura.
Esto incide definitivamente en la visión del futuro de los empresarios, en la aplicación de la
administración formal a la estructura de la organización y en el entendimiento de la importancia que tiene
la investigación de mercados para la toma de decisiones.

Por lo tanto, el nivel de escolaridad y la aplicación de una administración formal a la organización tienen
una alta correlación con la importancia que se les atribuye a la mercadotecnia como analizaremos a
continuación:

Todas las empresas medianas y grandes consideraron de vital importancia los estudios de mercadotecnia.
Estas empresas cuentan con departamento de mercadotecnia o utilizan las agencias especializadas en
estudios de mercado. La información que les ofrecen los estudios de mercado, es muy importante en la
toma de decisiones y en la planeación estratégica de estas empresas. La información les permite tener una
mayor certidumbre en sus decisiones. Son empresas que además implementan la planeación de la
mercadotecnia y la consideran una pieza fundamental para su sobrevivencia en el mercado ante la
apertura comercial.

Las empresas pequeñas en un 25% consideraron vitales los estudios de mercado para su organización, el
75% no los considera vitales, ya que estas empresas conocen su mercado más bien por la experiencia, por
el contacto directo con sus clientes y en donde dos de ellas es una comercializadora la que se encarga de
orientar su producción al mercado. .

Las empresas micro, por su parte dan muy poca importancia a la mercadotecnia su organización (12.5%),
esto explica porque tienen carencia de recursos y prefieren utilizar los gastos de mercadotecnia en el área
de producción además de que los consideran muy altos.

La importancia que atribuyen los empresarios según el tamaño de su empresa a la mercadotecnia tiene
una alta correlación con el porcentaje de las ventas destinado a ella, en las medianas y grandes se destina
el 10% y el 15% respectivamente.Respecto al destino de la producción, las empresas micro orientan su
producción en un 60% al mercado local, el 20% al regional, un 15% de su producción la destinan al
mercado nacional y solamente el 5% se canaliza al mercado externo.

Las empresas pequeñas destinan un 50% de su producción al mercado local, el 40% al regional, el 7% al
mercado local y solamente el 3% al mercado internacional. Estas empresas tienen identificado su mercado
y a sus clientes.

Por su parte las empresas medianas canalizan su producción en un 20% al mercado local el 40% al
mercado regional, el 7% al mercado nacional y el 10% al mercado externo, lo que muestra una mayor
diversificación de sus mercado respecto a las micro y pequeñas. En cuanto a las grandes estas se orientan
en un 50% al mercado nacional, el 20% al mercado externo y el 30% al mercado local y regional. Estas
empresas al tener información de mercado tienen un mayor radio de acción.

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Finalmente, estos resultados muestran, que la diversificación de los mercados depende mucho del tamaño
de la empresa, y de importancia que le atribuye a la planeación y a la mercadotecnia.

CONCLUSIONES Y RECOMENDACIONES

De los resultados que arrojo la investigación, podemos contribuir que las empresas medianas y grandes,
aplican en mayor medida la mercadotecnia en la planeación, para garantizar la venta de sus productos
debido a que el volumen de sus operaciones lo demanda.

Los problemas que presenta la investigación de mercados para las empresas micro y pequeñas, es el alto
costo que para ellas representa la información y la posibilidad de poder invertir en estos estudios.
En contraste, las empresas medianas y grandes sobre todo transaccionales utilizan en mayor medida la
investigación de mercados. En la actualidad, la información de los mercados es muy importante en la
toma de decisiones, sin embargo, las empresas micro y pequeñas deciden invertir su dinero en
producción o en hacer más productivos otros departamentos que en conocer mejor su mercado.

La falta de una cultura organizacional y la miopía sobre la importancia que tiene la mercadotecnia, limita
las posibilidades de crecimiento de sus mercados y las paraliza ante el mercado internacional. Las
empresas se quejan del alto costo de la investigación de mercados sin dejar de reconocer su importancia
algunos consideran que existen proyectos de inversión que justifican los estudios de mercados por el
riesgo que conllevan. Así mismo las empresas que producen en grandes cantidades, requieren de estudios
de mercado para colocar su producción.

Tomando en cuenta el objetivo de esta investigación, que es el de aproximarnos la conocimiento de la
situación que guardan las empresas con respecto a la investigación de mercados. Se puede concluir que en
lo general la muestra por tamaño de empresa se comporto como se esperaba en relación a la hipótesis.

A pesar del reducido tamaño de la muestra, considero que las empresas encuestadas representaron
significativamente las características del universo, la estratificación que se hizo de la misma permitió
corroborar, aunque con las limitaciones planteadas en el trabajo, las hipótesis del mismo.

Considerando lo anterior se recomienda que los organismos gubernamentales y empresariales, den un
apoyo más eficaz y eficiente a las micro y pequeñas empresas mediante la organización de asociaciones
de empresas de un mismo giro, para encontrar servicios de mercadotecnia profesional, comercializar sus
productos y diversificar sus mercados, antes de que se amplié más la brecha que la separa de la medianas
y grandes y antes de que se atente contra el empleo que estas empresas generan en el país.

Finalmente, para futuras investigaciones es muy importante que se considere la diferencia que guardan las
empresas en cuanto a su tamaño porque como se demostró en este trabajo, tiene una estrecha relación con
el uso de una administración formal para llevar a cabo sus operaciones, y con la utilización de la
mercadotecnia como instrumento de planeación y de crecimiento.

REFERENCIAS

Benassini, Marcela. (2001) “Mercadotecnia internacional: para abordar mercados extranjeros” en
Expansión, Agosto 17. México.

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Cadena, Héctor. (2003) “Segmentación y posicionamiento” en Expansión, Agosto 19. México.

Cervantes Aldama, Javier. (2001) “La investigación de mercados” en EXPANSION, Noviembre 13.
México.

Kinnear, Thomas C. y Taylor, James R. (2001) Investigación de mercados. McGraw Hill. México.

Konrad Fisher, Rossi. (2001) Glosario de mercadeo. Prentice Hall, México.

Kotler, Philip. (2005) Dirección de Mercadotecnia. DIANA, México.

Kramer Roland, L. (2000) Mercadotecnia Internacional. CIA general de Ediciones. México.

Kerin Roger, A. (2000) Contemporary perspectives in strategic market. Ally and Bacon. EUA. México.

Levin, Theodore. (2001) “Miopía en la mercadotecnia en Expansión. trad. De la Harvard Business
Review, Agosto 20. México.

BIOGRAFIAS.

Dra. Maria del Carmen Domínguez Ríos. BUAP Facultad de Contaduría Pública correo electrónico:
delcar59@yahoo.com.mx Blvd. Valsequillo No. 70 Col Universidades.

M. A. Maricela Resendiz Ortega BUAP Facultad de Contaduría Pública correo electrónico:
mero@live.com.mx Blvd. Valsequillo No. 70 Col Universidades.

Lic. Michele Alexandra Corona Domínguez BUAP Facultad de Contaduría Pública correo electrónico:
michicoronita@gmail.com

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CONDICIONES DE LOS FACTORES QUE INFLUYEN
EN LA COMPETITIVIDAD DE UN MUNICIPIO
FRONTERIZO
Oscar Omar Ovalle Osuna, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Silvia Hernández Solís, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Sergio Vale Sánchez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN
En este artículo se presenta una investigación de carácter documental acerca de las condiciones de los
factores que influyen en la competitividad del municipio fronterizo de Tecate Baja California México. El
método que se utiliza para realizar el análisis y determinar el diagnóstico de las condiciones de los
factores del municipio es el modelo del diamante de Michael Porter el cual permite ubicar los factores y
las relaciones con los actores influyentes en el desarrollo de la competitividad de la región. Los
resultados indican que Tecate Baja California tiene una ventaja comparativa en su ubicación ya que se
encuentra al centro del estado siendo frontera con Estados Unidos, además de poseer un clima que
favorece el cultivo de la vid y una fuente natural de vientos en parte de su región. Algunas de sus
desventajas comparativas son la infraestructura en sus vialidades y la calidad de capital humano
especializado. Se concluye que se debe analizar el contexto de los negocios y las relaciones con el
mercado, así como sus industrias de soporte y la postura del gobierno, con la finalidad de completar el
diagnóstico y dictar las estrategias que llevarán a las ventajas comparativas en competitivas.

PALABRAS CLAVE: factores de competitividad, modelo del diamante, municipio fronterizo de
México.

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LAS PYMES FAMILIARES VS. LAS NO FAMILIARES
EN EL CONTEXTO DE UNA ECONOMÍA EN
CRECIMIENTO: UN ESTUDIO DE CASOS SOBRE LA
CONTRIBUCIÓN DE LA INNOVACIÓN AL
DESEMPEÑO
Luis Antonio Moreno Segura, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Laguna

RESUMEN

En este artículo se realiza un análisis del contexto en el que las empresas familiares desarrollan
innovaciones en una economía en crecimiento estimando el impacto que en su desempeño tienen estas
innovaciones y contrastando los resultados en el caso de las empresas no familiares Pyme. Se consideran
tres tipos de innovación, de productos, de procesos y de estructuras organizacionales. Los resultados
muestran que el inicio de la actividad innovadora es mucho más empírico en las empresas familiares que
en las no familiares. La gestión de la actividad innovadora está a cargo de miembros de la familia y se
presenta más como una reacción y menos como una función proactiva. Las empresas familiares no tienen
convenios ni acuerdos formales con instituciones de apoyo a la innovación y el éxito en los proyectos
realizados se presenta más como un producto de la perseverancia, tenacidad y dedicación. Se concluye
que en el proceso que envuelve la actividad innovadora, existe un conjunto de factores catalizadores-
inhibidores que juegan papel determinante en la tarea de mejorar el desempeño de la empresa en el
contexto de una economía en crecimiento.

INTRODUCCIÓN

En la actualidad, el mundo vive inmerso en la dinámica de una nueva economía en la que la creación de
valor en los procesos productivos se fundamenta principalmente en el desarrollo de nuevas ideas,
pensamientos y productos que hacen a las empresas más competitivas. A través de la aplicación de los
principios de esta nueva corriente económica se ha comprobado que existe una correlación positiva entre
las actividades de innovación llevadas a cabo por las instituciones en una sociedad y el desempeño
económico de la misma.

En el contexto de una economía en crecimiento las empresas familiares, establecidas típicamente como
empresas pequeñas y medianas, se han convertido en un elemento de identidad que generan
oportunidades y riqueza no solo para los miembros de la familia sino para sus empleados.

Dada la importancia que este tipo de organización tiene en el desarrollo de un país o región, el presente
estudio se lleva a cabo con la finalidad de contribuir al actual debate acerca del impacto que la nueva
economía del conocimiento tiene en el desempeño de las empresas, especialmente en el caso de las
empresas familiares PYME.

La investigación se presenta organizada como sigue. Primeramente se lleva a cabo una revisión de la
literatura que fundamenta el objeto de estudio. Después se presenta el diseño de la investigación que
incluye la descripción de la metodología. Luego se muestran los resultados del estudio y finalmente se
presentan las principales conclusiones y las futuras líneas de investigación.

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REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA

La literatura revisada en la presente investigación sigue tres líneas fundamentales; el concepto de empresa
familiar, la innovación y el desempeño y la innovación en el caso de las empresas familiares.

Una empresa es considerada familiar cuando el control de las decisiones estratégicas se mantienen en el
núcleo familiar (Astrachan y Shanker, 2003), cuando se combinan operaciones complejas de negocios con
la dinámica familiar (McCann et al., 2003), cuando la empresa es poseída parcialmente por uno o más
miembros de una familia (LaPorta et al. ,1999) o cuando 50% o más de la propiedad se encuentra en
manos de una familia y al menos un administrador es miembro de la familia (Heck y Trent, 1999).

Por otro lado, la investigación sobre el tema de innovación y transferencia del conocimiento,
prácticamente no existía a principios de la década de los 70´s. Sin embargo, se puede considerar a
Mansfield (1968) como el investigador que desarrolló estudios empíricos serios sobre investigación
industrial y enfatizó la importancia que en la productividad y la innovación tienen factores como la
investigación académica básica y la difusión de las innovaciones tecnológicas.

Para Schumpeter (1934) la competencia económica que determina la diferencia en el mercado, es aquella
que incorpora innovación en procesos y productos y no aquella que se presenta solo a través de
diferencias en precios.

Los estudios recientes sobre el impacto de la innovación en el desempeño económico muestran una fuerte
correlación positiva entre la innovación y el crecimiento económico. Adams (1990) utiliza el número total
de artículos publicados por científicos en los Estados Unidos como una aproximación para medir la
generación de nuevos conocimientos. Guellec y Pottelsberghe (2001) muestran que la inversión pública y
privada en investigación y desarrollo tiene efectos positivos sobre el crecimiento de la productividad de
las economías de la OECD.

En la misma línea Chen y Dahlman (2004) apuntan que la pieza central de la nueva economía es la
existencia de sistemas regionales de innovación y para Wengel y Shapira (2004) la innovación es una
forma de reaccionar a los cambios que en el entorno se han presentado en temas tecnológicos y de
competencia.

Es importante reconocer que mientras que la innovación y sus efectos ha sido ampliamente estudiada en
el caso de grandes empresas (Zahra, 1993) y en empresas de alta tecnología (Koberg et al. 1996), el
estudio del impacto de la actividad innovadora en las empresas familiares ha sido tradicionalmente
ignoradas por los investigadores (Craig y Moores, 2006).

A pesar de que las empresas familiares han existido desde mucho tiempo atrás y que han sido reconocidas
como catalizadoras del crecimiento económico de la sociedad moderna, la investigación en el campo de la
innovación y la empresa familiar ha sido prácticamente nula (Craig y Moores, 2006). A pesar de lo
anterior, se reconoce que el papel que la innovación puede jugar en la empresa familiar es sumamente
importante ya que es capaz de potenciar su desempeño en los mercados en los que opera (Aronoff, 1998).
Van Gils et al. (2008) identifican tres tipos de innovación en las empresas familiares; de producto, de
procesos y de estructuras organizacionales. Los resultados de la presente investigación muestran que los

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tres tipos de innovación en las empresas familiares tienen diferentes antecedentes y son influenciados por
distintas características de la administración.

METODOLOGÍA

Esta investigación utiliza una metodología cualitativa, específicamente el método de casos como una
forma de alcanzar un mejor entendimiento del problema dado un tema de estudio poco conocido.

En el presente estudio los casos se han seleccionado con la finalidad de que proporcionen diferentes
perspectivas del problema y que a la vez sean consistentes con los objetivos de la investigación por lo
que se utiliza un diseño de casos múltiple. De acuerdo a Yin (1994), la selección de los casos en un
formato múltiple puede ser hecha siguiendo una replicación lógica literal, donde las condiciones de
selección dirijan a predecir resultados similares, o bien siguiendo una replicación lógica teórica, en la que
la selección de los casos permita obtener resultados contrastantes. Este último enfoque es el observado al
momento de seleccionar las empresas participantes en este estudio de casos.

La unidad de análisis está conformada por empresas familiares y no familiares Pyme del sector industrial
en la zona de la Laguna en el estado de Coahuila. La información fue recolectada en los meses de
diciembre de 2010 y enero de 2011. La Tabla 1 contiene la información relacionada a las empresas
seleccionadas para el estudio.

Tabla 1: Empresas Participantes en el Estudio de Casos

Empresa Giro Número de
Empleados
Productos
Elaborados
Familiar o No
Familiar
Tamaño
TecMur Fundición y
maquinado de partes
204 Compresores de
clima de mini Splits,
reguladores,
componentes para
reguladores de gas
LP, y dispositivos
hidráulicos.
Familiar Mediana
Cooper-Standard
Automotive
Fabricación de
autopartes
250 Fabricación de
conductores de
fluidos para la
industria automotriz
No Familiar Mediana
ITSA Fundición y
maquinado de partes
160 Compresores de aire,
bomba turbina,
lavables de presión y
cabezales de
engrane.
Familiar Mediana
Herseg Elaboración de
partes para la
industria del agua
230 Fabricación de
medidores,
impelentes,
conexiones y
válvulas.
Familiar Mediana
En esta tabla se presenta la descripción de las características de las empresas participantes en el estudio de casos. Fuente: Elaboración propia
con datos del SIEM (Sistema de Información Empresarial Mexicano).

RESULTADOS

De entre los factores que son considerados claves en el inicio de la actividad innovadora, resalta el hecho
de que la mayor parte de las empresas entrevistadas toman muy en cuenta la incorporación de nuevas
tecnologías y las especificaciones que sus clientes les solicitan para la elaboración de sus productos.

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El inicio de la actividad innovadora se aprecia mucho más empírico en las empresas familiares que lo que
sucede en las empresas no familiares donde los requerimientos de innovación se detectan de manera más
institucionalizada como es utilizando mapeos, revisiones periódicas y auditorías de proceso. En las
empresas familiares, la actividad se inicia más a través de lo que los propietarios visualizan acontece en
los mercados en los que se desempeñan y por medio de lo que sus clientes les especifican sin existir un
proceso definido ni un departamento a cargo de la función. Los encargados de detonar la actividad de
innovación son los gerentes de planta o de operaciones técnicas sin experiencia previa en la labor de
innovación, observándose adicionalmente que en el caso de las empresas familiares, los responsables
tienen más de 20 años en sus respectivos puestos y no se encuentra evidencia de que la actividad de
mejora haya generado patentes de nuevos productos o procesos. Incluso, en los casos analizados, no
existen presupuestos específicos que apoyen la función de Investigación y Desarrollo y lo que se invierte
tiene más naturaleza reactiva que proactiva.

Igualmente se puede observar que la heterogeneidad solo se presenta en el caso de la empresa Cooper-
Standard, empresa no familiar donde el equipo está conformado por todo un departamento de mejora
continua que es el encargado de coordinar el esfuerzo innovador a través de los llamados “Lean
Champions” o líderes de proyecto de mejora quienes a su vez tiene a su cargo a grupos de operadores que
trabajan en formas diferentes y mejores de hacer los procesos de planta.

Por otro lado y de acuerdo a las aportaciones hechas por Van Gils, et al (2008), respecto a la presencia de
un integrante de la familia como máximo directivo y la etapa generacional en que se encuentra la familia
y la disposición a innovar, así como las aportaciones de Zahra, (2005) y Kellermanns, et al (2008), sobre
el involucramiento de múltiples generaciones que incrementa la probabilidad de nuevas ideas en el
negocio, no se observa en los casos de las empresas familiares estudiadas impacto de dichas variables en
el desempeño del negocio.

Así mismo, las contribuciones hechas por Randoy y Goel, (2003) y Zahra, (2005) sugieren que la
participación de los propietarios como administradores apoyará de manera más decidida las innovaciones
radicales y que los desempeños de los directivos miembros de la familia tendrán mejores gestiones que
los no miembros. Sin embargo, en los casos analizados no se observa evidencia de apoyos decididos a la
actividad innovadora aún y cuando la gestión está completamente a cargo de miembros de la familia.
Las empresas familiares no tienen convenios ni acuerdos formales con instituciones externas de apoyo a
la innovación y el éxito en los proyectos realizados, se presenta más como producto de la perseverancia,
tenacidad y dedicación.

CONCLUSIONES

A través del presente estudio se puede concluir que:
1) Los hallazgos de la investigación sugieren que los factores generadores del esfuerzo innovador son: la
competencia global, las especificaciones de los clientes y la necesidad de incorporar tecnología de
vanguardia.
2) Se reconocen como catalizadores de la actividad innovadora el compromiso de la alta dirección, la
existencia de un departamento encargado de la función innovadora, un presupuesto asignado
específicamente para propiciar la innovación y la realización de convenios de colaboración con
instituciones externas.

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3) Se identifica como inhibidores del esfuerzo innovador, la resistencia al cambio, la dificultad para
modificar actitudes, el tiempo en el puesto del encargado de la función, la falta de heterogeneidad del
equipo encargado de la innovación y la falta de presupuesto para investigación y desarrollo.
4) El tiempo en el puesto del encargado de la innovación y la falta de heterogeneidad del equipo
asignado a la actividad, representan importantes restricciones a la innovación. Solo en el caso de la
empresa no familiar participante en la investigación, el equipo si es heterogéneo, formado por ingenieros
y operadores con una definición institucional de la tarea de innovación y con una medición objetiva de
resultados.
La Figura 1 ilustra el conjunto de catalizadores e inhibidores de la actividad innovadora.

Figura 1: Modelo de Factores Catalizadores-Inhibidores de la Actividad Innovadora

Del modelo propuesto, se puede concluir que en la medida que las empresas logren neutralizar con la
fuerza de los factores reconocidos como catalizadores, la fuerza de los elementos inhibidores, el
desempeño de la empresa resultará favorecido por la actividad innovadora a través de la generación de
patentes y mejora de procesos que la conviertan en una organización más competitiva en el medio en el
que se desarrolla.

Estudio futuros deberían incorporar temas como la importancia de la innovación en la estrategia
competitiva de la empresa, la relevancia del sector en el que se desempeña el negocio y la propensión a
innovar y la importancia que los acuerdos de colaboración tecnológica con universidades y centros de
investigación tienen al momento de mejorar el desempeño de la empresa a través de innovaciones de
negocio.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Adams, J. D. (1990). Fundamental Stocks of Knowledge and Productivity Growth. Journal of Political
Economy, 98 (4).

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Aronoff, C.E. (1998). Megatrends in family business. Family Business Review, 11 (3), 181-86.

Astrachan, J. H. y Shanker, M. C. (2003). Family businesses’ contribution to the U.S. economy: A closer
look. Family Business Review, 16(3), 211-19.

Chen, Derek, H.C. y Dahlman, C.J. (2004). Knowledge and Development: a cross section approach.
World Bank Policy Research, Working Paper 3366.

Craig, J.B.L. y Moores. K. (2006). A 10-Year Longitudinal Investigation of Strategy, Systems, and
Environment on innovation in Family Firms. Family Business Review, 19 (1).

Guellec, D. y Pottelsberghe, B.( 2001). R&D and Productivity Growth: Panel Data Analysis of 16 OECD
Countries, STI Working Papers, OECD.

Heck, R. y Trent, E. (1999). The prevalence of family business from a household sample. Family
Business Review, 13(3), 209-24.

Kellermanns, F.W., Eddleston, K.A., Barnett, T. y Pearson, A. (2008). An exploratory study of family
member characteristics and involvement: Effects on entrepreneurial behavior in the family firm. Family
Business Review, 21 (1), 1-14.

Koberg, C.S., Uhlenbruck, N. y Sarason, Y. (1996). Facilitators of organizational innovation: The role of
life-cycle stage. Journal of Business Venturing, 11, 133-49.

La Porta, R., Lopez-de Silanes. F. y Shleifer, A. (1999). Corporate ownership around the world. Journal
of Finance, 54, 471-517.

Mansfield, E. (1968). The Economic and Technological Change, New York: W.W. Norton & Company
Inc.

McCann, G., DeMoss, M., Dascher, P. y Barnett, S. (2003). Educational Needs of Family Businesses:
Perceptions of University Directors. Family Business Review, 16 (4).

Randoy, T. y Goel, S. (2003). Ownership structure, founder leadership, and performance in Norwegian
SMEs: Implications for financing entrepreneurial opportunities. Journal of Business Venturing, 18 (5),
619-37.

Schumpeter, J.A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development, Cambridge MA, Harvard University
Press.

Van-Gils, A., Voordeckers, W. y Hagedoorn, J. (2008). Nurturing Innovation in Family Firms: The
Influence of Managerial and Family Characteristics. Paper submitted for the 8th IFERA Conference. The
Entrepreneuring Family.
Wengel, J., y Shapira, P. (2004). Machine tools: the remarking of a traditional sectorial innovation
system. Sectoral Systems of Innovation. Cambridge University Press.

Yin, R.K. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2nd Edn. , Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Zahra, S.A. (1993). New product innovation in established companies: Associations with industry and
strategy variables. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18 (2), 47-70.

Zahra, S.A. (2005). Entrepreneurial risk-taking in family firms. Family Business Review, 18 (1), 23-40.

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LA PROFESIONALIZACIÓN COMO FACTOR DE
COMPETITIVIDAD: UN ANALISIS DE LAS EMPRESAS
FAMILIARES DEL SECTOR INDUSTRIAL, EN
TIJUANA, B.C., MEXICO
Alfonso Vega López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Virginia Flores Ortiz, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Marcela Solís Quinteros, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Edgar Armando Chávez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

El presente trabajo contempla una investigación para analizar la profesionalización como factor de
competitividad en las empresas familiares del sector industrial de Tijuana, B.C., México. Tomando en
cuenta que los fundadores de las empresas familiares son personas y en muchas ocasiones cuentan con
un con un alto grado de compromiso, son visionarios, dotados de gran confianza en sí mismos y con una
enorme fuerza de voluntad, que dedican muchas horas a las compañías, y muchas veces ignorando los
fundamentos básicos gerenciales para ser altamente competitivos. Para lograr los resultados se han
realizado 117 encuestas representativas a los propietarios registrados en el Sistema de Información
Empresarial Mexicano, (SIEM, correspondiente a Tijuana, en Baja California. México. Realizándose el
análisis estadístico a través del sistema SPSS 15.0

PALABRAS CLAVES: profesionalización, competitividad, sector industrial

INTRODUCCIÓN

Hoy en día, el país continúa enfrentando el reto de que las empresas familiares evolucionen y la
profesionalización es parte de esa evolución, por lo cual los propietarios deben hacerse la pregunta ¿si
realmente están siendo competitivas sus empresas?, y pensar seriamente en dar ese paso y buscar el
siguiente nivel para sus organizaciones. Las propias características de la empresa familiar, con directivos
familiares, las tensiones y conflictos internos, en muchas ocasiones pueden merman la competitividad de
la misma, aun así, este tipo de empresas muestran características diferenciales que bien encaminadas,
sabiéndolas utilizar y aplicar les aportan ventajas competitivas, todo esto con miras a buscar una
perspectiva empresarial de largo plazo, de tal modo, que no solo busquen lograr objetivos inmediatos,
sino que logren la transición de la primera, a la segunda generación y tercera generación.

Una de las principales limitantes de las empresas familiares, es que llevan la informalidad del trato
familiar, a la formalidad de una organización considerada como profesional. Con el tiempo, el
crecimiento del sistema familia-empresa-propiedad exige un trato más profesionalizado, esto es, darle al
proceso de toma de decisiones una forma ordenada, considerando muchas veces una correcta aplicación
de la administración y la cultura organizacional de la misma. Toda empresa que desee preservar su
carácter familiar debe tener la capacidad de profesionalizarse, tomando en cuenta que esto incluye atraer y
retener a directivos no familiares y planificar la sucesión de su dirección, es decir, el propietario debe
saber cuándo es el momento de ceder la batuta y garantizar la competencia del sucesor.

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En la mayoría de las empresas familiares el bajo grado de profesionalización, lleva a que se elija a los
directivos entre los miembros de la familia, lo que conlleva en muchas ocasiones a malas elecciones.
Como decía un sabio propietario de una importante empresa familiar, lo cual no siempre es la mejor
decisión.
Por lo tanto, la profesionalización debe ser algo bien pensando y se debe llevar a cabo estableciendo
reglas, estructura y un modelo de sociedad, que contemple el conflicto de intereses entre las prioridades y
estrategias colectivas de la empresa, los caprichos, deseos y celos individuales de los socios. En este
proceso hay que involucrar a todos; es decir, herederos directos e indirectos.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

La empresa familiar características y funcionamiento.

Lozano (2009), hace referencia de que la empresa familiar se considera de gran importancia en la
economía de un país con un sistema libre de mercado, pues representa un alto porcentaje del total de las
empresas que operan en este (Neubauer y Lank, 1999; Rutherford, Muse y Oswald, 2006)

Gallo, Lansberg, cfr., Dodero, (2002), definen a la empresa familiar como aquella que incluye dos o más
miembros de la familia teniendo control financiero sobre ella (Donelly, 1964). En términos generales se
suele asociar a las empresas familiares con las empresas pequeñas y mediana con escasa
profesionalización; pero su característica principal y lo que define la esencia de este tipo de
organizaciones, no es el tamaño, eficacia de la gestión directiva, sino el hecho de que la propiedad y el
control de la dirección está en manos de uno o más miembros de un mismo grupo familiar y que existe
intención de que la empresa siga en manos de la familia.

El modelo de los tres círculos (Tagiuri y Davis, 1982), es uno de los que han sido más empleados para
describir distintas situaciones actuales y futuras de las empresas familiares. En este modelo cada círculo
representa un grupo de personas, con particulares características en relación con la empresa familiar, y las
intersecciones de los círculos los grupos de personas que poseen dos o tres de las tres características
identificadas por el modelo.

Según coincidan en mayor o menor grado los tres círculos, es decir, estos se superpongan como atraídas
por una fuerza centrípeta, algo que suele ocurrir en primera y segunda generación, o se distancien como
separados por una fuerza centrífuga, como acostumbra a pasar en empresas familiares de gran tamaño, se
estará frente a distintos tipos de empresas familiares, con características muy diferentes, por el número de
protagonistas que en ellas trabajan o con ellas tienen relación, por los distintos roles que desempeñan y
sus diferentes intereses, así como por el contenido de las relaciones y actitudes que entre unas y otras
personas se dan. Otra característica que destaca en estas empresas es la cultura, o dicho en otras palabras,
los valores, actitudes y creencias propias de una familia que mayoritariamente dirige y controla la
empresa en cuestión.

Esta cultura define el funcionamiento interno que adoptará la firma y debido a ello también han sido
cuantiosos los autores que han tratado de estudiarla con el fin de obtener resultados acerca de la
problemática específica de la empresa familiar. Sobre esta cuestión podrían destacarse los trabajos de
Dyer (1986) y Gallo (1992), los cuales realizan un exhaustivo análisis de la incidencia de dichos valores
en los negocios de tipo familiar.Por último, hay que subrayar otro aspecto significativo que es la visión a
largo plazo que este tipo de negocios plantea y que es fruto de numerosas disparidades con las empresas

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no familiares. Estudios como los realizados por Daily y Dollinger (1991; 1992; 1993) o Donckels y
Fröhlich (1991), demuestran esa afinidad a la continuidad a lo largo de las generaciones, la cual implica
uno de los problemas más importantes tratados a través de los años como es la sucesión, puesto que aun
existiendo esa visión a largo plazo, muchas empresas no logran superar el cambio de generación.

Competitividad y empresa familiar

Entendemos por competitividad a la capacidad de una organización pública o privada, lucrativa o no, de
mantener sistemáticamente ventajas que le permitan alcanzar, sostener y mejorar una determinada
posición en el entorno socioeconómico.” La ventaja de una organización estaría en su habilidad, recursos,
conocimientos y atributos de los que dispone dicha organización, los mismos de los que carecen sus
competidores o que estos tienen en menor medida que hace posible la obtención de los rendimientos
superiores a los de aquellos.

Competitividad es un término que se utiliza con frecuencia pero que rara vez se define. En realidad no
hay consenso sobre el concepto de competitividad. Competitividad es una traducción libre de lo que en
inglés es “Competitiveness”, que quiere decir: “justa, rivalidad”, y que deriva de la competencia.
Económicamente, es la creación y mantenimiento de un mercado en el que participan numerosas
empresas y donde se determina el precio conforme a la ley de la oferta y la demanda”. (Chauca, 2000).

Es importante para efectos de la investigación determinar la posición competitiva de México y de acuerdo
con el Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad, conocido por sus siglas, por IMCO, (2009), como la
capacidad de atraer y retener inversiones. La definición mostrada anteriormente implica que para poder
atraer y retener inversiones, es necesario que un país ofrezca las condiciones integrales aceptables en el
ámbito internacional para maximizar el potencial socioeconómico de las empresas y personas que en él
radican y, además incrementar de forma sostenida su nivel de bienestar, más allá de las posibilidades
intrínsecas que sus propios recursos, capacidad tecnológica y de innovación ofrezcan y, todo ello, con
independencia de las fluctuaciones económicas normales por las que el país atraviese.

De acuerdo con datos de la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (OCDE), en el
2010, México ocupó la posición número sesenta y seis de Competitividad a nivel mundial, Asimismo, la
posición competitiva del estado de Baja California, de acuerdo a los indicadores de competitividad, de
los estados del país, en el índice general de competitividad de 2007, Baja California ocupa el cuarto lugar
a nivel nacional, asimismo se encuentra en el cuarto lugar en desempeño económico, séptimo lugar en
eficiencia gubernamental, el cuarto lugar en eficiencia en los negocios, y por ultimo en séptimo lugar en
infraestructura.Las organizaciones competitivas serán la base para que la economía de un país sea fuerte y
sólida. Todo se puede lograr si un país cuenta con población competente, lo cual significa gente capaz de
crear e innovar, que cuente con las facultades necesarias para desarrollar y operar sistemas tanto
tecnológicos como organizacionales que generen satisfactores de óptima calidad.” (Cantú, 2001).

La profesionalización y la competitividad

En la actualidad nos encontramos en un mundo globalizado, pertenecemos a una unión de países y las
empresas familiares en México, enfrentan la falta de profesionalización, la cual se debe llevar esta a
cabo estableciendo reglas, estructura y un modelo de sociedad, que contemple el conflicto de intereses
entre las prioridades y estrategias colectivas (de la empresa) y los caprichos, deseos y celos individuales
(de los socios). Lozano (2009), menciona que se debe tomar en cuenta que la formación en valores y en

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habilidades de liderazgo, debe complementarse con la formación en áreas administrativas o en un área
técnica importante, esto es, educación formal, que le de capacidades al potencial sucesor de trabajar en la
empresa familiar, (Venter et al.m 2005: Lambrechet, 2005).

En este proceso hay que involucrar a todos; es decir, herederos directos e indirectos. Es probable que, en
algún momento de la vida de una empresa familiar, sus dueños piensen que deberán profesionalizarla.
Con frecuencia se considera que “profesionalizar” significa cambiar la administración familiar por otra no
familiar. En otras palabras, que basta con elegir a un ejecutivo ajeno a la familia para que conduzca el
negocio. (Davis, 2007) Una compañía es considerada profesional cuando muestra altos niveles de
desempeño y ética. Esos niveles se alcanzan generando culturas que pongan énfasis en el desempeño, al
tiempo que adhieren a valores fundamentales de la compañía, aprenden en forma constante, y se
esfuerzan por lograr la igualdad en reconocimiento y recompensas. Las culturas de negocios profesionales
se nutren de los esfuerzos de sus líderes y de procesos “formales”: fijar metas y reglas claras, valorar el
desempeño y la ética de los empleados, contratar personal sobre la base de su capacidad para contribuir, y
otorgar ascensos también en función de las contribuciones. Una compañía puede ser de propiedad de una
familia, estar administrada por la familia y ser profesional.

La profesionalización nada tiene que ver con categorías, sino con actitudes y comportamientos
personales. Y, de hecho, es posible que los miembros de la familia que posean la combinación apropiada
de cualidades, tengan ciertas ventajas al administrar el negocio, en especial para asegurar a los principales
interesados—familiares accionistas, empleados, clientes y proveedores— que la empresa es estable y
pueden confiar en ella. Por lo tanto, no hay que caer en la trampa de suponer que para hacer más
profesional una empresa hay que deshacerse de los empleados-familiares. La profesionalización en las
empresas familiares, consiste en hacer que las actividades, se ejecuten con criterios empresariales de
eficiencia y evaluación de resultados, sin que la toma de decisiones, se encuentren influenciadas por
criterios familiares, que no siempre son compatibles con los empresariales. Para ello, se debe disponer de
un equipo directivo con experiencia en los negocios y conocimientos técnicos en administración de
empresas.La profesionalización en México continúa enfrentando el reto de adoptar prácticas de gobierno
corporativo para profesionalizar a sus empresas familiares, por lo que si busca acelerar el paso en la
materia, requiere de “un sistema político unificado que ayude a crear la infraestructura educativa
necesaria para tener incentivos reales en el acceso al financiamiento. (Davis, 2007) De acuerdo con Farías
(2005), para el desarrollo de las empresas familiares, es importante la profesionalización de la empresa,
ya que es un paso decisivo para manejar los conflictos potenciales entre los valores, metas de la familia y
la organización, una ventaja significativamente importante para la mayoría de las empresas familiares.
Por lo cual la profesionalización significa: “llevar a la empresa de una gestión empírica a una científica,
que conduzca al desarrollo empresarial, permitiendo la transición de la empresa a través de etapas que la
hagan más competitiva. Asimismo, el desarrollo de una empresa es un proceso de cambio no estructurado,
ya que el empresario conoce la situación actual de la organización, pero no conoce los procedimientos y
en muchos casos, no tiene definida su visión (el lugar hacia donde quiere ir). Uno de los principales
objetivos de la profesionalización, implica modificar su estructura; los problemas que hay que resolver, en
este aspecto se resumen en los siguientes puntos: cómo funcionará la comunicación en la empresa, cómo
se tomarán las decisiones, cómo se establecerán las pautas de manejo, cómo se determinarán las
responsabilidades y se delegará autoridad, cómo se reconocerá y compensará el rendimiento. (Farías,
2005) Para efectos de esta investigación, se toma en cuenta en el proceso de profesionalización, la cultura
organizacional, liderazgo y la capacitación, como los elementos que inciden de manera directa en la
profesionalización y son factores de competitividad.

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MÉTODO

La metodología de investigación es cuantitativa y cualitativa. La investigación cuantitativa se aplica para
el levantamiento de encuestas, a través de cuestionarios a los propietarios según una muestra aleatoria de
la población total de las empresas familiares del sector industrial. Se procesará la información recabada
con aplicación del programa estadístico SPSS para el análisis descriptivo e inferencial.

Problemática y Justificación

En el escenario actual de la economía mexicana, se encuentran un número significativo de empresas
familiares, en las que de acuerdo a las características del tiempo presente, en donde la turbulencia es muy
agresiva, producto de la inestabilidad política, que ha incidido en lo económico, aunado a la poca
formación de sus gerentes con respectos a los conocimientos gerenciales que hoy en día se requieren,
algunas empresas han cerrado y otras se encuentran estancadas, lo que conlleva a que se tomen las
medidas y acciones adecuadas para contrarrestar los efectos de las variables de contingencias del
entorno.La profesionalización de las empresas familiares en México, así como en Tijuana, B.C. es tan
importante, ya que su existencia puede depender de dicho factor. Muchas empresas, al iniciar la
producción de bienes o servicios, deben contemplar y considerar los diferentes factores que inciden en su
negocio.

Objetivos.

Objetivo Específico. Determinar los factores de competitividad que inciden en la profesionalización de
las empresas familiares del sector industrial, de Tijuana, B.C., México.

Muestra

Para ello, se considera la profesionalización como factor de competitividad como variable dependiente y
las variables independientes a) Proceso de profesionalización, b) Selección, c) Liderazgo, d)
Capacitación, e) Cultura organizacional, f) Familia, suponiendo por consiguiente que la
profesionalización representa el elemento de “competitividad” con la situación de la organización.
Determinación de la Muestra. Para el presente trabajo se eligió una muestra de 117 propietarios de
empresas familiares del sector industrial del Sistema de Información Empresarial Mexicana (SIEM)
Marzo 2010, Tijuana, Baja California.

Factores que se consideraron en el cálculo de la muestra:

a) La población se considera con características homogéneas.
b) Se cuenta con una población finita, ya que el número de empresas familiares es conocido.
c) Fórmula empleada para el cálculo de la muestra:
d)
n = ∂²pq (1)
e²(N-1)∂²pq

Tabla 1: Total de Empresas según SIEM, Marzo 2010.

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Población Muestra
Total de empresas 689 117
Esta tabla muestra que el total de las empresas encuestas si cuenta con un nivel de confiabilidad .

Validación Del Instrumento

A los propietarios se les aplicó un cuestionario conformado con 41 preguntas, el cual fue validado
relacionado al tema de estudio. Se utilizó una escala de medición con categorías de respuestas de opción
múltiple. Se elaboraron los cuadros que permiten un análisis de los factores que inciden en el proceso de
profesionalización de las empresas familiares. La validez del cuestionario se determinó mediante el
coeficiente de confiabilidad de Alfa-Cronbach, por medio del programa SPSS: el resultado arrojado por
dicho programa fue de .80, un grado de confiabilidad aceptable (ya que esta por arriba .60 y de 0.70,
puntuación mínima aceptable.).

Tabla 2: Análisis de Fiabilidad

Alfa de Cronbach No. de elementos
.878 41
Fuente: elaboración propias con datos del spss. (2011)

RESULTADOS

Tabla 3: Correlaciones Bivariadas (Matriz de Pearson) de las variables dependientes

Correlacion Variables Correlación

Cultura Organizacional – Seleccion del sucesor
Cultura Organizacional- Proceso de Profesionalizacion
Cultura Organizacional-Cultura Organizacional
Capacitacion – Capacitacion
Proceso de profesionalizacion – Proceso de Profesionalizacion
Proceso de Profesionalización – Capacitación
Liderazgo- Liderazgo

.522**
.558**
.522**
.653**
.568**
.568**
558**.
En la tabla se observa n las correlaciones resultado del análisis estadístico a través del SPSS 15. Fuente elaboración propia (2011)
**La correlación es significativa en el nivel 0.01 * La correlación es significativa en el nivel 0.05

Los resultados de las correlaciones anteriores permiten concluir que dos variables están relacionadas con
otras dos variables: Se propone como estrategia de investigación que, a partir de la evidencia empírica
que arroja la matriz de coeficientes de correlación de Pearson, considerar sólo aquellas correlaciones
significativas al rango de 0.01 y 0.05 y de una magnitud igual o mayor a 0.5, lo cual representa una
correlación positiva de moderada a fuerte. Al realizar el análisis de correlación, se determina que los
factores de competitividad que inciden de manera directa en la profesionalización son los siguientes:

a) Dentro de la cultura organizacional en las empresas familiares del sector industrial no existe
resistencia al cambio de parte de los empleados, así como no se presenta de parte de la familia.

b) A través de la capacitación existe una incorporación de directivos no familiares y existe la
permanencia de los directivos no familiares dentro de las empresas familiares del sector
industrial.

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c) Asimismo existen mecanismos que permiten a las familias de las empresas familiares del sector
industrial preparar el proceso de profesionalización.

d) De igual manera existen estos mecanismos al interior de las empresas que preparan a los
empleados para la transición de la profesionalización.

e) Por lo tanto existen procesos de control de administración al interior de la empresa que permiten
evaluar la calidad de gestión de los nuevos profesionales dentro de las organizaciones.

f) Se presenta la existencia de la posibilidad de un crecimiento profesional de directivos no
familiares, por la permanencia de este personal dentro de las empresas, a través de la
capacitación.

g) También existen procesos competitivos de selección de los directivos que permiten que esta se
efectué por los mecanismos ya definidos dentro de las empresas.

h) Estos mecanismos ya establecidos dentro de las empresas facilitan a la familia preparar a los
trabajadores y planear el proceso de profesionalización.

i) El liderazgo se ve reflejado en cuanto a que los profesionales que se incorperan a la empresa
presentan un alto grado de proactividad, logrando así un liderazgo efectivo.

j) Cabe resaltar que la planificación del proceso de profesionalización se debe llevar a cabo a través
de un protocolo familiar, en donde se establezcan los procesos de preparación de sucesores
profesionales al interior de la empresa, así como la existencia de mecanismos que preparen a los
empleados para el proceso de profesionalización.

k) Asimismo la capacitación incide de manera directa en el proceso de profesionalización,
resaltando la importancia de que tanto directivo como familiares como no familiares, deben
contar con una educación formal, es decir una carrera profesional

Figura 1: Factores de la Profesionalización como Factor de Competitividad

Fuente elaboración propia Vega, A. y Flores V. 2011

En la figura 1, se muestra los factores de competitividad que inciden en la profesionalización, como factor

Proceso de Profesionalización

Capacitación Cultura Organizacional

Liderazgo

Empresa
Profesionalización como factor de
Competitividad

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de competitividad en las empresas familiares del sector industrial en Tijuana, B.C., dando como resultado
que el proceso de profesionalización y la capacitación, presentando estas empresas un promedio de
antigüedad de 9.6 años, por lo anterior, entre más antigua sea la organización, mas formalizado estará su
comportamiento, ya que ejercen una influencia más pronunciada en la parte intermedia de la estructura de
la organización.

CONCLUSIONES

El principal reto de las empresas familiares del sector industrial, es perdurar por varias generaciones. En
el contexto actual, las organizaciones están cerrando de manera continua, y ya no pueden mantenerse sin
profesionalizar su administración, debido principalmente al entorno cambiante y a que deben ser
competitivas dentro de los mercados globales, quedando atrás el esquema en donde las empresas
aprendían sobre la marcha, porque los cambios son tan acelerados que las organizaciones de este tipo
tienden a desaparecer. Por consiguiente, no debe ser pretexto, el que las organizaciones sean empresas
familiares, para no llevar una óptima administración, cuando debería ser lo contrario, ya que inician como
un pequeño negocio, que bien administrado puede ir creciendo, a través, de la implementación de
estrategias, técnicas y herramientas eficientes. En la etapa de planeación, los propietarios deben
considerar que uno de los mejores caminos para tener una compañía fortalecida es la profesionalización,
para lo cual, deben tomar en cuenta lo siguiente:

a) Contratar un porcentaje de directivos o gerentes no familiares ya que estos van a tener una visión
más objetiva y amplia experiencia acerca de lo que sucede, así como una gestión sin los vicios de
las relaciones familiares.

b) La profesionalización de la empresa tiene que ver con la formación de los integrantes,
principalmente de los sucesores.

c) Formalizar la capacitación, ya que la tendencia es que lo familiares que laboran en la empresa no
poseen alguna formación académica o sea deficiente y cuando llegan a tener una preparación
formal, no sea acorde a las necesidades de la empresa.

d) Tanto el fundador como la familia, deben tomar en cuenta a los empleados mejor preparados, a
través de sistemas de evaluación de desempeños, derivados de la capacitación, estableciendo
planes de vida y carrera.

e) El integrante de la familia designado como el sucesor debe estar preparado, de preferencia que
cuente con una carrera para asumir el control de la empresa familiar.

f) la planificación del proceso de profesionalización se debe llevar a cabo a través de un protocolo
familiar, en donde se establezcan los procesos de preparación de sucesores profesionales al
interior de la empresa,

g) Establecer por escrito los mecanismos que preparen a los empleados para el proceso de
profesionalización.

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empresa familiar: un estudio de casos colombinos. Cuadernos de Administracion (01203592), Vol. 3
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OPCIÓN LEGAL PARA EVITAR LA EVASIÓN DEL
PAGO DE IMPUESTO SOBRE LA RENTA EN LA
INDUSTRIA DE LA CONSTRUCCIÓN EN MÉXICO
Cruz Elda Macías Terán, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Leonel Rosiles López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Santiago Pérez Alcalá, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Carolina Adame Márquez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

En la presente investigación se analiza el tema de la evasión del pago del Impuesto Sobre la Renta en la
Industria de la Construcción. La necesidad de esta investigación se origina por los diversos casos de
problemas legales que tienen este tipo de empresa, los cuales pueden tener como consecuencias multas
innecesarias por incumplimiento de sus obligaciones fiscales y la quiebra de la empresa, entre otras. El
propósito del estudio es proporcionar al Estado, al gobierno y a los gobernados, una opción legal para
evitar la evasión de este impuesto. Es un estudio de corte cualitativo de tipo documental. Se revisa la
normatividad mexicana vigente aplicable a este impuesto en la industria de la construcción. Se indaga si
existe una solución a la problemática de evasión de impuestos en leyes, libros, revistas e investigaciones
previas. Se analiza la aplicación de la estimación de ingresos y de las deducciones por obra
determinada para pagar el citado impuesto, como una opción para evitar la evasión del mismo. Se
determina el efecto que provoca la evasión del Impuesto sobre la Renta en este tipo de industrias, a
través de un caso práctico. Con base en los datos obtenidos se plantean conclusiones y
recomendaciones.

PALABRAS CLAVE: evasión, Impuesto Sobre la Renta, industria de la construcción

A LEGAL OPTION TO PREVENT EVASION OF THE PAYMENT OF
INCOME TAX IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN MEXICO

ABSTRACT

This research examines the topic of evasion of the payment of income tax in the construction companies.
The need for this research originates from the various cases of legal problems that have this type of
companies, which may have as consequences the unnecessary payment of fines, because of the failure to
comply with their tax obligations and the bankruptcy of the company, among others. The purpose of the
study is to provide the State, the Government and the governed, a legal option to avoid this tax evasion. It
is a study qualitative in nature; a document analysis is done. A review of the current Mexican regulations
applicable to this tax in the construction industry is also done. It explores whether there is a solution to
the problem of tax evasion in law, books, magazines and previous investigations. It discusses the
application of the estimation of income and deductions for specific work, to pay the income tax, as an
option to prevent evasion of the tax. The effect resulting in evasion of the tax in this type of industries is
shown through a case study. Based on the data gathered, some conclusions are drawn and some
recommendations are done.

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JEL: K34

KEY WORDS: evasion, income tax, construction industry

INTRODUCCIÓN
Las constructoras en México han gozado por muchos años de ciertos estímulos fiscales en la causación
del Impuesto Sobre la Renta, por ser una de las fuentes de empleo más importante en el país. Sin
embargo, tras haberse encontrado con un paquete fiscal de nuevas medidas impositivas, estas empresas
intentaron llevar ciertas estrategias fiscales agresivas que para la autoridad fiscal fueron tomadas por
evasión fiscal. Lo anterior tuvo como resultado pérdidas, auditorias, multas y recargos, lo que complicó
la situación para las mismas empresas.
Dado lo anterior, se justifica la realización de este estudio, pues resulta trascendente proporcionar al
Estado, al gobierno y a los gobernados, una opción legal para evitar la evasión de este impuesto.
El objetivo de la presente investigación es, por tanto, identificar una opción legal que se pueda aplicar
para el pago del Impuesto Sobre la Renta en la industria de la construcción.
El estudio que se presenta inicia con la revisión literaria relevante sobre el tema de la evasión del
Impuesto Sobre la Renta; en la sección de metodología se describe de manera detallada el procedimiento
aplicado para la realización de esta indagatoria; en resultados se detallan los hallazgos más importantes
del estudio y se ejemplifica una opción legal para evitar la evasión fiscal a través de un caso práctico; en
la sección final se expone la conclusión derivada del análisis de la información obtenida.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Todo programa o actividad a desarrollar en la empresa debe quedar debidamente sustentado, para evitar
caer en pago de impuestos excesivos o en un problema fiscal y/o penal con las autoridades hacendarías.
A decir de Leonard (2006) se debe tener un soporte fiscal, legal, documental y contable. Señala el autor
además que un programa de optimización fiscal empresarial se debe realizar no solo para cubrir un
aspecto fiscal, sino también como una estrategia para mejorar por una razón del negocio. Asimismo
señala el citado autor la importancia del dictamen fiscal, como una garantía jurídica, por lo que resulta un
acierto el dictaminarse para efectos fiscales y financieros.
El pago de impuestos, al igual que otros insumos es un costo del producto, por lo tanto, no puede decirse
que se está cumpliendo con la misión de la empresa de producir el mejor producto al precio más bajo si
incurre en altos costos fiscales. La evasión fiscal tiene un importante componente relacionado con la
capacidad del fisco para detectar y sancionar una conducta de omisión relacionada con el cumplimiento
de la obligación tributaria. A fin de disuadir al contribuyente de incurrir en prácticas de evasión fiscal, las
autoridades fiscales requieren contar con un sistema amplio y confiable de información. Este sistema le
proporciona a las autoridades los elementos suficientes para conocer con precisión la composición del
padrón de contribuyentes, las actividades que éstos realizan, su nivel de ingresos y las posibles
irregularidades u omisiones en las que puedan incurrir.
En México, el régimen de facilidades administrativas para las empresas constructoras estuvo vigente
hasta 1981. Sin embargo desde 1982 las empresas constructoras ya no tuvieron un régimen especial en la
Ley del Impuesto Sobre la Renta.

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las empresas constructoras habían disfrutado de un régimen especial de tributación que consistía en
aplicar una tasa proporcional al monto de sus ingresos totales para así determinar el Impuesto Sobre
la Renta a su cargo; en este sentido, en 1967 la tasa era de 1.5%, en 1968 de 2%, en 1973 de 5%; de
1975 a 1978 fue de 3% y de 1979 a 1981, de 3.75%. (Práctica Fiscal, 2008, parr. 2).
La evasión del pago del Impuesto Sobre la Renta dentro de la industria de la construcción es muy común
ya que por las actividades que realizan, dada la incorrecta administración de presupuestos y estimaciones
este es el primer impuesto que se ve afectado.
Con la incorporación de la deducción del costo de lo vendido a la Ley del Impuesto Sobre la Renta para
las empresas constructoras se pone de manifiesto la importancia del tratamiento fiscal a que estos
contribuyentes tienen derecho.
En el artículo 19 de la LISR se establece el momento en que las personas morales de la industria de la
construcción deben acumular sus ingresos, en lugar de aplicar lo dispuesto en el artículo 18 de la misma
ley. La acumulación de sus ingresos para este tipo de contribuyentes no es necesariamente al expedir un
comprobante fiscal, ni entregar el bien, sino solo se acumulara un anticipo o deposito mientras se apruebe
la estimación de obra correspondiente, o bien se cobre efectivamente la contraprestación pactada. Lo
anterior trae ventajas en el sentido de acumular los ingresos hasta que se cobren o hacerlo hasta que se
tenga la seguridad de que se cobrarán, a diferencia del sistema tradicional, donde se tiene que acumular
la totalidad y en su caso pagar el impuesto correspondiente a pesar de que se retrase su cobro
parcialmente o no se logre el mismo. Este retraso o falta de pago afecta en su flujo de efectivo a los
contribuyentes.
En caso de no estar obligados a presentar las estimaciones de obra o la periodicidad sea mayor a tres
meses, considerarán como ingreso acumulable el avance trimestral en la ejecución o fabricación de los
bienes a que se refiere la obra. En este último caso, los contribuyentes tampoco tienen que acatar las
reglas establecidas en artículo 18 del citado ordenamiento jurídico, dado que se trata de estrategias
generales. En tanto, el artículo 19 de la LISR en una regla particular señala el momento de acumulación
para este tipo de actividades que realizan estos contribuyentes. Esta regla particular no solo sólo
establece un momento de acumulación de los ingresos para los contribuyentes dedicados a la
construcción, sino para otros tipos de obra.
En cuanto a la deducción estimada, en el artículo 36 de la LISR, se establece que los contribuyentes que
se dediquen a llevar a cabo contratos de obra inmueble o fabricación de bienes de activo fijo y los que
prestan servicios de tiempo compartido, tienen la opción de efectuar una deducción con base en las
estimaciones que realicen respecto de sus costos. Lo anterior implica llevar a cabo la obra comprometida,
en lugar de la deducción real en el ejercicio en que se inicie la obra, debiéndola ajustar a las erogaciones
reales durante el periodo que dure dicha obra. Asimismo esto conlleva a que se les permita anticipar la
deducción en el ejercicio, aunque deban ajustarla con base en las erogaciones reales que se realicen a
futuro, hasta el término de la obra.
De acuerdo al artículo 36 último párrafo de la LISR, quienes opten por realizar la deducción estimada de
los costos directos e indirectos, en lugar de la deducción real, deberán presentar un aviso ante el Servicio
de Administración Tributaria, en un plazo de quince días posteriores al inicio de la obra o a la
celebración del contrato. Una vez ejercida la opción, no podrá cambiarse; o en su caso, deberán cumplir
con reglas de carácter general que al efecto expida la autoridad fiscal.

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METODOLOGÍA

La presente investigación es de corte cualitativo de tipo documental. Se revisó la normatividad mexicana
vigente aplicable a este impuesto en la industria de la construcción. Se indagó si existe una solución a la
problemática de evasión de impuestos en leyes, libros, revistas e investigaciones previas. Se analizó la
aplicación de la estimación de ingresos y de las deducciones por obra determinada para pagar el citado
impuesto, como una opción para evitar la evasión del mismo. Se determinó el efecto que provoca la
evasión del Impuesto sobre la Renta en este tipo de industrias, a través de un caso práctico. Con base en
los datos que se obtuvieron se plantearon conclusiones y recomendaciones.

RESULTADOS

Al analizar la aplicación de la estimación de ingresos y de las deducciones por obra determinada para
pagar el citado impuesto, como una opción para evitar la evasión del mismo, se pudo determinar que la
opción consiste en deducir erogaciones estimadas de costos directos e indirectos de la obra, en los
ejercicios en que se obtengan los ingresos. Lo anterior resulta diferente a respetar los plazos para efectuar
las deducciones que se establecen en los artículos 21 y 29 de la LISR, donde las inversiones y el pago de
salarios se deducen bajo las reglas previstas en materia de costo de lo vendido. En la medida que se
acumulan los ingresos correspondientes, se deducen los conceptos antes mencionados.

Se deberán determinar por cada obra o inmueble los ingresos acumulables del ejercicio por el factor de
deducción total que dará como resultado las erogaciones estimadas donde el factor de la deducción se
obtendrá con la suma de costos directos e indirectos estimados entre el ingreso total que corresponda a la
estimación.

Al final de cada ejercicio se deberá determinar, por cada obra o inmueble en desarrollo, el factor de
deducción total, con el objeto de compararlo con el factor utilizado determinado al inicio de ejercicios
anteriores, para determinar si el monto deducido está en función de las erogaciones reales por concepto de
costos directos e indirectos de la obra según el avance que se tenga. En el caso de que el factor de
deducción total determinado al final del ejercicio sea menor que el factor utilizado desde el inicio de la
obra, se deberán presentar declaraciones complementarias de cada ejercicio en cuestión, utilizando para
determinar las erogaciones reales el factor al final del ejercicio.

Con base en el artículo 36 de la LISR si de la comparación del factor al final del ejercicio es menor en
más del 5% al factor del inicio de la obra, en las declaraciones complementarias que se presenten, se
pagarán los recargos sobre el ISR que se determine en su caso.

Los contribuyentes que hayan tomado esta opción, deberán, en el ejercicio en que se terminen de
acumular los ingresos por la obra que se realice, comparar erogaciones reales actualizadas contra las
erogaciones estimadas actualizadas desde el inicio de la obra hasta el último ejercicio, actualizando con el
factor que resulte de la división del INPC del mes de junio en que se termine de acumular los ingresos
entre el INPC de diciembre ejercicio en que se dedujeron o efectuaron erogaciones. En caso de que las
erogaciones estimadas sean mayores a las erogaciones reales, la diferencia se consideraría un ingreso
acumulable en el ejercicio en que se terminen de acumular los ingresos correspondientes a la obra.

Para ejemplificar el efecto que provoca la aplicación de la opción legal propuesta, para evitar la evasión
del Impuesto sobre la Renta en este tipo de industrias se presenta a continuación un caso práctico.

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Tabla 1: Tabla que muestra la opción legal recomendada.

Concepto Sin opción
recomendad
a
Con opción
recomendada
Ingresos del desarrollo inmobiliario 80% 8,000,000.00 8,000,000.00
menos: Deducciones art 21 y 29 LISR 0.00 0.00
menos: Deducciones estimadas art 36 LISR 0.00 6,400,000.00
igual: Utilidad Fiscal 8,000,000.00 1,600,000.00
por: Tasa 30% 30%
igual: ISR a enterar 2,400,000.00 480,000.00
Esta tabla presenta el beneficio fiscal para las empresas constructoras que utilizan la opción propuesta, al tener un desembolso menor en un
80% en este ejemplo.

CONCLUSIONES

Al término de esta indagatoria se establecen las siguientes conclusiones:
Primera. El empleo de esta opción para deducir las erogaciones estimadas y no las reales, debe verse
como la posibilidad de anticipar las deducciones reales en el ejercicio en que se acumulan los ingresos.
Sin embargo, tienen que ajustarse a la realidad de las erogaciones realizadas en cada obra; no se trata de
una deducción ciega, sino de una deducción anticipada que, en un momento dado, lo que provocaría seria
diferir el pago del ISR correspondiente pero nunca su disminución total.

Segunda. El que se permita acumular los ingresos hasta el cobro efectivo, hace que también se pueda
diferir el pago del impuesto de un ejercicio a otro, en caso de que las operaciones se celebren al final de
un ejercicio y el cobro se dé en el otro.

Tercera. El tratamiento fiscal en materia del Impuesto Sobre la Renta para la industria de la construcción,
demostró tener sus ventajas en lo que corresponde al flujo de efectivo, dado que se logra capitalizar
durante el periodo de la obra al contribuyente, y pueden pagar hasta que tengan los recursos para hacerlo
y no antes, como normalmente sucede con otras empresas que no se dedican a estas actividades.

De acuerdo al ejemplo mostrado se recomienda a estos contribuyentes la aplicación de esta opción, para
evitar su descapitalización, al pagar un impuesto sin haber cobrado el ingreso.

REFERENCIA

Ley del Impuesto Sobre la Renta (2011). Editorial ISEF. México, D.F.

Leonard, D. (2006) Planeación Estratégica Aplicada. (3ra. edición). México: Mc Graw Hill.

Práctica Fiscal. (2008). Empresas constructoras que celebran contratos de obra. Régimen fiscal en el

ISR y en el IETU de personas morales del régimen general Marco teórico. Núm. 515, agosto. Recuperado
de: http://doctrina.vlex.com.mx/vid/constructoras-celebran-contratos-obra-56996703

BIOGRAFÍA

Cruz Elda Macías Terán, es profesor investigador en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.

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Leonel Rosiles López, es profesor investigador en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.

Santiago Pérez Alcalá, es director de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas de la UABC. Carolina

Adame Márquez, es alumna de la Maestría en Contaduría de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas de
la UABC.

Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, es profesora en la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas de la UABC.

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EL EFECTO ECONÓMICO DE LA MIGRACIÓN
INTERNACIONAL EN EL CRECIMIENTO
ECONÓMICO DE MÉXICO
Martina Rodríguez Domínguez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Emilio Hernández Gómez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN
El propósito de este trabajo es presentar un acercamiento a la influencia que tiene el fenómeno
migratorio en el crecimiento económico de México. Se hace una revisión de los antecedentes de la
migración desde la época de la colonia hasta nuestros días. Actualmente la migración internacional y las
remesas familiares ocupan uno de los primeros lugares en las esferas de los temas políticos. Lo anterior
se puede argumentar en base a los resultados obtenidos a partir de la aplicación de un modelo
econométrico de corte transversal aplicado a una muestra formada por las entidades de la Republica
Mexicana con variables de Producto Interno Bruto, remesas, nivel de educación de la población y el
empleo de la población. En este contexto, al medir el impacto de la migración internacional en el
crecimiento económico a partir de los envíos de remesas, se encuentra que los resultados obtenidos del
modelo econométrico de corte transversal no permiten afirmar que efectivamente las remesas detonen el
crecimiento económico de México, pero sin embargo se podría considerar que las remesas sirven como
un paliativo a la pobreza a nivel local en los lugares de origen de los migrantes, sin llegar a solventar el
problema de la pobreza.
PALABRAS CLAVE: crecimiento económico, migración, migrantes y remesas.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION ON
ECONOMIC GROWTH IN MEXICO

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this work is to show a close view to the influence of the migration on Mexico’s economic
growth. A background analysis on migration has been performed since the colonial days up to nowadays.
Currently the international migration and the family remittances hold one of the first places in the
political issues..this can be argue based on the results achieved from the implementation of a cross-
section econometric model applied to a sample taken from the Mexican states with gross domestic
product’s variables, remittances, population level of education and employment. In this context when we
measure the international migration impact on the economic growth based on family remittances, we find
that the results obtained from the cross-section economic model do not allow us to assert that indeed the
remittances detonate Mexico’s economic growth, but however we could consider that the remittances
serve as a relief to local poverty in the migrant’s places of origin, without resolving the poverty’s
problem.
KEY WORDS: economic growth, migration, migrants, and remittances.

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INTRODUCCIÓN
Actualmente el tema de la migración tiene muchas aristas y se puede abordar desde diferentes visiones.
Dentro del contexto del crecimiento económico la migración juega un papel importante en el sistema de
producción ya que los desplazamientos de mano de obra de los países pobres hacia los países ricos se
deben en parte a las diferencias salariales.
El objetivo que se persigue en este documento es analizar el fenómeno migratorio en México en el en el
crecimiento económico, tratando de medir el impacto de las remesas y el nivel de educación de la
población en el Producto Interno Bruto por ser el parámetro que mide el nivel de crecimiento de un país.
Para lograr el objetivo se hace un análisis del fenómeno migratorio y de las remesas familiares que son los
envíos de dinero que hacen los migrantes a sus familiares a sus lugres de origen. Por lo que la pregunta
que se plantea es sobre qué relación que existe entre crecimiento económico y remesas familiares.
La hipótesis que guía el trabajo es que la migración afecta de manera negativa al crecimiento económico,
ya que se ha incrementado en los últimos años los desplazamientos de fuerza de trabajo de México hacia
los Estados Unidos de América.
REVISIÓN TEÓRICA
En México, el fenómeno de la migración tiene sus antecedentes en la implementación de programas de
trabajadores temporales que se dieron después de la Segunda Guerra mundial como el Primer Programa
Bracero 1917 y el Programa Bracero (1942-1964), Programa de Trabajadores Agrícolas, Temporales
México–Canadá, de 1974 a la fecha y Programas de visas para agricultura desde 1987 mediante visas de
trabajo. Estos acuerdos son bilaterales, porque se trata de una migración documentada, aunque algunos se
establecieron su residencia de manera permanente y en 1986 cuando se promulgó la Ley de Reforma y
Control de la Inmigración (Immigration Reform And Control Act, IRCA), legalizó a tres millones de
indocumentados (Durand y Massey, 2003).
Las entidades federativas de la Republica Mexicana que tienen altos índices de migración internacional
según datos de la CONAPO son las que pertenecen a la región centro occidente, esta región está formada
por: Aguascalientes, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí y
Zacatecas.
Recientemente se han hecho investigaciones en las cuales se ha demostrado que quienes tienen un alto
nivel de educación tienden a migrar, considerando esto como fuga de mano de obra calificada, son los
migrantes de los países pobres con destino a las economías desarrolladas, que salen a estudiar al
extranjero, se preparan y se quedan a trabajar en el país de destino antes de regresar a sus lugar de origen,
aunque en algunas ocasiones estos migrantes se establecen de manera permanente en el extranjero y ya no
regresan (Hanson, 2010).
METODOLOGÍA
Se utiliza un modelo de mínimos cuadrados ordinarios (MCO) con una muestra de corte transversal que
corresponde a las 31 entidades de la Republica Mexicana, con datos correspondientes a Producto Interno
Bruto del 2009 y Nivel de educación de la población de 13 años y mas correspondiente a 2010 y las
remesas familiares o envíos de dólares de los migrantes de 2010.

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Fuentes de información:Se consultaron las Cuentas Nacionales en INEGI, de la cual se obtuvo
información del Banco de Información Económica (BIE) respecto al Producto Interno Bruto (PIB) y de
información de la población del Censo General de Población y Vivienda 2010 correspondiente a cada una
de las entidades de la Republica Mexicana,
Otra fuente oficial considerada es Banxico (Banco de México) de donde se recopilo información de las
remesas familiares o envíos de dólares que hacen los migrantes desde los Estados Unidos a México por
cada una de las entidades de la Republica Mexicana durante el años de 2010.
Las variables utilizadas:La ecuación utilizada en el método de minamos cuadrados ordinarios con una
muestra de corte transversal es la siguiente:
µββββ ++++= 2010201020102009 321 LnREMpcEmpleoNivEducoLnPIBpc
Donde: la variable dependiente es LnPIBpc2009 = Logaritmo del Producto Interno Bruto per cápita
obtenido de dividir el Producto Interno Bruto entre la población entre la población de cada una de las
entidades de la Republica Mexicana.
Y las variables independientes son: NivEdu2010 = Nivel de educación de la población de 13 años y mas o
nivel de educación de la de la población económicamente activa de cada una de las entidades de la
Republica Mexicana.
Empleo2010 = Proporción del empleo de cada una de las entidades de la Republica Mexicana.
LnREMpc2010 = Logaritmo de las Remesas per cápita obtenidas de dividir las remesas entre la población
de cada una de las entidades de la Republica Mexicana.
RESULTADOS
En la Figura 1 se presenta el diagrama correspondiente a la relación entre las variables del logaritmo
natural del Producto Interno Bruto 2009 y el nivel de educación 2010,
El siguiente diagrama presenta una correlación positiva entre el logaritmo natural del Producto Interno
Bruto per cápita y el nivel de empleo de cada una de las entidades de la Republica Mexicana muestran
una dispersión entre los datos y una relación positiva, lo que significa que a un aumento en el empleo se
da un aumento en el logaritmo natural del Producto Interno Bruto per cápita.
En el diagrama de dispersión correspondiente al logaritmo natural de las remesas per cápita y el logaritmo
natural del Producto Interno Bruto per cápita presentan una correlación débil entre los datos de cada una
de las entidades de la Republica Mexicana, lo que muestra que a un incremento en las remesas genera un
disminución en el Producto Interno Bruto.

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Figura 1: Diagrama de dispersión o grafica de puntos de las variables.

Fuente: elaboración propia en base a datos de INEGI y BANXICO 2010.

A continuación se presenta el modelo de mínimos cuadrados ordinarios (MCO) en una muestra de corte
transversal:
µββββ ++++= 2010201020102009 321 LnREMpcEmpleoNivEducoLnPIBpc
Sustituyendo los valores de los coeficientes se obtiene:
µβ +−+++= 2010)251.0(2010)665.11(2010)272.0(2009 LnREMpcEmpNvEdoLnPIBpc
En los datos que se muestran en la Tabla 1 se desprende que un valor de t-Statistic igual a 2 o mayor
significa que la variable puede considerarse estadísticamente significativa, por lo que el nivel de
Educación (2.892385) y la proporción del empleo (7.780638) son estadísticamente significativos e
influyen de manera positiva en el logaritmo del Producto Interno Bruto per cápita y el logaritmo de las
remesas per cápita (2.175160) es considerado estadísticamente pero influye de manera negativa en el
logaritmo del Producto Interno Bruto.
El coeficiente de determinación que mide la bondad de ajuste del modelo R2 = 0.49 o 49% es la razón de
causalidad entre la variable dependiente o logaritmo natural del Producto Interno Bruto y las variables
independientes que corresponden al nivel de educación de la población, la proporción del empleo y el
logaritmo de las remesas per cápita, en una muestra de corte transversal se considera que es aceptable este
resultado.
Tabla 1: Resultados de la regresión.
Dependent Variable
Method: Least Square
Simple: 1: 32
Included Observation : 32
Variable Coeffiicient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob.
NIVEDU2010 0.272462 0.094200 2.892385*** 0.0072 PROPEMPL2010 11.66558 1.499309 7.780638*** 0.0000 PROPEMPL2010 -0.251215 0.115493 -2.175160*** 0.0379 R-squared 0.459082 Adjusted R-squared 0.421778 Durbin-Watson stat 2.153276 N 32
Fuente: elaboración propia en base a datos de INEGI y BANXICO 2010.

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El valor estadístico de ”t” está en paréntesis. Los superíndices * ** *** muestran los niveles de significancia al 10, 5, 1 por ciento
respectivamente
Se ha encontrado que las remesas familiares en su mayoría se destinan al consumo familiar o de los
hogares, principalmente se invierten en la satisfacción de necesidades básicos como alimentos, vestido,
educación, transporte, salud y vivienda (para mejorar las condiciones, servicios básicos de agua, luz, entre
otros), por lo que la inversión en proyectos productivos es mínima (De la Rosa, 2006).
CONCLUSIONES
Se puede concluir que los resultados del análisis realizado en este documento no fueron los esperados de
acuerdo a la hipótesis plateada. Se esperaba encontrar una relación positiva entre remesas y crecimiento
económico ya que gran parte de la literatura existente afirma que las remesas influyen en el desarrollo
económico, pero los resultados de los cálculos realizados a través del as herramientas de la econometría
no permiten hacer esas aseveraciones porque el resultado del estimador estadística R2 son muy bajos, por
lo que no puede concluirse que exista una fuerte relación entre las remesas y el crecimiento económico
medido a través del Producto Interno Bruto.
La importancia de las remesas es que forman parte de uno de los rubros de la balanza de pagos y podría
decirse que es son un paliativo a la pobreza en los lugares de origen de los migrantes porque en su
mayoría son empleadas en el consumo de los hogares para la satisfacción de necesidades básicas de
alimento, vestido, estudios, pago de servicios de agua, luz, etc., y no en proyectos productivos de
inversión, lo que no genera un impacto en el crecimiento económico.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
BANXICO (2011). Información sobre envíos de remesas familiares 1993 -2010 (Internet)
http://www.banxico.org.mx/SieInternet/consultarDirectorioInternetAction.do?accion=consultarCuadro&i
dCuadro=CF210&sector=6&locale=es [Acceso Nov.11 del 2011].
De la Rosa, Juan, Lilia Romero, Alma A. Pérez (2005). El alcance económico de las remesas en México:
consumo de las familias receptoras. En: El Cotidiano. Nov-Dic. Años/vol. 21 numero 40. Universidad
Autónoma de Azcapotzalco. México, D.F. Pp.76-88 http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/325/32514008 .
[Acceso Nov. 11 del 2011].
Durand, Jorge. y D. Massey (2003). Clandestinos, Migración México-Estados Unidos en los albores del
siglo XXI. Editorial Porrúa-Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas. México,
Hanson, G. (2010). Chapter 8: International Migration and Development. in Ravi Kanbur and A. Michael
Spence, eds., Equity in a Global World, Washington, DC: The World Bank, E.E.U.U. Pp. 229-262.
INEGI. Cuéntame. Información por estado. México.
http://cuentame.inegi.gob.mx/monografias/informacion/nay/poblacion/m_migratorios.aspx?tema=me&e=
18I. [Acceso en Nov. 23 del 2011].

http://www.banxico.org.mx/SieInternet/consultarDirectorioInternetAction.do?accion=consultarCuadro&idCuadro=CF210&sector=6&locale=es

http://www.banxico.org.mx/SieInternet/consultarDirectorioInternetAction.do?accion=consultarCuadro&idCuadro=CF210&sector=6&locale=es

http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/325/32514008

http://cuentame.inegi.gob.mx/monografias/informacion/nay/poblacion/m_migratorios.aspx?tema=me&e=18I

http://cuentame.inegi.gob.mx/monografias/informacion/nay/poblacion/m_migratorios.aspx?tema=me&e=18I

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INEGI. BIE (Banco de Información Económica). Tasas de ocupación, desocupación y subocupación
(resultados mensuales de la ENOE). México. http://dgcnesyp.inegi.org.mx/cgi-
win/bdieintsi.exe/NIVR10#ARBOL [Acceso en Mayo 23 del 2011].

BIOGRAFIA

Martina Rodríguez Domínguez Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Estudiante del Doctorado en
Ciencias Económicas de la Facultad de Economía y Relaciones Internacionales de la Universidad
Autónoma Baja California, México. E-mail: paty2rd@hotmail.com .

Emilio Hernández Gómez Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Profesor investigador de la
Universidad Autónoma Baja California, México. E-mail: emiliohernandez@uabc.edu.mx.

http://dgcnesyp.inegi.org.mx/cgi-win/bdieintsi.exe/NIVR10#ARBOL

http://dgcnesyp.inegi.org.mx/cgi-win/bdieintsi.exe/NIVR10#ARBOL

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COOPERATIVA SANZEKAN TINEMI: PROMOTORA DE
ALTERNATIVAS DE TRABAJO EN BASE AL
DESARROLLO ORGANIZACIONAL GUERRERENSE,
MEXICO
Adriana Patricia Soto Aguilar, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Elías Sosa Sánchez, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla

RESUMEN

Gracias al desarrollo organizacional, la Cooperativa Sanzekan Tinemi: Sociedad de Solidaridad Social
(SSS), tiene como eje central dar respuestas a las necesidades de comunidades campesinas indígenas del
Estado de Guerrero, México, y es mediante su propio comportamiento organizacional lo que le ha
permitido ser un promotor del empleo, así como conservación de la biodiversidad de la región y
detonante del desarrollo regional a través de las comunidades productoras de mezcal, zonas de cultivo
agrícola y artesanal, con presencia en los mercados regionales, estatales y la incursión internacional.

ABSTRACT

Thanks to the organizational development, Cooperative Sanzekan Tinemi: Sociedad de Solidaridad Social
(SSS) is central to respond to the needs of rural indigenous communities of Guerrero, MEXICO, and is
using its own organizational behavior which makes him a promoter of employment , conservation of
biodiversity in the region and trigger regional development through mezcal-producing communities,
areas and traditional agricultural crop, with market presence in regional, national and international
foray.

METHOD .- This trial represents 8 months ( 2011), field research, in the south. The benchmark study is
the Cooperative Sanzekan Tinemi: Sociedad de Solidaridad Social (SSS). The boundaries of the research
area includes the municipality of Chilapa de Alvarez in Guerrero state and aims to demonstrate that
organizational development is successful not only in large firms and in senior management but based on
teamwork characteristic of our ruralcommunities.

For the present research work outlined a representative sample of five working groups: the cooperative
board Sanzekan Tinemi, producers of mezcal, mezcal distillation process, greenhouse and marketing.
Data collection was through the interview instrument card. Respondents (study subjects), are the peasant
leaders and coordinators own area of work teams of the cooperative itself, by its status as these represent
3% of the total community. 90% of those interviewed were male and 10% are women.

KEY WORDS: Development organizacional, cost, speculación, demand.

INTRODUCCION

El presente ensayo representa 8 meses, (2011), de investigación de campo, en la zona sur del país. El
referente de estudio es la Cooperativa Sanzekan Tinemi: Sociedad de Solidaridad Social (SSS). La
delimitación territorial de la zona de investigación lo comprende el Municipio de Chilapa de Álvarez en
el Estado de Guerrero y tiene como objetivo demostrar que el desarrollo organizacional no solo tiene

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éxito en las grandes empresas ni en la alta directiva sino en base al trabajo en equipo propio de nuestras
comunidades campesinas.

Para el presente trabajo de investigación se delimitó una muestra representativa de cinco equipos de
trabajo: mesa directiva de la cooperativa Sanzekan Tinemi, productores de mezcal, proceso de destilación
de mezcal, invernadero y comercializadora. La recopilación de datos fue a través del instrumento de
cédula de entrevista. Los entrevistados (sujetos de estudio), son los propios dirigentes campesinos y
coordinadores de área de los equipos de trabajo de la propia cooperativa, por su estatus estos representan
el 3% del total de la comunidad. El 90% de la población entrevistada fueron varones y el 10% restante
son mujeres.

Términos usados: Comportamiento Organizacional.-Disciplina que estudia, dentro de las estructuras
formales de la empresa, las distintas conductas o comportamientos, de cada individuo, de los grupos que
la integran, y de las interrelaciones que se dan entre los mismos. Desarrollo Organizacional.-Entendido
como un sistema que aplica sus propios procesos de mejora, crecimiento e innovación. Costos.-sumatoria
de los precio de las unidades requeridas durante el proceso de producción y comercialización.
Especulación.-proceso económico comercial mediante el cual se generan alza en el precio de los
productos y prácticas de acaparar la mercancía. Inflación.-subida generalizada de precios. Oferta.-
producción de mercancías y/o servicios destinados al mercado, demanda.-bienes adquiridos por la
población para cubrir necesidades.
Palabra clave: Desarrollo organizacional, costo, especulación, demanda

COOPERATIVA SANZEKAN TINEMI: “SOCIEDAD DE SOLIDARIDAD SOCIAL (SSS)”:
PROMOTORA DE EMPLEO, DESARROLLO REGIONAL Y AMBIENTAL

En el centro del estado de Guerrero teniendo como sede la Cabecera municipal de Chilapa de Álvarez, se
constituye como figura jurídica la Cooperativa Agrícola Sanzekan Tinemi, el 20 de abril de 1990.
Ampliando así los espacios de negociación y de apertura económica política y comercial para sus
habitantes. El objetivo central de esta sociedad es la búsqueda de alternativas a la problemática rural de
Guerrero, con impacto regional.

La cooperativa Sanzekan Tinemi, abarca los municipios de Chilapa, Zitlala, Mártir de Cuilapan, y
Ahuacuotzingo, colindando con la región conocida como La Montaña y delimitado por los ríos Atempa
y Petatlán, subsidiarios del Balsas.

En la zona de impacto de la cooperativa SSS, habitan aproximadamente unos 40,000 campesinos de
origen nahua, la población en su mayoría se dedica a las actividades rurales con parcelas menores a dos
hectáreas, siendo una actividad agrícola de temporal, con un clima semicálido y mala distribución de los
suelos, la mayoría habla alguna lengua indígena.

La región de trabajo presenta un alto grado de analfabetas, con un aumento constante en los índices de
migración transitoria y permanente, acompañado con elevadas cifras de mortalidad y desnutrición
principalmente en infantes.

La familia campesina de la localidad, constituye la unidad de producción, la cual diversifica su trabajo en
actividades agrícolas de subsistencia, micro ganadería: bovinos, la producción de artesanías de palma,
textiles, elaboración de muebles y elaboración de mezcal.

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El maíz es el principal cultivo de la región. Fuera de la producción de autosuficiencia, los habitantes se
emplean dentro del sector primario como jornaleros agrícolas y en el tercer sector como comerciantes y
transportistas, entre otros empleos.

Estructura Organizacional de La Cooperativa Sanzekan Tinemi: Sociedad de Solidaridad Social (SSS).

La estructura Institucional de la Sanzekan Tinemi está constituida por: una Asamblea General de Socios,
que es la autoridad suprema, seguida por El Comité Ejecutivo, que es el órgano de administración y de
representación de la Sociedad lo conforman: Presidente, Secretario y Tesorero. Ellos nombran la
directiva formada por tres comités: ejecutivo, financiero y de vigilancia.

Es el Comité Financiero y de Vigilancia quien ejerce la supervisión de todas las actividades y fiscaliza los
actos del Comité Ejecutivo; dando fe de la transparencia del manejo de los recursos monetarios, seguidos
por las Comisiones para cada una de las áreas; y por último los Grupos de Trabajo, representando a los
miembros de cada comunidad.

Los integrantes de estos comités designan a los coordinadores de cada área, quienes a su vez se integran
por los equipos técnicos conformados con los grupos familias campesinas y jóvenes de la región, juntos
trabajan en las diferentes áreas y empresas de la organización cooperativa SSS.

Actualmente el consejo comunitario de abasto, la ha convertido en una Sociedad de Solidaridad Social
(SSS), con diversas áreas de trabajo que han ido creciendo hasta convertirse en un caldo de cultivo para
generar alternativas laborales para los pobladores de la región sur del país. Las principales áreas que
conforman la asociación son: Abasto, Distribución de Fertilizantes, Producción Agrícola,
Comercialización de Artesanías, Reforestación, Caja de Ahorro, y Mujer Campesina.

La Cooperativa Sansekan Tinemi, es una empresa SSS que se preocupa por la igualdad de
oportunidades tanto de mujeres como de hombres, debido a que el 65% de la población esta integrado
por mujeres y el resto por hombres. Para las sesiones de trabajo de la cooperativa se maneja a nivel
regional reuniones bimensuales en las que los grupos comunitarios se reúnen a discutir y evaluar los
avances y resultados de la organización así como la nueva planeación de sus procesos productivos, de
inversión y comercialización.

Gracias al desarrollo organizacional la Cooperativa Agrícola Sanzekan Tinemi, cuenta hoy en día con un
mil ocho cientos socios, la Sociedad de Solidaridad Social ha logrado el desarrollo de pequeñas y
medianas empresas tanto productoras y comercializadoras, además de contar con una red de artesanos
cuyo objetivo es la conservación de recursos genéticos del maguey papalometl o mezcal papalote
mariposa, para la elaboración de mezcal, sin dejar de lado los invernaderos de hortalizas y productores de
artesanías típicas del estado. La palabra mezcal proviene del nahua de mexcalli de metl maguey e ixca.
La historia de la fabricación del mezcal se remonta a la época prehispánica y es con la llegada de los
españoles como se lleva a cabo el proceso de destilación.

DIAGNOSTICO

Los entrevistados (sujetos de estudio), son los propios dirigentes campesinos y coordinadores de área de
los equipos de trabajo de la propia cooperativa, por su estatus estos representan el 3% del total de la

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comunidad. El 90% de la población pre entrevistada fueron varones y el 10% restante son mujeres. La
recopilación de datos de primer acercamiento, fue a través del instrumento de cédula de entrevista.

Dentro de esta primera etapa de acercamiento, se pudo observar la estructura Institucional de la Sanzekan
Tinemi, la cual está constituida por: una Asamblea General de Socios, que es la autoridad suprema,
seguida por El Comité Ejecutivo, que es el órgano de administración y de representación de la Sociedad
lo conforman: Presidente, Secretario y Tesorero, ( ellos nombran la directiva formada por tres comités:
ejecutivo, financiero y de vigilancia). Es el Comité Financiero y de Vigilancia quien ejerce la supervisión
de todas las actividades y fiscaliza los actos del Comité Ejecutivo; dando fe de la transparencia del
manejo de los recursos monetarios, seguidos por las Comisiones para cada una de las áreas; y por último
los Grupos de Trabajo, representando a los miembros de cada comunidad. Los integrantes de estos
comités designan a los coordinadores de cada área, quienes a su vez se integran por los equipos técnicos
conformados con los grupos familias campesinas y jóvenes de la región, juntos trabajan en las diferentes
áreas y empresas de la organización cooperativa SSS.

Actualmente el consejo comunitario de abasto, la ha convertido en una Sociedad de Solidaridad Social
(SSS), con diversas áreas de trabajo que han ido creciendo hasta convertirse en un caldo de cultivo para
generar alternativas laborales para los pobladores de la región sur del país. Las principales áreas que
conforman la asociación son: Abasto, Distribución de Fertilizantes, Producción Agrícola,
Comercialización de Artesanías, Reforestación, Caja de Ahorro, y Mujer Campesina. La Cooperativa
Sansekan Tinemi, es una empresa SSS que se preocupa por la igualdad de oportunidades tanto de
mujeres como de hombres, debido a que el 65% de la población está integrado por mujeres y el resto por
hombres. Para las sesiones de trabajo de la cooperativa se maneja a nivel regional reuniones bimensuales
en las que los grupos comunitarios se reúnen a discutir y evaluar los avances y resultados de la
organización así como la nueva planeación de sus procesos productivos, de inversión y comercialización.
Gracias al desarrollo organizacional la Cooperativa Agrícola Sanzekan Tinemi, cuenta hoy en día, con un
mil ocho cientos socios.

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ANÁLISIS ECONÓMICO DEL COMERCIO AL POR
MENOR EN LA CIUDAD DE MÉRIDA
Roque Humberto Martín Gamboa León, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
Lucia Trinidad Pérez Cervera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
Karina Concepción González Herrera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana

ANTECEDENTES

Para comprender el contenido del análisis económico del comercio al por menor y la metodología
empleada para la obtención de los elementos que lo integran, se retoman algunos conceptos que
facilitaran la comprensión de la información contenida. El primer término que se debe definir para
entender el proyecto expuesto es: el análisis. Haciendo una revisión del significado de esta palabra, se
encuentra en el Diccionario enciclopédico ilustrado Océano (1991), que un análisis es “la distinción de las
partes de un todo hasta llegar a conocer sus principios o elementos”, es decir, estudiar las partes que
componen algo para entenderlo. Para continuar, se presentan algunas definiciones de la economía:
Malinvaud (citado por Schettino, 2002), define a la economía como: Ciencia que estudia de qué manera
los recursos escasos son empleados para la satisfacción de las necesidades de los hombres en sociedad;
por una parte, está interesada en las operaciones esenciales de la producción, distribución y consumo de
los bienes, y por la otra, en las instituciones y actividades cuyo objeto es facilitar estas operaciones (pág.
3-4). Stonier y Hague (citados por Rosetti, 1985, p.25), establecen que la economía “es el estudio de la
escasez y de los problemas que de ella se derivan”.

Retomando las definiciones anteriores se puede resumir que la economía es la ciencia social que estudia a
las empresas y la forma en que estas pueden afrontar la escasez para su desarrollo. Según Méndez
(2008): La economía mexicana está formada por el conjunto de actividades económicas que conducen a la
producción de bienes y servicios. El conjunto de actividades productivas del país se divide en tres
sectores económicos, que a su vez están integrados por varias ramas productivas (pág. 31). Estas se
diversifican en sector agropecuario (sector primario), el sector industrial (sector secundario) y el sector
servicios (sector terciario). El sector servicios está integrado por las ramas de comercio, transporte,
comunicaciones, restaurantes y hoteles. Muchos autores indican que el comercio es el proceso de compra
y venta de productos, tal es el caso de Zorrilla (2005, p.110), que expresa que el comercio es “la actividad
económica que se encarga de la adquisición de los bienes para proceder a su venta”.

Méndez (2008, p.192), dice que el comercio “consiste en la compraventa de mercancías y servicios”.
De acuerdo con Zorrilla (2005, p.111), “el comercio admite una amplia clasificación para estudiarlo en
forma interna (nacional), y externa (comercio internacional)”. De manera nacional, Zorrilla indica que se
clasifica en comercio al por mayor y al por menor. Cabe mencionar que el presente documento está
enfocado al comercio al por menor en la ciudad de Mérida. El Sistema de Clasificación Industrial de
América del Norte (SCIAN, 2002), indica que: Los comercios al por menor tienen una o más de las
siguientes características: atraen clientes por la ubicación y diseño del establecimiento; tienen extensa
exhibición de mercancías para facilitar a los clientes la selección de las mismas; y hacen publicidad
masiva por medio de volantes, prensa, radio, televisión, etcétera (pág. 256).

El SCIAN (2002, p.256), agrupa en este sector a las empresas dedicadas a “la compra venta (sin
transformación) de bienes de consumo final para ser vendidos a personas y hogares, así como unidades
económicas dedicadas solamente a una parte de este proceso (la compra o la venta)”.En los conceptos

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presentados, expresa en repetidas ocasiones el término empresa, lo que implica la necesidad de definir su
significado, Méndez (1990, p.6) la determina como “la unidad básica de producción”, además de
representar “un tipo de organización económica que se dedica a cualquiera de las actividades económicas
fundamentales en alguna de las ramas productivas de los sectores económicos”. Las empresas son
clasificadas de acuerdo a varios criterios, Méndez (1990), dice que las empresas son clasificadas de
acuerdo a su tamaño, origen y su capital. Para este reporte se contemplará la clasificación de acuerdo a su
tamaño, debido a que el Directorio Estadístico Nacional de Unidades Económicas (DENUE), emplea esta
clasificación en las empresas incluidas en su base de datos y de ahí se selecciona las que se usaran para el
estudio. El Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI, 2004) aclara que: La
clasificación por tamaño de empresa en micro, pequeña y mediana, según los criterios publicados en el
Diario Oficial de la Federación en diciembre del 2002, se puede hacer con base en los datos censales.
Estos criterios establecen diferentes tamaños de empresas en función del personal ocupado y las
actividades que desarrollan, ya sean de manufacturas, comercio o servicios.
(http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/censos/ce2004/pdfs/CT_PyMES )

El INEGI (2004), dice que “para la industria, el comercio y los servicios, las microempresas son aquellas
que tienen hasta 10 personas ocupadas; después de este rango, el tamaño de la empresa varía según el
sector económico que se trate”. En el caso del sector comercial, indica que las pequeñas empresas tiene de
11 a 30 personas laborando en ella, en el caso de las medianas empresas ocupan de 31 a 100 personas y
las grandes empresas más de 101. En cuanto al personal que integra a cada una de estas empresas, se les
considera como población económicamente activa (PEA). Méndez (2007, p.34), menciona que la PEA
“es aquella que aporta su trabajo a la economía del país” y que lo conforman “el conjunto de personas
mayores de 12 años que tiene una ocupación remunerada en el momento del censo”.Y Espadas (1997)
afirma que el concepto de PEA deriva de disposiciones legales, cuando hace mención de que: Este
concepto establecía que la edad mínima de trabajo eran los 12 años…, porque se suponía que era la edad
en la que los niños salían de la escuela primaria. Por otro lado, la edad máxima era de los 65 años, que de
acuerdo a las leyes laborales era la edad en la que una persona podía jubilarse…, y tener una hora de
trabajo remunerado (pág. 187).

Espadas (1997, p.46), enfatiza que “la estabilidad social y política de un país son condiciones necesarias
para la realización de las actividades encaminadas hacia el desarrollo económico del mismo” y afirma que
“sin esa condición, los esfuerzos por desarrollar la economía se ven fácilmente truncados. La economía
requiere de esfuerzos permanentes acumulativos que no se pueden dar en situaciones de conflicto”.
Para entender el significado del desarrollo económico, se cita a Méndez (2007, p.47), que lo define como
“proceso mediante el cual los países pasan de un estado atrasado en su economía a un estado avanzado”,
es decir, mejora nivel de vida de sus habitantes.

CONTEXTO

La Universidad tecnológica Metropolitana, organismo educativo además de ofrecer servicios de
formación superior, tiene iniciativas de investigación y desarrollo de innovaciones, en los cuales pretende
contribuir al crecimiento de la economía local y nacional. Actualmente se lleva a cabo el proyecto
denominado “Factores económicos que inciden en la movilidad territorial laboral a la ciudad de Mérida y
Umán de la zona Metropolitana del Estado de Yucatán”. Este proyecto, responde a la Convocatoria 2009-
07 del área social y económica (Convocatoria Especial de Estudios Metropolitanos del Estado de
Yucatán), emitida por Comité Técnico y de Administración del Fondo Mixto de Fomento a la

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Investigación Científica y Tecnológica CONACYT-Gobierno del Estado de Yucatán, y del cual se
desprende la presente investigación realizada en la ciudad de Mérida.

El estado de Yucatán con 106 municipios que lo integra, alberga a la ciudad de Mérida (Capital del
Estado) que se ubica al noreste de la Península a 9m sobre el nivel del mar colindando con los municipios
de Progreso, Chicxulub, Abalá, Tecoh, Timucuy, Conkal, Kanasín, Umán, Ucú y Tixpeual. Con mano de
obra disponible y una ubicación estratégica para la salida e ingreso de productos al estado. Yucatán y por
lo tanto su capital, son los lugares indicados para el comercio y más actividades económicas que se llevan
a cabo en ellas. Tal y como afirma Montalvo (1997, p.51), “Mérida ha sido la ciudad más importante del
sureste de México. Comparada con las capitales de sus estados vecinos, ha contado con mayor población,
mejor infraestructura y equipamiento urbano”.Durante mucho tiempo el estado explotó la industria
henequenera, tanto que la estructura económica y social del estado llego a girar en torno a ella, y que
propicio establecer otras actividades para mantener la economía local.Debido a lo anterior, se hizo
intentos por diversificar la producción agropecuaria para impulsar la inversión privada y la creación de
empleos, sin embargo la mayoría de los capitales privados permanecieron las ciudades en actividades
comerciales, al turismo, especulación de terrenos y propiedades inmobiliarias. A mediados de los sesenta
y después de varias pruebas para la creación de otras actividades, se crea la empresa paraestatal
Cordemex y la llamada industria de la construcción, las cuales causaron una reacomodo en la economía
estatal. Durante ese tiempo los gobiernos federales y estatales desarrollaron diversas acciones para
impulsar la industrialización lo que provocó que se modificara la estructura económica tradicional de la
entidad y el espacio urbano de Mérida. Se crea una ciudad Industrial a las afueras de la capital y de 1975 a
1982 las actividades comerciales se fueron incrementando constantemente. En este lapso el número de
establecimientos comerciales se duplicaron y de manera más notable, el número del personal fue más del
doble.

DESARROLLO

El trabajo comenzó con la ubicación de establecimientos clasificados en el sector terciario de la rama
0046 comercio al por menor en la ciudad de Mérida y que incluyó la dirección y teléfono. Para la
ubicación de las empresas se utilizó el Directorio Estadístico Nacional de Unidades Económicas del
INEGI y el directorio local “Sección Amarilla”.Antes de visitar a las empresas seleccionadas, se impartió
una breve introducción del proyecto en el que se trabajó y de la estructura que contenía el instrumento de
recopilación de datos, con el fin de aclarar las dudas que pudiesen encontrarse en la aplicación de las
encuestas. Esta revisión tuvo como resultado la modificación del instrumento en algunos apartados, en los
que también se precisó la forma en la cual se debía cuestionar cada enunciado plasmado en la encuesta del
empleado y empresario (también se puede aplicar a gerentes de recursos humanos de la empresa,
inclusive a gerentes o encargados de sucursal).

Después de la revisión se procedió a realizar las citas correspondientes con las empresas seleccionadas
para la investigación, algunas de forma personal y otras por vía telefónica. En la investigación realizada
se encontró en el INEGI (2010), que la población económicamente activa nacional (PEA), es de
47’137,757 personas y solamente 44’651,832 se encuentran ocupadas, y los distribuye de la siguiente
manera:

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Tabla 1: Distribución de la PEA nacional, según el sector

Sector Agropecuario (Sector primario) Sector industrial Sector servicios
(Sector secundario) (Sector terciario)
5’899,290 10’594,481 27’860,436

Y según estadísticas del INEGI (2009), la PEA en el estado de Yucatán corresponde a 881,855 personas y
de ellas 857,005 están ocupadas en los sectores de actividad económica:

Tabla 2: Distribución de la PEA estatal, según el sector

Sector Agropecuario (Sector primario) Sector industrial Sector servicios
(Sector secundario) (Sector terciario)
96,854 244,997 514,547

De estas, el sector terciario, deja en claro el poder de una captación mayor de PEA. Sin embargo, al
consultar más a detalle el anuario estadístico del INEGI (2009), se encuentra que la rama del comercio,
incluida en el sector servicios, ocupa a 158,620 personas, por debajo de la industria manufacturera que
tiene ocupada a 161,169 que se ubica en el sector secundario. La Secretaria Fomento Económico
(SEFOE, 2008), expresa que los sectores que destacan en la economía del estado de Yucatán son las
industrias manufactureras, la construcción y el comercio.

La SEFOE (2008), indica en su portal de Internet que: El sector comercio es el que más aporta al producto
interno bruto estatal (PIB), sin embargo, por su contribución a la generación de empleo y su aportación al
valor agregado, el sector industrial podría considerarse el más fuerte de Yucatán y dentro de éste, la
industria manufacturera y la industria de la construcción, las cuales tienen un elevado efecto multiplicador
en los demás sectores económicos (http://www.sefoe.yucatan.gob.mx/esp/yucatan/sectores-
productivosAct.php). Para mejor entendimiento, Parkin (2006, p.434), define el PIB como “el valor de
mercado de los bienes y servicios finales producidos en un país durante un periodo”. Es por ello, que el
proyecto en desarrollo considera importante analizar cada uno de los elementos que integran al sector,
para determinar las que deben mejorarse para su fortalecimiento y consolidar al sector del comercio al por
menor. El proyecto pretende mostrar el comportamiento actual de los factores económicos del comercio
al por menor y la importancia que estos dan al desarrollo de los negocios establecidos en la ciudad de
Mérida.Esto generó un mayor interés para la obtención de la información en el estudio de campo, y
determinar de igual manera, las condiciones en las que los trabajadores se encuentran laborando.

Conclusiones preliminares Entre las conclusiones generadas en el proceso, una muy importante es que el
sector comercial a pesar de que es uno de los que más aportan al PIB estatal, no es el que más empleos
genera. En cuanto a las micro empresas, es que a pesar de que son las empresas más estables, son las que
tienen menos capacidad de contratar personal que provengan de zonas muy alejadas del lugar de trabajo,
es decir, que por mucho que se mencione que son las que tienen la mayor captación de personal no
contratan a gente del interior del estado. Además de que la gran mayoría de estas empresas son familiares,
lo que implica no tener que contratar personal. Las pequeñas empresas, por la gran expansión que tienen
estas, tomando de referencia a sus sucursales, estás no tienen la necesidad de contratar personal de fuera
por que las personas del interior se acomodan en las que se encuentran más cercanas a su lugar de origen
o el lugar donde habitan. Sin embargo, no descartan la posibilidad de contratar personal proveniente de
otros municipios del estado.Las medianas y grandes empresas, tienen la capacidad suficiente para reclutar

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personal del interior, mas no quiere decir que ellas tengan al mayor número de personal empleado.
Algunas de estas empresas, establecen entre sus políticas la abstención de reclutar personal que no esté
cercano al establecimiento.En cuanto al aspecto económico, las empresas micro, se puede concluir
diciendo que su estabilidad económica, se basa a que ellas no cuentan con tantas responsabilidades
financieras, como por ejemplo, los sueldos por que el personal que maneja es mínimo, inclusive algunas
ni contratan por que no encuentran la necesidad y por consiguiente no tienen que generar prestaciones de
ley. Hasta se puede afirmar que la mayoría de estas micro empresas son fuentes de empleo para su
mismos inversionistas y debido eso ellos mismos toman el rol de empleados.

Las pequeñas empresas, en este contexto, tienen un problema completamente contrario, ya que tienen una
rotación de personal extrema y eso les complica situaciones legales, como por ejemplo las altas en el
seguro social y sueldos. Además de establecerse en zonas de confort y no tomar iniciativas de expansión.
Los datos que se pudieron captar en la recopilación de información, en torno a la educación, del personal
establecido en el comercio al por menor en la ciudad de Mérida, es que la gran mayoría son jóvenes que
llegan a la ciudad provenientes tanto de los municipios que colindan en el centro del estado, como los de
otras entidades. La mayoría de ellos apenas y cuentan con un nivel de educación primaria o secundaria,
que llegan con los motivos de continuar sus estudios y mejorar sus servicios, sin embargo, ellos externan
que debido a las ausencia de facilidades que otorgan las empresas, no pueden mantenerse y estudiar al
mismo tiempo, por lo que optan dejar sus estudios para ayudar a su familia.

Una gran parte de los encuestados cuenta con un puesto operativo en una empresa con ingresos
equivalentes al salario mínimo o menos. Aquellos que cuentan con estudios de preparatoria y superiores
alcanzan puestos administrativos pero no de altos mandos, a pesar de que algunos cuentan con los
estudios y preparación suficiente para desempeñarlos, y comentan que esperan su promoción y ocuparlos
en futuro. Fueron muy pocos los que pudieron expresar la satisfacción que genera sus actividades.
En cuanto a los empresarios y encargados que se entrevistaron, cuentan que las empresas han tenido un
crecimiento debido a la actualización constante que tienen internamente en su estructura empresarial y
que da como resultado implementar nuevos procesos, capacitaciones y la adquisición de maquinaria.
Entre las actividades de innovación destacan las investigaciones que desarrollan con motivo de no
excluirse del mercado, como el desarrollo o adquisición de software y la capacitación que requiere para su
utilización.Las empresas no toman en cuenta el lugar de origen del personal que contrata, pero si tienen
exigencias en sus criterios de admisión, como lo indica el estudio, las empresas utilizan el criterio de nivel
de preparación, que concierne, a la gran mayoría, el nivel de preparatoria completa, pero mencionan que a
falta de ese nivel optan por contratar personal con nivel menor.

También consideran, que debido a la diversidad cultural con el que cuentan, manejan diversos tipos de
capacitación aunque no muy fructíferos, por la indiferencia que tiene el personal en ella.Fue gratificante,
el intercambio de opiniones con empresarios con años de experiencia. Se tuvo la fortuna de la
participación de ellos. Cabe mencionar que los empresarios tienen muchas maneras de expresarse, pero
aquellos que tienen la calidez humana y sensibilidad hacia sus empleados, son lo que llegan a tener mayor
éxito, y ellos son los que pueden, de alguna manera, posicionarse en el mercado hasta controlarlo.
RecomendacionesSe recomienda la invitación e integración de las empresas en los proyectos que se
desarrollan, debido que existen empresarios interesados en estas actividades de investigación para su
beneficio y la apertura de nuevos mercados, además de que ellas no lo realizan por la falta de
conocimiento acerca de las investigaciones.

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El gobierno del estado de Yucatán se encuentra interesado en fomentar el apoyo de manera
administrativa, jurídica, operacional y social de todas las empresas que se encuentren interesadas en
crecer y desarrollarse más en su campo laboral.Ya se tiene centros de investigación de negocios en varias
universidades y tecnológicos que ayudan a fomentar nuevos proyectos de empresarios.

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LA COMPETITIVIDAD COMO FACTOR DE
DESARROLLO SUSTENTABLE INDICADORES PARA
LA EVALUACION DE LA INDUSTRIA MAQUILADORA
María Esther Ibarra Estrada, Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana, México
Mario Jiménez Suárez, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, México
Sofía Elba Vázquez Herrera, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, México

RESUMEN

El objetivo de esta investigación, es proponer un conjunto de indicadores que evalúen el desempeño
de la industria maquiladora, bajo un nuevo enfoque de “Competitividad Sustentable”. Tomando
como sujeto de estudio el sector electrónico de la industria maquiladora de la ciudad de Tijuana,
Baja California, México. Implementando una metodología de orden cualitativo y cuantitativo
considerando la dimensión internacional y su impacto regional, basada en investigaciones y estudios
desarrollados con enfoque en dos modelos establecidos como estándares internacionales. El Modelo
de Competitividad Sistémica, desarrollado por la Organización para la Cooperación y Desarrollo
Económico (OCDE) y el Modelo PER propuesto por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU)
mediante la CEPAL, y la AGENDA 21. Con los hallazgos obtenidos y analizados de manera
cualitativa y correlacional. Nos arrojaron, que del total de las industrias de clase mundial encuestas,
establecen sus operaciones bajo estándares internacionales de calidad, sin embargo en cuanto al
desarrollo sustentable aplicado a sus procesos y actividades los resultados nos muestran cierta
flexibilidad en la aplicación de políticas ambientales.

Palabras clave: Competitividad, Industria Maquiladora, Desarrollo Sustentable.

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS FACTOR OF
COMPETITIVENESS INDICATORS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE
MAQUILADORA INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT

The objective of this research is to propose a set of indicators to assess the performance of the industry
maquiladora, under a new approach of “Sustainable competitiveness”. Taking the electronic sector of the
city of Tijuana maquila industry as a subject of study, Baja California, Mexico. implementing a
methodology of qualitative and quantitative order considering the international dimension and its impact
regional, research and studies developed with focus on two models established as standards-based. The
model of systemic competitiveness, developed by the Organization for cooperation and economic
development (OCDE) and the model PER proposed by the United Nations (UN) through CEPAL, and
AGENDA 21. With the findings obtained and analyzed qualitative and correlational manner. Threw us
that class industries total global surveys, establishing its operations under international standards of
quality, however with regard to sustainable development applied to their processes and activities results
show some flexibility in the implementation of environmental policies.

JEL:L60,L63,M14,O14,P48,P52,Q01,Q28,Q57,R58

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KEYWORDS: Competitiveness, Maquiladora Industry, sustainable development.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Esta investigación se enfoca en la industria maquiladora, específicamente en el sector electrónico, debido
a sus características específicas de producción, origina una gran demanda de materia prima, recursos
naturales y de servicios públicos, lo que se traduce en una gran presión ambiental, especialmente en la
frontera norte con Estados Unidos y la ciudad de Tijuana Baja California, México; por tener establecidas
el mayor número de industrias de clase mundial de este sector que son un eje impulsor del desarrollo
económico local.
EL objetivo de esta investigación, es proponer un conjunto de indicadores de evaluación, que refleje en
materia de competitividad su desempeño e impacto con el desarrollo sustentable, destacando la
importancia de vincular la competitividad de la industria maquiladora con el desarrollo sustentable de sus
operaciones, bajo un enfoque de “competitividad sustentable”.
El desarrollo de esta investigación esta soportado por un estudio, basado en dos tipos de modelos
establecidos internacionalmente; el modelo de Competitividad Sistémica, propuesto por la OCDE, y el
modelo PER, propuesto por la ONU, mediante la CEPAL y la AGENDA 21, para el establecimiento de
indicadores de desarrollo sustentable para medir el impacto al medio ambiente y el uso y preservación de
los recursos naturales de las naciones.
Se adopto una metodología exploratoria, descriptiva, de orden cualitativo, mediante la estructura y
aplicación de un cuestionario con un total de 117 ítems, clasificados en cuatro segmentos, dirigido
exclusivamente a los directivos de las industrias de clase mundial, donde la información obtenida de los
factores de competitividad, fue analizada y evaluada en conjunto con los indicadores, políticas, normas y
reglamentos en materia de sustentabilidad y cuidado del medio ambiente, establecidos bajo las normas y
leyes mexicanas. Con información y datos estadísticos obtenidos de la Secretaría de Economía (SE) del
gobierno del Estado de Baja California, del Instituto nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), y de la
Asociación de Industriales de Mesa de Otay (AIMO).
Una vez que se determinaron los resultados, se obtienen las bases para el análisis y diagnóstico de los
factores que determinan la competitividad y sustentabilidad de las actividades y procesos de las
industrias de clase mundial. Finalmente, se presentan los hallazgos, conclusiones y propuestas para
futuras investigaciones.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Se construye con base en dos modelos internacionales, el primero, Modelo de Competitividad Sistémica,
desarrollado bajo los enfoques micro, macro, meso y meta que destacan los factores de la competitividad
internacional, implementado por la (Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (1992)
y el segundo, modelo PER (presión-estado-respuesta) implementado por la ONU, a través de la CEPAL
(1990), como indicadores basados en la causalidad: donde las actividades humanas ejercen (presión)
sobre el medio ambiente, modificando la calidad y cantidad de los recursos naturales (estado), donde la
sociedad responde a estos cambios, mediante la propuesta y establecimiento de políticas
medioambientales, económicas y sectoriales (respuesta). Y la AGENDA 21, establecida como un
programa para desarrollar la sostenibilidad a nivel planeta, aprobado por 173 gobiernos en la Conferencia
de las Naciones Unidas sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, celebrada en Río de Janeiro en 1992. Abarca

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en sus capítulos, aspectos económicos, sociales y culturales, así como relativos a la protección del medio
ambiente. En su capítulo 28 anima a las comunidades locales a crear su propia versión, una AGENDA 21
Local. Gran parte de los objetivos de la AGENDA 21 dependen casi en exclusiva del papel de las
comunidades locales. Es decir, de las decisiones, actitudes y comportamientos de los ciudadanos y
autoridades locales. Estas últimas se ocupan de la creación, el funcionamiento y el mantenimiento de la
infraestructura económica, social y ecológica, supervisan los procesos de planificación, establecen las
políticas y reglamentaciones ecológicas locales y contribuyen a la ejecución de las políticas ambientales
en los planos nacional e internacional. Gracias a su cercanía a los ciudadanos, desempeñan una función
importantísima en la educación y movilización de la ciudadanía en pro del desarrollo sostenible.

Importancia del Sector Electrónico

A nivel mundial, la industria electrónica se ha transformado en un sector altamente globalizado y
estratégico, ya que participa en los procesos de producción de productos fabricados, que van desde la
industria juguetera hasta la automotriz y electrodomésticos.
La dinámica e importancia desarrolladas por el sector electrónico ha estimulado importantes flujos de
comercio a nivel mundial. Durante la década de los noventa, el comercio de productos electrónicos
mostró el mayor nivel de crecimiento, comparado con otros sectores manufactureros, alcanzando tasas
promedio anuales de 12.1%. Casi el doble de otros sectores tradicionales como textil y vestido,
automotriz y químico.

De acuerdo a las estadísticas de la Organización Mundial de Comercio (OMC), la industria electrónica
representó un 15.1% del total de las operaciones del comercio mundial en el año 2009. A partir de la
firma del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN), en México, las empresas
maquiladoras de exportación son una fuente generadora de divisas para el país, sin excluir el número de
empleos que ha generado sobre todo en los estados fronterizos y la capacitación constante al personal que
labora en ellas.

La dinámica que ha mostrado la Industria Maquiladora de Exportación en México, obedece a la demanda
creciente de los mercados externos, y a los resultados de la política económica interna, que ha impulsado
la creación de enclaves industriales para la exportación; asimismo, esta dinámica se ha visto reforzada por
la instrumentación de un programa fiscal, aduanero y administrativo de acuerdo a estudios del Consejo
Nacional de la Industria Maquiladora y Manufacturera de Exportación, A.C. (2009).

El Estado de Baja California ocupa el primer lugar a escala nacional en número de empresas
maquiladoras dedicadas a la electrónica, el indicador de empleo constituye también el primer lugar entre
los estados de la frontera norte, comprendida por Baja California, Sonora, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Nuevo
León y Tamaulipas. Donde la participación de la industria electrónica se encuentra concentrada
principalmente en los municipios de Tijuana, con un 60.5%; Mexicali, con un 21.6%; Tecate con 10.8%
y Ensenada y Rosarito con el 7%, (fuente: Secretaria de Economía, del Gobierno del Estado, 2008).

Modelo de Competitividad Sistémica

Klaus Esser (1994), establece un modelo denominado “competitividad sistémica” que constituye un
marco de referencia para países tanto industrializados como en vías desarrollo. La visión de mediano a
largo plazo y la intensa interacción entre los actores no debe encaminarse únicamente a optimizar
potenciales de eficiencia en los diferentes niveles del sistema, movilizando capacidades sociales de

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creatividad con el fin de desarrollar ventajas competitivas nacionales. Ello ocurre porque ningún país
puede escoger a su antojo particular políticas o elementos de competitividad a partir del juego de
determinantes (niveles del sistema e instrumental de conducción). Los países más competitivos cuentan
con: Estructuras que promueven la competitividad desde el nivel meta, un contexto macro que presiona a
las empresas para que mejoren su rendimiento, un espacio meso estructurado en el que el Estado y los
actores sociales negocian las necesarias políticas de apoyo e impulsan la formación social de estructuras.
Numerosas empresas en el nivel micro que, todas a la vez, procuran alcanzar eficiencia, calidad,
flexibilidad y rapidez de reacción y están en buena parte articuladas en redes colaborativas.
Los cuatro conceptos anteriores son llamados “los cuatro niveles de la competitividad sistémica” y se
presentan bajo el siguiente modelo.
Tabla 1: Modelo de Competitividad Sistémica

Nivel Características

Meta

Macro

Se refiere a la capacidad de organización por parte de todos los actores, para canalizar los conocimientos sociales, que
permitan a su vez regular y conducir correctamente, tanto a nivel macro como micro los intereses del futuro. Que
permitan cohesionar esfuerzos para generar ventajas nacionales de innovación y conocimiento, es decir el desarrollo de
habilidades y conocimientos de la sociedad encaminados a la competencia. Es decir, una formación social de estructuras
que permitan la modernización de la economía.

Se refiere a las variables macroeconómicas y su estabilización, para poder competir en el mercado mundial, pues su
inestabilidad no permite operar eficientemente el mercado nacional y limita el crecimiento de la economía.
La estabilización macroeconómica tiene que apoyarse sobre todo en una reforma de la política fiscal. Y la
presupuestaria, así como también de la monetaria y cambiaria, con el fin último de mantener un equilibrio en todo el
sistema económico de manera sostenible que permita el éxito en el mercado mundial.

Meso Se considera el desarrollo de políticas que fomenten la formación de estructuras y apoyo especifico hacia aquellas
industrias o empresas líderes en el mercado nacional, así como también formar y apoyar aquellas empresas que
consideren que puede alcanzar a los líderes o la formación de competidores.
Dentro de este nivel se considera lo nacional y regional o local, pues son procesos distintos pero no por ello no
interconectados. Dichas políticas están encaminadas a desarrollar la infraestructura física e inmaterial ―como son las
carretas, transportes etc., y la educación― tanto en el ámbito nacional, como local o regional, delegando poder de
decisión para formar la infraestructura necesaria que permita un desarrollo con respecto al espacio territorial, a través de
ventajas competitivas, sin perder de vista la dirección nacional de desarrollo.

Micro

Se identifican factores que condicionan el comportamiento de la empresa, como productividad, los costos, los esquemas
de organización, la innovación con tecnologías, la gestión empresarial, el tamaño de empresa, etc. Siendo los indicadores
de la productividad del trabajo y el capital la calidad, la flexibilidad y la rapidez.

En esta tabla se describen los diferentes enfoques del modelo de competitividad sistémica, que representan las bases teóricas de esta investigación.

Agenda 21

Es un programa creado por la Organización las Naciones Unidas (ONU), para promover el desarrollo
sostenible. Es un plan detallado de acciones que deben cumplirse a nivel mundial, nacional y local por
entidades integrantes de la ONU, por los gobiernos de sus estados, y por grupos y organizaciones de todas
las áreas, donde ocurran impactos humanos sobre el medio ambiente. Es una lista detallada de asuntos que
requieren atención, organizada cronológicamente, y se denomina 21 por que hace referencia al siglo
XXI. La Agenda 21 ha tenido un estrecho seguimiento a partir del cual se han desarrollado ajustes y
revisiones.

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Primero, con la conferencia denominada Rio + 5, se llevó a cabo en junio de 1997, en la sede de la ONU
en Nueva York; posteriormente con la adopción de una agenda complementaria denominada Objetivos de
desarrollo del Milenio (Millennium Development Goals), con énfasis particular en las políticas de
globalización y en la erradicación de la pobreza y el hambre, adoptadas por 199 países en la 55ª Asamblea
de la ONU, celebrada en Nueva York en septiembre del 2000. Y finalmente se consolida en la cumbre de
Johannesburgo en el 2002.
Los temas fundamentales de la AGENDA 21 están tratados en 40 capítulos organizados en cuatro
secciones, que a continuación se presenta.
Tabla 2: Agenda 21

Sección Capítulo

I

II

III

IV

Dimensiones Sociales y Económicas

Conservación y Manejo de Recursos para el Desarrollo

Fortalecimiento del papel de los grupos sociales
Medios de Ejecución

Esta tabla nos muestra los cuatro segmentos de la estructura de la Agenda 21. Fuente: elaboración propia.

Modelo PER (presión – estado – respuesta)

El modelo PER propuesto por la OCDE (1993), es un método para la derivación de los indicadores sobre
las presiones humanas sobre el ambiente, el estado ambiental de los ecosistemas y las respuestas
individuales e institucionales a los retos ambientales que se presentan. La lógica de este modelo es que
las actividades humanas ejercen presión sobre el ambiente, las cuales inducen cambios en el estado de
los ecosistemas. Ante esto, las sociedades humanas responden a través de políticas ambientales,
económicas y programas para reducir, prevenir o mitigar el deterioro ambiental, mediante indicadores
que reflejan de manera integral, la estructura de las organizaciones y su participación en el mejoramiento
del medio ambiente.

El Modelo PER tiene la ventaja de destacar estas relaciones, proporcionando al público en general y a los
tomadores de decisiones una visión integrada del ambiente y otros aspectos interconectados. De acuerdo
con el propósito para el cual el modelo PER es usado, este puede ser ajustado para mayor detalle o para
incorporar algunos aspectos específicos. Un ejemplo es el modelo Fuerza directriz- Estado- Respuesta
(Driving force- State- Response) empleado por la Comisión de Desarrollo Sustentable de las Naciones
Unidas o bien, el marco utilizado para indicadores sectoriales por la Organización para la Cooperación y
el Desarrollo Económico y el modelo Fuerzas directrices- Estado- Impacto- Respuesta (Driving force-
State- Impact- Response) manejado por la Agencia Internacional Europea. Para establecer el modelo de
un problema ambiental dado, el esquema P-E-R identifica tres aspectos básicos: las presiones que recibe
el ambiente, la situación del estrato ambiental afectado y la respuesta de la sociedad.
Los indicadores de presión describen las presiones que las actividades humanas ejercen en el ambiente,
incluyendo los recursos naturales. Considera las presiones indirectas que se refiere a las actividades

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económicas en sí mismas y las directas, es decir, uso de recursos, descargas de contaminantes y
generación de residuos. Los indicadores de estado describen tanto la calidad del ambiente como la
condición y cantidad de los recursos naturales. Ellos reflejan el objetivo último de las políticas
ambientales. Estos indicadores están diseñados para dar una visión general de la situación del ambiente y
sus tendencias temporales. Los indicadores de respuesta muestran como la sociedad responde a los
aspectos ambientales.
Tabla 3: Modelo PER

Indicadores actividad Acciones públicas o privadas

Presión

Estado
Respuesta

Presiones que las actividades humanas ejercen en el
ambiente.
Describen la calidad y condición de los recursos naturales.
Muestran la respuesta a los aspectos ambientales.

Mitigar o prevenir los efectos negativos de las actividades
humanas en el medio ambiente.

Detener o revertir el daño ambiental ya producido.
Prevenir o conservar los recursos naturales.

La tabla describe los indicadores de medición de las políticas ambientales y las acciones tomadas establecidas para el cuidado del medio
ambiente. Fuente: elaboración propia.

METODOLOGÍA

Esta investigación está enfocada a una metodología con carácter cualitativo, con enfoque exploratorio,
descriptivo, correlacional. El fundamento para emplear este tipo de investigación radica en el argumento
de Hill y Mc. Gowans (1999) que sugieren que la investigación en las empresas puede ser realizada de
mejor manera a través de un acercamiento cualitativo que incluye la observación participativa, estudios de
caso, entrevistas a profundidad y la aplicación de cuestionarios. Describiendo su desarrollo a
continuación.

Cualitativa. En el marco de la observación, se estudiaron a las industrias maquiladoras del sector
electrónico de la ciudad de Tijuana, Baja California, y se analizaron las características cualitativas que
distinguen a las empresas de clase mundial establecidas en la localidad.

Exploratoria. Por ser un tema de carácter relevante para la industria maquiladora y donde en la
actualidad se encuentran pocos estudios realizados al respecto.

Descriptiva. Se llevo a cabo el estudio y análisis descriptivo de las variables dependientes de la
investigación: competitividad y desarrollo sustentable y los factores que determinan cada una de las
variables, bajo un enfoque con estándares internacionales de aplicación.

Correlacional. Esta investigación pretende vincular la variable competitividad con la variable de
desarrollo sustentable. Con la finalidad de proponer un conjunto de indicadores de competitividad y
desarrollo sustentable, para evaluar el sector electrónico de la industria maquiladora, bajo un enfoque de
“competitividad sustentable”.

Determinación de la muestra
Para determinar el universo, que será base de nuestra investigación, se eligió una muestra de tipo no
probabilista o dirigida, con características de orden cualitativo, obedeciendo los criterios que arrojan los
datos analizados, presentados por la Secretaria de Economía (SEDECO) y el directorio de la Industria

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Maquiladora publicado en julio 2010, se seleccionó solo a las industrias caracterizadas como de clase
mundial. Tomando como referencia para la selección de la muestra a Hernández Sampieri (2010), por
tener una amplia experiencia referencial en materia de estructura para la obtención del tamaño de la
muestra.

Tabla 4: determinación de la muestra
etapas Desarrollo Total de industrias

Universo

Selección de la unidad de
análisis sujeto de la
investigación

Determinación y selección de
la muestra

Se realizo una selección de las industrias de clase mundial del sector
electrónico establecidas en el estado de Baja California.

Se determino el número de industrias del sector electrónico, establecidas
en la ciudad de Tijuana, B.C.

Se seleccionaron solo a las empresas de clase mundial, del sector
electrónico de la ciudad de Tijuana, B.C.

122 = 100%

84 = 68.84%

10 = 11.9%

En esta tabla se muestra el proceso de selección que se llevo a cabo para determinar la muestra sujeto de investigación. Fuente: elaboración
propia.

RESULTADOS

Se presentan los hallazgos de esta investigación, mismos que se obtuvieron a partir de la identificación
de las incidencias que existen entre los factores propuestos de evaluación y los aplicados por las
industrias del sector electrónico de clase mundial.

Factores de competitividad de la industria del sector electrónico que en los hallazgos se encontraron
incidencias.

Países a los que exporta: Los hallazgos obtenidos, nos muestran una clara coincidencia de las industrias
hacia los países dominantes de sus exportaciones, siendo el principal Estados Unidos, donde todas las
industrias exportan (10), seguido de Canadá (3), Europa (3), Japón (2) y Alemania (1) las industrias
encuestadas.

País de origen de la inversión: Los hallazgos nos muestran que predomina el país de Japón (con 50%) en
cuanto a la inversión extranjera directa (IED), del total de las industrias encuestadas, seguido de Estados
Unidos con el 40% de IED, y Corea con el 10% de la IED.

Actividad Económica: En los hallazgos, obtuvieron que la actividad primordial el ensamble de productos
electrónicos, donde el 40%, de las industrias de este sector, desempeñan como actividad preponderante,
seguida por su importancia la de ensamble de televisores de alta calidad, donde la ciudad de Tijuana es
importante productor y exportador de pantallas con LED, HD, 3D.

Certificaciones y acreditaciones: En los resultados obtenidos, se observa que en su totalidad, las industrias
del sector electrónico de de clase mundial, se encuentran certificadas por las normas de estándares de
calidad ISO 9001, ISO 14001 estándares de medio ambiente, el 90% de las empresas cuenta con la
certificación CBP-T/TPAT, para certificación de transporte de carga y la certificación de STPS/SASST-ES
de seguridad y trabajo social.

Nivel de estudios de los directivos entrevistados: Los hallazgos de los resultados nos muestran que los
directivos de las industrias de clase mundial del sector electrónico, cuentan con un nivel de posgrado el

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90%, y un posicionamiento como lideres por la antigüedad que han acumulado en estas empresas, bajo su
cargo.

En el Nivel Micro

En los hallazgos nos indican que las empresas encuestadas, cuentan con los niveles de certificación
organizacional y manejan estándares de calidad y competitividad internacional.

El nivel Meso: Los hallazgos nos muestran que la infraestructura industrial es adecuada, según los
directivos encuestados, y el 100% de las empresas cuenta con proveedores certificados, y determinan que
la ciudad cuenta con infraestructura y logística para el establecimiento de este sector industrial.

El Nivel Macro: Los hallazgos nos determinan que el entorno político no es de todo favorable para este
sector industrial, que sin embargo este sector es un fuerte detonador del desarrollo económico y
generador de empleo. Coinciden los directivos en que la seguridad pública, no es la adecuada para el
desarrollo de la región y de sus habitantes.

El Nivel Meta: Los resultados, que el puesto de los directivos debe de tener habilidades tanto de
comunicación y liderazgo, así como primordialmente los conocimientos profesionales para este cargo. De
igual manera los gerentes evalúan y fomentan las competencias de los empleados.

Indicadores de Desarrollo Sustentable que los hallazgos incidieron con el desempeño de las industrias.

Factor Económico: Los hallazgos nos muestran de manera contundente que las industrias de clase
mundial, del sector electrónico cuentan con políticas y metas ambientales, vinculadas al desarrollo
económico, bajo esquemas de aseguramiento de la calidad, con las certificaciones de ISO 14001,
auditoría ambiental, establecidas por la Profepa y la introducción de tecnologías limpias para sus procesos
productivos, del mismo modo fomentan el uso sustentable de los materiales y servicios.

Factor Social: Los hallazgos nos muestran que las industrias de clase mundial, establecen políticas de
valores, acordes con la misión y visión de las empresas, fomentan el desarrollo de los empleados, y su
participación en la comunidad, generando un ambiente de bienestar laboral.

Factor Ambiental: Los hallazgos, n os muestran que el establecimiento de estas industrias, del sector
electrónico, son generadoras de contaminación y de residuos peligrosos, sin embargo los hallazgos
también nos arrojan que estas industrias están preocupadas por el medio ambiente, manteniendo
monitoreos y controles estrictos de sus materiales y desechos contaminantes, así como del retorno de los
mismos al país de origen. Se encontró también que aplican medidas de reciclaje y consumo de agua,
como políticas de sustentabilidad ambiental. Lo que coincide con los indicadores propuestos por esta
investigación.

CONCLUSIONES

Con base a la investigación realizada y en los hallazgos cualitativos resultado de las entrevistas y encuesta
aplicada a los directivos de las industrias maquiladoras del sector electrónico de clase mundial, con el fin
de identificar los factores que vinculan la competitividad con el desarrollo sustentable, aplicados en sus

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actividades y procesos productivos. A continuación se hace la aportación de un nuevo conjunto de
indicadores para evaluar al sector electrónico de la industria maquiladora, bajo un enfoque de estándares
internacionales. Que es fundamentalmente la contribución primordial de esta investigación de acuerdo al
objetivo general definido al inicio de este estudio.
Con la instrumentación de esta nueva propuesta de evaluación, se contribuirá a una evaluación adecuada
para este sector industrial, que implicará los siguientes beneficios específicos:

1. Una mejor evaluación que refleje las actividades productivas y su desempeño bajo estándares
internacionales.
2. Las bases para la toma de decisiones, en la aplicación de políticas y acciones a seguir bajo un
esquema de Competitividad y Desarrollo Sustentable.
3. Como base para evaluación de otros sectores industriales.
4. Como base de información y datos, para los sectores de gobierno y los organismos públicos y
privados interesados en evaluar al sector electrónico de la industria maquiladora.
5. Contribuyendo como base de referencia para futuras investigaciones.

PROPUESTA DE INVESTIGACIONES

Se recomienda para futuros trabajos de investigación, continuar con estudios sobre la industria
maquiladora, analizando:
1. El avance en competitividad y sustentabilidad, del sector electrónico de la industria
maquiladora, de la ciudad de Tijuana, tomando como referencia el presente estudio.
2. Indicadores que reflejen el nivel de calidad de vida de los empleados, vinculado al crecimiento
económico de la industria maquiladora.
3. El avance en instalaciones e implementación tecnologías y procesos sustentables.
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BIOGRAFÍA

María Esther Ibarra Estrada, es Doctora en Desarrollo Económico, Sectorial Estratégico por la
Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla. Profesora del Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana,
imparte la cátedra de Finanzas y Comportamiento organizacional. Se puede contactar en el Posgrado de
Maestría en Administración, del Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana, México. Correo electrónico:
estheribarra@yahoo.com

Mario Jiménez Suárez, es Doctor Desarrollo Económico, Sectorial Estratégico por la Universidad
Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, México. Profesor de la Universidad Popular Autónoma del
Estado de Puebla, imparte la cátedra de Desarrollo Sustentable. Se puede contactar en Posgrado en
Desarrollo Económico de la Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, México. Correo
electrónico: mario.jimenez@upaep.mx

Sofía Elba Vázquez Herrera, es Doctora en Desarrollo Económico, Sectorial Estratégico por la
Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, México. Coordinadora de Doctorado y Maestría en
Desarrollo Económico y Sectorial Estratégico del Centro Interdisciplinario de Posgrados de UPAEP.
Correo electrónico: sofiaelba.vazquez@upaep.mx

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EL IMPACTO QUE TIENE LA BIBLIOTECA DEL
CICESE, EN RELACIÓN CON LA PRODUCTIVIDAD DE
LOS INVESTIGADORES DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE
ACUICULTURA (DA)
Elizabeth Avilés Becerril, UABC/CICESE
María Concepción Ramírez Barón, Autónoma de Baja California
Sonia Rocha Maldonado, Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

El trabajo presenta las tendencias de uso, que los investigadores del DA tienen sobre el material
bibliográfico de la biblioteca, cuantifica las referencias consultadas a través de esta biblioteca, que citan
en los artículos publicados. La Biblioteca del CICESE cuenta con más de 22,000 títulos de libros, del
orden de 120 títulos de revistas, acceso al menos a 560 bases de datos, a lo que se suma el servicio
interbibliotecario para atender al personal académico de CICESE, donde el interés en este estudio de
caso se enfoca en 13 investigadores del DA. Se presentan estudios similares en otras bibliotecas, como
en: Cuba, España, Malasia, Venezuela y México, así como el panorama general del CICESE, su origen,
misión, visión y el crecimiento que ha tenido, su estructura organizacional y funcional, la descripción del
desarrollo del DA, sus publicaciones. Se incluye también en términos generales, cómo es la distribución
de las publicaciones científicas en el mundo y en México. En particular, para el DA se describe la
producción científica de los investigadores, los orígenes como departamento y su evolución.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Biblioteca, Investigadores de Acuicultura y Productividad

INTRODUCCIÓN

El objetivo general es conocer las tendencias de uso, que los investigadores del DA tienen sobre el
material bibliográfico de ésta biblioteca, además de cuantificar las referencias consultadas a través de esta
biblioteca, que citan en los artículos publicados. Por otra parte servirá para generar información en la
toma de decisiones presupuestales para la adquisición de material bibliográfico. El planteamiento y
análisis de este estudio consideró hacer un diagnóstico de la productividad científica del DA dentro del
contexto de servicios bibliotecarios.La importancia que lleva al desarrollo de este estudio, plantea
cuantificar la medida en que la Biblioteca del CICESE, apoya al desarrollo de la investigación básica y
aplicada que se ve reflejada en el número de publicaciones científicas. La Biblioteca del CICESE cuenta
con más de 22,000 títulos de libros, del orden de 120 títulos de revistas, acceso al menos a 560 bases de
datos, a lo que se suma el servicio interbibliotecario para atender al personal académico de CICESE,
donde el interés en este estudio de caso se enfoca en 13 investigadores del DA.

REVISION LITERARIA

Publicación es uno de los últimos pasos de cualquier investigación científica, previo al debate externo.
Los investigadores que iniciaron las publicaciones científicas intercambiaban información por medio de
cartas personales entre ellos. Se cuenta con el antecedente de la evaluación de las publicaciones
científicas impresas, la cual se dio a partir de 1665 con la publicación del Journal des Savants en París y
de Philosophical Transaction of the Royal Society, en Londres. (Albornoz, 2005). Aunque la evaluación

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de revistas académicas se dio principalmente en Estados Unidos y España, en países como Brasil,
Colombia, Venezuela y México dio inicio en los años noventas. En 1993 a través de CONACyT
(Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología) y por primera vez en nuestro país, se integró un comité de 14
académicos mexicanos expertos en diversas áreas del conocimiento, con la misión de evaluar las revistas
científicas mexicanas. En México los investigadores que publican artículos científicos en revistas
arbitradas reciben un apoyo económico por medio del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI) un
programa Federal que fomenta el desarrollo científico y tecnológico como estímulo adicional a su salario
y de ésta manera se tiene un registro de los avances del quehacer científico en el país.

México: estudiosos en la materia de bibliometría se han puesto a medir el esfuerzo y la repercusión de la
actividad científica, para cuantificar el número de documentos publicados en nuestro país, las
instituciones que lo generan, los autores, el origen, la nacionalidad, entre otros. Los estudios realizados
para medir la productividad científica se basan en la bibliometría, encuestas, entrevistas, estadística;
técnicas utilizadas para lograr resultados en cuanto a la producción científica, destacando las siguientes
características como: esfuerzos insuficientes, concentración del gasto en sectores de determinado
potencial competitivo y predominio de una ciencia académica. En el estudio de la bibliometría, se
construyen indicadores de la investigación, por lo tanto las medidas bibliométricas más comunes son las
basadas en las publicaciones y en las citas. La cantidad de científicos investigadores y de recursos
consignados para ubicar a América Latina a escala mundial, ha aumentado considerablemente, sin
embargo sigue siendo precaria la contribución de la región al total mundial, la generación de
conocimiento y su manejo no representa mayores logros.

Publicación De Artículos Por Investigadores

En cuanto a la producción científica en México según el Informe General del Estado de la Ciencia y la
Tecnología 2005, indica que el número de artículos publicados en México ascendió a 5,885 en 2005, el
crecimiento más alto desde 1994. Este incremento destaca en el área de plantas y animales, química y
microbiología. Cabe mencionar que dentro del CICESE, se creó la División de Biología Experimental y
Aplicada, dada la necesidad en el área, esperando que destaque dentro de poco tiempo con la producción
de artículos científicos.

Generales Del CICESE

Para conocer como se encuentra el CICESE este capítulo presenta un panorama general del Centro, su
estructura organizacional y de personal. Ver anexo 1. El inicio de sus fundadores que impulsaron su
desarrollo, misión, visión, trayectoria de las líneas de investigación.El CICESE es un organismo público
descentralizado, creado por decreto presidencial, publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 18 de
septiembre de 1973. Con la expedición de la Ley de Fomento a la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica,
el Decreto del Centro fue reestructurado como Centro Público de Investigación sectorizado en el
CONACyT según decreto del 29 de agosto del año 2000 y, el 13 de octubre del 2006 fue objeto de una
nueva reestructuración para adecuarse a la Ley de Ciencia y Tecnología. Durante sus 33 años de
existencia el CICESE, ha mostrado cambios relevantes en su estructura interna, como lo es la apertura de
nuevas líneas de investigación: Biotecnología, Microbiología, Biología de la conservación. Programas
académicos en Ciencias de la Tierra con opciones nuevas como: Medio Ambiente; Ciencias de la
Computación; Maestría en Administración Integral del Ambiente, entre otras, que han generado una gran
demanda de requerimientos bibliográficos. El Centro tiene 8 programas de posgrado con maestría y
doctorado, los cuales cuentan con el reconocimiento en el Padrón Nacional de Posgrado (PNP) del

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CONACyT y están clasificados como posgrados de alto nivel, lo que significa que son posgrados
consolidados que han alcanzado ciertos parámetros de calidad y excelencia.

Para este estudio de caso que es el DA adscrito a la División de Oceanología el posgrado en ciencias esta
orientado en Acuicultura, Biotecnología Marina y Microbiología, el cual tiene como objetivo principal
formar recursos humanos para desarrollar funciones de docencia e investigación científica y tecnológica
en el sector público o privado y para incorporarse al sector productivo. El DA esta integrado por 13
investigadores que desarrollan investigación científica y tecnológica en las siguientes líneas:
Alimentación y nutrición de organismos acuáticos, Biología y patología de organismos acuáticos,
Ecofisiología de organismos acuáticos, Genética de organismos acuáticos y Diseño y desarrollo de
organismos acuáticos. En cuanto a los otros programas de posgrado como Ecología Marina; Oceanografía
Física; Ciencias de la Computación; Electrónica y Telecomunicaciones; Óptica ; Ciencias de la Tierra, y
el posgrado de Física de Materiales en colaboración con la UNAM y la Maestría en Administración
Integral del Ambiente con el COLEF (Colegio de la Frontera Norte).

METODOLOGÍA

En cuanto al tipo de investigación, el método aplicado es exploratorio y descriptivo ya que al inicio de
este caso de estudio, se tenía en mente conocer el impacto o relevancia que causa la biblioteca para las
publicaciones de los investigadores del DA, en otras palabras qué tanto del material era utilizado por los
investigadores del DA para que ellos publicaran sus artículos científicos. Se inició la labor exploratoria,
encontrando únicamente un reporte técnico del año 2000, lo cual dio la pauta a seguir, se revisó la
productividad de cada uno de los 13 investigadores del departamento en la página de Estudios de
Posgrado del CICESE, se analizó la bibliografía referenciada en sus publicaciones, se realizó una base de
datos con la información obtenida y se corroboró con lo solicitado en el servicio interbibliotecario. En
cuanto a la base de datos que se elaboró, con la información de los 264 artículos publicados. Para este
estudio de caso se tomó lo registrado como arbitrado, en realidad la publicación total desde 1989 a 2005
fue de 799 artículos, 519 fueron artículos no arbitrados; 4 libros arbitrados, 3 capítulos de libros no
arbitrados y 9 capítulos de libros arbitrados

Descripción Del Método De Estudio

El alcance de este método de investigación es descriptivo-exploratorio ya que según los estudios de esta
categoría obtienen información de manera independiente con el propósito de describir lo que sucede en la
biblioteca del CICESE; como la situación a resolver en este estudio de caso el impacto, relevancia o
importancia que tiene la Biblioteca del CICESE, para las publicaciones de los investigadores del DA se
trató de formular en forma lo suficientemente concreta como para que pudiera ser resuelta efectivamente
por la vía administrativa y lo suficientemente clara como para saber qué datos buscar para resolverla. Se
trata de un estudio de caso solucionable en donde se realizó un plan para recolectar y analizar datos
corroborándolos y combinándolos entre sí, con la intención de hallar una respuesta a la demanda de libros
por el servicio interbibliotecario con la Universidad de San Diego CA. UCSD solicitados por los
investigadores del departamento.

Se obtuvo información primaria y secundaria, la primaria fue proporcionada por la Dirección de Estudios
de Posgrado cuando se hizo una búsqueda de los 799 artículos científicos publicados por los
investigadores del DA. Se revisaron físicamente los artículos que se encontraban en unas cajas en donde
precisamente las publicaciones científicas del DA eran las únicas que todavía no tenían orden de los
cuales se tomaron 264 artículos arbitrados para este estudio de caso, se buscó en cada artículo cuales
fueron sus referencias consultadas y con la información obtenida se elaboró una base de datos, logrando
registrar que fueron utilizadas 1,247 revistas, 355 libros, 86 tesis y 93 que quedaron como otros

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refiriéndose a symposiums, conferencias, congresos, talleres, reportes proceedings, cursos, informes,
seminarios y algunos más. El lugar de la investigación estuvo básicamente dentro de la Biblioteca del
CICESE, con entrevistas no estructuradas al personal de la biblioteca Otra fuente de información fue
obtenida de la sección de adquisiciones donde se encuentran los registros estadísticos de cómo a
incrementado el acervo año tras año en cada división y departamento, también se utilizó la página de
productividad a cargo de la División de Estudios de Posgrado dentro del portal de CICESE, en donde se
desglosa la productividad por departamento y por investigador, siendo estudio de caso el DA. Hernández
Sampieri, 1990, dice que según la finalidad que persiga el científico, las investigaciones pueden ser
exploratorias – descriptivas. Se entiende como investigación exploratoria cuando se busca información
sobre algún tema o problema por resultar relativamente desconocido o nuevo como este estudio de caso y
por investigación descriptiva cuando se busca correlacionar estadísticamente cada uno de los factores.

RESULTADOS

Con el objetivo de realizar un diagnóstico, se llevó a cabo una revisión de los artículos publicados por los
investigadores del DA a partir de 1989 fecha en donde aparecen los primeros 5 artículos publicados hasta
el año 2005 con 799. Para conocer qué tanto del material consultado en sus publicaciones científicas se
encuentra disponible en la Biblioteca del CICESE. De los 5 investigadores iniciados en el Departamento
en 1989 con los que cuenta a la fecha son 13 en 2005 se han publicado 264 artículos científicos
arbitrados, en donde la bibliografía consultada arroja un total de 1,781 referencias: 1,247 fueron
consultados en revistas, 355 de libros, 86 de tesis y 93 de otros refiriéndose a symposiums, conferencias,
congresos, talleres, reportes, proceedings, cursos, informes y algunos otros. Ver gráfica 1Las 1,247
referencias bibliográficas arrojan un total de 408 revistas de las cuales la biblioteca posee 159, lo que
significa que más del 60% son revistas que no están disponibles en la biblioteca.

En cuanto a las 19 revistas más consultadas por los investigadores del DA para elaborar los 264 artículos
científicos de 1989 a 2005, se encuentra la revista de Ciencias Marinas como principal fuente de
referencia y donde más investigadores de este Departamento publican sus artículos científicos, con 45
veces mencionada, le siguen en segundo y tercero: Journal of Thermal Biology y la Revista de Biología
Tropical con una frecuencia de 33 veces consultadas, en cuarto lugar esta la Journal of Shellfish Research
30 veces consultada, en quinto lugar queda la Rivista Italiana fi Acquacoltura 29 veces referenciada, la
revista Hidrobiológica 10 veces consultada, con 9 veces consultado el Boletín del Programa Nacional de
Sanidad Acuícola y la Red de Diagnóstico, 8 veces citadas las revistas Aquacultural Engineering,
Aquaculture y Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 7 veces consultada la revista Biotechology
Letters .Las revistas Aquaculture Reserach y la Revista de Investigaciones Marinas fueron consultadas 6
veces y 5 veces: Global Aquaculture Advocate, International Journal of Salt Lake Reseach, Journal of
Invertebrate Pathology, Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, Panoram Acuícola y The
Veliger. De éstas 19 revistas la Biblioteca del CICESE cuenta con 9 de la lista de títulos mas
consultados. Ver Figura 1.

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Figura 1: Revistas más consultadas por los investigadores del Departamento de Acuicultura para publicar
sus artículos científicos de 1989 al 2005

Fuente: elaboración propia, datos tomados del Informe de Ciencia y Tecnología 2005

Se hace la aclaración que la revista de Biología Tropical, si se encuentra en Biblioteca del CICESE, solo
que los volúmenes consultados como referencia no están dentro de la colección, esta revista se recibió de
1981 al 2000 de forma irregular, por donativo. La revista Hidrobiológica, también está en forma irregular
de 1991 a 1992 y vuelve a renovarse en el año 2003 solo cuatro volúmenes. Referente a los 355 libros
consultados, que aparecen como citas bibliográficas consultadas por los investigadores, se aprecia que el
43% es decir 154 de ellos se encuentran en biblioteca, el resto 57% es decir 201 libros han sido
solicitados para su consulta por otros medios, en entrevistas personales con algunos investigadores
mencionan que la obtención de material que no encontraban en la biblioteca la solicitaban con amigos, o
por la cercanía a la ciudad de San Diego CA ellos pasaban a recogerla. En cuanto a las 86 tesis; el acervo
de la biblioteca cuenta con 35 de ellas lo que significa que casi el 60% no se encuentran en la colección
de la Biblioteca del CICESE, las 51 restantes fueron obtenidas por otros medios. Ver gráfica 13.De los
datos agrupados como “otros” se encuentran referencias que aparecen con datos incompletos e incorrectos
tales como papers, symposiums, conferencias, proceedings, reportes, memorias, informes, informes
especiales meeting, publicaciones, obteniendo un resultado de 48 referencias que sí se encuentran como
impresos, reportes académicos del CICESE, informe especial, informe técnico, comunicaciones
académicas, localizadas en la colección de la biblioteca.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
The Veliger.
Panorama Acuícola.
Marine and Freshw ater Behaviour and Physiology
Journal of Invertebrate Pathology
International Journal of Salt Lake Research.
Global Aquaculture Advocate.
Revista de Investigaciones Marinas.
Aquaculture Research.
Biotechnology Letters.
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology.
Aquaculture.
Aquacultural Engineering.
Boletín del Programa Nacional de Sanidad Acuícola y la Red de
Diagnóstico.
Hidrobiológica.
Rivista Italiana di Acquacoltura
Journal of Shellf ish Research.
Revista de Biología Tropical.
Journal of Thermal Biology.
Ciencias Marinas.

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Solicitado Si están en
Biblioteca
% No están en Biblioteca %
*Revistas 1,247 159 12% 249 20%
Libros 355 154 43% 201 56%
Tesis 86 35 40% 51 59%
Otros 93 48 51% 45 48%
* Este es el número de revistas consultadas, con títulos repetidos y con número de volúmenes diferentes.

Como este servicio también incurre en las peticiones de material. A continuación se presenta una tabla del
comportamiento que tuvo el servicio interbibliotecario en relación con el DA desde el año 2003 al 2005.
Donde se representa entre paréntesis lo solicitado por el Departamento (no se recuperó información
anterior porque los disquetes están dañados).

Tabla 2: Material solicitado por investigadores del Departamento de Acuicultura, a través del servicio
interbibliotecario del año 2003 al 2005.

Años
Porcentaje
2003

%
2004
%
2005
%
Libros
CICESE
Acuicultura

186
(33)

17%

132
(3)

2%

187
(17)

9%
Artículos
CICESE
Acuicultura

277
(33)

12%

201
(40)

20%

285
(48)

17%

Se hace la aclaración que la búsqueda de revistas electrónicas será tema de investigación ya que el
presente estudio de caso se dedicó a reflejar el material bibliográfico que se encuentra disponible en la
biblioteca de CICESE.

CONCLUSIONES

Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio de caso, muestran que existe un déficit de material para los
investigadores de esta área de acuicultura, ya que en revistas, tesis y libros, más del 50 porciento de la
información no se encuentra en la Biblioteca del CICESE, solo lo referente a reportes académicos y
técnicos, que son publicados aquí, lo que alcanzó a disminuir el porcentaje a favor de la biblioteca.
Ya que el Departamento de Acuicultura no es el único con déficit bibliográfico, sí es, el que ha hecho
mayor uso del sistema de préstamo interbibliotecario en los últimos años. Por lo menos en 2004, este
departamento requirió casi el 20% del total de solicitudes a través del mencionado servicio. Este dato
resulta preocupante por lo que se decidió analizar los registros de productividad de los años de 1989 al
2005, (encontrando información solo de 2003 al 2005) para detectar cuáles son los hábitos de utilización
de la información de este sector del centro y cuál es el estatus de los recursos que la biblioteca
proporciona a este grupo de investigación científica.

REFERENCIAS

Albornoz, Mario (2005). Revista Acta Bioquímica Clínica Latinoamericana. Estrategias para la

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promoción de las publicaciones científicas argentinas. 2006; 40(2): 233-7

Atherton, P. (1978) Manual para Sistemas y Servicios de Información” UNESCO, París, p. 39)
Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (1990-205). Compendio anual
de productividad. Comunicaciones Académicas.

Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (2005). Producción científica y tecnológica y su impacto
económico.

Fernández Sinohue, Edith.2004 Catálogo de herramientas de software para el apoyo a los medios
electrónicos de comunicación en Biblioteca del CICESE. Tesis Maestría Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana.

Frías, Antonio (1998). ¿Quiénes son y que citan los investigadores que publican en las revistas españolas
de biblioteconomía y Documentación. Revista de Biblioteconomía y Documentación. Universidad de
Murcia. Vol. 1, 1998, p. 29-53.

Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., Baptista Lucio, P. (1991). Metodología de la
investigación.

Langrage, Olga., 1969. Tesis: La Investigación en Venezuela
Maldonado Radillo, Sonia Elizabeth (2006). Análisis del comportamiento de los gastos básicos de
operación en una institución educativa, caso UABC, campus Ensenada. Tesis Maestría UABC.

Ricardo, Y. 1994. El papel de las bibliotecas en el desarrollo de las ciencias sociales. 60th IFLA General
Conference Proceedings, Instituto de Literatura y Lingüística, La Habana, Cuba. Agosto, 1994
Sánchez Vignau BS, 2007. Ciencia, investigación y cultura en la biblioteca universitaria actual. Acimed
2007; 15(1).

Sanz-Casado, E y Martín-Moreno, C. (1998). Aplicación de técnicas bibliométricas a la gestión
bibliotecaria. Investigación Bibliotecológica.

Sanz-Casado, E. (1994). Manual de estudios de usuarios. Madrid, fundación Sánchez Ruipérez.
Sarracino-Ramírez, D. (2000). Préstamo interbibliotecario 1999. Comunicaciones académicas.

BIOGRAFIA

Elizabeth Aviles Becerril. Licenciada en Administración de Empresas, Maestra en Administración,
Trabaja en el CICESE en Biblioteca, eaviles@cicese.mx.

María Concepción Ramírez Barón. Coordinadora de la Maestría en Administración. Profesora-
investigadora de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California. Doctora en Educación, Maestría en Pedagogía y su licenciatura es en Administración de
Empresas, y ha participado en numerosos congresos a nivel nacional e internacional. cony@uabc.edu.mx

Sonia Maldonado Rocha . Contador Público, Maestra en Administración Universidad
Autónoma de Baja California e.maldonado@gmail.com

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LIDERAZGO POLÍTICO: CARACTERÍSTICAS Y
PARTICULARIDADES. UN ESTUDIO DE CASO
Jorge Acosta Tillerías, Universidad de Santiago de Chile

RESUMEN

El estudio y la práctica del liderazgo, ha sido una temática de preocupación preferente entre
investigadores del mundo académico y político e importantes ejecutivos del sector público y privado.
¿Qué es ser un líder? y ¿cómo se práctica el liderazgo? Son algunas de las preguntas que se han
formulado de manera recurrente y en diversas latitudes. En la actualidad son más de doscientas las
definiciones de liderazgo generalmente aceptadas, situación que lejos de facilitar la formulación de
respuestas a las preguntas precedentes, ha complejizado el análisis. Este trabajo halla sustento en una
investigación que tuvo por objetivo describir el perfil de liderazgo de un alcalde chileno, caracterizado
por haber sido reelegido en cinco periodos consecutivos para “gobernar” la misma Municipalidad. A
partir de una síntesis teórica ligada a estudios sobre liderazgo político y datos de la Comuna se
determinó un perfil de éste alcalde, para luego proponer algunas hipótesis que permitan explicar el por
qué de su permanencia por dos décadas en el cargo. Este trabajo recoge elementos teóricos del liderazgo
político, interpreta y elabora conclusiones sobre el perfil del alcalde en particular, procesando la
información obtenida al operacionalizar el modelo de liderazgo local desarrollado por el español
Antonio Natera.

PALABRAS CLAVES: líder, liderazgo político, gobierno local.

POLITICAL LEADERSHIP: CHARACTERISTICS AND
PECULIARITIES. CASE STUDY.

ABSTRACT

The study and practice of Leadership has been a topic of primary concern among academics and political
researchers and high executives of public and private sector. What is being a leader? and How to
practice Leadership? These are some of the questions that have been made on a regular basis and in
different latitudes. Currently there are more than two hundred definitions of Leadership generally
accepted, situation far from facilitating the formulation of responses to previous questions, has become a
more complex analysis. This case study is based on an investigation that aimed to describe the profile of
Leadership of a Chilean Mayor, characterized by being re-elected five consecutive terms to govern the
same township. Theoretical synthesis linked to political Leadership Studies and data from the town
determined a profile of this Mayor, and then propose some hypotheses thay may explain the reason for
his stay for two decades in the office. This study includes theoretical elements of the political Leadership,
interprets and elaborates conclusions about the profile of the mayor in particular, processing the
information obtained when operationalizing the local Leadership model developed by the Spanish
“Antonio Natera”

JEL: M10, 50, H76

KEYWORDS: Leader, political leadership, local government.

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INTRODUCCIÓN

Este trabajo describe la investigación desarrollada en torno al proceso del liderazgo municipal generado
en Chile, a partir de un estudio de caso: el liderazgo político gestado en una comuna de la ciudad de
Santiago de Chile, respondiendo a la pregunta de investigación ¿qué hace que un Alcalde sea percibido
como líder de su comunidad?

Las características de su accionar político, de su entorno, y de su formación y socialización política son
analizadas sobre la base de observaciones y percepciones dadas por los sujetos que conformaron la
muestra de informantes del estudio.

En consecuencia, el presente trabajo sintetiza algunas de las conclusiones derivadas de la investigación,
que tuvo como misión, conjugar el concepto de liderazgo político con el de liderazgo local, verificando la
tipología de liderazgo político que caracteriza a su alcalde. El estudio se sustenta en los aportes teóricos
de Antonio Natera (2001) para estudiar el liderazgo político local y en el trabajo de campo que consistió
en la aplicación de entrevistas a expertos con funciones en el municipio, a saber: empleados de la planta
directiva y concejales concertacionistas y de oposición.

ELEMENTOS TEORICOS DEL LIDERAZGO POLITICO

El desarrollo social, la competitividad y la reforma del Estado, son desafíos actuales para los distintos
países, sobre todo en Latinoamérica. Estos procesos son posibles de alcanzar en aquellas zonas de mayor
contacto entre Estado y sociedad civil, es decir, en los gobiernos locales y regionales (Castells: 1997).
Demás está decir, que para que ello ocurra, los municipios requieren de gobiernos locales democráticos,
eficientes y transparentes. Su gestión debe ser estratégica, de suerte tal, que se creen condiciones
adecuadas para la consecución de aliados sensibles a las demandas de la sociedad, sobre todo en
educación, salud y vivienda a través de alianzas efectivas con el sector privado (Brito: 2002).

No obstante, es bueno recordar que las formas participativas de gobierno tienden a transformarse en
comunidades políticas de escala reducida, mediante la puesta en marcha de órganos y procedimientos que
permiten la inclusión de grupos y asociaciones en las labores de gobierno (Navarro: 2000). Generalmente,
la mayoría de los países que presentan dificultades de cualquier índole, sobre todo, en lo referido a
conducción, se menciona al liderazgo. “Al liderazgo le atribuimos la capacidad de generar impactos, así
como la responsabilidad de los grandes fracasos” (Gil Adí: 2004).

Katz y Kahn (1979) en relación al concepto de liderazgo, afirman que no hay acuerdo respecto a la
definición conceptual, o inclusive a la significación teórica, de los procesos involucrados. Los autores
cuando se refieren al concepto del término liderazgo le asignan tres significados: (i) el atributo de una
posición, (ii) la característica o rasgo de una persona y, (iii) una categoría de conducta. Por ejemplo, en la
relación entre un presidente y un ministro, el primero, podría ejercer un bajo grado de liderazgo y un alto
grado el segundo. En este mismo sentido, “consideran que la esencia del liderazgo organizacional está en
aumentar la influencia por arriba del nivel de obediencia mecánica a las órdenes rutinarias venidas de la
organización” (Katz y Kahn: 1979).

Natera (1998) considera que el liderazgo se ha transformado en un factor relevante en la legitimación de
las estructuras de autoridad, adquiriendo importancia como expresión de la personalidad del poder en la
política contemporánea. Este hecho se manifiesta en que los líderes se superponen a programas, grupos e

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intereses que representan. En este sentido, Duverger (1968) diferencia entre poder personal y poder
personalizado, dónde al primero- poder personal- lo hace compatible con una gran variedad de regímenes
autoritarios y, al segundo- poder personalizado- lo asocia con los sistemas democráticos.

Por su parte, es prudente afirmar que los estudios de liderazgo han presentado una mayor preocupación en
cuanto a investigación empírica, en la teoría de las organizaciones, la gerencia empresarial, la psicología
social y el desarrollo organizacional. Estos son lejos, los ámbitos que más han estudiado la temática en el
siglo XX. De esta manera, se presentan complejidades teóricas y prácticas para encauzar estudios de
liderazgo político, sobre todo, que en este ámbito la ciencia política ofrece principalmente imágenes o
concepciones no muy acabadas, dado que se acercan al concepto enriqueciendo el debate, pero no han
logrado dilucidarlo eficientemente.

El liderazgo no es sólo un atributo personal sino también, un rol vinculado a situaciones sociales
determinadas, donde el líder existe como una consecuencia derivada de la interacción entre individuos
que comparten valores, intereses y propósitos, tratando de conseguir objetivos determinados.
No es extraño constatar por tanto la cercanía y/o dualidad entre líder y gerente, aspecto que en cierta
medida será abordado más adelante.

En Chile las Municipalidades están constituidas por el alcalde que será su máxima autoridad y en tal
calidad le corresponde su dirección y administración superior, como asimismo la supervigilancia de su
funcionamiento. Los alcaldes son elegidos por sufragio universal, en votación conjunta y cédula separada
de la de los concejales, su mandato dura cuatro años y podrán ser reelegidos (Ley 18.695: 2000). Las
Municipalidades de acuerdo con la ley son corporaciones de derecho público, con personalidad jurídica y
patrimonio propio, cuya finalidad es satisfacer las necesidades de la comunidad local y asegurar su
participación en el progreso económico, social y cultural de las respectivas comunas.

Analizado el comportamiento de las elecciones de alcaldes en Chile, se puede constatar, que las
reelecciones de ellos, son relativamente normales, e incluso, por debajo de lo que sucede en otros países,
como es el caso de España, donde de acuerdo con Natera (1998), algo más de la mitad de los alcaldes
españoles pertenecientes a municipios intermedios y urbanos ha renovado mandato al menos en tres
ocasiones. Al año 2004 sólo en la Región Metropolitana, veinte alcaldes presentaban tres períodos
consecutivos de ejercicio del cargo.

Esta característica, relacionada con aquella autoridad que es reelegida, se acostumbra denominar
incumbente, asociándola con la situación en la cual una empresa que se encuentra posicionada en el
mercado, enfrenta una amenaza potencial al ingreso de otra empresa como competidora. Sin embargo, de
acuerdo al diccionario es pertinente denominar a esa autoridad como titular, entendiendo por ello, a
quienes desempeñando un cargo de elección popular enfrentan la reelección con la ventaja de ocupar los
beneficios involucrados por la posición.

Al respecto, existen muchos estudios que demuestran que los alcaldes en Chile bajo la denominación de
titulares han obtenido éxito apelando a las prerrogativas del cargo. Al año 2004 de quienes se presentaron
a su primera reelección, el 60% ganó la elección, los que fueron por su segunda reelección el 77% tuvo
éxito, y los que fueron por su tercera reelección el 70% logró ganarlas (Luco: 2006). En este mismo
sentido, de acuerdo a otra investigación (Selume: 2008) se concluye que entre los incumbentes ganadores
y los perdedores, se observa que los ganadores, en promedio, aumentan la participación de las inversiones
hasta en un 40% más que los perdedores y reducen los gastos corrientes en alrededor de un 45% que

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aquellos incumbentes derrotados en la elección, todo dentro de la composición del gasto municipal
presupuestado. Navarro (2000) señalaba que el objetivo principal de los partidos o del potencial alcalde,
reside en la maximización de los votos para obtener el poder, siendo su interés principal el control del
gobierno municipal para ser reelegido. Se podría derivar por tanto, que la participación ciudadana dentro
del territorio municipal, se encontraría sujeta al oportunismo político, dado que las exigencias de
participación de la comunidad, serán resueltas en la medida que el gobierno municipal se beneficie.
Finalmente y tal como lo afirma Natera (2001) se debe entender al liderazgo como un proceso complejo
que incorpora tres componentes esenciales: el comportamiento del líder, el ámbito de dominio político
específico y la relación funcional entre ellos; asimismo dependerá de la situación y de la personalidad de
ese actor individual, ambas en interacción. En este sentido, hay una semejanza con lo afirmado por Katz y
Kahn (1979) cuando considera que el concepto de liderazgo tiene tres significados: la posición (el cargo
de alcalde), los rasgos de la persona (personalidad, actitudes, motivación y competencias) y la categoría
de conducta (el comportamiento).

“Liderazgo es una palabra que está en boca de todos. Los jóvenes lo atacan, y por él los mayores se hacen
más sabios. Los padres lo han perdido y la policía lo busca. Los expertos lo alaban, los artistas lo
menosprecian, y los académicos lo desean. Los filósofos lo reconcilian (como autoridad) con la libertad, y
los teólogos demuestran su compatibilidad con la conciencia. Si los burócratas pretenden que ellos lo
tienen, los políticos desearían tenerlo. Todo el mundo está de acuerdo en que hay menos liderazgo del que
solía haber” (Bennis & Nanus: 1985).

Stogdill (1974) hizo una revisión ardua de la literatura del liderazgo, llegando a la conclusión que existen
tantas definiciones como personas que han intentado definir el concepto. Otros autores, como Rost (1991)
revisaron cerca de 221 definiciones concluyendo que no se sabe más que antes sobre el tema y, por
supuesto que no existe consenso sobre este concepto.

Yukl (1989) atribuye esta confusión a la disparidad de enfoques, al interés de muchos investigadores y la
ausencia de teorías que integren los hallazgos de los diferentes enfoques. Este autor señala que las
definiciones sobre el liderazgo involucran procesos de influencia, pero que difieren en términos de quien
ejerce la influencia, el propósito de los intentos de influenciar, y la manera a través de la cual se ejerce la
influencia.

Se ha dejado para el final de esta introducción la controversia que se da entre liderazgo y gerencia pues,
resulta del todo evidente, de acuerdo al número de investigaciones y publicaciones, que este concepto ha
acaparado la atención principal de la teoría de las organizaciones y gestión empresarial durante gran parte
del siglo XX (Natera: 2001).

En las organizaciones existen líderes que no son gerentes o bien, gerentes que no tienen subordinados. No
cabe dudas que estos conceptos son diferentes, pero “el grado de sobrelapamiento es un punto en torno al
cual existen marcados desacuerdos” (Yukl: 1989).

De acuerdo con Zaleznik (1992), los gerentes son distintos de los líderes. Los objetivos de los gerentes
surgen de las necesidades por sobre los deseos, son excelentes haciendo desaparecer conflictos entre
individuos, calman a las partes mientras aseguran que los negocios se realicen. En cambio los líderes
adoptan actitudes personales respecto de los objetivos, buscan oportunidades y recompensas potenciales,
inspiran a los subordinados e impulsan procesos creativos con su propia energía.

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Bennis & Nanus (1985) afirman que los gerentes son gente que hace las cosas correctamente y los líderes
gente que hacen las cosas correctas. La distinción esencial según Yukl (1989) parece ser que los líderes
influyen en el compromiso, mientras los gerentes simplemente cumplen con responsabilidades de sus
posiciones y ejercen autoridad. Una adecuada diferenciación entre estos dos conceptos se encuentra en
Davis (1967) cuando establece que “el liderazgo es una parte de la gerencia, pero no es toda ella… el
liderazgo es la habilidad de convencer a otros para que busquen con entusiasmo el logro de objetivos
definidos. Es el factor humano el que une a un grupo y lo motiva hacia los objetivos. Las actividades de la
gerencia como la planificación, la organización y la toma de decisiones no son efectivas hasta que el líder
estimula el poder de la motivación en las personas y las dirige hacia los objetivos”.

EL LIDERAZGO POLÍTICO SEGÚN NATERA(1)

Desde la ciencia política, el liderazgo político no ha sido objeto de estudio preferente, lo cual puede
atribuirse también a los estudios de la política local. Esto significa que, es a partir de los ‘70 que las
estructuras municipales empiezan a ser concebidas como verdaderos gobiernos locales; y la preocupación
de la ciencia política por el tema del gobierno local, ha sido consecuencia de las profundas
transformaciones económicas, políticas, sociales y culturales que ha vivido el mundo en las últimas
décadas, las que a su vez provocaron un quiebre en la concepción de lo local, sobre todo en los países de
tradición centralista.

A pesar de que el estudio del liderazgo, ha sido una cuestión predominante en la teoría de las
organizaciones, también en los análisis políticos está incorporado como elemento central dentro de la
esencia de la política. De acuerdo con Blondel (1987) para la mayoría de los ciudadanos, la política se
circunscribe a los líderes nacionales que quedan en la memoria colectiva cuando todo lo demás ha
desaparecido, no existiendo dudas, de que los líderes y el fenómeno que originan, constituyen lo más
universal reconocido y de lo que más se habla en la vida política de todos los países. Así se estaría
reconociendo el impacto del liderazgo en el desarrollo político de los pueblos, sin desconocer a las
instituciones y los partidos.

Natera (2001) diferencia el tratamiento tradicional del tema en relación a lo actual. En su opinión, hasta
que no se produce la institucionalización de la ciencia política en los albores del siglo XX, el pensamiento
político entregó variadas aproximaciones al liderazgo, Platón, Maquiavelo y Hobbes fueron los referentes
más destacados. Para ello Natera recurre a Paige (1972), quien define el liderazgo como un fenómeno
conductual por el cual determinadas personas en interacción con otras de similar potencial se
comprometen en iniciativas de relevancia social. De esta manera, las diferentes formas que el liderazgo
puede presentar dependerán de la recíproca interacción de cinco variables básicas: personalidad, roles,
tareas, valores y entorno específico.

Para Tucker (1981) el liderazgo político es la manera de participar e incidir de manera significativa en la
dirección de las actividades de una comunidad política, aspecto de mayor relevancia cuando existe
incertidumbre e inseguridad y, por tanto, deben adoptarse decisiones que provocarán cambios en la
situación. El liderazgo político visto de esta manera se ajusta a la lógica de un proceso. Frente a ello Zonis
(1984) determina que el liderazgo político se desarrollará de manera ordenada y cíclica a consecuencia
del descontento o insatisfacción de la población o grupo. Esto significa que los procesos de liderazgos se
activan o son vitales cuando la situación social está en crisis. Sin embargo, es bueno recordar que la
comprensión del liderazgo, se relaciona en alguna medida con los enfoques explicativos que existen para

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abordar el liderazgo, como el de rasgos y el del comportamiento, entre otros, y que en este trabajo se han
obviado.

Natera observa, primeramente, el rol de alcalde a partir de sus condiciones personales, como aquellas
propias de los contextos donde actúan, siendo central para ello, la posición formal que ocupa el alcalde en
el contexto municipal.

Hace una distinción de las formas de organización municipal que gatilla la posibilidad de gestar
liderazgos políticos locales. A partir de la observación de estructuras monocráticas y estructuras
colegiadas, afirma que en los primeros casos estaríamos en condiciones de observar la emergencia de
liderazgos locales, debido a que estas estructuras al ser gestadas a partir de una individualidad, hacen
posible una mayor posibilidad de concretar liderazgos políticos.

Luego, para Natera será posible describir cinco factores que estarían determinando el liderazgo político
local: la ecuación personal del liderazgo, el comportamiento político, la red de apoyos utilizados, entorno
del liderazgo, la percepción e impacto del liderazgo.

RESULTADOS DEL ESTUDIO

1. Comportamiento político del líder

a) Adopción de decisiones y fijación de la agenda del alcalde.

El ejercicio del Gobierno Local permite que existan simultáneamente mecanismos de participación y
sistemas de decisión unipersonales, los cuales, de alguna manera caracterizan la forma como los
habitantes de la comuna y la misma estructura del municipio resuelven sus problemas, conciliando los
intereses personales y colectivos.

“Discutir la agenda es parte del diálogo con la oposición y también el lugar donde se reflejan los ajustes a
las demandas cambiantes del medio. La idea de agenda nos muestra que el gobierno es el espacio donde
se definen los tiempos, avances y retrocesos, en función de la criticidad de las demandas” (Etkin: 2000).
Natera (2001) considera fundamental para conocer el comportamiento de los líderes, la manera de decidir
lo que harán, vale decir, como fijan su “agenda”. La fijación de la “agenda” consiste tanto en fijar las
metas y objetivos a largo plazo como en lo que va a decidir después de desayunar (Kotter y Lawrence:
1972- citado en Natera: 1998).

En general es difícil asociar los procesos decisorios con el liderazgo, esto es, diseñar una matriz de
liderazgo donde se plasmen el estilo con la participación de los seguidores. En este sentido, existe en la
bibliografía dos modelos que logran esta asociación: (i) el continuo de Tannenbaum y Schmidt, (Lussier:
2004) que relaciona el grado de autoridad usada por el líder y la cantidad de libertad que tienen los
seguidores y (ii) el modelo de participación del líder de Vroom y Yetton (Lussier: 2004) que conjuga el
comportamiento y la participación del liderazgo en la toma de decisiones.

En este sentido Natera (2001) reformula la escala de Tannenbaum y Schmidt de siete posiciones,
reduciéndola sólo a cinco posiciones de acuerdo a la descripción siguiente: Individualista-autocrático,
Consultivo, Participativo, Delegatorio y Laissez-faire.

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Ahora bien, una cosa es asociar el proceso decisorio a una tipología de liderazgo y la otra determinar si el
proceso decisorio se ajusta a planificación, el dilema de ser reactivo o proactivo.
El alcalde, en razón de la información recogida se lo clasifica en la posición de laissez- faire, en lo
relativo a las decisiones dado que deja hacer, en lo personal no adopta muchas decisiones y no tiene
preocupación clara sobre la gestión del municipio.

En cuanto a su capacidad de anticiparse a problemas, la conclusión es que es un alcalde que no tiene una
“agenda” definida, carece de visión estratégica, no planifica, de ahí que se aproxime al modelo
incremental. “Este modelo argumenta que las decisiones sobre políticas son pragmáticas y se basan en el
método de las aproximaciones sucesivas y limitadas” (Tamayo: 1997).

b) Realización de Tareas

Este apartado trata de caracterizar el trabajo político del alcalde, que operativamente responde a los
aspectos de: (i) que actividades consumen el mayor tiempo del alcalde, (ii) que roles cumple y (iii) como
hace su trabajo el alcalde.

De esta forma, el alcalde estudiado desarrolla un gran volumen de trabajo, fragmentado, con variadas
interrupciones, con visión reactiva, enfatizando las tareas presentes, de acción inmediata, donde la
comunicación oral e informal es fundamental.

Natera (1998) influenciado por Yukl y Mintzberg construyó un continuo de roles, en los cuales se pueden
clasificar los alcaldes en función del volumen de recursos involucrados y del impacto que tiene sobre la
comuna. Este continuo se compone de cuatro tipologías de acuerdo a la descripción siguiente:
Alcalde ausente: evade la responsabilidad de gobernar y de enfrentar las necesidades de la comuna.
Alcalde individualista: ejecuta en forma directa muchas tareas sin la ayuda de la estructura municipal ni
de otros actores.

Alcalde gestor: es un administrador que anhela el máximo rendimiento de la organización burocrática, en
base a su autoridad formal, como único instrumento.

Alcalde emprendedor: utiliza en menor medida la estructura municipal para el ejercicio del gobierno,
actúa usando menos autoridad formal, su propósito es lograr relaciones cooperativas con actores políticos
y sociales en lo interno y externo al municipio, atrayendo la mayor cantidad de recursos.

En la medida que el alcalde utilice más de una tipología ampliará los temas de su agenda y por ende la
cantidad de recursos. En este mismo sentido, la tipología de alcalde emprendedor, es más proclive a
generar procesos de liderazgo. En cuanto al alcalde, éste clasificaría más nítidamente en la tipología de
emprendedor.

c) Búsqueda de recursos y apoyos

Este proceso que conforma junto a los dos anteriores el Comportamiento Político del Alcalde, “se
transforma en el aspecto central del comportamiento político, para analizar los procesos de liderazgo
local” (Natera: 1998).

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Esta afirmación, se relaciona en concreto con las funciones que los alcaldes desarrollan en sus comunas
de comprometerse a buscar apoyos y recursos que les permitan ejecutar los diferentes programas
comunales, incluidos o no en su “agenda”.

En el caso del alcalde estudiado, es posible afirmar, que es muy clara su habilidad para acceder a
recursos, en paralelo al presupuesto corriente municipal, pues muchos de los adelantos que ha tenido la
comuna han requerido de una baja inversión municipal. Es reconocida su cercanía con la Unión Europea,
desde dónde ha logrado transferir importantes recursos para otros tantos proyectos de la comuna.

2. Ecuación Personal del Liderazgo

Tal como se describe en el modelo de Natera, los factores personales o ecuación personal del liderazgo se
simplifican a partir de dos variables: la competencia y la ambición política. Las competencias, se asocian
a las llamadas habilidades administrativas de la gerencia (Katz: 1955), las que se clasifican en tres tipos :
(i) habilidades técnicas, que son aquellas referidas al conocimiento que el líder tiene para resolver
determinadas funciones especializadas mediante procedimientos, métodos e instrumentos, (ii) habilidades
cognitivas, relacionadas con la capacidad analítica del líder para conceptualizar, tener visión estratégica o
bien para reconocer oportunidades y amenazas y, (iii) habilidades interpersonales, como actitudes y
motivaciones que permiten generar empatía, receptividad, persuasión, relaciones de intercambio y, en
general influenciar la conducta de otros.

De acuerdo a la percepción de los informantes, el alcalde estudiado muestra una gran fortaleza en las
habilidades interpersonales, reconociendo que esta habilidad es fundamental para todos los Alcaldes, toda
vez, que son las habilidades interpersonales las que en rigor se relacionan significativamente con el
trabajo político. En cuanto a la ambición política, esta se entiende como el propósito de incrementar y
consolidar el poder, de esta manera, es posiblemente el principal estímulo para ejercer el liderazgo.
El alcalde estudiando tiene gran ambición política, lo que se traduce en su orientación a incrementar y
consolidar el poder, independientemente de su motivación, hacia la comunidad o bien para fines
personales.

3. Redes de Apoyo

La matriz estado- céntrica característica del siglo XX en Chile “a mi juicio ha tendido a cambiar
integrándose los liderazgos a una nueva matriz, cuyo eje rector se relaciona con la constitución de redes
sociales y políticas que permiten explicar de mejor manera los liderazgos locales” (Acosta: 2006).
Al entender las redes sociales como un modo de interacción e interdependencia de organizaciones y
actores en planos relativos de formalidad e informalidad (Acosta: 2006), se reafirma la idea de quiebre del
modelo centralizador- vertical, respondiendo de una manera mas eficiente las demandas de la comunidad,
reflejando una forma diferente de relación entre estado y sociedad.

En los casos, cuando el alcalde tiene su propia red social, los partidos políticos, el partido del Alcalde en
lo particular, es más funcional al alcalde y no al revés como sería dable esperar. El alcalde presenta un
carácter claramente clientelista en su gestión, busca más que apoyo político, el soporte comunitario. Esto
es un peligro potencial al perderse el sentido de municipio, dado que se entremezclan en la gestión,
relaciones formales e informales.

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La relación alcalde- comunidad, podría tipificarse como una relación cultural, caracterizada más bien por
la emotividad, que por una de tipo secularizada, más racional, lo cual no refuerza la institucionalidad.
Las relaciones entre el alcalde y el ámbito del gobierno central, son muy expeditas, traduciéndose en un
modelo de cooperación. Esta relación descansa en la constitución de las redes de apoyo, lo que determina
que los compromisos o acuerdos se gesten desde el municipio hacia el gobierno central. Hay una clara
empatía del alcalde con los distintos actores de la estructura decisional central.

En cuanto a las relaciones con el Concejo Municipal, el cual de acuerdo a la legislación, tiene un carácter
normativo, resolutivo y fiscalizador, son muy expeditas, sin conflictos, fraternales. Esto encierra el
peligro, que este órgano no cumpla adecuadamente su rol, garantizar una gestión institucionalizada.
El alcalde, de acuerdo a la percepción de los informantes asimila con mayor claridad tres tipos de
relaciones que sustentarían sus redes de apoyo, a saber:

Relaciones clientelares, donde hay una cooperación utilitaria con intercambio de bienes, servicios y
favores con los integrantes de la red de apoyo. El alcalde satisface necesidades económicas, personales o
materiales a cambio de fidelidad o apoyo político electoral.

Relaciones basadas en la cooptación interesada, relación de cooperación que se sustenta en la
incorporación de miembros de la red al municipio. El alcalde selecciona a gente clave ya sea de grupos o
del mismo partido político al cual pertenece, para que operen como asesores, funcionarios del gobierno
local o bien como informantes.

Relaciones basadas en vínculos personales, aquí el alcalde obtiene confianza de los miembros de la red
basándose en relaciones personales. La red de esta manera la puede gestionar mediante relaciones de
amistad o mediante vínculos familiares.

4. Entorno del Liderazgo

Entendido el liderazgo político del alcalde como un proceso social, éste debe desarrollarse en un ámbito o
entorno determinado, con características propias y de carácter dinámico y cambiante (Natera: 2001).
De esta forma, el entorno otorga al alcalde oportunidades y, al mismo tiempo influye en las acciones y
actitudes que adopta. Tres son los ámbitos de dominio político: (i) ciudadanos, votantes, seguidores y
clientes, (ii) organizaciones y medios de comunicación y, (iii) niveles de gobierno (nacional, regional y
local).

a) Ciudadanos, Votantes, Seguidores, Clientes

La última elección considerada para este trabajo es la correspondiente al año 2004, en la cual el alcalde
fue reelegido por más del 41% del total de sufragios emitidos, en circunstancias que los dos concejales de
su Partido, fueron elegidos sumados ambos, por el 26,4% de los sufragios emitidos. La votación obtenida
por el Partido del Alcalde en esa elección a nivel nacional alcanzó el 11,8% de la votación total del país.
Esto significa que el universo de seguidores y que votan por el alcalde, no se corresponden con una
votación ideológica, sino que más bien obedece a un voto personalizado o por el candidato. La
personalización de la política y el liderazgo del candidato asumen como elementos determinantes en la
conducta de los electores, sobre todo en regímenes presidenciales y democracias emergentes (Rico:
2002).

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Lo anterior reflejaría la pérdida de las fronteras ideológicas de los habitantes de la comuna y el
fortalecimiento del clientelismo que encubre la participación junto al surgimiento de una identidad ligada
a la persona del Alcalde.

b) Organizaciones, Segmentos de Organizaciones, Medios de Comunicación

La experiencia de haber trabajado en una ONG, le permitió al alcalde aplicar dicho modelo a la comuna,
resaltando la participación de la comunidad organizada. De esta forma desarrolla “una gestión de
interlocución de la gente organizada”.

En cuanto a los medios de comunicación locales, estos no parecen ser eficientes, dado que los habitantes
de la comuna no se encuentran debidamente enterados de los logros del Municipio. Es así que el alcalde
es el que de alguna manera a través de su constante acercamiento a los habitantes sería la fuente de
información.

c) Niveles de Gobierno (nacional, regional, local)

La Municipalidad tiene gran dependencia del gobierno nacional, especialmente en la consecución de los
recursos, vía el Fondo Común Municipal (FCM), vía acción directa de los ministerios o bien vía
concursable. Se puede afirmar por tanto, que es clara la tendencia a la nacionalización de la política local,
sobre la base de la debilidad de la estructura municipal, condicionando su autonomía.

Sin embargo, en el caso del alcalde, se observan algunos elementos que tienden a limitar esta tendencia,
los que se enuncian a continuación: (i) es un alcalde fuerte, lo que se manifiesta por su permanencia en el
cargo, (ii) en todas las elecciones su candidatura ha obtenido el mayor número de concejales, (iii) las
elecciones se han personalizado en la comuna, vale decir, obtiene votación cruzada, superando el peso de
su partido y, (iv) el alcalde se ha restado del nivel político nacional y regional, asumiendo un discurso
local que responde a las demandas de la población, principalmente por su labor en terreno y cercanía a la
gente.

5. Percepción e Impacto del Liderazgo

Natera (2001) afirma que estas variables presentan claras dificultades, en virtud de lo complejo de su
operacionalización, ¿cómo medir el impacto del liderazgo?
Natera (1998) concluye que la forma operativa de precisar el impacto del liderazgo, no está dado
principalmente por estudiar como es o actúa el líder, sino que más bien, en estudiar la imagen que se tiene
de ellos y su actuación pública, lo que conduciría a encontrar la presencia de la percepción de liderazgo.
De esta forma, deriva a que la percepción de liderazgo sería resultado de estudiar cuatro factores básicos:
(i) la competencia percibida, (ii) la ambición que se le atribuye al líder, (iii) la popularidad y, (iv) la
credibilidad.

Tanto la competencia percibida como la ambición, se encuentran analizados en este mismo apartado,
cuando nos referimos a la ecuación personal del liderazgo, de ahí que sólo concluya en relación a la
popularidad y credibilidad.

La popularidad, la aceptación, estimación y ascendiente que tiene un alcalde en su comunidad, es un
excelente componente de influencia y recurso vital a alcanzar y mantener en el ejercicio del liderazgo. En

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el caso del alcalde hay tendencia en las respuestas de los informantes, que la comunidad lo reconoce y
que se esmera por relacionarse cercanamente a ella, adquiriendo un compromiso social y político.
La credibilidad, entendida como la confianza en la persona que la comunidad ha elegido para efectos de
cumplir lo prometido, con honradez, claridad de propósitos, habilidad para contagiar y entusiasmar y,
capacidad técnica (Kouzes y Postner: 1995- citado en Natera: 1998). El análisis de este factor para el caso
del alcalde, es difuso, principalmente, por el hecho que los informantes no presentan suficiente claridad
en sus apreciaciones, por lo que se puede concluir que la percepción sobre el alcalde es positiva en la
habilidad para generar entusiasmo, es honrado. En cuanto a la claridad de propósitos, se puede inferir que
su claridad está conectada con la convicción de la importancia de lo local y de las demandas de la
población y, que en su capacidad técnica, sobresale su habilidad para relacionarse con la gente en planos
de abierta informalidad.

CONCLUSIONES ACERCA DEL LIDERAZGO DEL ALCALDE

La importancia del tratamiento que da Natera al tema del liderazgo político, se encuentra en el carácter
interactivo que le adjudica al fenómeno del liderazgo. “El liderazgo es un fenómeno relacional, como tal,
se desempeña en un contexto específico de interacción y refleja en si mismo la situación de ése contexto”
(Natera: 2001).

De esta forma, el surgimiento de los fenómenos de liderazgo suceden a consecuencia de aquel conjunto
de relaciones que se dan entre aquella persona que actúa como líder y su ámbito de dominio político,
donde se debe producir el impacto. Sin embargo, Natera (2001) no simplifica este ámbito de dominio sólo
a los seguidores, por el contrario, lo complejiza al determinar la existencia de: ciudadanos, votantes,
clientes, medios de comunicación, partidos políticos, gobierno nacional y local y otros. Por tanto,
siguiendo al autor, el liderazgo se entiende como un proceso de carácter complejo conformado por tres
factores básicos, como son: el comportamiento del líder (decisiones y agenda, realización de tareas y
búsqueda de recursos y apoyos), el ámbito de dominio político y la relación que se da entre estos dos
factores. Natera (2001) concluirá afirmando que las diferentes formas que el proceso de liderazgo puede
adoptar dependen de las características que asumen las interacciones entre líder y ámbito de dominio
político.

En este sentido la visión integradora que sustenta lleva a Natera a afirmar que los resultados obtenidos al
aplicar el modelo al estudio del liderazgo, determina mas interrogantes que respuestas, no obstante en su
beneficio de debe decir que rescata el liderazgo de esa mayoritaria tendencia reduccionista, para
incorporarlo a una visión multidimensional.

En definitiva, y cumpliendo el propósito del trabajo, el alcalde presenta las siguientes características que
conforman su perfil de liderazgo y, que explican en cierta forma sus sucesivas reelecciones:
Es un Alcalde que confía en la gente y sus subordinados, deja hacer.

No tiene Agenda y por tanto carece de visión estratégica explícita, sus decisiones tienden a ser muy
acotadas, parciales, de corto plazo y pragmáticas.

Desarrolla gran volumen de trabajo, fragmentado, con visión reactiva, enfatizando el presente y la
comunicación oral e informal.

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Se acerca a la tipología de “Alcalde Emprendedor”, pues utiliza menos autoridad para gobernar,
enfatizando relaciones cooperativas con actores políticos y sociales, buscando atraer recursos.
De las tres habilidades gerenciales: técnicas, cognitivas e interpersonales, las más nítidas y que le otorgan
su gran fortaleza son las interpersonales que permiten que realice su trabajo político con empatía y
receptividad.

Tiene gran ambición política que lo induce a incrementar y consolidar el poder, para beneficio de la
comunidad.

Tiene carácter clientelista en la forma de gestionar, busca el soporte comunitario.

Su relación con la comunidad está caracterizada por la emotividad.

Se relaciona en forma muy expedita con el gobierno central, mucha cooperación con los distintos actores
que toman decisiones.

Los seguidores del alcalde y que votan por él, no lo hacen ideológicamente, sino que más bien es un voto
personalizado.

Su experiencia en Organizaciones no Gubernamentales (ONG), le ha permitido replicar dicho modelo,
desarrollando por tanto, una gestión de interlocución de la gente organizada.

Es una fuente de información relevante para los habitantes, dada la debilidad de los medios de
comunicación internos de la comuna.

Tiene un discurso local, se ha restado al nivel político regional y nacional. Este discurso responde a las
demandas de la población por su labor en terreno y cercanía con la gente.
Es popular, aceptado, estimado y con ascendiente en la comunidad. Tiene compromiso social.
Genera entusiasmo, cree en lo local y en las demandas de la comunidad, es honrado.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Acosta, J. (2006): “Redes sociales y políticas en el gobierno local”. XI Congreso del CLAD. Guatemala.

Brito, M. (2002): “Buen gobierno local y calidad de la democracia”. Revista Instituciones y Desarrollo
número 12-13, Barcelona. España.

Bennis, W. y Nanus, B. (1985): “Leader the strategies for taking charge”. New York. Harper and Row.
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Blondel, J. (1987): “Political leadership. Toward a general analysis”. London. SAGE. UK.

Bacharach, P. y Baratz, M. S. (1963): “Decisions and no decisions”. American Political Science Review.
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Castell, M. (1997): “Local y global. La gestión de las ciudades en la era de la información”. Taurus.
Madrid. España.

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Duverger, M. (1968): “Introducción a la política”. Editorial Ariel, Barcelona. España.

Etkin, J. (2000): “Política, gobierno y gerencia de las organizaciones”. Pearson Education S.A. Argentina.

Gil’Adí, D. (2004): “Liderazgo: una decisión personal”. Mc Graw Hill Interamericana. México.
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Katz, R. (1955): “Habilidades de un administrador eficaz”. Harvard Business Review, Nº 33. España.

Kotter, J.P. y Lawrence, P.R. (1974): “Alcaldes en acción: cinco enfoques para el gobierno urbano”.
Nueva York. Wiley and sons. EE.UU.
Ley Orgánica Constitucional de Municipalidades: texto refundido, coordinado, sistematizado y
actualizado de la ley 18.695. Ediciones LOM 2004.

Luco, F. (2006): “Competencia electoral con información asimétrica: un modelo de señalización
ideológica”. PUC. Tesis de Magíster en Economía. Chile

Lussier, R., Achua, C., (2004): “Liderazgo: teoría, aplicación y desarrollo de Habilidades”. Thomson
learning. México.

Mintzberg, H. (1999): “El trabajo del directivo: Folclore y realidad”. Harvard Business Review en
Ediciones Deusto S.A. (publicado originalmente en el número de julio-agosto 1975).España.
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Complutense de Madrid. Tesis doctoral. España.
Natera, A. (2001): “El liderazgo político en la sociedad democrática”. Centro de Estudios Políticos.
España.

Navarro, C. (2000): “Competencia política, ambientalismo y cambio social”. Universidad de Olavide.
Sevilla. Política y sociedad. Nº 33. Madrid. España.

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Rico, C. G. (2002): “Candidatos y electores. La popularidad de los líderes y su impacto en el
comportamiento electoral”. Barcelona. Institut de ciéncies politiques i socials. España.

Selume, N. (2007): “Ciclos en la composición del gasto municipal y retorno electoral”. PUC. Tesis de
Magíster en Economía. Chile

Servicio de Registro Electoral (www.servel.cl)

Subsecretaría de Desarrollo Regional (www.subdere.cl)
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Tamayo, M. (1997): “El análisis de las políticas públicas”. En Bañón, R. y Carrillo, E. (compiladores):
“La nueva administración pública”. Alianza Universidad. Madrid. España.

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Deusto S.A. (originalmente publicado en número de mayo-junio 1977) España.

BIOGRAFÍA

Jorge Acosta Tillerías es Administrador Público de la Universidad de Chile. Profesor Asociado del
Departamento de Administración de Universidad de Santiago de Chile, adscrito a las cátedras del área de
Recursos Humanos. Se puede contactar en el Departamento de Administración, Universidad de Santiago
de Chile, ubicado en Av. Lib. Bernardo O’Higgins 3363, Estación Central, Santiago de Chile. Correo
electrónico: jorge.acosta@usach.cl

NOTAS
(1) Este apartado describe el ideario del autor, desprendido de su tesis doctoral: “Percepciones y estilos de
liderazgo local en la España democrática”. Universidad Complutense de Madrid (1988); y de su texto: “El
liderazgo político en la sociedad democrática”. Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales. Madrid.
2001.

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INTENCIÓN DE EMPRENDIMIENTO EN
ESTUDIANTES: EL CASO DE UNA UNIVERSIDAD
PÚBLICA EN CIUDAD JUÁREZ, MÉXICO
Oscar Javier Montiel Méndez, Universidad Autónoma de Cd. Juárez (UACJ)
Blanca Lidia Márquez Miramontes, Universidad Autónoma de Cd. Juárez (UACJ)
Zoila Arámbula Monreal, Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Industrial y de Servicios 114 (C.B.T.i.s.
No. 114)
Larisa Ordoñez Molinar, Universidad Autónoma de Cd. Juárez (UACJ)

RESUMEN
El emprendimiento ha sido considerado un factor significativo para el crecimiento socioeconómico y el
desarrollo y recientemente se ha observado un crecimiento importante en la educación en
emprendimiento en instituciones educativas en el mundo (Karimi, Chizari, Biemans y Mulder, 2010). El
objetivo central del presente estudio es identificar las intenciones de emprendimiento en estudiantes
universitarios de una universidad pública localizada en Ciudad Juárez, México, tomando como base el
modelo de intención de emprendimiento de Liñan,Urbano y Guerrero (2011). El análisis estadístico se
llevo a cabo a una muestra de 153 estudiantes. Los resultados muestran que la universidad, como un
elemento de valoración cercana, puede influir de forma determinante en que sus estudiantes tengan o no
una intención de emprendimiento, ya que aun cuando la tendencia es positiva respecto a si han pensado
alguna vez seriamente convertirse en empresario, la creación de empresas formales entre estudiantes es
prácticamente nula. Los resultados de este estudio proporcionan información valiosa para líderes de la
administración pública, maestros, estudiantes y empresarios.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Intención de emprendimiento, Universidades, Creación de empresas

ABSTRACT

Entrepreneurship has been considered a significant factor for socioeconomic growth and development,
and has recently seen a significant growth in entrepreneurship education in educational institutions in the
world (Karimi, Chizari, Biemans y Mulder, 2010). The main objective in this study is to identify
entrepreneurship intentions among college students in a public university located in Juarez,
Mexico, based on the model develop by Liñan, Urbano and Guerrero (2011).

The statistical analysis was conducted on a sample of 153 students. The results show that the university,
as a closer valuation element, can have a decisive influence in their students in whether or not to have an
entrepreneurship intention, since ,even tough the trend is positive with respect to whether they have ever
seriously thought about becoming an entrepreneur, formal business creation among students is almost
non existent. The results of this study also provide valuable information for policy makers, teachers,
students and entrepreneurs.

KEYWORDS: Entrepreneurship intention, Universities, Business Creation.

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INTRODUCCIÓN

El emprendimiento ha sido considerado como una de las necesidades en países en desarrollo (Zoltan,
2006) y los gobiernos deben prestar especial atención a la educación en emprendimiento a fin de expandir
las capacidades de los estudiantes en el (Smit, 2004). A través de entrenamiento, es posible crear
emprendedores que crearan pequeñas empresas y maximizaran el potencial económico de su región
(Karimi et al., 2010), y las instituciones educativas pueden servir como catalizadores (Ibicioglu et al.,
2008), ayudando a sus estudiantes al introducir en sus programas educacionales y de investigación el área
del emprendimiento (Wallace y Nilsson, 1997).

El presente articulo aborda en la revisión de la literatura el hecho social emprendimiento así como el
modelo de Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero, posteriormente se aborda la justificación de usar el método de
estudio de caso, se presentan los resultados de la encuesta usando el cuestionario de intención de
emprendimiento de dichos autores, y se finaliza con la discusión de los mismos así como las conclusiones
y futuras líneas de investigación.

REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA

La palabra “emprendimiento” se deriva del término francés entrepreneur, que significa estar listo a tomar
decisiones o ha iniciar algo (Verin, 1982). Hisrich et al. (1989) señala que desde la perspectiva personal
existen tres elementos clave en la definición de emprendimiento; se habla de un tipo de comportamiento
que incluye: a) toma de iniciativas, b) organización y reorganización de mecanismos sociales y
económicos para enviar recursos y situaciones a práctica y c) aceptación de riesgo o falla, considerando
que las nociones centrales que cualquier definición de emprendedor debe contener son la innovación,
organización, creación, bienestar y toma de riesgos.

González y Gálvez (2008) señalan que al analizar al emprendimiento desde la epistemología, es posible
encontrar esfuerzos como los de Brazeal y Herbert (1999), Bygrave (1989) y Bygrave y Hofer (1991), que
enumeran diferentes perspectivas científicas que aportan a la consolidación del emprendimiento como
teoría y buscan su fundamentación científica. Por ejemplo: se observa una relación directa con la
Economía y la Gestión; y una relación indirecta con la Matemática, Psicología, Sociología y Biología
(Bygrave, 1989). El debate rodea a lo que constituye el emprendimiento como campo de estudio. Los
estudiosos de la empresa tradicionalmente se han centrado en los perfiles de los empresarios y lo que el
empresario hace (Gartner, 1989), así como en el desempeño de empresarios y empresas. Brush et al.
(2003) propone un marco unificante para la investigación del emprendimiento alrededor de la creación de
actividad como resultado del proceso de identificación, exploración y explotación de una oportunidad.

González y Gálvez (2008, pp. 17 y 18), mencionan que “dentro del estudio del emprendimiento, el
proceso de creación de empresas es quizás uno de los más analizados; en la actualidad muchas
universidades están desarrollando o formulando su modelo de fomento al emprendimiento…..dichas
universidades buscan la apropiación de competencias profesionales por parte de sus estudiantes, de tal
manera que puedan enfrentar los retos del mercado”. La educación en emprendimiento ha evolucionado
notablemente los últimos años; en Estados Unidos se incrementó el número de universidades que ofrecían
cursos de emprendimiento de 16 en 1970 a más de 400 en 1995 (Vesper y Gartner, 1997). En Europa, el
desarrollo de la educación en el emprendimiento ha sido más baja que en los Estados Unidos (Guzmán y
Liñán, 2005). En Latinoamérica, hay cursos sobre el tema ofrecidos en universidades en Colombia,
Argentina, México, Honduras, Panamá, Costa Rica, Perú y Brasil, pero hay poca información confiable al

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respecto (Postigo y Tamborini, 2002). A pesar de ello, un elevado porcentaje de jóvenes no considera la
opción de emprender un negocio como una salida profesional atractiva, y ello es cierto incluso en
aquellos que están formándose para dirigir empresas, en carreras como Ciencias Empresariales o
Administración de Empresas (Zapico, Nieto y Muñoz, 2008). La búsqueda de la seguridad y una creciente
aversión de asumir riesgos, especialmente en el terreno profesional, parecen estar en el origen de esta
pérdida del espíritu emprendedor, pues la actividad empresarial se percibe como una actividad de riesgo
que no es necesario ni conveniente asumir (Coduras, 2006).

Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero (2011) mencionan que la investigación en emprendimiento ha seguido dos
líneas principales: las características personales y la influencia de factores contextuales. Mitchell et al.
(2000) menciona que los principales modelos con una base cognitiva que han servido para explicar el
emprendimiento son el del evento empresarial (Shapero y Sokol, 1982) y el de la teoría de la conducta
planeada (Ajzen, 1991). El primero se enfoca en el evento empresarial, condicionado este por las
percepciones de lo atractivo (el sistema individual de valores y el sistema social del cual el individuo es
parte) y factibilidad (financiamiento y socios potenciales). Percepciones producto de ambientes sociales y
culturales, los cuales determinan las elecciones personales (Shapero y Sokol, 1982). Por su parte, el
modelo de Ajzen (1991) aborda como el medio ambiente cultural y social afecta la conducta humana.
Toma como base la intención individual resultado de: actitud hacia la conducta, normas subjetivas y el
control percibido de comportamiento (Perceived Behavioural Control, por sus siglas en ingles, PBC). En
base a estos dos modelos y a la falta de evidencia sobre variaciones entre regiones o países (Delmar y
Davidsson, 2000), Liñan, Urbano y Guerrero (2011), desarrollaron un modelo de intención de
emprendimiento, integrado por tres factores: motivacionales, ambientales y situacionales (variables de
control). Los elementos y relaciones que integran el modelo de intención en emprendimiento propuesto
por Liñan, Urbano y Guerrero (2011) se muestra en la figura 1.

Figura 1. Modelo de Emprendimiento de Liñan, Urbano y Guerrero

Fuente: Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero (2011).

Valoración
Cercana
Valoración
Social
Factores
Ambientales

Actitud Hacia el
Comportamiento
Normas Subjetivas
Intención
Empresarial
Factores
Motivacionales
Intención
Empresarial
H2a
H3a
H3b
Atractivo
H1a
H1b

Control de
Comportamiento
Percibido
H2b
Factibilidad
H3d
H3c

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En los factores motivacionales, la actitud hacia la comportamiento o conducta se refiere a lo atractivo de
la conducta propuesta o grado bajo el cual un individuo mantiene una valoración positiva o negativa hacia
ser emprendedor (Ajzen, 1991, 2002). El segundo factor motivacional es el PBC, esto es, la facilidad o
dificultad percibida en ser emprendedor (Ajzen, 1991). Esta variables es importante por su capacidad
predictiva, ya que refleja la percepción del individuo si podrá controlar esa conducta (Ajzen, 2002).
Respecto a las normas subjetivas, estas miden la presión social percibida de familia, amigos u otras
personas cercanas (Ajzen, 1991) para desempeñar una conducta empresarial, ya que estas personas
pudieran aprobar o no la decisión de ser emprendedor (Ajzen, 2001).

Sobre los factores ambientales, según la teoría del aprendizaje social, los factores ambientales tienen una
gran influencia sobre procesos cognitivos y de aprendizaje (Bandura, 1977). Al igual que Liñan, Urbano
y Guerrero (2011), este artículo se enfoca al análisis del rol que juega un factor informal específico: la
valoración del emprendimiento en el medio ambiente del individuo. Estos factores informales
institucionales reflejaran las dinámicas sociales del emprendimiento, donde el nivel de actividad de este
dentro de una comunidad es una consecuencia inintencional de muchas opciones individuales hacia el
emprendimiento (Bygrave y Minniti, 2000). Este capital social cognitivo (en inglés, Cognitive Social
Capital, CSC), es derivado de procesos mentales y de sus ideas resultantes, reforzadas por la cultura e
ideología, generando valores, actitudes, creencias y confianza (Naphiet y Ghoshal, 1998), y no ha
recibido mucha atención (Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero, 2011). Al juntar el CSC, basado en fuertes lazos con
familia y amigos (valoración cercana), genera diferentes valores, confianza, lenguajes y narrativas
compartidas ( Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero, 2011). Por otra parte, la valoración social del emprendimiento
toma un rol crítico en determinar la conducta empresarial (Zahra, Jennings y Kuratko, 1999). El sistema
de valores de un grupo o sociedad forma el desarrollo de ciertos rasgos y habilidades, modelando las
percepciones normativas y de habilidad hacia la actividad empresarial (Thomas y Muller, 2000).

Sobre las variables de control, se refieren a la información demográfica (figura o modelo a seguir, edad,
género, nivel educativo o experiencia laboral). En la literatura estas variables han sido usadas para definir
un perfil de un típico emprendedor (Robinson et al., 1991).

El modelo presenta varias hipótesis:

H1a: La actitud hacia la conducta tendrá un impacto positivo en la intención de emprendimiento,
independientemente del contexto regional. H1b: El control percibido de conducta tendrá un impacto
positivo en la intención de emprendimiento independientemente del contexto regional. H2a: Las normas
subjetivas tendrán un impacto positivo en la actitud hacia la conducta independientemente de su contexto
regional. H2b: Las normas subjetivas tendrán un impacto positivo en el control percibido de la conducta
independientemente del contexto regional. H3a: La valoración cercana tendrá un impacto positivo en la
actitud hacia la conducta, pero es diferente dependiendo del contexto regional. H3b: La valoración
cercana tendrá un impacto positivo en las normas subjetivas, pero es diferente dependiendo del contexto
regional. H3c: La valoración social tendrá un impacto positivo en las normas subjetivas, pero es diferente
dependiendo del contexto regional. H3d: La valoración social tendrá un impacto positivo en el control
percibido de la conducta, pero es diferente dependiendo del contexto regional.

Respecto al emprendimiento en América Latina, el fenómeno de la iniciativa emprendedora se ha
convertido en un campo de rápida expansión (Amorós, Fernández y Tapia, 2011). Según el Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), las oportunidades percibidas entre la población de México (véase
Tabla 1) para poder emprender un negocio son de mas del 50%, así como la percepción de sus

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capacidades. El miedo a fracasar es más alto en México, pero el emprendimiento es visto como una
opción de carrera atractiva, es alto el status que perciben tiene un emprendedor y la atención de los
medios hacia ellos. El problema radicaría en la intención de emprendimiento, donde solo el 22.3% estaría
dispuesto a crear una empresa.

MÉTODO DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN

La presente investigación es no experimental, transversal descriptiva. La estrategia de la investigación es
el estudio de caso. Yin (2003) menciona que en esta estrategia puede utilizarse tanto el enfoque
cuantitativo como el cualitativo, o utilizarse un enfoque mixto, para responder al tipo de preguntas de
cómo y por qué. Este mismo autor define un estudio de caso como aquel donde el estudio se desarrolla
sobre un solo objeto, proceso o acontecimiento, realizados con una unidad de análisis. Es un estudio de
caso intrínseco, ya que Stake (2006) menciona que en él se busca analizar y comprender un caso
particular y el propósito no es entender alguna construcción abstracta o un fenómeno genérico ni construir
una teoría. El estudio es emprendido porque hay un interés intrínseco en él.

Tabla 1. Actitudes y percepciones empresariales en algunos países latinoamericanos GEM en 2010 por
fase de desarrollo económico

Percepción de
Oportunidades
Percepción
de
Capacidades
Miedo al
Fracaso*
Iniciativa
Empresarial
como una
Buena Carrera
Alto Status de
los
Empresarios
Exitosos
Atención de los
Medios hacia
la Iniciativa
Empresarial
Intención
Empresarial
**
Economías Impulsadas por Eficiencia
Argentina 50.3 63.5 21.3 74.3 67.1 61.1 21.0
Brasil 48.1 57.9 33.2 78.0 79.0 81.1 26.5
Chile 65.0 65.6 22.1 87.4 71.2 45.7 38.3
Colombia 68.2 65.1 27.7 88.6 75.9 66.7 41.3
México 55.6 64.6 33.4 69.4 62.8 54.0 22.3
.*Denominador: 18-64 grupo de edad que percibe buenas oportunidades para iniciar un negocio.
** Denominador: 18-64 grupo de edad que no está involucrado en la actividad emprendedora.
Fuente: GEM (2010), encuesta de población adulta

El presente estudio de caso comprende los cinco pasos que Yin (2003) recomienda en su diseño: pregunta
de investigación, proposiciones, unidad de análisis, la lógica para enlazar los datos a las proposiciones y
el criterio para interpretar los hallazgos. De esta forma, la pregunta de investigación general es: ¿Cómo
son las diferencias en la intención de emprendimiento en los estudiantes de diferente instituto de la
Universidad Autónoma de Cd. Juárez? El objetivo central del presente estudio es identificar elementos
ambientales y motivacionales que puedan explicar las diferencias en las intenciones de emprendimiento
en estudiantes universitarios de diferente instituto de una universidad pública localizada en Ciudad Juárez,
México, tomando como base el modelo de intención de emprendimiento de Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero
(2011). Respecto a las proposiciones, estas se abordan en el apartado revisión de literatura. Sobre la
unidad de análisis, esta es los estudiantes de cursos de verano de 2011 (periodo comprendido del 9 de
junio al 20 de julio de 2011) y sobre estos se realizó el análisis empírico. Sobre el paso 4 y 5, la lógica y
el criterio que se ha abordado es el modelo de Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero y sobre el paso 5, el cuestionario
utilizado es el EIQ v3.1 (Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero, 2011). Se ha obtenido permiso del autor para su uso.
Se utilizó un muestreo de conveniencia, usadas en investigación sobre emprendimiento (Liñán, Urbano y

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Guerrero, 2011). Estos autores señalan que los items A1–A20 miden los 4 constructos centrales de la
teoría de la conducta planeada: Intención empresarial (A4, A6, A9-reversed (rev)-, A13, A17 y A19-rev-),
actitud hacia la conducta (A2-rev-, A10, A12- rev-, A15 y A18), PBC (A1, A5-rev-, A7, A14, A16-rev-,
A20) y normas subjetivas (A3, A8, A11). Por otro lado, los valores sociales sobre emprendimiento fueron
medidos usando una escala de 8 items (C1–C8). Tres de estos miden la valoración del emprendimiento en
el ambiente cercano del encuestado (C1, C4 y C7, constructo valoración cercana). El resto de los ítems
miden las percepciones acerca de la valoración social general del emprendimiento (C2, C3-rev-, C5-rev,
C6, C8-rev-).

RESULTADOS

La UACJ cuenta con 4 campus en el estado de Chihuahua, México: Ciudad Juárez, Nvo. Casas Grandes,
Ciudad Cuauhtémoc y Chihuahua Capital. En total, su matricula asciende a cerca de 26,000 estudiantes.
En Cd. Juárez existen 4 institutos: Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Instituto de Ingeniería y Tecnología,
Instituto de Arquitectura y Diseño de Arte, así como el Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Administración.
Las características de la muestra se pueden apreciar en el Tabla 2.

Tabla 2. Características de la muestra

El promedio de edad es de 22.66 años. La muestra estuvo equilibrada respecto al porcentaje de mujeres y
hombres (1=mujeres, 2=hombres). En casa, el padre tiene una formación casi profesional, mientras que el
de la madre es ligeramente inferior (2=preparatoria, 3= profesional). El padre trabaja como funcionario
publicó (2=funcionario publico), mientras que la madre, y este es un dato relevante, trabaja por su cuenta
(3=autónomo o empresario). El rango de los ingresos esta en el rango de $4000 y $7000 m.n.,
presentando ICSA e ICB los más altos. La mayoría de las carreras que se ofertan tiene 9 semestres, la
muestra arrojó estudiantes cursando en promedio el 5.74 semestre (IADA no pudo ser recabado).

En el Tabla 3, sobre la intención empresarial (desde 1, desacuerdo total a 7, acuerdo total),
consistenmente ICSA, donde están localizadas las carreras de Administración, Turismo y Contabilidad
entre otras, presenta los mejores resultados.

Institutos Edad Sexo ¿Cuál es el
nivel de
estudios
alcanzado
por su
padre?
¿Cuál es el
nivel de
estudios
alcanzado
por su
madre?
¿Cuál es la
ocupación
actual de su
padre?
¿Cuál es la
ocupación
actual de su
madre
?
Número de
personas
que residen
en su
domicilio
(incluyéndo
se usted)
Cuáles son
los ingresos
mensuales
en su
domicilio
Semestre Institut
o
IADA 22.63 1.95 3.00 2.71 2.38 3.39 4.25 5.13 2.00
ICSA 23.16 1.40 2.88 2.52 2.38 3.24 4.16 6.40 5.92 1.00
IIT 22.34 1.37 2.42 2.10 2.22 3.15 3.46 3.33 4.59 3.00
ICB 22.72 1.72 2.84 2.67 2.60 3.52 4.68 5.44 7.24 4.00

General 22.66 1.56 2.72 2.42 2.37 3.30 4.04 4.93 5.74 2.61

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Tabla 3. Intención empresarial

La tendencia señala que están dispuestos a ser empresarios, seguidos de ICB, a crear su propia empresa
(se infiere es un consultorio para el caso de ICB), no tienen dudas para iniciarla (seguido de IIT), tienen
decisión para crearla (seguido por ICB), objetivo ser empresario (seguido de nuevo ICB) e intención de
crear una empresa algún día (seguido por IADA). Sin embargo, ningún resultado llega a 6 ó 7.
Respecto a la actitud hacia la conducta (véase Tabla 4, desde 1, desacuerdo total a 7, acuerdo total), de
nueva cuenta ICSA presenta los resultados más favorables. Ser empresario es atractivo (por debajo del
valor medio, 3.5) y ante una oportunidad y recursos, todos los Institutos estarían dispuestos a crear una
empresa y están debajo del valor medio respecto a preferir otra cosa antes que ser empresario (excepto
IADA) y tendrían satisfacción al serlo. Sin embargo, no están seguros del todo de que ser empresarios
tenga más ventajas que inconvenientes.

Tabla 4. Actitud hacia la conducta

Sobre el control percibido de conducta (véase Tabla 5 desde 1, desacuerdo total a 7, acuerdo total) ICSA
de nuevo tiene el puntaje más alto de todos los Institutos.
Tabla 5. Control percibido de la conducta (PBC)

Institutos Estoy dispuesto a
hacer cualquier cosa
para ser empresario
Me esforzare para
crear y dirigir mi
propia empresa
Tengo serias
dudas sobre crear
una empresa algún
día
Estoy decidido a
crear una empresa
en el futuro
Mi objetivo
profesional es
ser empresario
Tengo muy poca
intención de crear
una empresa
algún día
IADA 3.89 5.21 4.25 4.90 4.20 3.00
ICSA 5.52 5.88 3.28 5.60 5.16 2.20
IIT 4.13 5.16 3.44 4.76 4.20 3.33
ICB 4.30 5.88 3.68 5.24 4.68 3.16

General 4.44 5.48 3.60 5.07 4.51 2.99
Institutos La carrera de
empresario me
resulta muy poco
atractiva
Si tuviese la
oportunidad y los
recursos me encantaría
crear una empresa
Entre varias opciones
preferiría ser cualquier
cosa antes que
empresario
Ser empresario me
supondría una
gran satisfacción
Ser empresario me
reportaría más ventajas
que inconvenientes
IADA 4.10 6.15 3.85 5.25 5.30
ICSA 2.96 6.48 2.04 6.32 5.64
IIT 3.11 6.24 2.98 5.13 4.78
ICB 3.08 6.16 2.88 5.40 5.29

General 3.24 6.26 2.90 5.47 5.17
Institutos Crear una empresa y
mantenerla en
funcionamiento
sería fácil para mí
Creo que sería
totalmente
incapaz de crear
una empresa
viable
Puedo mantener
bajo control el
proceso de
creación de una
empresa
Si tratase de crear
una empresa tendría
una alta
probabilidad de
lograrlo
Me resultaría
muy difícil
sacar adelante
un proyecto
empresarial
Conozco todos
los detalles
prácticos
necesarios para
crear una
empresa
IADA 4.30 3.05 4.70 5.30 4.30 2.35
ICSA 4.92 1.80 5.56 5.48 2.80 3.92
IIT 4.49 2.04 4.84 5.13 3.16 3.53
ICB 4.68 2.32 5.48 5.40 2.92 3.52

General 4.59 2.22 5.11 5.30 3.23 3.41

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Mantener en funcionamiento una empresa, no tiene una puntuación tan favorable (4.59), sin embargo,
tienen confianza en que si pueden crear una empresa viable, mantener el control de creación de una
empresa, buen nivel de logro y sacar adelante un proyecto de esta naturaleza (excepto IADA). Llama la
atención que ICSA tiene un nivel apenas arriba del valor medio en conocimiento sobre crear una empresa,
siendo el instituto sede de ciencias administrativas. Acerca de las normas subjetivas (véase Tabla 6), la
familia es el núcleo cercano más importante para poder fortalecer la intención de emprendimiento,
seguida por los compañeros universitarios y después amigos del interesado. En general, los tres valores
sociales obtienen puntuación alta.

Tabla 6. Normas subjetivas

Acerca de los valores sociales (véase Tabla 7), la familia tiene de nuevo un valor más alto respecto a otros
valores cercanos, como el de los amigos y compañeros, aunque ninguno es mayor a 5. El contexto cultural
arroja datos interesantes, ya que los estudiantes consideran que la actividad empresarial en México
culturalmente no tiene soporte (3.37, 4.75). Respecto al papel del empresario, este alcanza un valor
regular, y la puntuación no es muy favorable hacia la valoración de los jóvenes respecto al valor que la
actividad empresarial tiene en el país (3.29, 4.39, 3.94, 3.83).
Tabla 7. Valores sociales sobre emprendimiento (valuación cercana y valuación social general)

Respecto al grado de atracción (véase Tabla 8 desde 1, mínima atracción a 7, máxima atracción) que
tienen los estudiantes por ser empleado o empresario, el promedio indica una fuerte tendencia en lo
último y que lo han considerado seriamente (1, Si, 2, no, su media seria 1.5).

Institutos Mis amigos aprobarían mi
decisión de crear una empresa
Mi familia más directa
aprobaría mi decisión de crear
una empresa
Mis compañeros aprobarían mi
decisión de crear una empresa
IADA 5.40 5.85 6.25
ICSA 6.00 6.36 6.24
IIT 5.84 5.98 5.78
ICB 5.60 6.33 6.20

General 5.75 6.11 6.05
Tabla Mi familia
directa valora
la actividad
empresarial por
encima de
otras
La cultura
de mi país es
muy
favorable a
la actividad
empresarial
El papel del
empresario
en la
economía
está poco
reconocido
en mi país
Mis amigos
valoran la
actividad
empresarial
por encima
de otras
La mayoría
de las
personas en
mi país
consideran
poco
aceptable ser
empresario
En mi país
se considera
que la
actividad
empresarial
merece la
pena, a pesar
de los
riesgos
Mis
compañeros
valoran la
actividad
empresarial
por encima
de otras
En mi país
se tiende a
pensar que
los
empresarios
se
aprovechan
de los demás
IADA 5.32 3.89 3.95 4.11 3.58 3.94 3.32 5.11
ICSA 4.68 3.04 3.80 4.12 3.24 4.32 4.12 4.52
IIT 4.13 3.16 3.80 3.87 3.11 4.36 3.93 4.73
ICB 4.44 3.68 3.84 4.04 3.44 4.84 4.24 4.76

General 4.52 3.37 3.83 4.00 3.29 4.39 3.94 4.75

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Tabla 8. Grado de atracción y capacidades especificas.

Existe un buen nivel (de 1, ninguna capacidad a 7, capacidad muy alta) de detección de oportunidades,
creatividad, confianza en resolver problemas, comunicación, nuevos productos o servicios y de
relaciones. Acerca de su formación y experiencia (véase cuadro 9a donde 1, Si, 2, no), así como su
conocimiento empresarial (desde 1, desconocimiento absoluto a 7, perfecto conocimiento), la tendencia
indica que la mayoría de los estudiantes ha tenido experiencia laboral y en promedio 2.89 años. Por el
tamaño de la empresa donde han laborado, se infiere que ICSA e IIT han tenido esta experiencia en la
industria maquiladora (en ICB se infiere es en un consultorio) y es relevante que la mayoría ha sido
alguna vez autoempleado (1.70) durante 1.60 años. Acerca del grado de conocimiento (véase Tabla 9a y
9b) que tienen sobre como crear una empresa, todos los institutos presentan un nivel por debajo de la
media en todos los rubros.

Tabla 9a. Formación, experiencia y conocimiento empresarial

Tabla 9b. Formación, experiencia y conocimiento empresarial

Institutos Grado de
atracción
por ser
emplead
o
Grado de
atracción
por ser
empresario
Nivel de
detección de
oportunidades

Nivel
de
creativi
dad
Nivel de
resolución
de
problemas
Nivel de
liderazgo y
capacidad de
comunicación
Nivel de
desarrollo
de
nuevos
productos
y
servicios
Nivel de
establecimiento
de relaciones y
contactos
profesionales
¿Ha
considerado
usted
alguna vez
seriamente
convertirse
en
empresario?
IADA 3.05 5.42 5.11 5.83 5.47 5.32 5.26 5.05 1.32
ICSA 4.88 6.16 5.44 5.68 6.16 5.92 5.12 6.04 1.04
IIT 3.76 5.93 5.38 5.69 5.98 5.76 5.24 5.20 1.36
ICB 2.80 6.36 5.56 5.76 5.92 6.12 5.72 5.88 1.28

General 3.68 6.16 5.39 5.73 5.92 5.80 5.32 5.51 1.26
Institutos ¿Tiene alguna
experiencia
laboral?
¿Cuánto tiempo
de experiencia
profesional
tiene? (años)
Trabajadores que
tiene/tenia la
última empresa en
que trabajo
¿Ha estado alguna
vez auto
empleado? (años)
¿Cuánto tiempo ha
estado
autoempleado?
(años)
Grado de
conocimiento sobre
asociaciones privadas
IADA 1.26 1.58 17.58 1.50 1.25 1.58
ICSA 1.24 5.37 308.50 1.80 2.80 2.24
IIT 1.43 2.26 670.38 1.77 1.45 2.23
ICB 1.40 2.29 1.30 1.60 1.56 2.48

General 1.35 2.89 351.62 1.70 1.60 2.18
Institutos Grado de
conocimiento
organismos públicos
Grado de
conocimiento, medidas
de formación
específica para jóvenes
empresarios
Grado de conocimiento,
prestamos en
condiciones
especialmente favorables
Grado
conocimiento, ayuda
técnica para iniciar
negocio
Grado de conocimiento,
cetros/incubadora de
empresas
IADA 2.16 1.95 1.89 2.00 1.74
ICSA 3.04 2.52 2.84 2.96 2.48
IIT 2.73 2.61 2.84 2.73 2.43
ICB 2.84 2.60 2.84 3.08 2.88

General 2.73 2.48 2.68 2.73 2.42

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DISCUSION Y CONCLUSIONES

Este articulo muestra resultados interesantes acerca de la influencia de valores sociales en la intención en
emprendimiento de los estudiantes de la UACJ. En línea con Liñán, Urbano y Guerrero (2011), se puede
argumentar que estas percepciones acerca de los valores de la sociedad en general y de los ambientes
cercanos tienen una influencia en los factores motivacionales que determinan la intención empresarial
(ningún resultado del Tabla 3 llega a 6 ó 7).

La valoración cercana del emprendimiento, parece tener una fuerte influencia sobre las actitudes
personales acerca de la conducta. La familia tiene un valor más alto respecto a los otros valores (amigos y
compañeros), aunque ninguno es mayor a 5, por lo que esta se consideraría el núcleo cercano más
importante para poder fortalecer la intención de emprendimiento, ya que el cuestionario no incluye a las
instituciones educativas y este se sugiere es un aspecto a considerar. Dato relevante es que las madres
presentan emprendimiento (3.30). El contexto local promueve fuertemente trabajos relacionados con las
ventas, como representante de cosméticos, calzado y accesorios para el hogar, por lo que se sugiere los
miembros (estudiantes) de la familia no están percibiendo estas actividades como emprendimiento. Esta
fuerte influencia se sugiere pudiera también sustentarse en el hecho de que, respecto a la actitud hacia la
conducta, aun y cuando ICSA presenta los resultados más favorables (esta por debajo del valor medio
(3.5) para ser empresario es atractivo, seguido por ICB), ante una oportunidad y recursos, todos los
Institutos estarían dispuestos a crear una empresa y están debajo del valor medio respecto a preferir otra
cosa antes que ser empresario (o sea si hay recurso soy empresario, al parecer no por influencia familiar).
Asimismo, todos también presentan puntuaciones bajas (favorables) ante el contexto de preferir ser otra
cosa antes que empresario y tendrían satisfacción al serlo. Sin embargo, la influencia de la familia aparece
de nuevo al no estar seguros del todo de que ser empresarios tenga más ventajas que inconvenientes. La
idea les agrada, pero no hay motivación de alguna institución (familiar, o en este caso, se sugiere
educativa), a pesar de que el grado de atracción de ser empresario es alto (6.16).

Por otra parte, la valoración social afecta medianamente las percepciones sobre el control de la conducta.
El contexto cultural arroja datos interesantes ya que los estudiantes consideran que la actividad
empresarial en México culturalmente no tiene soporte, pero en el control percibido de conducta, tienen
confianza en que si pueden crear una empresa viable, mantener el control de creación de una empresa,
buen nivel de logro al intentar crearla y sacar adelante un proyecto de esta naturaleza. Llama la atención
que ICSA tiene un nivel por debajo del valor medio en conocimiento sobre cómo crear una empresa,
siendo este el Instituto que alberga a las ciencias sociales y administrativas. Respecto al grado de
atracción, los estudiante aun con esa valoración social, presentan tendencia a ser empresario y lo han
considerado seriamente (sin embargo, datos de la Incubadora de Empresas de la UACJ que datan desde
2008, muestran que prácticamente no existen la creación de empresas entre los estudiantes, por lo menos
en lo concerniente al autoempleo formal, aunque el dato de 1.60 años en autoempleo, sugiere que han
estado en la economía informal), existiendo un buen nivel de detección de oportunidades, creatividad,
confianza en resolver problemas, comunicación, nuevos productos o servicios y de relaciones. Los
resultados en general sugieren que los estudiantes de la UACJ, a pesar de que perciben tener las
capacidades, ven de forma atractiva el convertirse en empresarios, y ante una oportunidad y recursos, no
solo ICSA, sino todos los Institutos estarían dispuestos a crear una empresa, necesitan recibir aún más
información para intentar la creación de sus empresas. Cabe mencionar que a partir de agosto de 2011, las
autoridades de la UACJ han iniciado un incremento importante en la promoción de la Incubadora de
Empresas en la comunidad universitaria y a corto plazo tienen ya definidas diversas estrategias para
incrementar la cultura emprendedora y la creación de empresas en sus estudiantes.

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Como conclusiones, es importante hacer mención de la influencia que, como ambiente y valoración
cercana a los estudiantes, las universidades tienen a través de sus acciones (presencia de incubadoras,
fuentes de financiamiento disponibles que existan para promover la cultura emprendedora y materias en
curricula sobre creación y desarrollo de empresas) en el emprendimiento de sus estudiantes. De acuerdo a
la investigación es imprescindible la implementación de la educación en emprendimiento en los niveles
universitarios, para así fomentar el desarrollo de la creatividad y la capacidad empresarial en los jóvenes y
futuros profesionales (González Millán, 2007), a fin de alentar a sus estudiantes a ser creadores de
empleos mas que buscadores de empleo, y el apoyo del gobierno es necesario para alcanzar ello (Karimi,
et al., 2010). Cabe señalar que la materia de creación y desarrollo de empresas es obligatoria (se ofertan
22 cursos como parte de la curricula en diferentes carreras) en todos los Institutos, pero no en ICSA, lo
cual, sugiere que la educación sí tiene un impacto en la intención de emprendimiento, ya que este instituto
obtiene las puntuaciones más favorables para ello en casi todos los rubros a pesar de no ser esta
obligatoria. Por otra parte, métodos activos como creacion de planes de negocio, ponencias de
emprendedores y elaboración de proyectos son apropiados para hacer crecer el emprendimiento en sus
participantes, y las instituciones educativas deben desarrollar los incentivos necesarios para alentar a sus
maestros a usar métodos de enseñanza de eventos de negocios reales e interactivos (Bennett, 2006).
Asimismo, se recomienda establecer centros de investigación y desarrollo en emprendimiento en
instituciones educativas de nivel superior e incluir materias de emprendimiento en la curricula de la oferta
académica de las universidades a fin que los estudiantes puedan recibir educación y habilidades sobre
emprendimiento una vez que entran a estas (Karimi, et al., 2010).

Como una línea futura de investigación, se recomienda llevar a cabo este estudio bajo enfoque mixto,
usando herramientas de estadística inferencial, así como abordar este hecho social bajo entrevistas
profundas y observación directa en las clases de creación y desarrollo de empresas. Asimismo, se
considera necesario aplicar esta metodología a una muestra más amplia, ya que no todas las carreras de la
UACJ fueron encuestadas, así como estudiantes de primeros y últimos semestres, a fin de hallar alguna
relación entre la intención de emprendimiento en estudiantes de nuevo ingreso y aquellos próximos a
salir. Finalmente se sugiere estudiar la relación entre mayores ingresos y mayor intención de
emprendimiento, ya que ICSA e ICB presentan los más altos valores de intención, mientras que lo
opuesto sucede en IIT e IADA.

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CORREO DE CONTACTO:
oscar.montiel@uacj.mx

http://mitpress.mit.edu/journal/pdf/INNOV0101_po97-107_02-23-06

mailto:oscar.montiel@uacj.mx

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INNOVACIONES TECNOLÓGICAS APLICADAS EN LA
ENSEÑANZA DE LAS CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS
Claudia Viviana Álvarez Vega, UABC
María Belén Murillo Pedraza, UABC
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, UABC

RESUMEN

El impacto de las nuevas tecnologías en la educación consiste en que estas cambian en espacio de
manera conceptual en donde de desarrolla el proceso educativo. En las escuelas surge una sinergia que
puede dar un valor agregado, es decir, las nuevas tecnologías posibilitan la construcción de un nuevo
espacio social.A nivel mundial y ante el incremento de la población, la oferta educativa tiende a crecer
porque los espacios sociales se han ampliado lo cierto es que el entorno digital emergente exige diseñar
nuevas acciones educativas complementarias a las ya existentes. Sin embargo pese a todas las bondades
de las nuevas tecnologías, su uso plantea varios problemas el impacto no es provocado por la nueva
tecnología en sí sino por el uso que se les dé en la educación. La globalización ha permitido y
promovido un cambio radical en la concepción de educación en el marco de la “Cátedra de Impuesto
sobre la Renta a Personas Físicas” de la facultad de Ciencias Administrativas de la Universidad
Autónoma de Baja California, se llevó a cabo el inicio del presente proyecto de integración de
Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación como apoyo a las instancias presenciales. Este
proyecto surge como una respuesta al llamado que hace la UNESCO relativo a las Normas sobre
Competencias en TIC’s para Docentes, tratando de combinar las competencias con esta tecnología con
innovaciones en la pedagogía, el plan de estudios y la facultad con el fin de que éste pueda hacer
progresar el desarrollo económico y social del país.

Palabras claves: Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación. Redes sociales

INTRODUCCIÓN

Las nuevas tecnologías como herramientas de comunicación tienen un gran potencial en los procesos
educativos, es elemental reconocer que la educación está participando activamente en las
transformaciones tecnológicas que se están dando en el mundo entero , modificando los procesos de
enseñanza aprendizaje, en donde se tejen nuevas formas de producción y adquisición del conocimiento,
distintos modos de comunicarse, sin límite de espacio y tiempo, en donde intervienen comunidades
virtuales paralelas a las que se hallan en la sociedad, entre otras características, que redimensionan lo
tradicional y resignifican el panorama educativo.

El impacto de las nuevas tecnologías en la educación consiste en que estas cambian en espacio de manera
conceptual en donde se desarrolla el proceso educativo. En las escuelas surge una sinergia que puede dar
un valor agregado, es decir, las nuevas tecnologías posibilitan la construcción de un nuevo espacio social.
Esta transformación es similar en su impacto como cuando en el pasado surgieron nuevas tecnologías, si
bien no electrónicas pero cuya repercusión en la educación fue impresionante, como las grandes
revoluciones técnicas, la escritura e imprenta, que modificaron la educación.

A nivel mundial y ante el incremento de la población, la oferta educativa tiende a crecer, porque los
espacios sociales se han ampliado; lo cierto es que el entorno digital emergente exige diseñar nuevas
acciones educativas, complementarias a las ya existentes. Sin embargo pese a todas las bondades de las

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nuevas tecnologías, su uso plantea varios problemas, el impacto no es provocado por la nueva tecnología
en sí, sino por el uso que se le dé en la educación. La globalización ha permitido y muchas veces ha
promovido, un cambio radical en la concepción de educación, asociada a expresiones como la era de la
información, la supercarretera de la información, o la sociedad del conocimiento. Las redes educativas
virtuales son las nuevas unidades básicas del sistema educativo, que incluyen el diseño y la construcción
de nuevos escenarios educativos, la elaboración de instrumentos educativos electrónicos y la formación
de educadores especializados en la enseñanza en el nuevo espacio social.

Una preocupación que tenemos como docentes es que los conocimientos que tratamos de impartir a
nuestros alumnos lleguen, se asimilen, crezcan y se reproduzcan en forma tal que sean la solución a la
problemática de dependencia económica de éstos. Las nuevas tecnologías como herramientas de
comunicación tienen un gran potencial en los procesos educativos, pero cómo y qué elegir para
aprovecharlas e integrarlas en el aula.
Para elaborar una estrategia educativa que integre las herramientas digitales y pueda llevar a buen puerto
los procesos de enseñanza/aprendizaje es importante evaluar por anticipado las ventajas y desventajas
que las diferentes plataformas pueden ofrecer a docentes y alumnos.

Concepto de red social.

De acuerdo a Wikipedia una red social es una estructura social compuesta de personas (u organizaciones
u otras entidades), las cuales están conectadas por uno o varios tipos de relaciones, tales como amistad,
parentesco, intereses comunes, intercambios económicos, relaciones sexuales, o que comparten creencias,
conocimiento o prestigio. Se puede representar en forma de uno o varios grafos en el cual los nodos
representan individuos (a veces denominados actores) y las aristas relaciones entre ellos.

Antecedentes

El primer sitio de redes sociales se puso en marcha en 1997 y fue SixDegrees.com. Este sitio permitía a
los usuarios crear perfiles, lista de amigos y amigos de sus amigos.

MySpace

En 2003 comenzó a funcionar MySpace y se ha diferenciado de otros sitios porque permite a los usuarios
personalizar sus páginas. En 2004 se creó Facebook, originalmente para apoyar a las redes universitarias
y los usuarios del sitio estaban obligados a proporcionar las direcciones de correo electrónico asociada
con las instituciones educativas. Posteriormente se amplió para incluir a los estudiantes de secundaria,
profesionales, y finalmente todos los usuarios potenciales de Internet.
Existen otras muchas redes como Twitter, Yahoo, Neurona, eConozco, etcétera. Algunas continúan en
funcionamiento, unas han desaparecido y otras más cambiado de nombre o se han fusionado con otras
existentes. Facebook es un sitio web gratuito de redes sociales creado por Mark Zuckerberg.
Originalmente era un sitio para estudiantes de la Universidad de Harvard, pero actualmente está abierto a
cualquier persona que tenga una cuenta de correo electrónico.

Los usuarios pueden participar en una o más redes sociales en relación con su situación académica, su
lugar de trabajo o región geográfica. A diferencia de otros Sitio de Red Social (SRS), en Facebook los
usuarios sólo pueden hacer públicos sus perfiles a otros usuarios del sitio otra característica que distingue
a este sitio es la capacidad para desarrolladores externos de crear aplicaciones lo que permite a los
usuarios personalizar sus perfiles y realizar otras tareas tales como comparar las preferencias de las

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películas.A principios de 2008 lanzó su versión en francés, alemán y español para impulsar su expansión
fuera de Estados Unidos, ya que sus usuarios se concentran en Estados Unidos, Canadá y Gran Bretaña.

Uso De Blogs Y Wikis

Los blogs son páginas web prediseñadas donde de manera muy sencilla, el usuario puede publicar
artículos que integren elementos como imágenes, videos, mapas, audios, enlaces, animaciones, etc. Las
publicaciones (entradas o posts) de los usuarios se ordenan cronológicamente también pueden agruparse
de acuerdo a su contenido utilizando tags (etiquetas o palabras claves). El usuario puede habilitar
comentarios para las entradas lo que transforma a la herramienta en un buen espacio de interacción con
los lectores. Las plataformas gratuitas de creación de blogs más usadas son Blogger y WordPress, ambos
sitios permiten integrar a los blogs elementos multimedia y aplicaciones desarrolladas en otras
plataformas. Wikis, Son plataformas de escritura colaborativa: todos los usuarios habilitados pueden
modificar los textos que allí se escriban permiten visualizar y recuperar el historial de cambios
producidos por los usuarios se pueden proponer diferentes modos de organizar las entradas en el sitio y al
igual que los blogs, permiten integrar enlaces y elementos multimedia.
Los grupos en Facebook

Facebook, es una red social que permite compartir información en diversos soportes entre los contactos o
amigos entre sus múltiples aplicaciones la que puede resultar más provechosa a nivel educativo es la
creación de grupos de estudiantes donde alumnos y docentes pueden publicar y compartir lo que deseen y
generar una comunicación dinámica entre ellos Facebook, es en la actualidad la red social más difundida
es muy probable que la mayoría de los alumnos ya cuenten con un perfil allí, como aspecto negativo de la
herramienta Facebook puede traer conflictos respecto a la exposición de información personal de los
participantes es conveniente informarse sobre sus políticas de privacidad.

Twitter, Red De Microbbloging

Es una herramienta de microbbloging, permite publicar mensajes cortos (de no más de 140 caracteres).
Como usuario puedes crear tu propia comunidad eligiendo a quiénes seguir en la página principal (el
home) aparecen los mensajes en tiempo real que la gente a la que sigues va publicando se puede
responder públicamente a esos mensajes o hacerlo en privado a través de un mensaje directo (DM).
Probablemente, su aplicación educativa más interesante sea la creación de un hashtag o etiqueta que
permita que todos los mensajes relacionados al curso en cuestión vayan a parar al mismo lugar. Toda la
información organizada bajo ese hashtag puede ser levantada luego con un widget o artilugio integrado a
un blog, wiki o sitio web.

Ning, Para Crear Tu Propia Red Social

Es un software para crear una red social propia. Permite integrar todas las herramientas anteriores. Los
usuarios pueden crearse un perfil, interactuar entre sí, subir información de todo tipo e incluso crear y
mantener un blog interno dentro de la red. La red de Ning informa permanentemente las últimas acciones
de los usuarios. En la vorágine de actualizaciones, si se tienen muchos usuarios y muchas pestañas, la
organización de la información puede volverse caótica y difícil de recuperar.Aprender a gestionar el
conocimiento en la web 2.0 no es tarea sencilla. Una buena estrategia educativa con estas herramientas
intentará seleccionar las herramientas más adecuadas de acuerdo a sus objetivos, procurará integrarlas y
trabajará conjuntamente los espacios virtuales y los encuentros presenciales. En esencia, se habla de e-
learning cuando se hace referencia a educación a través de Internet, principalmente basada en
herramientas o servicios Web. Papel activo Por su parte, el énfasis 2.0 es consecuencia del término Web
2.0, acuñado por Tim O’Reilly en 2005 y que se refiere a todos aquellos servicios de internet en los que el

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usuario adquiere un papel de editor y emisor de contenido frente al papel tradicional de receptor pasivo
de la información. En inglés, el vocablo tweet es la onomatopeya del trinar de los pájaros, en el caso de
esta nueva modalidad de red social llamada Twitter, un tweet es un mensaje de un máximo de 140
caracteres sobre lo que una persona (agrupación, empresa, institución, negocio, medio de comunicación,
etc.) está pensado o haciendo en tiempo real. Twitter son anuncios cortos (o tweets) en tiempo real, que
pueden obtener respuestas tanto públicas como privadas, a un grupo de seguidores (o followers). Cada
persona decide a quien seguir: desde amigos y familiares hasta personajes públicos. Al mismo tiempo,
cada persona puede tener uno o miles de seguidores, todo depende de su nivel de popularidad. La mejor
manera de conocer las ventajas o desventajas de su uso, es describiendo en qué no se parece a otras redes:
• Twitter no es un sistema de redes de amigos y familiares con los se puede compartir información
personal, fotos, juegos y más.
• Twitter no es una conversación cerrada entre dos o más conocidos.
Poniéndolo de una manera simple, Twitter es como una especie de club de fans pero en la red, de forma
rápida, directa y en tiempo real. No es necesario entrar constantemente a la página de Twitter para leer
mensajes existen aplicaciones para recibir actualizaciones a través de una ventana discreta en la
computadora o vía teléfono celular en forma de mensajes de texto. David Pogue, columnista de tecnología
del New York Times recomienda: Twitterific, Feedalizr y Twinkle; PocketTweets, Tweetie y iTweet para
el iPhone.

Desventajas
• Twitter se considera como un medio de intercambio entre amigos y familiares éste puede resultar
una verdadera pérdida de tiempo (a menos que alguno de ellos realice una actividad de gran
interés para nosotros) porque entre blogs, sitios, correos, chats y Facebook, sinceramente ¿quién
tiene capacidad para pertenecer a un medio más en Internet?
• Otra desventaja es que aún no existe una versión de Twitter en español. Sin embargo, una vez
teniendo una idea general de su funcionamiento, usarlo puede ser muy sencillo. En sus inicios,
Facebook tampoco estaba disponible en otros idiomas y eso no constituyó ningún obstáculo para
sus millones usuarios alrededor del mundo.
Ventajas

Si se le da un uso correcto, Twitter puede resultar de gran utilidad ya que es un excelente medio para:
• Mantenerse enterado —en todo momento— de lo que sucede en el mundo o en la vida de los
personajes que admiramos.
• Obtener respuestas inmediatas a preguntas simples, preguntas especializadas entre un grupo de
colegas o levantar sondeos de opinión (¿Cuál es tu película favorita?)
• Políticos que deseen mantener informada a la población sobre sus actividades y campañas.
• Noticieros, periódicos y otros medios con notas de última hora o información relevante.
• Avisos de urgencia sobre huracanes, tormentas, incendios y otros fenómenos naturales o
catástrofes.
• Cantantes o artistas que pretenden dar a conocer sus próximos discos, películas o presentaciones.
• Escritores que desean informar sobre sus nuevos libros, artículos o sposts en sus blogs.
• Anuncios y promociones de todo tipo de empresas como restaurantes, librerías y tiendas de ropa,
entre muchas otras.

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También existen, dentro de Twitter, algunas reglas de etiqueta para utilizarlo de manera adecuada, pero
éstas sólo se pueden ir aprendiendo sobre la marcha. En el caso de movimientos sociales o
acontecimientos políticos, Twitter también puede ser una herramienta exitosa, durante y después de las
elecciones en Irán, Twitter resultó ser un medio súper efectivo para mantener informado al mundo sobre
lo que estaba sucediendo en el país. Existen cientos de usos positivos que se les pueden dar a esta
herramienta digital ya que ningún medio hasta ahora ha logrado la misma cercanía e inmediatez en el
intercambio de datos, la clave estriba en saber qué y a quien seguir y ser inteligente a la hora de
seleccionar de otra manera, se corre el riesgo de terminar sumergido en un mar de información excesiva e
irrelevante.

Una de las actividades del profesionista egresado de cualquiera de las carreras de la facultad de Ciencias
Administrativas, es la de generar información que debe ser oportuna, veraz, confiable entre otros
atributos, la que servirá de base para la toma de decisiones de distinta índole.Las autoridades fiscales
imponen obligaciones tanto sustantivas como adjetivas, siendo las primeras de pago y las segundas de
información, de control, es decir, constantemente se tiene que presentar avisos, declaraciones
informativas de clientes y proveedores.

Problemática

En el caso de la enseñanza de impuestos en cuanto a la presentación de las declaraciones ya sean de pago
o de información, así como la de contribuciones de seguridad social, para efectos de que el alumno esté en
condiciones de preparar y enviar este tipo de información se enfrenta a un obstáculo que es el de no poder
experimentar la transmisión de sus conocimientos adquiridos ya que para hacerlo necesita una clave
digital que solamente la poseen los contribuyentes activos, además de ser información de carácter
confidencial.

Proceso

Se reconoce internacionalmente que los modelos vigentes de formación profesional resultan inadecuados
ante las características del nuevo contexto debido a que la formación se ha limitado al espacio escolar, en
donde los estudiantes consumen cierta información –en ocasiones obsoleta- y adquieren habilidades y
eventualmente actitudes y valores implicados en los perfiles establecidos con base en ciertas suposiciones
acerca del individuo, de sus procesos cognoscitivos y socio afectivos, así como de la actividad que
realizará como profesional que en poco contribuyen a su pertinencia.Se pretende formar estudiantes como
profesionales creativos, innovadores, con capacidad para resolver de manera ética y competente las
situaciones que su actividad académica y su práctica profesional les presentará en su momento. Como
una propuesta que se pretende desarrollar competencias en el alumno es el de diseñar un portal utilizando
java, donde el alumnado enviará la información de prácticas problemáticas de empresas, por medio de
una clave y una identificación digital que será individualizado aplicado por áreas de conocimiento
mediante prácticas hipotéticas. Prensky señala, que el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje que vivieron
nuestras generaciones pasadas dista mucha con las actuales ya que, los estudiantes de hoy -a través de la
universidad- representan las primeras generaciones formadas por la rápida difusión de la tecnología
digital arribada a fines del siglo pasado, quienes poseen en su inventario de conocimientos muchas horas
del uso de computadoras, juegos de videos, teléfonos celulares, otros juguetes y herramientas de la edad
digital, los juegos de computadora, el correo electrónico, Internet, telefonía celular y la mensajería
inmediata son partes integrantes de sus vidas. Esta interacción con la tecnología, señala, los estudiantes
de hoy piensan y procesan la información diferentemente a sus precursores. Se utilizó una plantilla para
implementar las TICs, recomendada por la ANUIES que es la siguiente

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Materia:

Tema Objetivo uso TIC Técnica Didáctica Presencial (p) E libro Audio Foto Video
Distancia (d) 15 min
x

Redes Sociales
Portal
virtual
Cine Celular Twitter Blog Ning
3 min

Para enfrentar la teoría con la práctica en relación con el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje en las cátedras
de impuestos se está innovando en la creación de una red social interna en la que los alumnos no solo
envíen sus prácticas de la información que tienen que efectuar en la vida profesional, sino que también
les permita intercambiar conceptos, y no nada más en la carrera de Contaduría sino en las carreras como
Informática y administración de empresas, responsables en su momento de la administración y
automatización de la información para la eficiente toma de Decisiones

REFERENCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS

http://apoyoestudio.suite101, fecha consultada 15 de agosto de 2010.
http://www.portaleducativo.hn/pdf/Normas_UNESCO_sobre_Competencias_en_TIC_para_Docentes

mcclintock, r. (2009, abril). «Prácticas pedagógicas emergentes. El papel de las tecnologías de la
información y la comunicación». Cuadernos de Pedagogía. N.º290, pág. 74-77.
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/175/17512723009

José Miguel Correa Gorospe es miembro del Departamento de Didáctica y Organización Escolar y
coordinador de Berrilab, Laboratorio de Innovación Educativa y Nuevas Tecnologías. Es profesor de
nuevas tecnologías aplicadas a la educación.

Juan de Pablos Pons es Catedrático de Didáctica y Organización Escolar en la Universidad de Sevilla.
Experto en tecnología educativa y enseñanza de los medios de comunicación, cuenta con numerosas
publicaciones sobre las TICs.

http://apoyoestudio.suite101/

http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/175/17512723009

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FACTORES DETERMINANTES DE LA CALIDAD DEL
SERVICIO DE UNA CAFETERÍA EN EL CAMPUS DE
UNA UNIVERSIDAD PÚBLICA
Sonia Elizabeth Maldonado-Radillo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ana Ma. Guillén Jiménez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Rafael Ernesto Carranza Prieto, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

Este trabajo presenta el análisis de la validez y confiabilidad de un instrumento de medición de la
calidad del servicio de las cafeterías universitarias. Su objetivo consiste en validar una escala, de 19
ítems empleada para evaluar la calidad del servicio percibido por los clientes de la cafetería de una
universidad pública; para lograrlo se realizó un estudio en una población de 297 usuarios, en el cual se
evaluaron las propiedades de una escala integrada por tres variables. La validez lógica y de contenido
fue evaluada por un grupo de expertos, mientras que para indagar la estructura subyacente de los ítems
se empleó el análisis de componentes principales con rotación Varimax. Los resultados revelan la
existencia de tres variables que explican el 63.186% de la variación. Las pruebas de validez y
consistencia interna de la escala son satisfactorias. El instrumento quedó integrado por 19 ítems cuyo
Alfa de Cronbach fue 0.923. Por lo anterior, se puede afirmar que el instrumento es válido y útil para
evaluar la calidad de los servicios de las cafeterías en el campus en donde se realizó la investigación.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Calidad del servicio, cafeterías, universidad pública

INTRODUCCIÓN

La necesidad de mejorar constantemente los servicios obliga a las organizaciones a buscar herramientas
fiables para evaluarlos (Gadotti y França, 2008). Esta búsqueda se ha tornado difícil debido a la
existencia de características diferenciadoras entre los productos y los servicios; evaluar la calidad de un
producto resulta ser un proceso sumamente sencillo debido a que cada producto suele tener
especificaciones definidas con respecto a qué factores determinan su calidad, en el caso de un servicio,
este proceso es complicado por motivo de su naturaleza.

A pesar de ello, en la actualidad se han publicado una gran cantidad de instrumentos de medición sobre
calidad del servicio; sin embargo, aún existen servicios que se prestan en contextos muy específicos que
no han sido evaluados. Un ejemplo de esto es la medición de la calidad del servicio de las cafeterías
ubicadas en los campus universitarios, de ahí la necesidad de realizar el diseño o la adaptación de
modelos que permitan una medición más real del tipo de servicio considerando cuestiones culturales o
particulares que pueden interferir significativamente en la percepción del consumidor.

Esta reflexión dio origen al presente estudio, el cual se centra en la adaptación de la escala de Varela et al.
(2006) para aplicarse a los usuarios de las cafeterías ubicadas en un campus universitario. Su objetivo
consiste en validar una escala de 19 ítems que permita no solo evaluar la calidad del servicio sino que
también, a través de ella, sea factible identificar el desempeño de los concesionarios de las cafeterías. La
información que se presenta en este trabajo se organiza así: después de la introducción se hace una breve
revisión de la literatura sobre el tema, posteriormente se describe la metodología empleada en el estudio
y, finalmente, se presentan los resultados y conclusiones.

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REVISIÓN DE LA LITERATURA

De acuerdo a su naturaleza, las características que identifican a un servicio son la intangibilidad, la no
diferenciación entre producción y entrega y, la inseparabilidad entre la producción y consumo; esas
diferencia constituyen el fundamento para la determinación de la calidad del servicio (Duque, 2005).

Actualmente abunda una gran diversidad y cantidad de modelos de medición en el sector de servicios,
pero los más utilizados son los modelos SERVQUAL y SERVPERF, cuya fiabilidad y eficacia ya ha sido
demostrada por innumerables investigaciones empíricas. El modelo SERVQUAL fue desarrollado por
Parasuraman, Zeithaml y Berry (1985, 1988). Este instrumento realiza la evaluación por separado de las
expectativas y percepciones de un cliente, basándose en los comentarios hechos por los consumidores
participantes en la investigación. Después de llevar a cabo amplias revisiones al modelo, la versión final
queda reducida a cinco variables: Confianza (empatía), Fiabilidad, Responsabilidad, Capacidad de
respuesta y Tangibilidad (Duque, 2005).

Por su parte el modelo SERVPERF publicado por Cronin y Taylor, en 1992, propone una medida sólo
basada en las percepciones; ésta es más corta que el modelo SERVQUAL y presenta menores problemas
de validez. Este modelo se compone de los 22 ítems de la escala SERVQUAL pero utilizado
exclusivamente para medir las percepciones del servicio.

Por lo que se refiere al estudio de la calidad de los servicios en restaurantes y universidades, el volumen
de investigaciones publicadas es reducido. En el caso de restaurantes se reportan pocos trabajos, uno de
ellos es el trabajo de Varela y colaboradores (2006) quienes aplicaron una escala propia en los
restaurantes de hostelerías españolas; después de varios ajustes, proponen un instrumento de cuatro
variables (producto, personal, instalaciones y acceso) distribuidas en tan sólo 15 ítems que muestran una
elevada consistencia interna.

Precisamente en esta investigación se tomó como referencia el trabajo de Varela et al. (2006),
considerando únicamente tres variables: personal, instalaciones y producto, de acuerdo a las
particularidades del contexto en donde se aplica.

METODOLOGÍA

Para alcanzar el objetivo se realizó un estudio con diseño no experimental, transversal, caracterizado
como exploratorio. El cuestionario fue aplicado únicamente a aquellos usuarios que tuvieran interés en
compartir su opinión sobre los servicios, un total de 297 clientes de las cuatro cafeterías con cede en uno
de los campus de una universidad pública, empleando la técnica muestreo no probabilístico de forma
casual a conveniencia de la investigación (Hernández et al., 2006).

De la muestra, el 88.8% son estudiantes (262), el 8.1% empleados administrativos y solo el 1.4% fueron
docentes. Respecto al género, el 55.2% fueron mujeres y el 43.8% hombres. En relación a la edad, 163
usuarios (54.9%) tienen menos de 20 años, 98 usuarios (33%) tienen entre 21 y 30 años mientras que el
esto de los participantes tiene arriba de los 30 años.

El instrumento referido se compone por 19 ítems agrupados en tres variables fundamentales cuya técnica
de escalamiento es tipo Likert de cinco categorías de respuesta, en el cual las anclas son 1= muy mala y

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5= muy buena. La información obtenida fue procesada con el paquete Statistical Package for the Social
Siences (SPSS)® para posteriormente determinar si la escala presenta consistencia interna y validez
satisfactorias para aplicarse en el contexto estudiado.

RESULTADOS

En la validez de contenido, se consideraron los trabajos de Vera y Trujillo (2004), Mejías, Villegas y
Maneiro (2009) y Varela, Prat, Voces y Rial (2006). Adicionalmente, la escala fue sometida a escrutinio
por parte de expertos en el tema quienes validaron los fundamentos teóricos de la misma estimando que
existe buena claridad en la especificidad de concepto. Atendiendo al criterio de los mismos expertos y
para dar mayor calidad al factor, se realizaron modificaciones a la redacción de los ítems 4 y 13, buscando
una mayor comprensión de los enunciados.
Tabla 1: Matriz rotada de los determinantes de la calidad de los servicios de una
cafetería universitaria

Variables
(Factores) Ítems
Carga Factorial
1 2 3
Productos
1. La amplitud y variedad de la carta (Menú) es .656
2. La calidad del alimento es .784
3. El sabor del alimento es .763
4. La temperatura del alimento es .688
5. La cantidad del alimento que se sirve es .811
6. La presentación del alimento es .793
7. La relación entre la calidad del alimento y el precio es .650
Instalaciones
8. La comodidad y ambiente del local es .588
9. La decoración y mobiliario del local es .715
10. La limpieza del local y sus alrededores es .686
11. La limpieza del área en donde se elaboran los alimentos es .553
12. La iluminación del local es .765
13. La temperatura del local es .767
14. El nivel del ruido del local es .666
15. La limpieza y equipamentos de los baños es .701
Personal
16. La amabilidad del personal que lo atiende es .814
17. La higiene y vestimenta del personal que lo atiende es .783
18. La rapidez del servicio es .572
19. La confianza que le inspira el personal es .676
En esta Tabla se muestra el resultado del análisis de factores; la segunda columna de esta tabla describe los ítems
de las variables que integran la calidad del servicio de una cafetería, mientras que en la tercera columna, se anotan
sus cargas factoriales. Método de extracción: Análisis de Componentes Principales. Método de Rotación Varimax.
Elaboración propia

La validez de constructo (identificación de los factores que determinan la calidad del servicio de las
cafeterías) se realizó empleado la técnica estadística del análisis factorial. Previo se verificó la adecuación
muestral de los datos disponibles mediante dos indicadores del grado de asociación de las variables como
son las pruebas de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) y de esfericidad de Barlett. El KMO fue de .923 y la
prueba de esfericidad de Barlett (C2=3019.672; p=.000 para 171 gl), lo cual indica que los datos son
adecuados para el uso del modelo de análisis factorial (Lévy y Varela, 2003).

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El resultado del análisis de factores (método de componentes principales) reveló la existencia de tres
factores que logran explicar el 63.186% de la variabilidad de los datos, del cual un 23.494% corresponde
al primer factor, un 23.151% al segundo factor y, finalmente, el 16.541% al tercer factor.

Al analizar la matriz de la Tabla 1 se observa que el factor 1 aparece asociado a los ítems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 y
7 (cargas factoriales mayores que 0,5) y está, por tanto, vinculado a la amplitud, calidad, sabor,
temperatura, presentación y relación alimento/precio. Por su parte, los ítems 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 y 15
asociados a las instalaciones físicas de las cafeterías, quedan resumidos en el factor 2. El factor 3 está
constituido por los ítems 16, 17, 18 y 19 relativos a las cualidades del personal que atiende las cafeterías.

Para determinar la fiabilidad de la escala se utilizó el coeficiente de consistencia interna Alfa de
Cronbach, en la Tabla 2 se muestran los coeficientes alfa para la escala. Considerando que el valor de éste
varía entre 0 y 1, en la medida que se acerca a 1 indica una mayor fiabilidad puede decirse que la escala
de 19 ítems presenta una fiabilidad muy adecuada (α = 0.932). Por subescalas, la variable producto
presenta un incremento en su fiabilidad (α = 0.911) respecto a las otras variables; α = 0.79 y α = 0.88 para
personal e instalaciones, respectivamente.

Tabla 2: Consistencia interna de la escala

Variables de la Calidad del
Servicio
Alfa de
Cronbach
(unidad de análisis
N=297)
Número
de Ítem
Producto 0.911 7
Instalaciones 0.886 8
Personal 0.794 4
TOTAL: 0.932 19
La Tabla describe los índices de confiabilidad de cada una de las variables que
integran la Calidad del Servicio de las cafeterías, así como el número de ítems que
conforman cada una de las variables. Fuente: Elaboración propia, cálculo efectuado
a través del SPSS 19

CONCLUSIONES

Los resultados del analisis factorial revelan que las tres variables propuestas para integrar la escala de
medición original, dan las cargas factoriales satisfatorias para ser incluidas como integrantes del
instrumento; por tanto, el modelo quedó integrado por tres variables (personal, instalaciones y producto)
distribuidas en 19 ítems que explican alrededor del 63% de la varianza total.

La alta consistencia interna detectada, mediante el Alfa de Cronbach, para las subescalas del instrumento
de medición desarrollado es un indicador suficientemente de su alta fiabilidad; esto es, existe una alta
homogeneidad y equivalencias en las respuestas. El alfa de Cronbach global para este estudio fue 0.932,
muy cercano al reportado por Varela et al. (2006) para un instrumento similar utilizado para medir la
calidad de los servicios de hostelería.

Mediante esta investigación, se constató que instrumento desarrollado posee características psicométricas
adecuadas, por lo cual unido a su brevedad y fácil aplicación, puede servir como base para la realización
de estudios empíricos y convertirse en una herramienta importante para asegurar la calidad del servicio de
las cafeterías y evaluar el desempeño de los concesionarios de dichos establecimientos.

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Finalmente, debe considerarse que la muestra estudiada es no probabilística por lo tanto los resultados de
esta investigación deberán tomarse con reserva porque no existe la seguridad de que cada unidad muestral
integre a la población total en el proceso de selección de la muestra, por lo cual no es factible hacer
inferencias sobre la calidad del servicio de las cafeterías. Esta característica se convierte en una limitante;
no obstante, la información obtenida resulta útil para el establecimiento de un marco de referencia para
investigaciones posteriores, en este sentido, sería recomendable ampliar el diseño muestral para lograr
una representatividad más importante.

REFERENCIAS

Cronin, J.J. y Taylor, S.A. (1992): “Measuring service quality: a reexamination and extension”, Journal
of Marketing, 56, pp. 55-68.

Duque, E. (2005). Revisión del concepto calidad del servicio y sus modelos de medición, INNOVAR,
revista de ciencias administrativas y sociales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Enero a Junio 2005,
pp.64-77

Gadotti, S.J. y França, A. (2008). La medición de la calidad de servicio: Una aplicación en empresas
hoteleras, Revista Europea de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa, vol. 18, núm. 2 (2009), pp. 175-186

Hernández, R., Fernández, C y Baptista, P. (2006). Metodología de la Investigación, Tercera Edición,
México: McGrawHill Interamericana Editores, SA de CV

Lévy, J-P. y Varela, J. (2003). Análisis Multivariable para las Ciencias Sociales, México:Pearson
Educación, SA

Mejías, A., Villegas, D. y Maneiro, N. (2009). Factores determinantes de la calidad de los servicios
bancarios en un campus universitario venezolano, Investigación y Ciencia, No. 45, pp. 50-55

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. y Berry, L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its
implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, Fall, pp.41-50

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. y Berry, L. (1988): “SERVQUAL: A Multiple-It Scale for Measuring
Customer Perceptions of Service Quality”, Journal of Retailing, pp. 12-40.

Vera, J. y Trujillo, A. (2009). El papel de la calidad del servicio como antecedente de la lealtad del
cliente, Panorama económico, Vol. 27, No. 38, pp.16-30

Varela, J., Prat, R., Voces, C. y Rial, A. (2006). Una nueva escala para la evaluación de la calidad de los
servicios de hostelería, Psicotherma, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp.135-142

BIOGRAFÍA

Sonia Elizabeth Maldonado-Radillo, Docente de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales y Jefe
del Departamento de Auditoría del campus Ensenada de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California,
Doctora en Ciencias Administrativas, de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Correo:
se.maldonado@gmail.com

mailto:se.maldonado@gmail.com

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Ana Ma. Guillén Jiménez, Docente de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Auditor Interno de la
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California en el campus Mexicali, Maestra en Administración por la
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Correo: guillen@uabc.edu.mx

Rafael Ernesto Carranza Prieto, Docente de la Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, Maestro en Finanzas
Corporativas del CETyS con mención Honorífica y Maestro en Evaluación Inmobiliaria e Industrial por el
Instituto Tecnológico de la Construcción. Correo: ecarranza@uabc.edu.mx

mailto:guillen@uabc.edu.mx

mailto:ecarranza@uabc.edu.mx

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EVALUACIÓN DEL NIVEL TECNOLÓGICO DE LAS
PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS (PYMES) DEL
SECTOR SERVICIO EN MEXICALI, BAJA
CALIFORNIA
Adelaida Figueroa Villanueva, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Sósima Carrillo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Manuel Alejandro Ibarra Cisneros, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ricardo Ching Wesman, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

Sin lugar a dudas, las PYMES se encuentran actualmente ante una oportunidad histórica por lo que
respecta al aumento de su competitividad mediante el uso inteligente de las nuevas tecnologías.El primer
requerimiento tecnológico es poseer un procesamiento de datos funcional y eficiente. Por eso es
necesaria una automatización y una integración de los principales procesos internos y externos de la
empresa. Partiendo de esta premisa es importante conocer la situación que guardan dichas empresas en
cuanto a equipo de cómputo el uso que a este se le da, el software que posee y en el caso de aquellas que
aún no han integrado tecnología, conocer la razón de ello. De acuerdo a datos proporcionados por
SIEM Sistema Empresarial Mexicano en Mexicali se localizan un total de 4,098 empresas registradas, de
las cuales 1432 son de servicios. Basado en lo anterior se pretende conocer el estado que guarda la
infraestructura tecnológica en las PYMES en Mexicali. Buscando áreas de oportunidad para empresas
que se dedican al giro de tecnología al mismo tiempo acercar a las empresas a apoyos de gobierno y
crear padrón de organizaciones susceptibles de capacitación en este giro.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Directorio de empresas en México, consultado en la página http://www.siem.gob.mx/siem2008/ el día 3
de agosto de 2011.

Ventajas y caracterización de una PYME, consultado en la página
http://www.mexicoemprende.org.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=67, el
día 3 de agosto de 2011.

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LA EDUCACIÓN CONTINÚA COMO MEDIO PARA
APOYAR LA COMPETITIVIDAD DE LAS PYMES Y LA
VINCULACIÓN EMPRESARIAL CON LAS
INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR
Julio César León Priento, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Sósima Carrillo, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Ana Cecilia Bustamante Valenzuela, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Adelaida Figueroa Villanueva, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California

RESUMEN

La competitividad de los egresados de las Instituciones de Educación Superior es cada vez mayor en un
mundo globalizado, por lo que no deben de permanecer ajenos a la problemática social y económica de
las organizaciones que requieren sus servicios. Las necesidades de las pequeñas y medianas empresas
(PYMES), son cambiantes y específicas de acuerdo al sector que se desenvuelven y a su entorno
económico. Por ello las instituciones de Educación Superior tienen la misión de formar no sólo a los
profesionistas, si no de dar continuidad a sus requerimientos de formación de manera permanente. Es
apremiante contar con esquemas de vinculación efectivos, donde se presenten casos de éxitos que
demuestren el apoyo a la PYMES y se extienda a las demás organizaciones la consultoría empresarial,
misma que fortalece la capacitación a profesores y estudiantes avanzados, así como la creación de
programas de servicio social asociados a créditos donde se observe una mejoría sustancial tanto del
aprovechamiento del estudiante como de los indicadores de desempeño de las PYMES. En el caso que se
presenta, se evidenciará el éxito de la colaboración sinergizada de profesores, estudiantes y de la
empresa a la que se brindó consultoría.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Educación continua, Vinculación empresarial, PYMES, Consultoría, Cuadro de
mando Integral.

JUSTIFICACIÓN.

En un entorno cada vez más competitivo, donde las reglas que han regido la economía están en entre
dicho, las organizaciones necesitan tener más claro cuál es su razón de ser en el mercado o misión, y a
donde quieren llegar cuándo, cómo y con qué recursos o lo que conocemos como visión. Si se clasifica el
rumbo, se presenta el crecimiento y los resultados mejoran sustancialmente. Pero si las empresas con
menos recursos como las pequeñas y las medianas empresas (PYMES) desconocen su mercado, su
cliente, su competencia, sus fortalezas y debilidades, tanto como las amenazas del entorno, es muy
posible que también dejen de ver sus oportunidades.

Cuando por primera vez Kaplan y Norton (2007) señalaron que los resultados de la eficiencia operativa de
las empresas no solamente estaban en función de sus utilidades o su salud financiera, varios analistas y
estudios de la administración leyeron primero su incredulidad, luego con asombro y admiración los
resultados de sus estudios con las quinientas empresas más exitosas del mundo. Al argumentar con
evidencias exitosas, que su secreto de su existo residía precisamente en la medición de sus dimensiones
financieras así como operativas, incluyeron adicionalmente otros parámetros como el conocimiento de las

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necesidades del cliente, ya abordada por Crosby (1987) y la revisión continua de sus indicadores de
desempeño operativo en el estudio de la calidad, (Juran 1964).

El incluir la estrategia corporativa al capital intelectual como uno de los indicadores claves y la
innovación como el pulmón que impulsa al crecimiento, el mundo de los negocios dejó entrever su
secreto para compartirlo con las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMES) y de esta forma, apoyarlas en
su búsqueda por el mejoramiento de su eficacia, incremento de sus indicadores financieros y sobre todo,
la satisfacción del cliente.

Frente este escenario y ante una exigencia de productos y servicios de calidad, las Instituciones de
Educación Superior (IES) han adquirido el compromiso de colaborar y apoyar en la búsqueda de
alternativa de solución, para que los profesionistas que se estén formando, brinden soluciones aplicables a
la problemática del entorno en el que se desenvuelvan y que las mismas empresas u organizaciones sean
quienes planteen su requerimiento tanto capital intelectual como la asesoría y capacitación.

De ahí que la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, asume al reto de transformarse en una
comunidad de aprendizaje e innovación, que propicia la Educación Continua y a lo largo de toda la vida
de esos egresados, fomente la vida colegiada y la vinculación con las empresas y los diversos sectores a la
que sirve. El presente trabajo, es una muestra de que los servicios que se ofertan a los sectores
productivos y de servicios, a través de área de Educación Continua de la Facultad de Ciencias
Administrativas (FCA), abordan la necesidad de colaborar en la asesoría de las PYMES, no sólo en la
identificación de su problemática al impartir capación empresarial, sino fungiendo como un consultor que
le permita detectar y prevenir problemáticas que mermen su eficiencia operativa.

METODOLOGÍA.

La propuesta que se plantea en ese estudio, es un Plan Estratégico que se diseñó partiendo de un enfoque
sistemático, basado en la metodología de Robert Kaplan y David Norton, denominada Balanced
Scorecard, o BSC, y que fue presentada por primera vez en 1992. Su metodología permite vislumbrar a la
empresa desde cuatro aspectos: perspectiva del cliente, perspectivas interna del negocio (operaciones) y la
perspectiva de innovación y aprendizaje, que involucra al capital humano.

La empresa tuvo su primer contacto con la Facultad de las Ciencias Administrativas (FCA) de la
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) a través del área de Vinculación, ya que requerían un
estudio de mercado para tomar decisiones respecto a la apertura de una nueva plaza en el estado. Fue en el
transcurso de varias entrevistas que los gerentes de mayoreo y menudeo de la empresa solicitaron un
curso de capacitación en BSC, a sugerencia del despacho consultor que los veía asesorando por parte de la
casa matriz. Luego de hacerles algunas preguntas de diagnóstico, se llegó a la conclusión de que se
requerían más elementos para impartir BSC, ya que la empresa acababa de concluir un curso en
Planeación Estratégica donde no obtuvieron los resultados que esperaban.

Con la colaboración de los líderes de las aéreas de administración, compras, ventas, recursos humanos y
operaciones, se realizó durante 6 meses la primera etapa que consistió en el proceso de diagnóstico en el
que participaron en conjunto con los gerentes de mayoreo y menudeo, aplicando un análisis FODA en
cada uno de sus departamentos.

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Con los resultados obtenidos se procedió a analizar los parámetros establecidos por la casa matriz, misma
que no contaba con toda la información para establecer comparaciones realistas y deseables para cada una
de sus sucursales, por lo que se definieron de acuerdo al siguiente plan estratégico por módulos:

Planeación Estratégica: Gerencia y bandos medios definirán las estrategias de acción para las necesidades
inmediatas de la empresa.

Desarrollo del Capital Humano: Gerencia y mandos medios elaboran su plan personal de desarrollo
acorde a las necesidades de la empresa.

Mejoramiento de Procesos Operativos: Al término de este taller todo el personal será capaz de optimizar
sus recursos, sus espacios de trabajo y desarrollar las habilidades para estimular la productividad.

Mejoramiento del Servicio al Cliente: Se adquieren conocimientos, habilidades y actitudes encaminadas a
reconocer la importancia de satisfacer las necesidades y deseos de la empresa.
Mejoramiento de Procesos Financieros: El personal de las aéreas administrativas adquirirán las
habilidades para aplicar herramientas financieras para la toma de decisiones exitosas.

En la segunda fase, en los siguientes tres meses se establecieron los procesos críticos de la empresa,
adoptando un Plan de Capacitación para aquellos que requerían ser atendidos primordialmente y que,
indican en la atención al cliente.

Una vez analizados los indicadores que el mismo personal elaboró, se procedió al diseño de estrategias
que subsanaran las debilidades más apremiantes y las de solución sencilla, posteriormente se eligen
aquellas que requieren una estrategia conjunta, es decir, en las que se involucran de manera conjunta las
demás aéreas.

ANÁLISIS DE RESULTADOS.

Fue hasta la segunda etapa, cuando comenzaron a notarse cambios no solo en los indicadores de
desempeño que los mismos encargados de áreas fijaron, sino entre el personal que colaboro en el
monitoreo de sus propios indicadores y los de otras áreas. Con el apoyo de dos estudiantes de la
Licenciatura en Informática, se diseñaron los indicadores de desempeño operacional y se monitorearon
los resultados en dos meses siguientes al término de la capacitación.

El resultado más inmediato se dio en ventas. Del mes de septiembre a octubre de 2008, las ventas se
incrementaron en 5% solo en un mes. Así mismo, el área de atención a clientes que antes de la aplicación
del Plan Estratégico no se habían establecido mecanismos de medición tales como evaluaciones al
desempeño o alguna otra herramienta como el buzón de sugerencias, se comenzó a utilizar y los
trabajadores de ventas en el área de piso lograron incrementar su eficiencia en un 8 %, ya que es un área
con rotación mayor a otras como mayoreo, donde los empleados cuentan con más de 10 años de servicio
en comparación con el área de menudeo donde el promedio es de 3 años.

Sin embargo, en áreas como en las de mantenimiento y almacén, informados del proceso por el que
atravesaba la empresa, a pesar de la recesión económica que ya comenzaba a sentirse en la tienda, los
trabajadores encontraron que midiendo su desempeño de manera diaria y visualizando su resultado,

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fomentaba entre ellos la creatividad y el espíritu de equipo. Sus indicadores desempeño fueron los que
denotaron mayores incrementos de hasta un 50% de mejoramiento, en comparación con el mes anterior.

En el aspecto financiero, se detectó el conocimiento básico de finanzas por parte de los encargados del
manejo administrativo de la empresa, por lo que se capacitó en análisis financieros para que los gerentes,
comprendieran e interpretaran la información financiera con sólo observar las razones como liquidez,
rentabilidad, endeudamiento, rotación de inventarios y de cuentas por cobrar y por pagar.

El mejoramiento de las operaciones ocurrió casi desde la capacitación, ya que aún contando con un
manual de organización correspondientes, su falta de actualización impedía a los trabajadores su
aplicación formal, creando ellos mismos procedimientos semejantes pero sin estandarización.
Con el establecimiento de procedimientos simples, documentados y monitoreados por ellos mismos, se
abatió el rezago en inventarios, las mermas y perdidas de material, una de las debilidades cuyo costo se
desconocía y que al estimarlo posteriormente, se detectaron desviaciones considerables para el encargo
del área.

CONCLUSIONES

Al término de esta experiencia, la FCA logró la formación de un equipo de doce profesores capacitados
en consultoría e instrucción para la capacitación ante la Secretaria de Trabajo y Prevención Social. Se
colocaron dos estudiantes avanzados de informática y están en proceso dos estudiantes mas para la
realización de sus estancias y aprendizaje. La empresa asesorada, mejoró en su eficiencia operativa,
fundada desde la perspectiva de los clientes y de la de los trabajadores, se observaron los 4 indicadores de
la madurez de un equipo de trabajo y además, en su principal fortaleza: Sentido de realización personal,
responsabilidad compartida, proactividad y sentido de independencia.

La actitud de sus miembros denotó gran capacidad de organización y prevención de errores o defectos en
las operaciones, lo que contribuye a una mejor organización del trabajo conjunto. En opinión de los
trabajadores de primera línea, esta experiencia los unió mas como equipo, detectaron sus fortalezas no
sólo como empresa, sino también como el capital humano que impulsa el desarrollo de la economía ideal.

En la opinión de la propia empresa, esta experiencia les permitió confiar en las instituciones de educación
superior y acudir a solicitar alternativas viables para la solución de problemas concretos. Por lo anterior,
podemos afirmar que la Vinculación a través de la Educación Continua y los programas de Servicio
Social así como las Estancias de Aprendizaje, son una prueba de que el trabajo en equipo con la Facultad
de Ciencias Administración es posible y da resultados exitosos tangibles.

REFERENCIAS

Crosby, P. (1987) Calidad sin lágrimas: el arte de administrar sin problemas. México, CECSA.

David, F. (2008). Concepto de Planeación Estratégica, México, Pearson.

Garza, J. (2000) Administración contemporánea. México Mc Graw Hill.

Goleman, D. (2007) Liderazgo que obtiene resultados, Harvard Business Review, Diciembre p. 13 – 25.

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Kaplan, R. & Noton D.(2007) “El balanced Score card: mediciones que impulsan el desempeño”, Harvard
Business Review, mayo, edición extraordinaria, p. 4 – 13.

Newstrom, J. (2007) Dirección, México, mc Graw Hill.

Robbinsons, S. & Coulter, M. (2005) Administración. México, Pearson.

Ronquillo, José Luis (2006) Administración básica para la empresa familiar: un enfoque práctico.
México, Editorial Panorama, 1.Ed.

Servillano, M. (2005) Estrategias innovadoras para una Enseñanza de Calidad, Madrid, Pearson.

BIOGRAFIA

M.A. Julio Cèsar Leòn Priento, FCA. Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Jcleon@Uabc.Edu.Mx Tel. (686) 582-33-24,

M. A. Sòsima Carrillo, FCA. Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Sosima@Uabc.Edu.Mx Tel. (686) 582-33-24 Ext. 45068

M. A. Ana Cecilia Bustamante Valenzuela, FCA. Universidad Autónoma De Baja California,
Ceci@Uabc.Edu.Mx Tel. (686) 582-33-24 Ext. 45074

M. C. Adelaida Figueroa Villanueva, FCA. Universidad Autónoma De Baja California,
Afigueroa@Uabc.Edu.Mx Tel. (686) 582-33-24 Ext. 45030

mailto:sosima@uabc.edu.mx

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REALIDADES Y OPORTUNIDADES DE EMPLEO EN
MÉXICO
Raúl González Núñez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Alma Delia Inda, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Elsa Lourdes Salazar Ruíz, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Adelaida Figueroa Villanueva, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

Según información y datos estadísticos referentes a reportes del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y
Geografía (INEGI) hablando sobre el desempleo en México, se estima que el porcentaje de este a lo que
va del año en menor a lo registrado en mismas fechas de 2010. Las ofertas de trabajo están variando
dependiendo a los profesionales. Se estima que el porcentaje de desempleo en México es menor al de
países como Estados Unidos, España o Japón por mencionar algunos, pero no se puede comparar el
salario mínimo de estos países antes mencionados con los nuestros, ya que este hace el nivel de vida de
los ciudadanos de escasa calidad en comparación con ellos y por tal motivo, empujando a las personas
por empleos siempre de tiempo completo. El empleo en México no está mejor que en los países que se
mencionan según todas las estadísticas, por las cuestiones que se mencionan. Y por tal motivo esto
comienza a realizar una cadena de malos hábitos que no termina, los padres de familia se ocupan más en
su área laboral, ya que cada vez los empleos exigen más tiempo, mas actividades, presión, etc. Y poco a
poco van descuidando su relación familiar, descuidando también la educación de sus hijos, están más
tiempo fuera de casa y esta falta de atención se refleja cada vez más en jóvenes que dejan la escuela,
adquieren malos hábitos, malas amistades y desorientados descuidan sus responsabilidades en el estudio.
Cada vez hay jóvenes menos preparados, cuando la realidad para poder sobresalir y obtener un buen
empleo es seguir estudiando, especializarse y como mínimo manejar dos o más idiomas.

Palabras claves: Empleo, Desempleo, salario mínimo, nivel de vida, educación y familia.

INTRODUCCIÓN

El empleo, dice Manpower, es un factor en franca recuperación en México. Se prospecta que en el primer
trimestres de 2011, 20% de las empresas y otras instituciones que ofrecen empleos en
México incrementen su plantilla laboral, con lo cual se crearían 200 mil fuentes de trabajo. No obstante,
72% de las empresas dijo que no tendrá cambios en su personal y 6% planea reducirlo. Esta información
fue revelada durante la presentación de resultados de la Encuesta de Expectativas de Empleo, organizada
por Manpower y aplicada a una muestra de 4 mil 800 empresarios en todo México.

La directora general de Manpower México y Centroamérica, Mónica Flores, dijo que los sectores que
crearán más plazas de trabajo son manufactura, minería, extracción y comercio, mientras que los que
menos empleos generarán serán los de agricultura y pesca. Asimismo, dijo Flores, las regiones del
noroeste tendrán un mayor ritmo de contratación. En tanto que el Valle de México y occidente decaen en
esta tendencia de ofertas de trabajo. Y serán los estados de Monterrey, Guadalajara, Querétaro y León los
que lideren en la lista, en tanto que Puebla reporta una tendencia a la baja. En el 2010, se crearon 900 mil
empleos, de los cuales se estimó 200 mil se perderían por tendencias estacionales, con lo cual se habrán
creado en el año 700 mil empleos.

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Los perfiles y profesionales más buscados en el 2011 son: técnicos en producción, soldadores,
carpinteros, plomeros; los perfiles relacionados con la salud como enfermeras, terapeutas, médicos,
especialistas y personal dedicado al cuidado de ancianos y niños; las áreas con vocación de ventas y
servicios, así como ingenieros de todo tipo, y profesionistas con dominio de una segunda lengua.

En contraste, los profesionales egresados de carreras como Derecho, ciencias de la comunicación y
Mercadotecnia, serán los que tendrán menor demanda en el mercado laboral, esto, refirió la directora
general de Manpower México y Centroamérica, es debido a que hay una sobrepoblación de egresados en
dichas áreas y pocos empleos.

Según la información provista por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), el Desempleo
México Enero 2011 fue de 5.43% del total de la población económicamente activa (PEA).

Como destacable, el porcentaje actual es menor al registrado en enero 2010, cuando la desocupación
alcanzó al 5.87% de la PEA.

En base a los datos del Instituto Nacional de Geografía, según la distinción por sexo, la tasa de
desempleo en los hombres cayó de de 6.16% a 5.61% y la de las mujeres cayó de 5.41% a 5.11% de
enero de 2010 a enero 2011.

Cabe mencionar que, un 28.8% de los desocupados no completó los estudios de secundaria, pero los de
mayor nivel de instrucción representaron al 71.2%. En cuanto a los datos acerca de subocupación son de
44.6% y de 55.4%, respectivamente para ambos sexos.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

Según reporte de la OCDE (2011), México está viviendo una sólida recuperación luego de la profunda
recesión que experimentó como consecuencia de la fuerte desaceleración global, lo que se demuestra en
un crecimiento del PIB de 5.5% en 2010 y un estimado de 4.4 % para 2011.

Aunque se espera observar una desaceleración del crecimiento de las exportaciones después del repunte
excepcional de 2010, la fortaleza de la demanda doméstica mantendrá la recuperación en marcha. Varios
indicadores del mercado laboral han mejorado, si bien el desempleo está disminuyendo de manera lenta.
México empezó ya a retirar el estímulo fiscal vigente desde 2009 y se aumentaron los impuestos para
tranquilizar las inquietudes del mercado acerca de las tendencias fiscales. Si la recuperación evoluciona
como se espera, el gobierno podrá poner en marcha sus planes para reducir el déficit presupuestario aún
más por medio del control del gasto. Puesto que la inflación ha disminuido, la política monetaria está en
posibilidades de apoyar la recuperación manteniendo las tasas bajas en el corto plazo.

Cyrille Schwellnus, economista de estudios económicos de México de la organización para la
Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (OCDE), expuso que en el año 2011, la tasa de desempleo en el
país será de 6%, más elevada que antes de de la crisis. “Un problema es que el desempleo va creciendo y
continuará haciéndolo de acuerdo con nuestro pronóstico hacia mediados de 2011, y esto evidentemente
será un lastre para el consumo privado y la demanda interna” , dijo en la presentación del “Panorama
Económico Mundial 2009”.

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Los clásicos de la economía. Adam Smith (1723-1790) definía que el empleo o el pleno empleo estaba
determinado por la variación de los salarios, tratando de decir: que cuando los salarios eran altos se
genera desempleo, y cuando existían variaciones del salario (bajos) se estaría llegando aún pleno empleo,
porque se aumenta la población en ocupación. En pocas palabras el empleo estaba determinado por la
variación de los salarios. David Ricardo (1772-1823) tenía la convicción de que al presentarse un
aumento en la maquinaría, aumentaría inercialmente la demanda laboral, y con ello llegaría el aumento de
la producción, bajo este esquema también se presentaría el pleno empleo, este tema está más ligado al
factor de producción, como medio generador de empleo.

Para Carlos Marx (1818–1883) el desempleo se genera por la producción y reproducción de capital y a su
vez a la acumulación del capital, esto genera en la población desempleos crónicos, flotantes e
intermitentes, pues esta producción, reproducción y acumulación del capital genera ejércitos industriales
de reserva, que son la mano de obra disponible para el proceso de producción capitalista. La solución
según Marx, el Estado debe regular y distribuir los recursos, con participación del proletariado o de los
obreros para realizar una producción planificada.

El empleo está determinado en gran parte por la demanda real que genera la sociedad y esta a su vez,
tiene que estar determinada por sus salarios reales para así conllevar al aumento de la producción, de la
reproducción de fabricas que serían las que reciben la nueva manos de obra laboral y que incorpora la
población económicamente activa, vistas desde un punto de vista capitalista. La otra posibilidad es, que se
puede generar dentro de una economía planificada e intervención estatal, como lo propone Marx el pleno
empleo. Desde mi perspectiva y más desde lo humanista, que economista, cualquiera que sea la forma de
generar empleo, de estos dos sistemas mencionadas, lo importante es que los seres humanos con
obligaciones sociales y familiares, tengan unos ingresos para suplir sus necesidades. De lo contrario
aparecerá el concepto de desempleo.

CONCLUSIÓN

El desempleo en nuestro país ya es un aspecto delicado, considero que no se le da una real importancia y
que está directamente relacionado con la cultura y la calidad de la educación que se imparten en nuestras
Universidades. Es necesario, además, modificar las leyes actuales relacionadas con el aspecto laboral,
fiscal y la forma de manejar el sindicalismo de la educación en nuestro sistema mexicano. Si bien es
cierto que estamos por debajo de muchos países con respecto al porcentaje del desempleo, pero también
es importante señalar que el salario (capacidad adquisitiva) es mejor y nunca comparable con el nuestro.
El principal problema radica en que actualmente, las personas que tienen empleo, no les es suficiente y se
ven en la necesidad de tener dos trabajos diferentes, descuidando de esta manera la integración familiar,
teniendo como consecuencia cada vez más jóvenes menos preparados para hacer frente a los nuevos retos
internacionales.

La empresa líder en Recursos Humanos Manpower, a nivel internacional es un buen referente respecto a
las declaraciones que hace recientemente, respecto a que el nivel de empleo se ha ido incrementando. Sin
embargo, sería interesante, señalar, las condiciones laborales en las cuales se desarrollan la mayoría del
personal operativo en las organizaciones del sector maquilador principalmente.

Otro aspecto a considerar es el reporte de la OCDE (2011), donde hace referencia a que México está
viviendo una sólida recuperación luego de la profunda recesión que experimentó como consecuencia de

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la fuerte desaceleración global, lo que se demuestra en un crecimiento del PIB de 5.5% en 2010 y un
estimado de 4.4 % para 2011.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Enrique Hernández Laos. (2000). Productividad y Mercado de trabajo en México, Plaza y Valdez
Editores.

Manuel Gollás. El Desempleo en México. ( 2004). Soluciones posibles.

http://www.altonivel.com.mx/7307-mapa-del-empleo-en-mexico-para-2011.html

Desempleo Mexico Primer Trimestre 2011

http://mejorescomisiones.com/blog/archives/11
http://www.americaeconomia.com/economia-mercados/analistas-tasa-de-desempleo-en-mexico-habria-
bajado-5-en-diciembre

http://www.altonivel.com.mx/7307-mapa-del-empleo-en-mexico-para-2011.html

Desempleo Mexico Primer Trimestre 2011

http://mejorescomisiones.com/blog/archives/11

http://www.americaeconomia.com/economia-mercados/analistas-tasa-de-desempleo-en-mexico-habria-bajado-5-en-diciembre

http://www.americaeconomia.com/economia-mercados/analistas-tasa-de-desempleo-en-mexico-habria-bajado-5-en-diciembre

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CENTRO ECO-TURÍSTICO EXCAMÉ
Ana Karen Fraire, Universidad de Guadalajara
María de la Luz Mora Salas, Universidad de Guadalajara
Karen Yuridia Estupiñan Pérez, Instituto Tecnológico Superior Norte

RESUMEN

Una interconexión entre la naturaleza y el ser humano es el ecoturismo, el cual intenta que las relaciones
sean lo más ecológica posibles, es por eso que se ha planteado el centro eco-turístico Excamé ubicado en
los límites de la presa Miguel Alemán, en la comunidad de Excamé perteneciente al municipio de
Tepechitlán Zacatecas, tratando de obtener un desarrollo sostenible en el área contemplando lo social,
ecológico y económico ofreciendo una gama amplia de actividades eco-turísticas factibles, tales como
son; el senderismo, observación de flora y fauna, cabalgatas, camping, ciclismo, entre otras, dentro de
las cuales se tendrá personal capacitado con dos fines; uno de informar a los turistas correctamente y la
otra tener una conservación ecológica adecuada del área natural. El centro eco-turístico Excamé está
pensando en aquellas personas que buscan disfrutar de la naturaleza, del descanso, esparcimiento y
recreación en un ambiente natural, contemplando desde infantes hasta adultos mayores.

Palabras claves: ecoturismo, convivencia, conservación, naturaleza, desarrollo.

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COACHING PARA EL DESARROLLO DEL ALTO
DESEMPEÑO PARA EMPRESAS PUBLICITARIAS:
CASO ISA CORPORATIVO S.A. DE C.V.
Omar Ernesto Terán Varela, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Gilberto Cervantes Moreno, Egresado de la ESCA Unidad Tepepan IPN
Enrique Espinosa Ayala, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Nayeli Juárez Montoya, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca

En los proceso de globalización en la cual se encuentran las organizaciones en este momento, debido a
los altos niveles de competitividad para permanecer en los mercados, es por ello que se establecen
nuevas herramientas para evaluar el desempeño de su Capital Humano (CH), con el propósito de lograr
una mejor productividad y competitividad en el cumplimento de sus actividades y lograr mejor
posicionamiento en los mismos, es por ello que la empresa ISA Corporativo S.A. de C.V, está aplicando y
fomentando entre su CH la aplicación de la herramienta coaching con la necesidad de su desarrollo y
que se vea reflejado en su desempeño.

Es por lo tanto, que el coaching como campo nuevo y emocionante enfocado al enriquecimiento y en la
obtención del poder personal, que está diseñado para movilizar los recursos del cliente hacia los
resultados convenidos. Esto quiere decir, que el coaching consiste por completo en despertar los
potenciales poco explorado y desarrollado del CH, para poder llevar las habilidades y experiencia a un
nuevo nivel de desempeño. Por lo que, trabaja jugando con las fortalezas personales y eliminando
aquellas cosas que están en el camino y sabotean la excelencia. Esto hace al coaching un generador de
soluciones. Asimismo, se establecen tres dominios del coaching que son el de desempeño, de desarrollo y
de transformación,

PALABRAS CLAVES: Coaching, Desempeño laboral, Comunicación, Publicidad.

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LA CRISIS FINANCIERA, EL RACIONAMIENTO DE
CRÉDITO Y LA RELACIÓN BANCARIA DE LAS PYME
EN ESPAÑA
Alaitz Mendizabal Zubeldia, Universidad del País Vasco
Aitziber Lertxundi, Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa
Jesús Garmendia Ibáñez, Universidad del País Vasco

RESUMEN
En el actual entorno definido por la crisis financiera las PYME han sido las principales víctimas de la
escasez de crédito, esto es, han sido las más afectadas por el racionamiento de crédito. Las PYME,
además, sufren una fuerte dependencia con respecto a la financiación bancaria, debido a que el sistema
financiero español se caracteriza, entre otros, por el importante peso del sistema crediticio y por el
acceso prácticamente vedado para las PYME a los mercados de capitales. Son diversos los estudios
sobre el racionamiento de crédito y la relación bancaria, sin embargo su análisis en el marco del actual
entorno definido por la crisis financiera es escaso. Es precisamente en este marco donde se centra este
trabajo, analizando si con la actual crisis las características de la relación bancaria y el racionamiento
de crédito han sufrido cambios significativos. Los resultados indican que después de la crisis, por un
lado, el racionamiento de crédito, en todas sus vertientes, aumenta significativamente; y, por otro, en
cuanto a la relación bancaria: el número de relaciones bancarias aumenta significativamente, el número
de servicios financieros contratados con la entidad bancaria principal no muestra cambios significativos
y el nivel de confianza, en cambio, disminuye significativamente.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Crisis financiera, racionamiento de crédito, relación bancaria, PYME.

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, THE CREDIT RATIONING AND THE
BANKING RELATIONSHIP OF THE SME IN SPAIN

ABSTRACT

In the current environment characterized by the financial crisis, SME have been the main victims of the
credit shortage in the Spanish economy, that is, they’ve been the most deeply affected by the credit
rationing. Furthermore, SME suffer from a strong dependence on the bank financing, because of the
feature of the Spanish financial system, which, among others, it is characterized by a considerable weight
of the credit system and the practically forbidden access to the capital market for SME. There are various
studies of credit rationing and banking relationships, but its analysis under the current environment
defined by the financial crisis is limited. It is precisely in this context that this paper focuses, analyzing
the current crisis if the characteristics of the banking relationship and credit rationing have undergone
significant changes. Results show that, in one hand, the credit rationing, in all of the types, increase
significantly; and, in the other, respecting the banking relationship; the number of relationships increase
significantly, the number of financial services with the main financial institutions doesn’t show significant
changes and the truth decrease significantly.
KEY WORDS: Financial crisis, credit rationing, banking relationship, SME.

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INTRODUCCIÓN
Uno de los mayores problemas de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME) es el acceso a la
financiación externa (Lehman y Neuberger, 2001), a pesar de que juegan un papel relevante en la creación
de riqueza y empleo en cualquier economía (Banco Mundial, 1994 y 2004; Beck et al., 2003;
Wagenvoort, 2003), siendo la financiación bancaria su principal fuente de financiación (Berger y Udell,
1998; Selva y Giner, 1999; Montoriol, 2006). En este entorno se enmarca el concepto de “racionamiento
de crédito”, el cual corresponde con una situación en la que la empresa no obtiene los fondos deseados o
bien los obtiene en condiciones (tipo de interés o garantías) peores a los que cabría esperar. La mayoría de
las PYME sufre racionamiento de crédito (Beck y Maksimovis, 2002; Comisión Europea, 2002; Beck et
al., 2004; Matías, 2009). Esta situación puede explicar el hecho de que la literatura sobre la relación
bancaria considere el mismo como uno de los principales problemas de las PYME, entre cuyos orígenes
se encuentra la existencia de información asimétrica entre los participantes de la relación (Stiglitz y
Weiss, 1981). En este sentido, según Selva y Giner (1999), la consolidación de la relación bancaria entre
la PYME y la entidad bancaria aparece como un vehículo idóneo para que ambas partes incrementen la
información mutua.
Son diversos los estudios sobre el racionamiento de crédito y la relación bancaria (Angelini, et al., 1998;
Berger y Udell, 1992 y 1995; Petersen y Rajan, 1994, 1995 y 2002; Cole, 1998; Harhoff y Körting,
1998a; Lehmann y Neuberger, 2001; Hernández y Martínez, 2010), sin embargo su análisis en el marco
del actual entorno definido por la crisis financiera es escaso. Es precisamente en este marco donde se
centra este trabajo, analizando si con la actual crisis las características de la relación bancaria y el
racionamiento de crédito han sufrido cambios significativos. Con ello se pretende aportar un granito de
arena a la ampliación de la literatura sobre la relación bancaria y el racionamiento de crédito en el marco
de la crisis financiera.
RACIONAMIENTO DE CRÉDITO Y RELACIÓN BANCARIA EN EL MARCO DE LA CRISIS
FINANCIERA
Si antes de la crisis financiera la realidad que se observaba era que “las PYME, debido a su opacidad y
elevada concentración de riesgos, se ven sometidas a un mayor racionamiento del crédito” (Cardone et
al., 2005, p. 21), con la crisis financiera se intuye que esta realidad ha ido a más. Y es esta realidad la que
se pretende analizar en este trabajo, mediante el análisis de la variación sufrida durante la crisis financiera
del racionamiento de crédito, en todas sus vertientes, esto es: el racionamiento de crédito, en sentido
estricto, cuando no se obtiene el volumen de financiación demandado; el racionamiento en precio o tipo
de interés, cuando el coste del mismo es superior al del mercado; y, el racionamiento en garantías, cuando
el nivel de garantías exigido es superior a lo que cabría esperar (Martínez y Fernández-Jardón, 1997;
Cardone et al., 2005; Casasola y Cardone, 2009). Inicialmente, las hipótesis a contrastar se basan en la
evolución del racionamiento de crédito de las PYME en el marco de la crisis financiera, esto es, se supone
que el racionamiento de crédito propiamente dicho, el de tipo de interés y en garantía, están positivamente
relacionados con la crisis financiera.
Además, en este entorno definido por la contracción de crédito y la fuerte dependencia de las PYME con
respecto a la financiación bancaria, se prevé que la crisis financiera haya podido influir en las
características de la relación bancaria. En este sentido, los indicadores de las características de la misma
son los siguientes (Berger y Udell, 1992 y 1995; Petersen y Rajan, 1994, 1995 y 2002; Harhoff y Körting,
1998a; Lehmann y Neuberger, 2001).: el número de entidades bancarias con las que trabaja la PYME,
esto es, el número de relaciones bancarias; el número de servicios financieros recibidos de una única

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entidad bancaria, esto es, la amplitud; y el nivel de confianza con las entidades bancarias. En concreto, se
intuye que la crisis financiera podría estar, por un lado, positivamente relacionada con el número de
relaciones bancarias, siendo una posible razón de ello el que, en general, al disminuir las alternativas de
financiación intenten buscar soluciones dentro del sistema crediticio, pero en otras entidades bancarias; y,
por otro, negativamente relacionada con la amplitud de la relación bancaria, debido a que como
consecuencia de la crisis las PYME tienden a retraerse en su actividad general disminuyendo el número
de servicios solicitados, incluyendo los servicios financieros; y el nivel de confianza de la relación
bancaria, como consecuencia de la desconfianza surgida desde las entidades bancarias a las PYME.
STUDIO EMPÍRICO Y RESULTADOS

Población y Método de Recogida de Información
Partiendo de la información de empresas de la base de datos del Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibéricos
(SABI), para la obtención de la muestra inicial se lleva a cabo un muestreo aleatorio estratificado. En la
siguiente Tabla 1 se expone la ficha técnica del estudio.
Tabla 1: Ficha Técnica Del Estudio
Universo PYME de España de más de 10 empleados
Tamaño de la muestra 700 encuestas
Muestreo Muestreo aleatorio estratificado, por sector de actividad y tamaño empresarial
Grupo objetivo Responsables directos de la relación bancaria en la PYME (Director financiero y, en
su defecto, Director-gerente)
Técnica Entrevista telefónica
Fecha de realización Abril-junio 2011
Margen de error Em= ±3,7% con un nivel de confianza del 95%, p=q=0,5

Análisis Estadístico y resultados

Para analizar la evolución de las variables contempladas en las hipótesis se han determinado dos
momentos: el año 2011 como año posterior a la crisis, debido a que es el momento en el que se realiza el
trabajo de campo, más concretamente primavera de 2011; y el año 2007 como año anterior a la crisisLa
técnica estadística aplicada es el Contraste de Igualdad de Medias, recogiéndose los resultados en la
Tabla 2.

Tabla 2: Contraste de Igualdad de Medias de la muestra global

Diferencias relacionadas t Sig. (bilateral)
Media Desviación típ. Error típ.
de la media
N – N07 ,125 1,105 ,042 2,982 ,003
AMP – AMP07 -,013 1,020 ,040 -,311 ,756
CONF – CONF07 -,170 ,668 ,026 -6,62 ,000
RACR – RACR07 ,967 1,156 ,045 21,6 ,000
RATI – RATI07 1,384 1,675 ,076 18,19 ,000
RAGA – RAGA07 ,230 ,911 ,037 6,219 ,000
Las estimaciones del estadístico conducen a la misma conclusión en todas las variables, exceptuando en la amplitud de la relación bancaria,
esto es, el nivel crítico (significación = 0,003 en el número de relaciones bancarias y significación = 0,000 en el resto) indica que la distribución
de los datos rechaza la hipótesis de igualdad de medias de las variables en 2011 y 2007, concluyendo que el valor de las variables en la
actualidad es significativamente distinta que en 2007, situación previa a la crisis. En el caso concreto de la amplitud de la relación bancaria, se
acepta la hipótesis nula de igualdad de medias y se concluye que la amplitud en la actualidad y previamente a la crisis no difiere de forma
significativa.

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Además de analizar la significatividad de estas variaciones para el conjunto de la muestra, se ha decidido
segmentar la misma en función del número de empleados, debido a que se intuye que es un colectivo
heterogéneo en cuanto al objeto de análisis de este estudio, distinguiendo: pequeñas empresas (T1), entre
10 y 49 empleados, ambos inclusive; medianas-pequeñas empresas (T2), entre 50 y 149 empleados; y,
medianas-grandes empresas (T3), entre 150 y 249 empleados (Iturralde et al., 2007). La ponderación de
cada estrato es, aproximadamente, 40%, 50% y 10% respectivamente. Así, en la Tabla 3 se recogen los
resultados.

Tabla 3: Contraste de Igualdad de Medias por segmentos

Media Desviación
típ.
Error típ.
de la media
t Sig. (bilateral)
T1 N – N07 ,071 1,032 ,061 1,152 ,250
AMP – AMP07 -,120 ,991 ,062 -1,94 ,053
CONF – CONF07 -,196 ,773 ,047 -4,17 ,000
RACR – RACR07 ,897 1,172 ,071 12,59 ,000
RATI – RATI07 1,177 1,741 ,124 9,513 ,000
RAGA – RAGA07 ,206 ,942 ,060 3,443 ,001
T2 N – N07 ,177 1,241 ,067 2,645 ,009
AMP – AMP07 ,077 1,110 ,063 1,226 ,221
CONF – CONF07 -,151 ,581 ,032 -4,78 ,000
RACR – RACR07 1,040 1,138 ,063 16,57 ,000
RATI – RATI07 1,479 1,590 ,103 14,35 ,000
RAGA – RAGA07 ,245 ,886 ,051 4,77 ,000
T3 N – N07 ,087 ,507 ,061 1,42 ,159
AMP – AMP07 -,015 ,545 ,068 -,228 ,821
CONF – CONF07 -,159 ,633 ,076 -2,09 ,040
RACR – RACR07 ,899 1,178 ,142 6,34 ,000
RATI – RATI07 1,771 1,729 ,250 7,10 ,000
RAGA – RAGA07 ,246 ,919 ,114 2,16 ,035
Los resultados no varían en el caso de la mayoría de las variables, concretamente todas exceptuando el número de relaciones bancarias.
Con respecto a la relación entre el racionamiento de crédito y la crisis financiera se observa que los
resultados, tanto en la muestra global como en los segmentos considerados, confirman las hipótesis
primera, segunda y tercera, esto es, se confirma la relación positiva del racionamiento de crédito, en todas
sus vertientes, con la crisis financiera.
En cuanto a la relación entre las características de la relación bancaria (el número de relaciones bancarias,
la amplitud y el nivel de confianza de la relación bancaria) y la crisis financiera los resultados y, por
tanto, las conclusiones difieren de unos a otros. Así, en el caso de la hipótesis sobre la relación positiva
del número de relaciones bancarias con la crisis financiera, en la muestra global se observa un aumento
significativo del 2,94% con respecto a la situación previa a la crisis, confirmándose la hipótesis cuatro.
Pero, si la muestra global se segmenta en función del tamaño de la PYME, únicamente en el segmento de
las medianas-pequeñas empresas se aprecia un aumento significativo, mientras que en los segmentos de
las pequeñas empresas y las medianas-grandes empresas esta variación no resulta significativa. Con
respecto a la hipótesis que se ha planteado sobre la relación negativa de la amplitud de la relación
bancaria con la crisis financiera, tanto en la muestra global como en el análisis por segmentos, no se
observan medias significativamente distintas después y antes de la crisis, por lo que se rechaza la
hipótesis cinco. Por último, la hipótesis que establecía una relación negativa entre el nivel de confianza de
la relación bancaria con la crisis financiera los resultados coinciden con la misma, confirmándose la sexta
hipótesis.

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CONCLUSIONES
Los resultados de la muestra global indican que después de la crisis, por un lado, el racionamiento de
crédito, en todas sus vertientes, aumenta significativamente. Como consecuencia de ello, las PYME
deberán buscar otras alternativas a la financiación bancaria, lo cual no es fácil en un entorno definido por
la actual crisis que ha derivado en un mayor nivel de desconfianza entre los participantes, tanto de los
mercados financieros como de la economía real. Por tanto, se prevé un aumento de fuentes de
financiación alternativas al crédito bancario. Todo ello se traduce en que las PYME tendrán que llevar a
cabo un trabajo más arduo de búsqueda de financiación alternativa. Además, el aumento significativo del
racionamiento de tipo de interés y en garantías complica las cuentas financieras de las PYME, que
deberán agudizar el ingenio en la gestión financiera, adquiriendo una mayor importancia, si cabe, para su
supervivencia.
Por otro, en cuanto a la relación bancaria, y más concretamente el número de relaciones bancarias, se
aprecia un aumento significativo, aunque este comportamiento difiere si la muestra se segmenta por
tamaño empresarial. Al comparar los resultados, por un lado, se observa que el resultado de la muestra
global y el segmento de las medianas-grandes empresas coinciden, siendo una posible explicación el
hecho de que el mencionado segmento representa, aproximadamente, la mitad de la muestra global, y, por
tanto, las relaciones observadas en las mismas marcan el comportamiento general de la muestra global.
Por otro, este comportamiento dispar en los segmentos de las pequeñas empresas y las medianas-grandes
empresas, con respecto al segmento de las medianas-pequeñas empresas, requiere una mayor
profundización de las posibles causas, entre las que se podría incluir el que, por un lado, las pequeñas
empresas pueden y suelen recurrir con mayor facilidad que el resto de PYME a las aportaciones de capital
familiar o de socios para suplir el racionamiento de crédito; mientras que, por otro, en el caso de las
medianas-grandes empresas, que se caracterizan por un menor peso de la financiación bancaria en el
pasivo, esto es, una menor dependencia de la financiación bancaria, el racionamiento de crédito bancario
incide en menor medida debido a que el peso de los recursos propios y otras fuentes de financiación es
mayor. En ambos casos, debido a la menor dependencia de financiación bancaria de estas empresas, el
número de relaciones bancarias no varía significativamente. En el caso del número de servicios
financieros contratados con la entidad bancaria principal no muestra cambios significativos. Una posible
razón de ello es el hecho de que las PYME mantienen los servicios financieros que consideran necesarios
para el funcionamiento de la misma, las cuales eran las que poseían antes de la crisis financiera. En
cuanto al nivel de confianza se observa una disminución significativa como consecuencia de la crisis. Esta
menor confianza entre las entidades bancarias y las PYME, basada en el aumento de la morosidad y una
mayor asimetría de la información, entre otras razones, perjudica el buen funcionamiento del sistema
financiero, contrayendo aún más el crédito y provocando, a su vez, una mayor crisis de la economía real,
en la que se incluyen las PYME.
Alaitz Mendizabal Zubeldia , Dpto. Economía Financiera II, Universidad del País Vasco – Euskal Herriko
Unibertsitatea (UPV-EHU). Fac. CC. Económicas y Empresariales (Unidad Delegada), Oñate Plaza 1,
20018 Donostia-San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa). Email: alaitz.mendizabal@ehu.es Autor a efectos de
correspondencia: Alaitz Mendizabal Zubeldia, Fac. CC. Económicas y Empresariales, Oñate plaza 1,
20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Tfno.: 943015773, Fax: 943018360.

mailto:alaitz.mendizabal@ehu.es

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Aitziber Lertxundi , Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa. Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la
Empresa, Lehendakari Agirre 83, 48015 Bilbao (Bizkaia). Email: aitziber.lertxundi@ehu.es. Escuela
Universitaria de Estudios Empresariales, Oñate Plaza 1, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa).
Email: jesus.garmendia@ehu.es
Jesús Garmendia Ibáñez , Dpto. Economía Aplicada V, Universidad del País Vasco – Euskal Herriko

mailto:aitziber.lertxundi@ehu.es

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PERCEPCIÓN DE LA CALIDAD DEL SERVICIO DE LA
EDUCACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA DE ALUMNOS Y
PROFESORES
Oscar Reyes Sánchez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Marcela Reyes Pazos, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
RESUMEN
El propósito de esta investigación es analizar las dimensiones subyacentes que en mayor medida se
relacionan con el éxito en la percepción de alumnos y profesores de la calidad del servicio educativo
universitario. De la revisión las diferentes partes del estudio y de la evidencia empírica obtenida se
obtienen conclusiones relevantes que contribuyan a diseñar e implementar líneas de mejora en las
actuales estrategias de calidad en el nivel de educación universitaria. Se ajustarán los conocimientos
previos como la adaptación de la escala SERVQUAL y SERVQUALing. Se utilizó el método estadístico
multivariable: regresión múltiple y reducción factorial, complementado con pruebas de validez y
fiabilidad, apoyado en el software SPSS. Una de las aportaciones más importantes de esta investigación
es el análisis de las dimensiones subyacentes de alumnos y profesores para apoyar a la planeación
estratégica institucional
PALABRAS CLAVE: educación superior, satisfacción del cliente, calidad de servicio.

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LA PERSPECTIVA CUALITATIVA DE LA
MATERIALIDAD EN AUDITORÍA: EVIDENCIA
EMPÍRICA EN MÉXICO Y COLOMBIA
Sergio Iván Ramírez Cacho, Universidad de Colima, México
Mario de Jesús Naranjo González, Universidad de Colima, México
Pablo Carrasco Guerrero, Universidad de Colima, México

RESUMEN

Nuestra contribución analiza el proceso de convergencia con las Normas Internacionales de Auditoría
(NIA´s), particularmente aquellas que regulan el concepto de materialidad, en México y Colombia.
Entre otros resultados, a través de una encuesta, se demuestra por qué el uso efectivo de los factores que
emergen de su vertiente cualitativa puede favorecer la calidad de la información financiera que publican
las empresas auditadas, la utilidad y la comprensibilidad del informe de opinión. En general, la
fiabilidad, transparencia y relevancia de los estados financieros se verá potencialmente favorecida con la
aplicación estricta de estos mayores y mejores instrumentos normativos.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Perspectiva cualitativa, materialidad, auditoria de estados financieros

QUALITATIVE PERSPECTIVE OF AUDIT MATERIALITY.EMPIRICAL
EVIDENCE IN MEXICOAND COLOMBIA

ABSTRAC
Our contribution analyzes the process of convergence with the International Standards of Audit (ISASs),
particularly those that regulate the concept of materiality, in Mexico and Colombia. Between other
results, across a survey, it is demonstrated why the effective use of the factors that emerge of his
qualitative slope can favor the quality of the financial information that publish the audited companies, the
usefulness and the comprehensibility of the report of opinion. In general, the reliability, transparency and
relevancy of the financial statements will meet potentially favored with the strict application of these
major and better normative instruments.

JEL:M42, M48, M21, M16

KEY WORDS: Qualitative perspective, materiality, financial statements audit

INTRODUCCIÓN

El nuevo orden económico mundial hace necesaria la existencia de un lenguaje universal para certificar la
fiabilidad, comparabilidad y transparencia de los informes mediante los cuales se comunican los
resultados obtenidos y la eficacia en la gestión de los recursos aportados por los inversionistas a las
organizaciones empresariales (Brickley et al, 2003).

En este sentido, la International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), en los primeros años del siglo actual
puso en marcha los programas de revisión y claridad mediante los cuales fueron actualizadas las Normas
Internacionales de Auditoría (NIAs). La aplicación estricta de estos nuevos instrumentos normativos ha

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sido respaldada por los más importantes bloques económicos mundiales, convirtiéndolas en la única
metodología aceptada a nivel mundial para garantizar la razonabilidad de la información que las empresas
comunican mediante los estados financieros. (IOSCO, 2009; ONU, 2008:13).

De entre ese movimiento mundial que promueve la aplicación generalizada de las NIAs, destaca la
prioridad que ha tenido la adopción de la NIA 450: La evaluación de las incidencias detectadas durante la
auditoría (IFAC, 2010; 368-379), pues sin duda este controvertido concepto se erige como un referente
para la planificación, ejecución y culminación de los trabajos de revisión que realizan los auditores
(Martínez et al, 2008, 2010)

IMPORTANCIA DE LA MATERIALIDAD EN AUDITORÍA

Además de ser un concepto que los auditores utilizan durante las tres etapas en las que fraccionan su
trabajo, la materialidad constituye una característica cualitativa de la información financiera y un
elemento con presencia en los marcos normativos de la contabilidad y auditoría en todo el mundo (García
Delgado, 1994).

Dichas circunstancias provocaron que su reforma haya sido uno de los primeros pasos en la ruta seguida
para tratar de reforzar el marco que regula la función de auditoría, y así anticiparse, entre otras cosas, a la
presencia de escándalos financieros (Cadbury Commitee, 1992; García Benau y Humphrey, 1993; Brody
et al, 2003).

La materialidad en auditoría se concibe tanto desde una histórica perspectiva cuantitativa, para cuya
determinación generalmente se aplica un 5% sobre las utilidades empresariales, como desde una
recientemente reforzada vertiente cualitativa, que promueve la consideración – en un mismo nivel de
importancia que la vertiente numérica – de la naturaleza y circunstancias que rodean a cada error
detectado durante la auditoría (Ng, 2007).

Precisamente, la reforma que sobre este concepto impulsó la IFAC, se centró en normalizar e incluir en la
NIA 450 la consideración expresa de tales circunstancias, plasmándolo de manera contundente a través de
los siguientes 11 factores cualitativos (FC-450) que los auditores deberán considerar para determinar en
qué medida – los errores detectados y no corregidos – impactarán en su informe u opinión final.

La nueva metodología, establece que aquellos errores que no sean cuantitativamente significativos,
podrán dar lugar a salvedades en los informes de auditoría, si estos:

1. Afectan el cumplimiento de requisitos regulatorios;
2. Afectan el cumplimiento con convenios de deudas u otros requerimientos contractuales;
3. Se relacionan con la selección incorrecta o el uso de una política contable que tiene un efecto
inmaterial sobre los estados financieros del periodo actual, pero probablemente tiene un efecto
material sobre los estados financieros de los futuros ejercicios;
4. Muestran un cambio de utilidades u otras tendencias, especialmente en el contexto general económico
y condiciones de la industria;
5. Afectan indicadores utilizados para evaluar la situación financiera de la entidad, los resultados de
operaciones o los flujos de efectivo;

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6. Afectan la información de un segmento presentada en los estados financieros (por ejemplo, la
importancia de un asunto para un segmento u otra parte del negocio de la entidad, que ha sido
identificado que juega un papel importante en las operaciones de la entidad o en la rentabilidad);
7. Tienen un efecto de incremento en las compensaciones pagadas a la Administración, por ejemplo por
asegurar que los requisitos para un bono u otros incentivos son satisfactorias;
8. Son significativos tomando en cuenta el entendimiento del auditor de comunicaciones previamente
conocidas de usuarios, por ejemplo, en relación con el presupuesto de utilidades;
9. Se relacionan con asuntos que implican partes particulares (por ejemplo, si partes externas a la
transacción son relacionadas con los miembros de la Administración de la entidad);
10. Constituyen una omisión de información no expresamente requerida por las normas de información
financiera aplicables, pero que en el juicio del auditor es importante para el entendimiento de los
usuarios sobre la situación financiera, los resultados de la operación o los flujos de efectivo de la
entidad;
11. Afectan otra información que será comunicada en otros documentos que contiene los estados
financieros auditados (por ejemplo, la información para ser incluida en una “Carta de sugerencias
para la Administración” o una “Revisión financiera y operativa”), que razonablemente pueda esperar
influir en las decisiones económicas de los estados financieros.

Convergencia Mundial Con Las NIAs

El intercambio de informes contables que ha provocado la globalización de las actividades comerciales,
ha promovido la adopción total o parcial de las NIAs en todo el mundo. Así, se observa que por ejemplo
la Unión Europea (UE) las adopta a partir del 2010 con las adecuaciones que cada país miembro
considere pertinente y México las adopta íntegramente a partir del 2012.
De ahí que, con la intención de analizar en qué medida los profesionistas colombianos con facultades para
firmar informes de auditoría (CPCO) están de acuerdo con la utilización efectiva de los FC-450, se realizó
un estudio empírico que permitiera obtener evidencia de tal circunstancia.

Convergencia Colombiana Con Las NIAs

De cara a la realidad de la función auditora a nivel mundial, en Colombia se ha expedido la Ley 1314 de
2009 como marco normativo a través del cual se emprende un decidido proceso de convergencia con la
acción del Estado. En este contexto, el Gobierno Nacional tiene la función y la responsabilidad de expedir
las normas de información financiera, las normas de aseguramiento y otras normas de información que se
aplicarán en el país, mediante la acción conjunta del Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Público y el
Ministerio de Comercio Industria y Turismo, con base en las propuestas que presente el Consejo Técnico
de la Contaduría Pública, como órgano de normalización, en el ámbito de sus competencias. (Consejo
Técnico de la Contaduría Pública, 2011, p.11).

Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, dentro de las citadas normas de aseguramiento se encuentran las normas
de auditoría financiera histórica (Ley 1314 de 2009; Art 5), cuyo proceso de convergencia se llevará a
cabo tomando como referente los estándares de auditoría y aseguramiento de la información que emite la
Junta de Estándares Internacionales de Auditoría y Aseguramiento (IAASB por sus siglas en inglés) en
razón a que cumplen con las tres condiciones señaladas en la Ley para ser aceptados en Colombia: (1) que
sean de aceptación mundial; (2) elaboradas con las mejores prácticas y (3) en correspondencia con la
rápida evolución de los negocios. (Consejo Técnico de la Contaduría Pública, 2011, p.5).

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Esta normatividad será aplicada de manera diferencial a tres grupos de usuarios, así: grupo 1: emisores de
valores y entidades de interés público; grupo 2: empresas de tamaño grande y mediano, que no sean
emisores de valores ni entidades de interés público, según la clasificación legal colombiana de las
empresas (al respecto puede verse la Ley 590 de 2000, Ley 905 de 2004, Ley1151 de 2007, Ley 1429 de
2010 y Ley 1450 de 2011); y grupo 3: pequeña y micro empresa según la clasificación legal colombiana
de empresas (Consejo Técnico de la Contaduría Pública, 2011, p. 7).

Para el caso de las normas de auditoría financiera su observancia será de obligatorio cumplimiento por
parte de los grupos 1 y 2 y respecto al grupo 3, el Gobierno autorizará un aseguramiento de la
información en un nivel moderado.

Respecto al plazo estipulado el CTCP ha presentado a 30 de junio de 2010 un plan de trabajo el cual
según el artículo 13 de la Ley 1314 deberá ejecutarse en 24 meses (30 de junio de 2012), término durante
el cual el Consejo presentará a consideración de los Ministerios respectivos, los proyectos a que haya
lugar. Las normas expedidas entrarán en vigencia el 1 de enero del segundo año gravable siguiente al de
su promulgación (Ley 1314 de 2009; Art 14).

Cabe señalar en este proceso de convergencia nacional hacia las NIAs como la institución de la Revisoría
Fiscal “es una forma de aseguramiento distinta de los estándares internacionales, puesto que la cobertura
exigida contempla adicionalmente funciones de fiscalización en defensa del interés público” (Consejo
Técnico de la Contaduría Pública, 2008). No obstante, de acuerdo al artículo 5 de la ley 1314 de 2009, el
revisor fiscal en el desarrollo de la auditoria integral deberá desarrollar la auditoría financiera con base en
las NIAs.

Ahora bien, es preciso rescatar la importancia de adoptar las NIAs en Colombia, dado que las Normas de
Auditoría Generalmente Aceptadas (NAGA) contempladas en el artículo séptimo (7) de la Ley 43 de
1990, carecen de los elementos que avalen la calidad del trabajo del auditor.

Convergencia Mexicana con las NIAs

Como señala Ramírez et al 2011, en este país el proceso de convergencia con las NIAs se consumará el 1
de enero de 2012, cuando de acuerdo al pronunciamiento del Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Públicos
AC (IMCP, 2009), se abroguen las Normas de Auditoría Generalmente Aceptadas y se sustituyan por el
contenido integro de las Normas Internacionales de Auditoría emitidas por la IFAC.

METODOLOGÍA, HIPÓTESIS Y OBJETIVOS

El objetivo perseguido (Tabla 1), fue analizar en qué medida el uso efectivo de los FC-450, que los
auditores deben utilizar para evaluar la naturaleza y circunstancias que rodean a cada error detectado en la
auditoría de estados financieros – a pesar de que éstos no sean numéricamente importantes, de acuerdo a
la nueva NIA 450, deberán documentarse, informarse, corregirse y, bajo ciertas circunstancias, revelarse
como una salvedad en el informe de auditoría y en los estados financieros auditados – afecta favorable o
desfavorablemente a la calidad de la información financiera que las empresas auditadas publican.

Para contrastar las hipótesis, en primer lugar se utilizó el estadístico de Kolmogorov-Smirnov para
analizar el supuesto de normalidad en las variables, confirmando que en todos los casos existía una
distribución asimétrica. Por lo tanto, las pruebas utilizadas fueron, en un principio, de tipo no paramétrico.

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Sin embargo, al considerar que en muestras mayores a 30 observaciones se pueden aplicar pruebas
paramétricas, aunque la distribución de la variable se desvíe de la normalidad, se utilizó la prueba T
(paramétrica) para comprobar la significación de una diferencia de medias con un valor inicial asumido
igual a 3.

Tabla 1: Objetivos específicos e hipótesis del estudio empírico

Objetivo e Hipótesis
Comparar el grado de acuerdo existente entre los auditores de Colombia (CPCO) respecto a la
utilización efectiva de los FC-450
H0
“Los ACo presentan un distinto grado de
acuerdo respecto al uso efectivo de los FC-
450”
H1
“Los ACo presentan un mismo grado de
acuerdo respecto al uso efectivo de los FC-
450”
Hipótesis perseguidas por la investigación, se centra en comparar si el grado de acuerdo entre los auditores de Colombia es igual respecto al
uso efectivo de los factores cualitativos de la materialidad.

De forma complementaria, los datos fueron analizados mediante herramientas de estadística descriptiva,
con tablas de contingencia, con un análisis de frecuencias y con el estadístico inferencial U de Mann-
Whitney (prueba no paramétrica).

Como instrumento para la recolección de información se utilizó el modelo que Montoya del Corte utilizo
para España (2008) y la adaptación que para México realizó Ramírez Cacho (2009). Consistió en un
cuestionario con tres Bloques de preguntas diseñado para ser contestado como una encuesta de respuesta
anónima.

El primer Bloque contenía una serie de cuestiones enfocadas a conocer ciertos atributos de los sujetos
encuestados que permitieran caracterizarlos estadísticamente.

El segundo Bloque incluía 12 preguntas, y recopilaba información que no es relevante para el análisis que
se presenta.

El tercer Bloque incluía 23 preguntas, cada una de ellas relacionada con distintas consecuencias que
podrían derivarse – por la aplicación estricta de los FC450- sobre ciertos ámbitos de la función auditora.

Para clasificar y ponderar las respuestas de los Bloques II y III se utilizó una escala Likert, que
consideraba un desacuerdo total con el número 1, desacuerdo parcial con el 2, indiferencia con el 3, un
acuerdo parcial con el 4 y con el 5 una posición de acuerdo total con las cuestiones planteadas.
Mediante el índice alfa de Cronbach (1951), se determinó que las respuestas de los sujetos a las preguntas
de los Bloques II y III cumplieran con la requerida fiabilidad, obteniendo, de acuerdo con Hair et al
(2004:394) excelentes resultados y, por tanto, evidenciando que el cuestionario tenía una gran
consistencia interna. La muestra analizada estuvo constituida por aquellos sujetos que potencialmente
tenían la facultad de emitir dictámenes de auditoría, pues son los que en última instancia deciden el
contenido y, por tanto, las salvedades a introducir en los mismos. En la ficha técnica que recoge la Tabla
2, se muestran estos y otros aspectos de la investigación

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RESULTADOS

Una vez descrita la metodología aplicada, a continuación se exponen los principales resultados
alcanzados, que por cuestiones de espacio se circunscriben exclusivamente a Colombia.

Los datos arrojados por la encuesta de opinión aplicada a una muestra de auditores financieros y/o
revisores fiscales que ejercen en la ciudad de Santafé de Bogotá DC, fueron analizados mediante técnicas
de estadística descriptiva e inferencial. Para obtener una descripción de las características personales y
profesionales de los auditores encuestados, se utilizó el análisis de frecuencias sobre la información
obtenida en el Bloque I de la encuesta. Los resultados alcanzados demostraron que:

Características personales

La distribución de los encuestados en cuanto a la variable género se concentra en un 62% en hombres, así
la mayoría de los auditores financieros o revisores fiscales tienen una edad entre 46 y 55 años (38%), le
siguen con un porcentaje del 22% los auditores ubicados en el rango de 26-35 años y de 36 – 45 años.

Características profesionales

Respecto a la formación académica de los auditores que conforman la muestra el 100% son profesionales
de la Contaduría Pública, de los cuales un 84% posee una experiencia de 6 – 10 años y el 48% cuenta con
postgrado en áreas económicas.

En cuanto a la experiencia profesional en auditoría el 41% se ubica en el rango de 5 a 10 años, mientras
que el 27% presenta una experiencia en este campo, de más de 20 años. Con relación a la forma de
ejercicio de la auditoría, el 56% trabaja como contador independiente y el 26% ejerce como socio de una
firma de auditores. Relativo al nivel de facturación el 30% de los auditores independientes devenga entre
$26.640.000 y $66.660.000 frente al 22% el cual obtiene ingresos superiores a los $66.660.000. Mientras
que el 46% de las sociedades registran ingresos que exceden la suma de $666.660.000. Tomando en
consideración el número de empresas auditadas en el último año, el 16% señala haber evaluado más de 20
empresas. El 16% de profesionales desarrolla su trabajo en instituciones que cotizan en bolsa, el 4% en
instituciones de crédito y el 80% en los demás sectores de la economía.

Tabla 2: Ficha técnica de la encuesta

Ámbito geográfico y
Universo de sujetos
COLOMBIA
1600 Revisores Oficiales de Cuentas radicados
en Santa Fe de Bogotá adscritos a la
Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia
MÉXICO
6250 Auditores adscritos al IMCP
Método para obtener la información y
selección de la muestra
Aplicación aleatoria online Aplicación masiva online
Periodo Diciembre 2010 – marzo 2011 Octubre 2008-Marzo 2009
Tamaño de la muestra y error 100 encuestas válidas 101 encuestas validas
Nivel de Confianza 95% (z = 1,96) para el caso más desfavorable p = q = 0,5
Tratamiento de los datos SPSS v.17.0 o posteriores.
Se especifica la procedencia del universo y muestra de auditores colombianos encuestados en México y en Colombia, así como los periodos de
aplicación y las encuestas válidas obtenidas.
Fuente: elaboración propia a partir de Ramírez Cacho (2009)

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Posición de los auditores colombianos frente a los factores cualitativos de la materialidad

En cuanto al grado de acuerdo existente entre los auditores de Colombia (CPCO) respecto a la utilización
efectiva de los factores cualitativos contemplados en la NIAR 450, tenemos que:
En la tabla 3 se recoge la escala obtenida a partir de la evaluación por parte de los auditores financieros
y/o revisores fiscales a cada uno de los factores cualitativos y su respectiva desviación típica.

Tabla 3: La predisposición de los auditores colombianos hacia el uso de los FC-450

Escala de valores medios para los factores cualitativos: La evaluación se ha realizado con base en la escala
Likert de 5 puntos, así: 1= Totalmente en desacuerdo, 2= En desacuerdo, 3= Indiferente, 4= De acuerdo, y 5= Totalmente de acuerdo.

Con base en el promedio de los valores medios obtenidos (3.82), se puede concluir que los auditores
colombianos encuestados revelaron estar de acuerdo en revelar, como una salvedad en el informe de
auditoría y en los estados financieros auditados, las incidencias detectadas en la auditoria (relacionados
con los once factores contemplados en la NIAR 450). Es de resaltar la posición de acuerdo generalizada
para la totalidad de los factores compartida por los encuestados. Dado que la valoración de los factores es
diferente, la Tabla 4 presenta la escala de importancia de cada uno.

Atendiendo la hipótesis planteada de igual manera la Tabla 4 corrobora el grado de acuerdo de los
contadores con la aplicación de los factores, mostrando cómo el factor 2 y 9 obtienen el mayor porcentaje
de importancia. El mismo análisis demuestra un nivel de menor relevancia para los factores 5,8 y 3. Por
último, al aplicar el procedimiento de la Prueba T con un valor neutral igual a 3 (indiferencia), se
confirma la validez de la hipótesis “los CPCO presentan un distinto grado de acuerdo respecto al uso
efectivo de los FC-450”. Ver tabla 5.

Factores cualitativos de la materialidad en auditoria (NIAR 450)
Valor
medio

Desviación
Típica
1. Afecta el cumplimiento con requisitos regulatorios; 3.92 0.944
2. Afecta el cumplimiento con convenios de deudas u otros requerimientos contractuales; 4.10 0.647
3. Se relaciona con la selección incorrecta o el uso de una política contable que tiene un efecto inmaterial
sobre los estados financieros del periodo actual, pero probablemente tiene un efecto material sobre los
estados financieros de los futuros ejercicios;
3.56 0.97
4. Muestra un cambio de utilidades u otras tendencias, especialmente en el contexto general económico y
condiciones de la industria;
3.86 0.88
5. Afecta indicadores utilizados para evaluar la situación financiera de la entidad, los resultados de
operaciones o flujos de efectivo;
3.74 1.08
6. Afecta la información de segmento presentada en los estados financieros ( por ejemplo, la importancia de
un asunto para un segmento u otra parte del negocio de la entidad, que ha sido identificado que juega un
papel importante en las operaciones de la entidad o en la rentabilidad);
3.74 0.89
7. Tiene un efecto de incremento en la compensación de la Administración, por ejemplo por asegurar que los
requisitos para un bono u otros incentivos son satisfactorias;
3.72 1.06
8. Es significativo tomando en cuenta el entendimiento del auditor, respecto a comunicaciones previamente
conocidas de usuarios, por ejemplo, en relación con el presupuesto de utilidades;
3.72 0.73
9. Se relaciona con asuntos que implican intereses particulares (por ejemplo; si partes externas a la
transacción son relacionadas con los miembros de la Administración de la entidad);
4.10 0.86
10. Es una omisión de información no expresamente requerida por las normas de información financiera
aplicables, pero que en el juicio del auditor es importante para el entendimiento de los usuarios sobre la
situación financiera, los resultados de la operación o los flujos de efectivo de la entidad;
3.74 1.02
11. Afecta otra información que será comunicada en otros documentos que contiene los estados financieros
auditados (por ejemplo, la información para ser incluida en una “Carta de sugerencias para la
Administración” o una “Revisión financiera y operativa” que razonablemente pueda esperar influir en las
decisiones económicas de los estados financieros.
3.80 0.99
Valor promedio de los once factores cualitativos 3.82

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Tabla 4: Posición de los auditores frente a los factores cualitativos
Factores cualitativos de la materialidad en auditoria (NIAR 450)
En
Desacuerdo
(1-2)
%

Indiferente

(3)
%

De
acuerdo
(4-5)
%

Puntaje
%
1. Afecta el cumplimiento con requisitos regulatorios; 12 12 76 100
2. Afecta el cumplimiento con convenios de deudas u otros requerimientos
contractuales;
2 10 88 100
3. Se relaciona con la selección incorrecta o el uso de una política contable que tiene un
efecto inmaterial sobre los estados financieros del periodo actual, pero probablemente
tiene un efecto material sobre los estados financieros de los futuros ejercicios;
22 12 66 100
4. Muestra un cambio de utilidades u otras tendencias, especialmente en el contexto
general económico y condiciones de la industria;
12 10 78 100
5. Afecta indicadores utilizados para evaluar la situación financiera de la entidad, los
resultados de operaciones o flujos de efectivo;
18 20 62 100
6. Afecta la información de segmento presentada en los estados financieros ( por
ejemplo, la importancia de un asunto para un segmento u otra parte del negocio de la
entidad, que ha sido identificado que juega un papel importante en las operaciones de la
entidad o en la rentabilidad);
2 10 74 100
7. Tiene un efecto de incremento en la compensación de la Administración, por ejemplo
por asegurar que los requisitos para un bono u otros incentivos son satisfactorias;
4 14 74 100
8. Es significativo tomando en cuenta el entendimiento del auditor, respecto a
comunicaciones previamente conocidas de usuarios, por ejemplo, en relación con el
presupuesto de utilidades;
4 32 64 100
9. Se relaciona con asuntos que implican intereses particulares (por ejemplo; si partes
externas a la transacción son relacionadas con los miembros de la Administración de la
entidad);
10 2 88 100
10. Es una omisión de información no expresamente requerida por las normas de
información financiera aplicables, pero que en el juicio del auditor es importante para el
entendimiento de los usuarios sobre la situación financiera, los resultados de la
operación o los flujos de efectivo de la entidad;
18 14 68 100
11. Afecta otra información que será comunicada en otros documentos que contiene los
estados financieros auditados (por ejemplo, la información para ser incluida en una
“Carta de sugerencias para la Administración” o una “Revisión financiera y operativa”
que razonablemente pueda esperar influir en las decisiones económicas de los estados
financieros.
12 12 76 100
Porcentaje general 11 14 75 100
La evaluación se ha realizado con base en la escala Likert de 5 puntos, así: 1= Totalmente en desacuerdo, 2= En desacuerdo, 3= Indiferente, 4=
De acuerdo, y 5= Totalmente de acuerdo.

CONCLUSIONES

El estudio realizado demuestra la importancia que los auditores financieros y /o revisores fiscales en
Colombia otorgan a la vertiente cualitativa de la materialidad. Situación que denota la necesidad
apremiante de acercamiento hacia las NIAs, dado que las Normas de Auditoría Generalmente Aceptadas
de Colombia (NAGA) no constituyen un referente suficiente para el desarrollo de la función auditora en
el país.

Asimismo, la investigación presenta el grado de acuerdo existente entre los auditores financieros y/o
revisores fiscales en Colombia (CPCO), respecto a la utilización efectiva de los factores cualitativos de la
materialidad contemplados en la Norma Internacional de Auditoría (NIAR 450).
Lo anterior, con base en la opinión dada por los profesionales encuestados, respecto a la necesidad de
revelar como una salvedad en el informe de auditoría y en los estados financieros auditados las
incidencias detectadas relacionadas con los factores cualitativos de cuantía reducida.

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Tabla 5: Nivel de significancia de los factores cualitativos- Prueba T (T- test)

Factores cualitativos de la materialidad en auditoria (NIAR 450)
t
Sig.
(bilateral)
Diferencia
de medias
1. Afecta el cumplimiento con requisitos regulatorios; 6.890 .000 .920
2. Afecta el cumplimiento con convenios de deudas u otros requerimientos
contractuales;
12.025 .000 1.100
3. Se relaciona con la selección incorrecta o el uso de una política contable que tiene
un efecto inmaterial sobre los estados financieros del periodo actual, pero
probablemente tiene un efecto material sobre los estados financieros de los futuros
ejercicios;
4.073 .000 .56000
4. Muestra un cambio de utilidades u otras tendencias, especialmente en el contexto
general económico y condiciones de la industria;
6.904 .000 .86000
5. Afecta indicadores utilizados para evaluar la situación financiera de la entidad, los
resultados de operaciones o flujos de efectivo;
4.825 .000 .74000
6. Afecta la información de segmento presentada en los estados financieros ( por
ejemplo, la importancia de un asunto para un segmento u otra parte del negocio de la
entidad, que ha sido identificado que juega un papel importante en las operaciones de
la entidad o en la rentabilidad);
5.819 .000 .74000
7. Tiene un efecto de incremento en la compensación de la Administración, por
ejemplo por asegurar que los requisitos para un bono u otros incentivos son
satisfactorias;
4.759 .000 .72000
8. Es significativo tomando en cuenta el entendimiento del auditor, respecto a
comunicaciones previamente conocidas de usuarios, por ejemplo, en relación con el
presupuesto de utilidades;
6.978 .000 .72000
9. Se relaciona con asuntos que implican intereses particulares (por ejemplo; si partes
externas a la transacción son relacionadas con los miembros de la Administración de
la entidad);
9.012 .000 1.10000
10. Es una omisión de información no expresamente requerida por las normas de
información financiera aplicables, pero que en el juicio del auditor es importante para
el entendimiento de los usuarios sobre la situación financiera, los resultados de la
operación o los flujos de efectivo de la entidad;
5.098 .000 .74000
11. Afecta otra información que será comunicada en otros documentos que contiene
los estados financieros auditados (por ejemplo, la información para ser incluida en una
“Carta de sugerencias para la Administración” o una “Revisión financiera y operativa”
que razonablemente pueda esperar influir en las decisiones económicas de los estados
financieros.
5.715 .000 .80000
Considerando un grado de Sig (bilateral) significativo al 5%, en esta tabla se presentan los valores medios alcanzados por las respuestas de
los auditores colombianos encuestados

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

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CONSEJO TÉCNICO DE LA CONTADURÍA PÚBLICA (2008). Orientación profesional sobre el
ejercicio de la revisoría fiscal. Disponible en: http://www.jcconta.gov.co/.

CONSEJO TÉCNICO DE LA CONTADURÍA PÚBLICA (2011, 22 de junio). Direccionamiento
estratégico del proceso de convergencia de las normas de contabilidad e información financiera y de
aseguramiento de la información, con estándares internacionales. Disponible en: http://www.ctcp.gov.co/.

CONGRESO DE LA REPÚBLICA DE COLOMBIA. Ley 1314 de 2009. Diario Oficial No. 47.409.
2009, 13 de julio.

CRONBACH, L. J. (1951).Coheficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3),
297-334.

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GARCÍA BENAU, M. ª A., HUMPHREY, C., MOIZER, P. y TURLEY, S. (1993). La auditoría y sus
expectativas: los casos de España y del Reino Unido. ICAC, Monografía N. º 24, Madrid.

GARCÍA DELGADO, S. (1994). La importancia relativa en la auditoría financiera. Tesis doctoral,
Universidad del País Vasco.

HAIR, J. F. JR., BUSH, R. P. y ORTINAU, D. J. (2004). Investigación de mercados en un ambiente de
información cambiante. México (2da ed.): McGraw-Hill.

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF ACCOUNTANTS (IFAC) (2010, 5 de diciembre). Handbook of
International Auditing, Assurance, and Ethics Pronouncements 2010.Disponible en:
http://www.ifac.org/Store.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SECURITIES COMMISSIONS (IOSCO) (2009, 11 de
junio). IFAC Welcomes IOSCO Support of New Clarity ISAs and their Role in Building Investor
Confidence. Media Release, New York. Disponible en http://www.ifac.org/MediaCenter

Ng, T. B-P. (2007). Auditors´ decisions on audit differences that affect significant earnings thresholds.
Auditing, 26(1), 71-89.

MARTÍNEZ GARCÍA, F. J.; RAMÍREZ CACHO, S. I.; MONTOYA DEL CORTE, J. y FERNÁNDEZ-
LAVIADA, A. (2008). Una aproximación a la nueva normativa internacional de la materialidad en
auditoría y su repercusión sobre las normas de Colombia, España y México. Revista Internacional Legis
de Contabilidad & Auditoría, 35,11-39.
_____ (2010). La importancia relativa en auditoría. Las nueva normas internacionales en comparación
con la normativa vigente en Iberoamérica. Contaduría y Administración, 230 (enero-abril):77-103.

MONTOYA DEL CORTE, J. (2008). La vertiente cualitativa de la materialidad en auditoría: Marco
teórico y estudio empírico para el caso español. Tesis doctoral, Universidad de Cantabria. Premiada y
publicada en la serie Tesis por la Fundación de Cajas de Ahorro (FUNCAS) Madrid 2009.

ORGANIZACIÓN DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS (ONU) (2008, mayo 15). Problemas prácticos y
cuestiones relacionadas con la aplicación de las normas internacionales de auditoría 2008. Disponible en:
http://www.unctad.org

RAMÍREZ CACHO, SERGIO IVÁN (2009). La materialidad en auditoría. Contexto internacional y
situación en algunos países de la Comunidad Iberoamericana de Naciones. Estudio empírico para México.
Tesis Doctoral Inédita. Universidad de Cantabria.

BIOGRAFÍA

Sergio Iván Ramírez Cacho es doctor en metodologías y líneas de investigación en contabilidad y
auditoría por la Universidad de Cantabria, España y profesor-investigador de tiempo completo en la
Facc.de Contabilidad y Administración, campus Manzanillo de la Universidad de Colima, México puede
ser contactado en sergio_cacho@ucol.mx

http://www.ifac.org/MediaCenter

http://www.unctad.org/

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EL EMPLEO Y SALARIO QUE SE PAGA EN BAJA
CALIFORNIA, ¿CONTRIBUYEN AL BIENESTAR
SOCIAL DEL SER HUMANO?
Alma Delia Inda, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Gloria Muñoz del Real, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Raúl González Núñez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

El presente trabajo exhibe y analiza la información de diferentes organismos que realizan funciones de
análisis y captación de indicadores económicos que contribuyen al crecimiento, sostenimiento y
competencia de México, uno de estos indicadores que conforman la base y tema de este trabajo lo es el
empleo, indicador que se liga al desarrollo que ha tenido el estado de Baja California a través de la
Industria Maquiladora; México, en la búsqueda de captar inversión extranjera mediante la inserción de
empresas que demanden mano de obra, otorga una apertura franca en el estado de Baja California en la
instalación de empresas extranjeras a nivel maquilador, quienes responde a la obligación que como
gobierno estatal representa el generar empleo y mantener a la población ocupada en la región, sin
embargo, la correspondencia del pago de salarios mínimos establecidos en la Ley Federal de Trabajo
que establecen como zona geográfica “A” al noroeste del país, no se refleja en satisfactores que
subsanen las necesidades del trabajador y de sus familias.

PALABRAS CLAVE: empleo, ocupación, salarios, bienestar social.

EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES TO BE PAID IN BAJA CALIFORNIA,
WELFARE DOES IT CONTRIBUTE TO THE HUMAN BEING?

ABSTRACT

This paper exhibits and analyzes information from various agencies that perform analysis and collection
of economic indicators that contribute to growth, sustainability and competition from Mexico, one of
these indicators form the basis and theme of this work is employment, indicator is linked to the
development that has taken the state of Baja California through the maquiladora industry, Mexico,
seeking to attract foreign investment through the inclusion of firms that labor demand, provides a frank
openness in the state of Baja California in the installation of foreign companies at the maquiladora, who
meets the requirement that state government accounts as creating jobs and keeping the population in the
region, however, the correspondence of minimum wages established by the Federal working as a
geographical area established “A” in the northwest, is not reflected in satisfiers to remedy the needs of
workers and their families.

KEY WORDS: employment, occupation, wages, welfare.

INTRODUCCIÓN

Para constatar el crecimiento económico, las Naciones utilizan indicadores económicos entre los que se
destacan la generación de empleo, la paridad de la moneda y el salario entre muchos otros, México no es

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la excepción en el análisis especifico de estos indicadores por lo cual se apoya en instituciones de
investigación generadoras de información confiable, un ejemplo de ello lo es el Instituto Nacional de
Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) mismo que realiza censos periódicos en la búsqueda de datos
económicos entre los que se destaca el empleo. Otra fuente de información confiable lo es la Clasificación
Mexicana de Ocupaciones (CMO) que otorga datos relacionados a la ocupación nacional, la cual
distingue entre los tipos de trabajos, edades y educación de la población Mexicana.

Los trabajadores factor importante en la determinación de la riqueza obtenida por la Industria
Maquiladora potencialmente exportadora (IME), quien busca generar empleos con sueldos bajos
fundamentándose en la normatividad salarial Mexicana, el gobierno por su parte ha asumido que la
generación de empleo significa cumplir con el desarrollo económico del país.

La zona norte de México, frontera con Estados Unidos de Norteamérica fomenta e impulsan el
crecimiento del empleo, en caso particular el Estado de Baja California por su cercanía con la economía
más fuerte del mundo proporciona a la industria maquiladora oportunidades legales para obtener
beneficios económicos en sus operaciones, un ejemplo de ello lo es el pago de salarios bajos, siendo esta
condición un de los beneficios que el gobierno promueve para incentivar la instalación en nuestro país de
este tipo de empresas, condición que les resulta verdaderamente atractiva para pensar el instalar sus naves
industriales en nuestro país.

Esta zona es considerada económicamente fuerte por la captación de empresas extranjeras, las cuales se
posicionan para realizar procesos de manufactura y después ejecutar exportaciones a su país de origen.
Las empresas de la región generan un impacto en las exportaciones de productos así como en el pago de
salarios a los obreros. Esto refleja condiciones económicas especificas tanto para México como para el
Estado de Baja California.

REVISION LITERARIA

Es importante realizar una definición clara del concepto de empleo, en la mayoría de los casos se
confunde con ocupación o asalariado, en este sentido,
Rafael de Pina (1965) define al empleo como: “….la acción y efecto de emplear; el empleo es destino, al
igual que ocupación, oficio u profesión”

Lo que significa que es considerado como un igual por este autor los conceptos de ocupación y empleo,
sin embargo en México se ha publicado por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) los
resultados estadísticos en apartados diferentes.

El empleo según el artículo 20 la Ley Federal de Trabajo en el capítulo I de Disposiciones Generales del
título II de las relaciones individuales de trabajo, literalmente afirma que se entiende por relación de
trabajo, “cualquiera que sea el acto que le de origen, la prestación de un trabajo personal subordinado a
una persona, mediante el pago de un salario”. Al mismo tiempo establece que el contrato individual de
trabajo, cualquiera que sea su forma o denominación, es aquel por virtud del cual una persona se obliga a
prestar a otra un trabajo personal subordinado, mediante el pago de un salario.

Situación que encuadra ambas figuras tanto a la contratación como a la ausencia de firma de un contrato
legal, se debe tener especial cuidado en la palabra “contratación”, porque aunque se utilice de manera
verbal, el patrón estaría involucrado en el mismo compromiso laboral, reconocido por la Ley Federal de

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Trabajo (LFT) vigente para 2011 como empleo. Por lo tanto es una persona ocupada y considerada para
las estadísticas de INEGI.

La legislación laboral mexicana establece literalmente el derecho de trabajo de todo ciudadano mexicano
sin embargo en el artículo 22 del capítulo I, del título II es muy clara al expresar que queda prohibida la
utilización del trabajo de los menores de catorce años de edad y menores de dieciséis que no hayan
terminado su educación obligatoria, salvo los casos de excepción que apruebe la autoridad
correspondiente en que a su juicio haya compatibilidad entre sus estudios y el trabajo.

Claro está que los mismos deban cumplir con la aprobación del tutor y su consentimiento, de esta manera
se define la población económicamente activa que se encuadra a partir de los 14 años en adelante.

Neffa, establece los conceptos y definiciones básicos de las categorías ocupacionales que se construyen a
partir de dos dimensiones: 1) el ejercicio efectivo de alguna actividad laboral, expresada en la tenencia de
alguna ocupación; y 2) la voluntad de buscar alguna actividad laboral, expresada en la búsqueda activa de
una ocupación remunerada.

Según la Clasificación Mexicana de Ocupaciones (CMO) 2009, en México las ocupaciones para nuestro
país se clasifican en profesionistas, técnicos, trabajadores de la educación, supervisores y otros
trabajadores de control en la fabricación artesanal e industrial, trabajadores fabriles en la industria de la
transformación, y trabajadores en actividades de reparación y mantenimiento, operadores de maquinaria
fija y de movimiento continuo y equipos en el proceso de fabricación industrial, en actividades de
reparación y mantenimiento, coordinadores y supervisores en actividades administrativas y de servicios,
trabajadores en apoyo en actividades administrativas, comerciantes, y por ultimo otros trabajadores con
ocupaciones no específicas, por mencionar algunos, definición establecida en ENOE. Clasificación
Mexicana de Ocupaciones (CMO). Volumen II.

La Población Económicamente Activa (PEA) se puede identificar como población ocupada considerada
con una hora remunerada de trabajo o quince o más sin remuneración. Se considerara entonces que la
remuneración que recibe el trabajador por el pago de su jornada es conocida con el nombre de salario.

Samuelson (2010) afirma que “…el ingreso personal es igual al ingreso de mercado más los pagos de
transferencias. La mayor parte del ingreso de mercado proviene de sueldos y salarios; una pequeña
minoría rica deriva su ingreso de mercado de sus ganancias en la propiedad….”
Esto significa que una persona ocupada o empleada debe percibir un importe por su trabajo denominado
sueldo o salario.

Reyes (2002) asume que “…Salario en un sentido lato, aplicable tanto a sueldo o salario, puede definirse
como: toda retribución que percibe el hombre a cambio de un servicio que ha prestado por su trabajo”
más concisamente “la remuneración por una actividad productiva” es decir, se considera como tal toda
cantidad recibida en dinero o en especie.

Este salario deberá satisfacer las necesidades del trabajador en todos los aspectos sociales, culturales, de
supervivencia y de recreación indispensables para el bienestar social de una población. Según lo
mencionado por Samuelson (2010) y Reyes (2002), se confirma que el trabajador a través de su empleo
crece económicamente en lo personal, satisfaciendo sus necesidades.

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De tal manera que el sueldo o salario debe reflejar un bienestar en los empleados y la IME, esto puede ser
un punto de referencia para analizar si el crecimiento económico de un país al otorgar empleo a sus
gobernados sin importar el importe salarial si refleja un bienestar social directo a la población empleada.
En nuestro país la industria manufacturera es generadora de empleos, dando oportunidad a la clase media
baja y baja de obtener un salario a través de la prestación de sus servicios durante una jornada de trabajo
previamente establecida.
El autor López (2008:75-77) sostiene en su obra lo siguiente: “En el contexto nacional se analiza un
comportamiento cíclico del empleo en la demanda de empleo de la IME (Industria Maquiladora de
Exportación en México), es particularmente importante debido a las diferentes etapas de desarrollo por las
que ha pasado. En las décadas de los 80’s y 90’s se experimento un proceso de crecimiento
extraordinario, a excepción de las ligeras caídas que sufrió a mediados de 1981 y 1990. Durante la última
década (2000-2005), su desempeño se ha caracterizado por una profunda caída y una lenta recuperación,
situación similar por la que ha pasado la economía estadounidense.

Los esfuerzos gubernamentales por mejorar la responsabilidad de generar empleo en el estado nos ha
llevado a establecer compromisos con las IME’s incorporadas a la economía estatal. Las recesiones
económicas mundiales impactan a la industria maquiladora de manera contundente, sin embargo queda
demostrado que la capacidad de permanencia de estas empresas resulta en la reducción de empleo en
épocas de crisis y en su ampliación laboral en los ciclos de bonanza.

López (2008:78-81) durante su periodo de estudio especifica que, “la demanda de empleo de la IME se
caracterizó por una alta volatilidad y un crecimiento económico muy alto, mientras que la producción
industrial de Estados Unidos presenta baja volatilidad y bajo crecimiento económico…una de las
características generales más importantes de este punto es el hecho de que no existe una sincronización
entre las fluctuaciones cíclicas del tipo de cambio y la demanda de empleo de la IME”.

Si bien, los esfuerzos por mantener la inversión extranjera en nuestro país, cuenta con el sentido de
apoyar un nivel de tasa de desempleo menor, otorgando oportunidades a la población de una oferta digna
de empleo, aunque existen factores que no podemos controlar como lo es la paridad del tipo de cambio
respecto de la procedencia de la IME al considerar el cambio de la moneda para destinar el pago de
salarios en donde se instala la empresa; de tal manera que logre ser competitiva en el mercado laboral y
de esta forma captar el recurso humano siempre que los salarios sean acordes al bienestar social del
empleado-empresa, los cuales reflejarán una afectación económica al realizar desembolso por el pago de
salario y estos a su vez deben reflejar una competencia significativa acorde a la política salarial del país
sede.

López (2008) refiere a Calderón y Mendoza (2001), Hanson 2003, Orrenius y Berman (2004) y Shatz y
López-Calva (2004), quienes destacan, “…..en sus investigaciones, que un conjunto de variables como
principales determinantes del comportamiento de la demanda de empleo de la IME a nivel regional, a
saber: las fluctuaciones de la demanda agregada de los Estados Unidos, se vuelve importante analizar los
ciclos económicos de esa nación y el efecto en sus distintas etapas en la demanda de empleo de la IME;
los salarios de la industria maquiladora al convertirse en un gran incentivo para la industria el contar con
salarios competitivos; y el tipo de cambio, que juega un papel trascendental al reflejar el resultado de la
política económica y salarial del país”.

Al interpretar la lectura, se destaca que Estados Unidos considera a los salarios como un inhibidor o
detonador del crecimiento económico de una empresa, el hecho de que esta nación visualice a México y

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en especial a su frontera norte como un captador de maquiladoras lo es precisamente por el pago de
salarios bajos en comparación de sus estándares legales; Baja California por su parte establece facilidades
para formalizar empresas que apoyen a la generación de empleo, mediante el programa para sostener e
impulsar el crecimiento económico del Estado.

El Gobernador, José Guadalupe Osuna Millán (2008) manifiesta en su informe que “un buen número de
las empresas instaladas en Baja California son maquiladoras de exportación, fuertemente vinculadas al
afectado mercado norteamericano por la recesión económica…por ello se fortalecerá el programa de
retención de inversiones y al centro PYME exporta, esto permitirá apoyar el empleo y así retener, ampliar
y atraer nuevas empresas nacionales y extranjeras”.
Algunas empresas buscan tan solo elevar las estadísticas de ocupación en el estado, descuidando la vía
legal en cuestión de pago de salarios acordes a elevar el bienestar social y calidad de vida del trabajador
de los bajacalifornianos.

Carlos María Abascal Carranza ex funcionario de la Secretaria de Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS), en
su función de Secretario enmarcó según un comunicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF)
(2002) que “…una de las estrategias del Plan de Desarrollo Nacional (PND) es, el desarrollo humano y el
crecimiento con calidad promoviendo una cultura hacia el trabajo para la plena realización de las personas
y así mismo elevar su nivel de vida y el de sus familias, la que debe otorgarse mediante una nueva cultura
empresarial para lograr recursos humanos capacitados e impulsar así una reforma laboral para la
ampliación de las oportunidades de empleo”.

En el logro de este propósito el PND deberá apoyarse en la STPS con una correcta coordinación y apego a
las diferentes Entidades Federativas; Donde estas se obligaran a dar cuenta de los logros obtenidos en
este rubro. El bienestar social no es responsabilidad unísona del gobierno o de las empresas, este se debe
lograr mediante el trabajo conjunto y con apego a las reglas de operación del sistema de capacitación para
el empleo; el cual establece como objetivo ayudar a la población que cuente con empleo para atender las
necesidades específicas de capacitación que las empresas deban implementar para mejorar las habilidades
y destrezas de su planta laboral.

El Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2007-2012. En el apartado 2.51 menciona que “una economía competitiva
se caracteriza por altas tasas de crecimiento económico y de creación de empleos bien remunerados. (…)
Entre los principales factores que determinan la competitividad se encuentran la productividad de la mano
de obra, que depende en buena medida de la tecnología empleada, la eficiencia de los mercados, del
marco regulatorio, así como de la disponibilidad de una infraestructura moderna”.

La dependencia que los mercados generan en relación a la tecnología y competitividad, envuelven
fuertemente al papel que juegan las IME´s, nuestra Entidad deberá pues poner suma atención al rubro de
los empleadores ya que estos no deben solo buscar el rendimiento de sus operación si no que también
deben apostar al bienestar económico, y cultural de sus empleados mediante el pago de salarios justos que
reflejen efectivamente el esfuerzo realizado en su trabajo.

DESARROLLO

El Estado de Baja California, México, en la actualidad es considerado como generador e impulsador de
empleos según lo enmarca el Programa para sostener e impulsar el crecimiento económico del Estado de
Baja California; siendo una frontera potencialmente exportadora e importadora de bienes y servicios

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debido a su posición geográfica estratégica y sede de diversas ramas de la industria maquiladora, cuenta
con mano de obra especializada.

Natanael Ramírez Angulo Subsecretario de Atención a las Micro, Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas
(MPYMES) publica en la página de gobierno el 07 de junio de 2011 que “Mexicali, B.C. establece que la
política de desarrollo económico atiende como líneas estratégicas la inversión, el empleo y la
competitividad con programas anticíclicos para atender los efectos de la caída de la economía y con una
visión social orientada al bienestar de los bajacalifornianos; Adicionalmente expresó que se promueven
los beneficios de la Ley de Fomento a la Competitividad y Desarrollo Económico que han llegado a más
empresas a las que se les otorgan incentivos fiscales y no fiscales de acuerdo a la cantidad y nivel salarial
de los empleos generados.”

Cabe destacar que la población de la Entidad de Baja California está representada por 3’220,206
habitantes, de los cuales 1’604,475 son hombres y 1’615,731 mujeres según datos del INEGI en abril del
2011, entre los cuales la población ocupada es de 1’325,960 y de estos 823,761 son hombres y 502,199
mujeres, siendo un indicador de la actividad económica el sector de industria manufacturera la cual se
compone de un total de 243,197 empleos.

Lo que significa que aproximadamente el 20% de la población económicamente activa de nuestro estado
se encuentra para el 2011 ubicada en el sector manufacturero.

Para abril del 2011 “El INEGI informa sobre los principales resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de
Ocupación y Empleo (ENOE) y establece que el 57.9% de la población de 14 años y más en el país se
encontraba disponible para producir bienes o servicios considerada como población económicamente
activa (PEA); el restante 42.1% se ubicó en la población no económicamente activa.

Figura 1. Agregado Urbano de 32 ciudades a nivel nacional, Población Ocupada

Esta Figura Muestra; Población ocupada según su posición durante abril de 2011, Fuente: INEGI.

El estado aunque es un generados importante según lo afirma la Secretaria de Economía (ver figuras 2 y
3) en cuestión económica existe la desventaja que en materia de exportaciones e importaciones no es una
entidad meramente independiente para establecer y controlar el precio de mano de obra a los obreros. Sin
Trabajadores
subordinados y
remunerados
66 . 2 %
Trabajadores
por cuenta
propia
22 . 9 %
Trabajadores
sin pago
6 . 0 %
Empleadores
4 . 9 %
Trabajadores
subordinados y
remunerados
74 . 7 %
Trabajadores
por cuenta
propia
17 . 4 %
Empleadores
4 . 7 %
Trabajadores
sin pago
3 . 2 %

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embargo la industria manufacturera del extranjero mira al Baja California como un factor determinante en
el logro de su ventaja competitiva.

Porter (2007) establece que la ventaja competitiva toma acciones ofensivas o defensivas para crear una
posición defendible en una industria, con la finalidad de hacer frente, con éxito, a las fuerzas competitivas
y generar un retorno sobre la inversión; según el autor la base del desempeño sobre el promedio dentro de
una industria es la ventaja competitiva sostenida, la cual incluye dos conceptos, el primero liderazgo en
costos a través de la mano de obra especializada y el segundo la diferenciación de sus productos; por lo
tanto el pagar salarios mucho más baratos que el lugar de origen de las maquiladoras representa una causa
determinante en la selección del país donde establecerá sus operaciones de transformación.

Una acción considerada como efectiva para mejorar la creación de empleo lo fue el Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLCAN): en los últimos años, México se ha convertido en la octava potencia comercial
mundial y la primera en América Latina, con una participación del 44% de las exportaciones y 49% en las
importaciones totales de la región. En solo diez años México ha triplicado sus exportaciones de 51.9 mil
millones de dólares a 164 mil millones de dólares entre 1993 y 2003; e incrementado sus importaciones
en 161% de 65.4 a170.6 mil millones de dólares entre 1993 y 2003”.

Figura 2. Tratado de libre comercio respecto al comercio en el norte de México.

Esta Figura Muestra; Cifras del País Importadores de 1990 a 2003, Fuente: Secretaria de Economía, Banxico, USDOC y Statistics Canadá.

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Figura 3. Promedio del comercio de México en el TLCAN

Esta Figura Muestra; el promedio de comercio en México después de Tratado de Libre Comercio, Fuente; Secretaria de Economía

Otra desventaja que se obtiene al incrementar las importaciones y exportaciones es la paridad de tipo de
cambio frente al peso, debido a las conversiones que reflejan la diferencia del poder adquisitivo de un tipo
de moneda frente a otro y todas sus variaciones o fluctuaciones cambiarias.

Clayton (Pag.155) manifiesta la importancia del dólar de la siguiente forma: “los grandes cambios en el
valor internacional del dólar tiene un enorme impacto en las exportaciones e importaciones de la nación,
por lo tanto impacta en el empleo de estas industrias. Cuando el poder adquisitivo del dólar es alto como a
mediados de los 80’s, un gran número de productos importados llevaron al crecimiento del empleo en las
industrias que realizan estas importaciones.

Esta fuerza se invierte cuando el valor del dólar cae, como sucedió en la década de los 90’s, provocando
una situación de carencia u oportunidad para otros países, debido a que pierde su fuerza mientras que
retoma su posición, como lo fue el caso de México.

Las IME’s se apegan a las legislaciones laborales de pago de salario del país donde establecen su
operatividad, que en la mayoría de los acasos apunta al beneficio de su propia empresa, para lograr su
permanencia en el mercado, sostenimiento, competitividad y crecimiento empresarial buscan minimizar
sus costos, que en la mayoría de los casos impacta en el salario de los trabajadores, lo que reflejan el bajo
interés de las IME´s en otorgar bienestar social a sus empleados.

Las empresas de manufactura se apegan al cumplimiento de las normas fijadas por la Secretaria de
Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP) para su operatividad respecto a la fijación de los salarios en las
diferentes zonas geográficas del país; el cuál debiera ser el pago justo por conceptos de salarios según la
jornada de trabajo que sea estipulada. De antemano conocemos que la zona norte del país conocida como
área geográfica “A” cuenta con un salario de $59.82 pesos, situaciones en la que encuadra todo ciudadano
baja californiano, por lo tanto nos hacemos merecedores de un salario mínimo “alto” que según la

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Comisión Nacional de Salarios Mínimos es superior al de la zona “B” y la zona “C” siendo $58.13 pesos
para el primero y $56.70 pesos para el segundo.

A pesar de contar con un Salario mínimo superior al del resto del país, las condiciones de mercado y
adquisición de bienes de consumo duradero y de sustento para las familias Bajacalifornianas, este salario
no corresponde a la satisfacción de las necesidades que debiera proporcionar el trabajador a su familia, lo
que significa que la calidad de vida basada en la percepción de este salario no refleja un bienestar social.
Según los principios que rigen los actos en la Dirección Estatal de Empleo, a través de la generación de
empleo digno se estable que: “Uno de los principales derechos de la persona en sociedad, es el derecho a
un empleo digno y socialmente útil, mismo que le permite al individuo consolidar un patrimonio propio,
lograr seguridad emocional y familiar, así como generar condiciones que posibiliten su acceso a mejores
estados de vida abriéndole posibilidades para lograr su desarrollo humano integral.

De este derecho se derivan los principios que rigen los actos de la Dirección Estatal de Empleo en Baja
California, brindando seguridad al ciudadano y estableciendo las bases del proceso económico del Estado.
Ésa es la importancia de nuestra tarea y nuestra apuesta por la complementariedad entre la persona, la
sociedad y el Gobierno, pues unos y otros, tenemos deberes propios y obligaciones recíprocas que nos
hacen inseparables en la búsqueda de una mejor calidad de vida”.

El Gobierno del Estado de Baja California debe tener visión en la conjugación de esfuerzos tanto de la
empresa, empleado y pago de salarios que reflejen le correcta realización del individuo en un largo
termino. El Estado debe satisfacer estas necesidades de manera oportuna. Tarea que es de gran
responsabilidad y trascendencia social, que si efectivamente se logra satisfacer, el Estado se vería como
paternalista al cubrir estas necesidades básicas.

A Pesar de que Baja California ha implementado varias estrategias de captación de empresas
manufactureras para generar empleo en el Estado, este no ha sido suficiente para que en el ejercicio del
trabajo digno los empleados encuentren un salario que corresponda a la satisfacciones de sus necesidades,
debido a que las leyes a nivel laboral se encuentra muy por debajo de los estándares de calidad de vida
deseados en esta frontera.

REFLEXION FINAL

El empleo debe ser remunerado acorde al servicio prestado, debe ser reciproco en trato digno, el
empleador debe estar obligado moralmente ante la sociedad respecto a dar oportunidad al empleado de
que a través de su salario devengado constituya un patrimonio lo suficientemente benefactor para recrear
todas sus actividades, es decir que el individuo pueda realizarse plenamente, debe adicionalmente integrar
necesidades del empleado y su familia, teniendo pleno compromiso con la superación del desarrollo en lo
individual del trabajador, en el ámbito social, cultural, deportivo y en todas las áreas que son necesarias
para crear mejores estados de vida. El otorgar empleo es crecimiento para el País, Estado y por ende a la
economía nacional y estatal.

El salario que recibe el trabajador a cambio de su fuerza de trabajo debe de ser justo debido a que, lo que
percibe por ese trueque es la sustentación del obrero y su familia sin embargo el salario mínimo
establecido para la zona geográfica A, en donde se encuentra el Estado de Baja California considero no es
acorde a la necesidad del trabajador ni a la de su familia, el estar en jornadas excesivas de trabajo o bien
invirtiendo su tiempo libre como trabajo extra en la empresa no compensa el daño recibido con el salario

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mínimo que recibe, aunque la misma Ley laboral establezca que es justo y mantiene la capacidad de
satisfacer las necesidades del trabajador en el orden material, social, cultural e inclusive para la educación
obligatoria de sus hijos; en lo particular considero que se ven dañados en todas las áreas anteriores por los
patrones quienes a su beneficio utilizan la legislación a su favor al otorgar salarios bajas pero en apego a
la legislación mexicana, entonces la responsabilidad total recae sobre el Estado; en donde no se ve
reflejado el cumplimiento de los principios que establece la Dirección Estatal de Empleo. Las empresas
de la región considero se ven amparadas ante esta situación y se escudan en la opción de pagar el mínimo
vigente. A tal efecto, convendría primeramente inspirarse en los tipos de salarios pagados para trabajos
similares en las industrias en que los trabajadores se encuentran suficientemente organizados, y han
llegado a concretar contratos colectivos eficaces, y de no tener este término en comparación.
Reflexionemos entonces en el grado de responsabilidad que acoge el Estado en el sentido de brindar
“empleo digno”, socialmente útil”, “estabilidad emocional en lo individual y en lo familiar”, todo ello
encaminado a lograr un mejor desarrollo humano el cual no se refleja en la clase obrera.

Ahora bien, cabría hacernos la siguiente pregunta: ¿El Estado sigue los principios que según la Dirección
Estatal de Empleo deben ir encaminados a lograr una mejor calidad de vida en el trabajador?, veamos
simplemente a nuestro alrededor y comprendamos que no se ven estos principios, un salario destinado al
obrero no es lo suficientemente indispensable para satisfacer sus necesidades culturales, recreativas,
deportivas y sobre todo de educación.

Esto es un problema que acoge nuestra Nación lo suficientemente grave como para reflexionar y
reconsiderar en ¿Cuáles son las acciones que persigue y cumple realmente nuestro gobierno a favor de los
bajacalifornianos?.

Creo la fijación de los salarios mínimos no solo protege al trabajador sino que también protege al patrón
honesto que realmente respeta y ayuda a la generación de la riqueza del ser humano, brindando un
“salario bien remunerado y competitivo”, que alienta al mismo crecimiento de la organización y provoca
una empatía con el cumplimiento de sus obligaciones en materia laboral entre empresa-trabajador.

La industria maquiladora en Baja California, se le conoce particularmente por sus salarios bajos, aunque
brindan prestaciones, incentivos, bonos, y otros diversos conceptos que tratan y remarco “tratan” de
elevar el bienestar del trabajador y sus familias, a lo cual considero es una forma de evadir la atención
hacia el salario real que otorga a su personal.

Aquí es donde realmente debería existir conciencia de parte del Gobierno al crear fuentes de empleo
permitiendo el establecimiento de las a empresas extranjeras que únicamente están manteniendo ocupada
a la población, pero al darse cuenta el trabajador que es engañado, en cuanto a la competencia y
suficiencia de su salario, se siente frustrado, motivo por el cual causa apatía a seguir generando riqueza
solo y exclusivamente al patrón y por ende al Gobierno y este a su vez es parte de un indicador más en
fuente generadora de empleo denominado como “digno” lo cual deja mucho que desear; satisfaciendo
solo las estadísticas para las cuales trabajan las instituciones como INEGI y demostrar que el Estado es
rico en empleo y a su vez rico en desarrollo económico regional.

CONCLUSIÓN

1) El Estado de Baja California se apega a las reglas de operación de sus gobernados, otorga facilidades
a nuevas fuentes de inversión en la región. La Instituciones como Instituto Nacional de Estadística y

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Geografía (INEGI), Clasificación Mexicana de Ocupaciones (CMO), la Secretaría de Trabajo y
Previsión Social (STPS), la Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP), así como la Comisión
Nacional de Salarios Mínimos (CNSM), interactúan en diversos aspectos en la regulación hacia la
captación de inversión extranjera y evalúan el comportamiento de la empresa misma, su
compatibilidad en la conjugación de esfuerzos en la operatividad del recurso humano calificado para
operar en sus plantas productivas. El esfuerzo colateral de todas las instancias de Gobierno en el
cumplimiento a la Dirección General de Empleo (DGE) no es claro, respecto a que no hay
cumplimiento en el pleno desarrollo de la calidad de vida del obrero. Estos órganos regulan, ejecutan,
actúan y operan acciones plenamente arbitrarias y dejan de lado el aspecto en el sentido de estabilidad
de empleo la calidad de vida del trabajador así como el salario “digno” que recibe.
2) El empleo como la ocupación según algunos autores manifiestan son términos iguales mas no todos
coinciden con esto; por consiguiente el presente trabajo habla de empleo y ocupación y coincide con
la opinión de Neffa en donde uno y otro son aspectos distintos, al mismo tiempo que Instituciones
como INEGI muestra sus estadísticas en población ocupada y con empleo.
3) El empleo surge entonces en la contratación que se le da al empleado, cualquiera que se le de origen
al acto a esta situación. Según art. 22 LFT. Por consecuencia es necesario que se realice una estricta
clasificación de las diversas actividades laborales que hay en nuestro país. Y así ubicar al trabajador
según su capacidad laboral, educación, destrezas y habilidades.
4) Ahora bien el ingreso que se recibe a cambio de su labor debe ser constituido en efectivo o en bienes
(u ambos), con apego a la legislación laboral vigente y siguiendo la normatividad de la Comisión de
Salarios Mínimos (CNSM) en apoyo de la Secretaria de Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS), siempre y
cuando sea un salario digno y socialmente útil, permitiendo la calidad de vida del trabajador y su
familia.
5) La razón por la cual el gobierno trabaja a cuenta de nosotros es para generar empleo digno,
justamente remunerado, para ello debe captar inversión extranjera, permitiendo su instalación,
permanencia en el mercado, y estas a su vez ofertar empleo. A lo cual concluyo con la falta de
negociación en cuanto al pago justo y digno que del salario se hace. No contribuyendo al bienestar
social del trabajador y su familia.
6) Así mismo la Secretaria de Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) en cumplimiento al Plan de Desarrollo
Nacional (PND), donde este último establece que generar empleo debe ser en la estricta función al
desarrollo humano del trabajador y a su realización plena como individuo. Al cual concluyo que no se
da cumplimiento a estos dos motivos, lo cual es un problema no solo de la entidad sino del país.
7) El Gobierno de Baja California debe en otros de los problemas que posee que no depende por sí solo,
es decir, no fija un salario justo por apegarse al salario mínimo que se fija en la zona A de nuestro
país, mismo que no es económicamente alto para cubrir sustento, educación, deporte y recreación.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Samuelson, Paul y Nordhaus, William (2010) Economía con aplicaciones en Latinoamérica. 19na
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López, Ramón (2008) “El impacto de los ciclos económicos de Estados Unidos en la demanda de empleo
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Porter, M. (2008) Estrategia Competitiva. México Ed. CECSA.

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Clayton, G., & Giesbrecht, M. y. (2007 ). A guide to everyday economic statistic. Mexico: 7ma
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Nota política Mexicali, B.C. 07 de Junio 2011. La política de desarrollo económica del Estado promueve
la competitividad empresarial con perspectiva social.
http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/portal/noticia_completa.jsp?noticia=21839 consultada al 04 de Junio
de 2011.

Programa para Sostener e Impulsar el Crecimiento Económico para el Estado de Baja California (Octubre
2008-2009), José Guadalupe Osuna Millan, Gobernador.

mailto:atencion.usuarios@inegi.org.mx

http://www.sice.oas.org/TPD/MEX_EFTA/Studies/EFTA_s

http://www.inegi.org.mx/inegi/contenidos/espanol/prensa/Boletines/Boletin/Comunicados/Indicadores%20de%20ocupacion%20y%20empleo/2011/mayo/comunica

http://www.inegi.org.mx/inegi/contenidos/espanol/prensa/Boletines/Boletin/Comunicados/Indicadores%20de%20ocupacion%20y%20empleo/2011/mayo/comunica

http://www.inegi.org.mx/Sistemas/temasV2/Default.aspx?s=est&c=25433&t=1

http://www.inegi.org.mx/

http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/sedeco/2008/noticias/2011/junio/07062011.html

http://www.oei.org.ar/edumedia/pdfs/T10_Docu4_Eltrabajohumano_Neffa

http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/portal/noticia_completa.jsp?noticia=21839

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http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/portal/doctos/PSICEBCversionComp consultada a 06 de Junio de
2011.

Secretaria de Economía http://www.economia.gob.mx consultada al 06 de junio de 2011.
Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Publico http://www.shcp.gob.mx,
http://www.sat.gob.mx/sitio_internet/asistencia_contribuyente/informacion_frecuente/salarios_minimos/,
consultada al 11 de Junio de 2011.

BIOGRAFÍA

Alma Delia Inda Maestra en Contaduría.
Profesora de Asignatura de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, ubicada en Álvaro Obregón sin
número colonia Nueva. se puede contactar con la maestra al correo electrónico ailed_ynda@hotmail.com

Gloria Muñoz del Real Maestra en Administración.
Profesora de tiempo completo de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, ubicada en Álvaro
Obregón sin número colonia Nueva. se puede contactar con la maestra al correo electrónico
gmuoz17@hotmail.com

Raúl González Núñez Maestro en Recursos Humanos.
Profesor de tiempo completo de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, ubicada en Álvaro Obregón
sin número colonia Nueva. se puede contactar con el maestro al correo electrónico
raul.gonzalez@uabc.edu.mx

http://www.bajacalifornia.gob.mx/portal/doctos/PSICEBCversionComp

http://www.economia.gob.mx/

http://www.shcp.gob.mx/

http://www.sat.gob.mx/sitio_internet/asistencia_contribuyente/informacion_frecuente/salarios_minimos/

mailto:ailed_ynda@hotmail.com

mailto:gmuoz17@hotmail.com

mailto:raul.gonzalez@uabc.edu.mx

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COMPRADORES MIGRANTES Y NO MIGRANTES DEL
SUPERMERCADO A LA TIENDA DE BARRIO EN
CARTAGENA DE INDIAS – COLOMBIA
Emperatriz Londoño Aldana, Universidad De Cartagena
María Eugenia Navas Ríos, Universidad De Cartagena
Jairo Orozco Triana, Universidad De Cartagena
Claudia Esther Torres Herrera , Universidad De Cartagena

RESUMEN

En Colombia como en cualquier economía en desarrollo, siempre ha existido la denominada tienda de
barrio (También se denomina tienda en otros países o colmado en las Antillas, bodega en Venezuela,
almacén de barrio en Argentina y Chile, pulpería en Costa Rica y tienda de ultramarinos en España), de
gran aceptación especialmente en los estratos socioeconómicos bajos de la población. A diferencia de
otros países este tipo de negocios lejos de desaparecer se ha incrementado, convirtiéndose en el principal
competidor de las grandes superficies. Dentro de los impulsores de dicho crecimiento se encuentra el
aumento de la demanda por los productos en ella ofertados, el que a su vez se encuentra determinado,
principalmente por la migración de muchas familias (compradoras en supermercados), hacia la tienda
de barrio por una parte, y por otra, el ensanchamiento de la base de la pirámide social de la población
como consecuencia del crecimiento natural de la misma en el marco de disminuidas condiciones
económicas. Los resultados encontrados indican la existencia de tres aspectos principales: sociocultural
(relaciones de amistad con el tendero, trato respetuoso y apoyo de éste en los momentos difíciles)
económica (ingresos/desempleo) y comercial (variedad y tamaño de productos, crédito, horario,
cercanía).

Palabras clave: migración, tienda de barrio, supermercado, comercio minorista

INTRODUCCION

El comercio en Colombia ocupa un lugar fundamental en su economía tanto por su participación en el
PIB como en la generación de empleo. Dentro de éste es relevante el comercio detallista, en especial el
referente a productos de consumo masivo que se encuentra polarizado en tiendas de barrio y gran
comercio, los cuales crecen y se desarrollan simultáneamente.

Detrás del crecimiento de las tiendas de barrio, se encuentran como impulsores aspectos sociales,
culturales, comerciales y económicos; los económicos han conducido al achatamiento de la pirámide
social, lo que ha llevado a muchas familias de regreso a la tienda, es decir migrar del supermercado a la
tradicional tienda de barrio.

La migración en cuestión se presenta tanto total como parcialmente, dependiendo de las condiciones
sociales y económicas del consumidor, bajo la premisa de que la tienda es la única que ofrece, entre otros,
los productos en las presentaciones que el comprador necesita, dentro de su limitación en cuanto al monto
total a pagar se refiere.

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REVISION LITERARIA

La evolución del comercio al detalle ha sido explicada por diferentes teóricos y académicos lo que ha
conducido a la formulación de teorías y modelos de la venta al detalle. La presente investigación se
fundamenta en la rueda en espiral (Agergaard, et., alia, 1970), que integra las teorías cíclicas, del conflicto
y las medioambientales por una parte, y por la otra el principio de la polaridad de la venta al detalle
(Brown, 1987, Dressman y Schary, 1960 y Kirby, 1976), toda vez que el comercio minorista de productos
de gran consumo en Colombia se encuentra polarizado entre las tiendas de barrio y las grandes superficies.

La rueda en espiral plantea que una institución de venta al por menor regresará a un nivel más alto del que
se encontraba en su posición original, a diferencia de la teoría de la rueda de de venta al por menor que
propone que una institución de venta al detalle se desarrollará, dará vueltas y terminará en su puesto
original. Son ejemplo de ello las tiendas de conveniencia que han evolucionado a partir de tiendas de la
esquina convencionales; las tiendas de comida (igualmente de descuento) que corresponden a un tipo de
institución de venta al por menor avanzado de supermercados tempranos, y los centros comerciales que se
refieren a un tipo de institución de venta al por menor más complicado de complejos comerciales del
centro de pueblo.

El modelo CREM (Evolución del modelo de combinación minorista), o Rueda en Espiral, se basa en las
tres teorías de evolución de venta al por menor más comúnmente usadas: la teoría cíclica (ciclo de precio:
mínimo – alto – bajo (McNair, 1958); ciclo de surtido: general –específico – general (Hollander, 1966), la
teoría de conflicto (síntesis empresa inicial)– antítesis (empresa competidora) – tesis (nueva empresa con
características de las dos anteriores (Gist, 1968; Oren, 1989) y la teoría del entorno o medioambiental
(variables del entorno, afectan la evolución de las instituciones detallistas: demográficas, socioeconómicas,
legales, geográficas de competencia y tecnológicas (Brown, 1987; Gist, 1968; Oren, 1989).

Los tres principios teóricos en los que se fundamenta la Rueda en espiral son:
a. Estructuras rítmicas del cambio en espiral (figura 1., primera parte del esquema)
b. Efectos del conflicto o cambios en la competencia (figura 1., primera parte del esquema)
c. Influencia del ambientes de venta al por menor

Por otra parte, las preferencias de los consumidores por los atributos de la tienda o por los de los productos
cambian; estas preferencias a su vez, están influenciados por la orientación de las comprar y ésta por los
factores sociodemográficos (Monroe y Guiltinan, 1975; Sheth 1983; Shim y Kotsiopulos 1992).

Como se aprecia, Agergaard, et., alia (1970), separan al consumidor del grupo de factores
medioambientales; esto se debe a que ellos consideran al consumidor como el mayor influenciador e
interactuante en la venta al por menor. Algunos investigadores como McNair (1958) y Gist (1968) no
señalan el papel del consumidor en el proceso de cambio de la venta minorista, otros como Blizzard (1976)
ni siquiera lo mencionan Kim (2003). Igualmente investigadores como Monroe & Guiltinan (1975) y
Arnold, Handelman & Tigert (1998), si presentan la capacidad del consumidor para actuar directamente y
ejercer influencia en la evolución de la venta al por menor.

De acuerdo con MacNair y May (1978) y Sheth (1983), las necesidades de un consumidor por un cierto
tipo de tienda minorista están influenciadas por aspectos económicos, tecnológicos y la estructura social.
En razón a esta explicación, la preferencia de los consumidores por los atributos de la tienda y/o los

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productos y las influencias ambientales asociadas son propuestas en la Rueda en Espiral para tener una
relación causa efecto.

Planteamiento Problema ¿Cuáles son los factores socio – culturales, económicos y a nivel del mercadeo
que permiten la tipificación de los compradores migrantes y no migrantes del supermercado a la tienda de
barrio en la ciudad de Cartagena?

Objetivo General: Tipificar a los compradores migrantes y no migrantes del supermercado a la tienda de
barrio con base en los factores socio – culturales, económicos y a nivel del mercado, que los lleva a
elegirla como proveedor de productos de gran consumo, en la ciudad de Cartagena.

METODOLOGIA

La población objeto de estudio se encuentra referida por con las familias compradoras en las tiendas de
barrio y que se encuentran ubicadas en el área de influencia de los supermercados (22 zonas entre barrios
y urbanizaciones).

Se tomó una muestra 247 hogares resultado de la aplicación de la fórmula de proporciones para población
infinita, con un margen de error del 5% y un nivel de confianza del 95% y tomando p como la proporción
de personas que han regresado parcial o totalmente a comprar en la tienda (80%) y q, como la proporción
de personas que mayoritariamente continúan comprando todos los productos en el supermercado (20%).

Para el procesamiento de la información y validez del instrumento de recolección de información se
recurrió al software DYANE, versión 4, Diseño y análisis de encuestas en investigación social y de
mercados, el cual permite la utilización amigable de diversas técnicas estadísticas para analizar los datos.
La elección de la técnica específica en cada caso se efectuó en función de los objetivos específicos de la
investigación.

Para la tipificación de los encuestados fueron utilizadas variables categóricas y mixtas; para esas últimas
se utilizó una escala de Likert con valoración de cinco puntos para medir grados de acuerdo/desacuerdo;
dicha escala se valió con el coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach, dando una alta consistencia interna (0,83), muy
superior al nivel de 0.7 (Peterson, 1994). Debido a que al aplicar las pruebas Ji2 y F de Snedecor, para
establecer diferencias significativas entre grupos, en algunas variables los resultados no eran coincidentes
se procedió a realizar un AFC (análisis factorial de correspondencias) por su facilidad en la asociación de
diferentes variables; finalmente para la tipificación de grupos se hizo un Cluster análisis (análisis de
grupos); por tratarse de una muestra grande, se utilizó el algoritmo de Howard-Harris.

ANALISIS DE RESULTADOS

La aplicación de una encuesta a 247 personas (1 por familia) ha permitido conocer cuáles son los motivos
que han llevado a las familias a continuar comprando en la tienda de barrio o a regresar a ella e
incrementar sus volúmenes de compra. Un 36% de los consumidores lleva 10 y más años comprando en
la tienda, mientras que el 55 % lo hace desde hace cinco.

Las características de antigüedad como comprador en la tienda de barrio y la cantidad de productos que
el consumidor adquiere en la tienda se constituyen en un indicativo principal del incremento de la
demanda por la tienda de barrio. En la tabla 1 puede observarse que si bien solamente el 3,14% de las

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personas compra en la tienda todos los productos de la canasta familiar y un 26,7% adquiere la mayoría
de ellos, al mirar estas cifras teniendo en cuenta el tiempo que ellas llevan comprando en dichos
establecimientos, la situación es muy diferente: el 100% de las personas compran en la tienda desde hace
diez años bien sea mayoría de los productos (73,5%) o todos (26,5%); en cuanto a los que compran desde
hace cinco años además de mostrar una situación parecida, se destaca una tercera parte que ya compra
algunos de los productos.

Motivos principales por los cuales las personas compran o han regresado a comprar en la tienda de barrio.

Los motivos por los cuales las personas que han comprado o compran en la tienda de barrio, se
encuentran asociados con diversos aspectos de orden económico, comercial y cultural. Cada grupo de
variables presenta un peso diferente en la decisión de compra del consumidor; en su orden se encuentran:
comerciales, socioculturales y económicas.

Tabla 1. Cantidad de productos comprados en función de la antigüedad como comprador en tienda de
barrio

CANTIDAD PRODUCTOS
CANASTA FAMILIAR
ANTIGUEDAD
TOTAL
MUESTRA
DESDE
SIEMPRE
DESDE HACE 10
AÑOS
DESDE HACE 5
AÑOS
% % % %
1. Algunos de ellos 70,16 88,4 0,00 30,50
2. La mayoría de ellos 26,70 8,70 73,50 51.00
3. Todos 3,14 2,90 26,50 18.50
TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100%
La tabla muestra la cantidad de productos comprados en función del tiempo que la persona lleva comprando en la tienda

Al ordenar los mencionados motivos de mayor a menor (tabla 2), puede observarse que de ellos el de
mayor peso es la cercanía de la tienda (29,65%), como lo afirma el 88,48% de las personas;
seguidamente se encuentran la oferta de productos en pequeñas presentaciones y el fraccionamiento de
productos (Estas dos variables se encuentran estrechamente relacionas ya que la oferta de productos en
pequeñas presentaciones corresponde a la evolución del fraccionamiento que tradicionalmente ha hecho
el tendero de los productos y que se conoce como menudeo. Hoy el fabricante produce y empaca
productos en tamaños acordes con las necesidades del cliente de la tienda).; posteriormente y en su orden
(con muy pequeñas diferencias porcentuales) se encuentran el trato amistoso y respetuoso del tendero, la
disminución de los ingresos familiares, el número de tiendas cercanas a la vivienda y la oferta de crédito.
Si engloba al trato y respetuoso del tendero el apoyo en los momentos difíciles (5,26), emerge la relación
tendero/cliente como el segundo motivo más importante.

Las otras variables referidas a la tienda como sitio de socialización y no rigurosidad en la presentación
personal para ir a comprar, si bien son motivos importante no tienen la fuerza suficiente en el marco de
la migración del supermercado a la tienda.

Un comportamiento similar se encuentra en la calificación dada a las siguientes afirmaciones: Si en el
supermercado encontrara los productos en las presentaciones que ofrecen en las tiendas aumentaría el
monto de mis compras en ese sitio; y He vuelto a comprar en la tienda porque no encuentro diferencia
significativa en la relación cantidad precio de los productos que en ella encuentro frente a los que me
ofrece el supermercado; los que siempre han comprado en tiendas se encuentran en total desacuerdo con
estas afirmaciones (18.18% y 27.27% respectivamente), el restante porcentaje expresa estar en total y

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medianamente acuerdo¸ se mantienen en la misma proporción. El orden prioritario de los motivos de la
migración de los supermercados a las tiendas de barrio se demuestra también mediante el análisis de los
valores medios ordenados de mayor a menor. De un total de 13 motivos, tomados sobre la base de una
calificación superior a 3,5, siete pertenecen a la categoría comercial, cuatro a la categoría cultural y dos a
la económica (tabla 2). A nivel comercial son mejor calificados los factores referentes al número de
tiendas cercanas a la vivienda (4,5), su ubicación (4,4) y la devolución de productos (4,03). Tabla 3A.

Tabla 2. Motivos de traslado y/o aumento de compras en la tienda de barrio

MOTIVOS FREC. TOTAL
(%)
MUESTRA
(%)
1. Cercanía de la tienda 169 29,65 88,48
2. Oferta de productos en pequeñas presentaciones 56 9,82 29,32
3. Fraccionamiento de los productos 54 9,47 28,27
4. Trato amistoso y respetuoso del tendero 53 9,30 27,75
5. Disminución ingresos familiares 50 8,77 26,18
6. Número de tiendas cercanas a la vivienda 47 8,25 24,61
7. Oferta de crédito 41 7,19 21,47
8. Sitio para socializar con amigos y vecinos 35 6,14 18,32
9. No rigurosidad en la presentación personal 31 5,44 16,23
10. Apoyo del tendero en momentos difíciles 30 5,26 15,71
11. Disminución tamaño de la familia 4 0,70 2,09
Total frecuencias 570 100,00 298,43
La tabla muestra la distribución porcentual de los motivos de compra como y el total de personas que elige cada uno de ellos,

En los culturales se privilegia la amplitud del horario ya que el comerciante abre en promedio a las 6 a.m
y cierra alrededor de las 10 de la noche. Tabla 3 B. Dentro de los motivos económicos, los encuestados
resaltan el tipo de crédito que le otorga el tendero (3,8), los costos de tiempo y transporte para ir al
supermercado (3,5). Tabla 3 C.

Tabla 3 . Motivos de traslado del supermercado a la tienda de barrio (Tabulación de valores medios)

VAR
.
AFIRMACIÓN MEDIA
ARITMÉTICA
DESVIACIÓN
ESTANDAR
A. Motivos comerciales
15 Cerca de mi vivienda dispongo de tres o más tiendas para hacer mis compras 4,4555 0,8230
17 Considero que una de las grandes ventajas que ofrece la tienda es su ubicación 4,4398 0,6673
25 Las devoluciones que aceptan en la tienda no las aceptan en los supermercados 4,0366 0,9728
8 En el supermercado compro principalmente los productos que me significan una buena
i
3,8796 1,1537
24 En el supermercado recibo la amabilidad del empleado para cualquier cliente 3,7539 1,1149
5 Compro en la tienda porque me adaptan las cantidades y precios del producto que
i l di di ibl l
3,6754 1,0923
16 Me gustan las condiciones higiénicas de la tienda donde hago mis compras 3,6440 1,1929
B. Motivos socioculturales
12 La tienda es un lugar al que puedo acceder a tempranas horas del día o tarde de la
h ( li d d h i )
4,4555 0,7567
14 Prefiero comprar en la tienda porque está muy cerca de mi vivienda. 3,8429 1,2766
22 En la tienda recibo el trato personalizado y amistoso que no me dan en el
d
3,6335 1,2115
23 Me gusta ir a comprar a la tienda porque no me exige rigurosidad en cuanto a la
i l
3,5916 1,0389
C. Motivos económicos
18 Los costos de tiempo y transporte para ir al supermercado, m e llevan a preferir
l i d
3,8168 1,1680
19 El tipo de crédito que me otorga el tendero no me lo ofrece el supermercado 3,5602 1,2555
En esta tabla se muestra los principales motivos por los cuales las personas han migrado o continúan comprando en la tienda de barrio con
base en una escala de Likert con valoración de 5 puntos para medir grados de acuerdo/desacuerdo.

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Tabla 4 . Motivos de traslado del supermercado a la tienda de barrio según el tiempo que se lleva
comprando en ella (Tabulación de valores medios)

VARIABLES
TOTAL
MUESTRA
ANTIGÜEDAD – COMPRAS EN
TIENDA DE BARRIO

F DE SNEDECOR
DESDE
SIEMPRE
HACE 10
AÑOS
HACE 5
AÑOS
5 Adaptación de cantidades y
precios
Med
N=
3,6754
257
3,4058
22
5,0000
89
3,7565
136
F(2,188) = 8,0883
(p = 0,0004)
6 Mas compra en tiendas y menos
en supermercados
Med=
N=
2,9895
257
2,4783
22
4,0000
89
3,2348
136
F(2,188) = 9,4332
(p = 0,0001)
7 Regreso al supermercado si
ofrecen tamaños pequeños
Med=
N=
3,3194
257
3,1304
69
1,7143
89
3,5304
136
F(2,188) = 9,9558
(p = 0,0001)
8 Compra promociones en los
supermercados
Med=
N =
3,8796
257
3,6232
22
4,7143
89
3,9826
136
F(2,188) = 4,1034
(p = 0,0180)
9 Más productos con menos dinero Med=
N=
2,9581
257
2,5507
22
4,2857
89
3,1217
136
F(2,188) = 5,6275
(p = 0,0042)
10 Tienda/supermerc. similar
relación calidad/precio
Med=
N=
2,6754
257
2,4783
22
4,0000
89
2,7130
1365
F(2,188) = 6,8115
(p = 0,0014)
11 Menos personas en el hogar Med=
N=
2,1623
257
2,0000
22
2,8571
89
2,2174
136
F(2,188) = 2,1330
(p = 0,1213)
12 Horario favorable de la tienda Med=
N =
4,4555
257
4,3333
22
5,0000
89
4,4957
136
F(2,188) = 2,9158
(p = 0,0566)
13 La tienda es un buen sitio para
socializar
Med=
N =
3,4660
257
3,2754
22
3,2857
89
3,5913
136
F(2,188) = 1,4181
(p = 0,2447)
14

Cercanía de la tienda a la
vivienda
Med=
N=
3,8429
257
3,8841
22
4,7143
89
3,7652
136
F(2,188) = 1,8870
(p = 0,1544)
15 Cantidad de tiendas cercanas a la
vivienda
Med=
N=
4,4555
257
4,4493
22
5,0000
89
4,4261
136
F(2,188) = 1,6093
(p = 0,2028)
16 Ambiente y condiciones
higiénicas de la tienda
Med=
N=
3,6440
257
3,3768
22
3,7143
89
3,8000
136
F(2,188) = 2,7624
(p = 0,0657)
17 Ubicación favorable de la tienda Med=
N=
4,4398
257
4,4493
22
5,0000
89
4,4000
136
F(2,188) = 2,7119
(p = 0,0690)
18 Reducción de costos en
transporte y tiempo
Med=
N=
3,8168
257
3,7536
22
4,2857
89
3,8261
136
F(2,188) = 0,6628
(p = 0,5166)
19 Facilidad de crédito Med=
N=
3,5602
257
3,2174
22
4,2857
89
3,7217
136
F(2,188) = 4,8580
(p = 0,0088)
20 Reducción de ingresos
personales
Med=
N=
2,8534
257
2,2754
22
4,2857
89
3,1130
136
F(2,188)=15,9182
(p = 0,0000)
21

Reducción de ingresos
familiares
Med=
N=
2,6911
257
2,2464
22
4,2857
89
2,8609
136
F(2,188)=11,6691
(p = 0,0000)
22 Trato personalizado y respetuoso
del tendero
Med=
N=
3,6335
257
3,2029
22
4,2857
89
3,8522
136
F(2,188) = 7,7176
(p = 0,0006)
23

No rigurosidad en la
presentación personal
Med=
N=
3,5916
257
3,4058
22
4,7143
89
3,6348
136
F(2,188) = 5,5125 (p
= 0,0047)
24 Trato impersonal en el
supermercado
Med=
N=
3,7539
257
3,3768
22
5,0000
89
3,9043
136
F(2,188)=10,2203
(p = 0,0001)
25 El tendero acepta todas las
devoluciones
Med=
N=
4,0366
257
3,6812
22
5,0000
80
4,1913
136
F(2,188) = 0,3753 (p
= 0,0001)
En esta tabla se muestra la tabulación de valores medios en función del tiempo que los compradores llevan adquiriendo sus productos en la
tienda de barrio con la aplicación de la prueba F de Snedecor para encontrar diferencias significativas entre grupos.

No obstante lo anterior, si se mira la opinión de los encuestados en función del tiempo que llevan
comprando en la tienda de barrio (tabla 4), puede observarse que en 13 de las 24 afirmaciones presentadas
existen diferencias significativas entre los grupos como lo muestra el nivel de significancia al aplicar la
prueba F de Snedecor el cual se encuentra entre p=0,0000 y p=0.0042.

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Las diferencia anotadas se encuentran marcadas principalmente por aquellas personas que llevan 10 años
y más comprando en esos pequeños establecimientos; ellas privilegian al tendero como su proveedor de
productos de gran consumo tanto por los beneficios comerciales que éste les entrega como por el trato
respetuoso, de colaboración y personalizado. En las otras afirmaciones como las referidas al horario
flexible de la tienda, la cercanía de esta al sitio de la vivienda, el número de puntos de venta igualmente
cercanos a la vivienda, la ubicación favorable de la misma y la reducción de costos en transporte y
tiempo, este segmento de personas da la valoración más alta.

TIPIFICACIÓN DE LOS COMPRADORES EN TIENDA DE BARRIO A TRAVÉS DE UN
ANÁLISIS DE CLUSTER

Con el propósito de identificar los distintos grupos de consumidores en función de los motivos que los
lleva a comprar en la tienda de barrio, se ha utilizado la técnica estadística denominada genéricamente
análisis de grupo (cluster analisys) y dentro de ella el modelo descendente (breaking down), basado en el
algoritmo de Howard – Harris. Para la realización de comparaciones homogéneas y poder garantizar un
tamaño suficientemente grande, se han retenido cuatro grupos en todos los análisis Esto permite
identificar al menos dos grupos extremos uno con valoraciones muy de acuerdo (positivo) y otro con
valoraciones de acuerdos muy bajos (negativo), los demás tienen opiniones específicamente intermedias

Motivos comerciales

Los motivos comerciales seleccionados, son los mismos que se han tomado para el análisis factorial de
correspondencias: Adaptación de cantidades y precios, regreso al supermercado si éste vende en
pequeñas cantidades, compra en supermercados sólo si la promoción es buena, no diferencia en la
relación cantidad/precio, tienda/supermercado, varias tiendas cerca de a la vivienda, condiciones
higiénicas de la tienda, trato impersonal en el supermercado, devolución de pequeñas cantidades.

De las particiones realizadas, se tomó la tercera división (con una suma de cuadrados explicada por dicha
partición de 54,45%), la cual permite la obtención de cuatro grupos de los cuales; con base en las
valoraciones medias, se ha identificado como grupos extremos al 1 y 2, y como grupos intermedios 3 y 4.
Los grupos que se ubican en los extremos poseen el mayor número de valoraciones medias positivas más
alto y negativo más bajos. Estos grupos se pueden caracterizar de la siguiente manera:

Grupo 1. Integrado por 83 personas, presenta mayor numero de variables positivas, a éste grupo se ha
denominado “Buscadores de servicio – Cómodos.”: Compran en las tiendas porque allí les adaptan las
cantidades y los precios a sus ingresos, encuentran las presentaciones adecuadas a sus necesidades
(fraccionamiento de productos) (El fraccionamiento de los productos es una práctica inherente a las
tiendas de barrio. Las acciones de fraccionamiento son realizadas por el tendero previamente (re-
empaque) o al momento de ser requerido por el cliente y a precios bastante asequibles para éste: $200 de
salchichón, $500 de queso, $100 de tomate, etc.), no encuentran diferencia significativa en la variedad y
precios entre la tienda y el supermercado, la tienda esta cerca de su vivienda, y además le acepta
devoluciones. Estos compradores de tienda, solo van a los supermercados a comprar los productos que
están en promociones especiales.

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Grupo 2. Integrado por 80 personas, presenta la mayor cantidad de variables negativas, a éste grupo se les
denominó los “Buscadores de Respeto – Exigentes” coinciden en las exigencias de la higiene de la tienda
y la amabilidad del empleado del supermercado.

Grupo 3. Integrado por 32 personas. Es el grupo más pequeño y puede llamarse el de los “Repondedores
de despensa”, el número de tiendas cercanas a su vivienda es poco, compra en la tienda lo que se le va
agotando de la compra realizada en el supermercado, en donde ya es conocido.

Grupo 4. Integrado por 52 personas, se ha denominado el de los “Esporádicos o irregulares”, poco le
gusta ir a la tienda pues considera que las condiciones higiénicas no son las adecuadas; compra cuando se
agotan los productos en la despensa y no puede ir al supermercado.

Motivos socioculturales

Los motivos socioculturales seleccionados, se han tomado de las siguientes afirmaciones: he vuelto a
comprar en la tienda de barrio porque el tamaño de mi familia se ha reducido y no necesito comprar
productos en presentaciones grandes, la tienda es un lugar al que puedo acceder a tempranas horas del
día o tarde de la noche (amplitud de horario), la tienda puede considerarse como un lugar de encuentro,
diversión y socialización, prefiero comprar en la tienda porque está muy cerca de mi vivienda, en la
tienda recibo el trato personalizado y amistoso que no me dan en el supermercado, me gusta ir a
comprar a la tienda porque no me exige rigurosidad en cuanto a la presentación personal.

Se llevó a cabo un total de tres divisiones para la obtención de cuatro grupos homogéneos con una suma
de cuadrados explicada por dicha partición del 53,71%. En los extremos se ubicaron los grupos 1 y 2;
intermedios los grupos 3 y 4.

Grupo 1. Conformado por 42 personas, se presenta como dominante con el mayor número de valores
medios más altos: de 6 coinciden en 5. Este grupo se denominó “Los sociables” Son personas con
familias de tamaño reducido, que disfrutan la cercanía de la tienda a sus viviendas, aprecian el trato
personalizado y amistoso del tendero y la no rigurosidad en cuanto a la presentación personal y ven la
tienda como un lugar de encuentro, esparcimiento y socialización.

Grupo 2. Conformado por 52 personas se caracteriza por el mayor número de valores medios negativos
más bajos. Este grupo se denominó “Egocéntrico y muy ocupado”; las personas pertenecientes a este
grupo, no muestra interés por socializar, lo que más les gusta y sobre lo cual coinciden es la facilidad de
acceso a la tienda a tempranas horas del día o tarde de la noche. (El horario de atención al público en
promedio de las tiendas de barrio, va desde las 6:00 a.m. a 10:00 p.m. es decir, el tendero brinda a sus
clientes 17 y hasta 18 (los fines de semana) horas continuas de servicio; la amplitud de este horario
permite la facilidad de acceso al momento de comprar en cualquier hora del día, inclusive en horas picos
o de almuerzo y cena. Al establecer rangos de atención se observa que el 37% se ubica exactamente en el
horario anteriormente mencionado, un 27% ofrece una hora adicional de servicio y 22% reduce el tiempo
de atención en una hora jornada nocturna, solo un 14% trabaja en horario de 7:00a.m. a 11 p.m.
(Hernandez y Cabrera, 2007)).

Grupo 3. Es el más grande de todos ya que se encuentra integrado por 91 personas; se le ha denominado
“Los considerados”; lo que menos le exigen a la tienda son los horarios adicionales y esperan encontrar
en la tienda el servicio y el trato que se da en cualquier negocio.

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Grupo 4. Este grupo se encuentra compuesto por 62 personas que trabajan en horarios no flexibles por lo
cual pueden comprar muy temprano en la mañana o muy tarde en la noche; la variación de su ciclo de
vida familiar no es determinante para comprar en la tienda.

Motivos económicos

Los motivos económicos seleccionados, se han tomado de las siguientes afirmaciones: en los últimos
cinco años he aumentado las compras en la tienda y disminuido en el supermercado, con la misma suma
de dinero adquiero mayor variedad de productos en la tienda que en el supermercado por el tamaño de
las presentaciones que ella me ofrece, los costos de tiempo y transporte para ir al supermercado, me
llevan a preferir comprar en la tienda, el tipo de crédito que me otorga el tendero no me lo ofrece el
supermercado, el descenso de mis ingresos me ha llevado a incrementar la frecuencia de compra y
disminuir el volumen de la misma, la disminución de los ingresos familiares me han llevado a disminuir
la compra en el supermercado e incrementar la compra en la tienda

Al igual que con los anteriores motivos, se hicieron tres divisiones con una suma de cuadrados explicada
por las particiones de 55,08%. De los cuatro grupos resultantes también se colocan en los extremos los
grupos 1 y 2, siendo el uno el que posee las variables con una media positiva más alta, y el dos con
variables cuya media negativa es más baja.

Grupo 1. Integrado por 89 personas es el más grande de todos; se le ha denominado el “Migrante
económico racional”. Las personas de este grupo han incrementado la compra en la tienda en los últimos
cinco años, se han visto afectadas por la disminución de sus ingresos y compran en la tienda porque con la
misma suma de dinero, pueden obtener mayor variedad de productos allí que en el supermercado, debido
al tamaño de las presentaciones propias y preestablecida ofertadas por el tendero.

Grupo 2. Compuesto por 47 personas, se caracteriza porque para definir la compra en la tienda, tiene como
prioridad el ahorro del tiempo y del dinero en el transporte para trasladarse hasta el supermercado. Este
grupo se ha denominado los “Dependientes” ya que corresponde al segmento para el que la tienda es su
primera opción.

Grupo 3. Integrado por 74 personas. Se le ha denominado “Estable y fiel” ya que gusta de hacer el diario
(Para muchos consumidores la compra diaria en la tienda significa: adquirir productos más frescos, mejor
aprovechamiento del espacio en el hogar al no tener que almacenar productos y un mayor control de la
despensa). en la tienda sin importar el crédito y/o precios de los productos o los costos de transporte y
tiempo.

Grupo 4. Es el más pequeño; se encuentra compuesto por 37 personas cuyas características relevantes
hacen referencia en primera instancia a la ventaja del tipo de crédito ofertado por la tienda y que no
encuentran en el supermercado; en segunda instancia el descenso de sus ingresos lo lleva a una frecuencia
alta de compra en pequeñas cantidades, que es la compra típica de un consumidor de tienda de barrio. Se
ha denominado “Económico adaptable”.

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CONCLUSIONES

En Cartagena de Indias, una de las principales ciudades capitales de Colombia, la tienda de barrio es hoy
uno de los principales proveedores de productos de gran consumo para unos y para otros el principal, por
su capacidad de adaptación inmediata a las necesidades de su cliente en el marco de una favorable relación
tendero/cliente.

De otra parte como lo plantean MacNair y May (1978) y Sheth (1983), las necesidades de un consumidor
por un cierto tipo de tienda minorista están influenciadas por aspectos económicos, tecnológicos y la
estructura social. Estas necesidades miradas como motivos por los cuales los consumidores compran,
incrementan sus compras y migran del supermercado a la tienda de barrio en su orden se encuentran los
comerciales, los socioculturales y finalmente los económicos.

Aunque los factores económicos aparentemente se muestren como los de menos peso, éstos se encuentran
detrás de los motivos comerciales, principalmente en lo referente al tamaño y fraccionamiento de los
productos buscados y al crédito ofertado por el tendero. La identificación de los diferentes grupos de
compradores, sienta las bases para la derivación de líneas de investigación que permitan establecer
relaciones causa/efecto de los aspectos económicos y las necesidades de los consumidores por la tienda de
barrio y la adaptación tanto de las tiendas de barrio como de sus proveedores a esas necesidades.

REFERENTES BIBLIOGRAFICOS

Agergaard, E., Olsen, P. A., & Allpass, J (1970), “The Interaction Between Retailing and the Urban
Center Structure: A Theory of Spiral Movement”. Environment and Planning, 2, 55-71.

Blizzard, R. T (1976): “The Competitive Evolution of Selected Retail Institutions in The United States
and Australia: a Culture Ecological Analysis”. Disertación Tesis Doctoral, University of Colorado

Brown Stephen (1987), “An Integrated Aproach to Retail Change: The Multipolarisation Model”, The
Services Industrial Journal, págs 7, 2, págs 153-164.

Dreesmann, A. C. R (1968), “Patterns of Evolution In Retailing” Journal of Retailing, 44, págs 64-81.

Guiltinan, Joseph P. (1974), “Planned and Evolutionary Changes In Distribution Channels”. Journal of
Retailing, 50(2), Págs. 79-91, 103.

Gist, Ronald .R (1968), “Retailing: Concepts and decisions” . New York: John Wiley and Sons, págs 109
– 110.

Hollander, Stanley C (1970), “Multinational Retailing,” Institute for International Business and Economic
Development Studies, Michigan State University (East Lansing).

Kim, Sook-Hyun (2003), “The Model for the Evolution of Retail Institution types in South Korea”, Tesis
Doctoral the Parment of Apparel Housin and Research Management Clothing & Textiles Program.
Virgina tech Blacksburg, VA. Faculty of the Virginian Polytechnic Institute State University.

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Kirby, D.A (1976). “The North American Convenience Store: Implications for Britain”, In Jones, P.,And
Oliphant, R .(Eds.), Local Shops: Problems and Prospects, Reading, Unit for Retail Planning Information
, 1976, Pp 95-100. En Brown Stephen. (1987): “Institutional Change In Retailing. A Review and
Synthesis”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 21, No. 7, 1987, Pp.20-1. 8 R.R.

Lefevre, Jacques (1983), “Introduction aux Analyses Statiques Mintidimensionnelles”, 3a ed., Masson,
Paris, en Santesmases Miguel (2005): DYANE (Versión 3). Diseño y Análisis de Encuestas en
Investigación Social y de Mercados, Editorial Pirámide, Madrid.

Mcnair, Malcolm P (1958), “Significant Trends and Developments In the Post War Periods”, En Smith,
A. B. (Ed.), Competitive Distribu-Tion in a Free High Level Economy and Its Impact for the Univer-sity,
University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pp. 1-25, 125. Mcnair, M., y May, Eleonor G (1978), “The
Next Revolution of the retailing wheel”. Harvard Business Review. 56(5), 81-91.

Monroe, K. B., & Guiltinan, J. P. (1975), “A Path-Analytic Exploration of Retail Patronage Influence”.
Journal of Consumer Research, 2, Págs. 19-28.

Santesmases, Miguel (1999), “Marketing Conceptos y Estrategias”, 4ª Edición, Ediciones Pirámide,
Madrid.
——– (2009): DYANE (Versión 4). Diseño y Análisis de Encuestas en Investigación Social y de
Mercados, Editorial Pirámide, Madrid.

Sheth, Jagdish. (1983), “An Integrative Theory of Patronage Preference and Behavior”. In W. Darden &
R. Lusch (Eds.), Patronage Behavior and Retail Management. New York: North-Holland.
Shim, Soyeon., & Kotsiopulos, Antigone (1991), “Big and Tall Men as Apparel Shoppers: Consumer
Characteristics and Shopping Behavior”. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal,9(2), 16-24.

BIOGRAFIA DE LOS AUTORES

Emperatriz Londoño Aldana. Administradora de Empresas, Economista, Especialista en mercadeo,
Doctora en ciencias de la Dirección. Profesora titular. Universidad de Cartagena – Colombia. Facultad de
Ciencias Económicas, Programa de Administración de Empresas. Correo de contacto:
emperatriz1521@yahoo.com

María Eugenia Navas Ríos. Administradora de Empresas, Especialista en mercadeo, Doctora en ciencias
de la Educación. Profesora titular. Universidad de Cartagena – Colombia. Facultad de Ciencias
Económicas, Programa de Administración de Empresas. Correo de contacto: mariaeunavas@yahoo.com

Jairo Orozco Triana. Economista. Especialista en finanzas, candidato a Magister en Gestión de la
Innovación, Director del Consultorio Empresarial de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la
Universidad de Cartagena Colombia. Correo de contacto jorozcot@unicartagena.edu.co

Claudia Esther Torres Herrera. Administradora de Empresas. Integrante del grupo de investigación:
comercio y comportamiento del consumidor. Universidad de Cartagena – Colombia. Facultad de Ciencias
Económicas, Programa de Administración de Empresas. clau8022@hotmail.com

mailto:jorozcot@unicartagena.edu.co

mailto:clau8022@hotmail.com

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SISTEMA DE GESTIÓN INTEGRAL DE PROVEDORES
DE LA CORPORACIÓN DE CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGÍA
PARA EL DESARROLLO DE LA INDUSTRIA NAVAL,
MARÍTIMA Y FUVIAL EN COLOMBIA
José Morelos Gómez, Universidad de Cartagena
Tomás José Fontalvo Herrera, Universidad de Cartagena
Juan Carlos Vergara Schmalbach, Universidad de Cartagena

RESUMEN.
El siguiente artículo presenta los resultados de investigación que tiene como objetivo principal, exponer
un modelo que abarca los procesos para el manejo integral de proveedores de bienes y servicios de la
Corporación de Investigación y desarrollo-COTECMAR. La metodología utilizada estuvo apoyada en la
matriz de aprovisionamiento diseñada por Peter Kraljic y fundamentado en sistemas de gestión de
proveedores de empresas Colombianas como Ecopetrol y Bavaria. Los resultados revelan que dada la
naturaleza y complejidad de una Corporación como COTECMAR, es necesario establecer e implementar
los procesos de clasificación, evaluación, desarrollo y certificación de proveedores, como una herramienta
que permita una mayor integración de la Corporación con sus proveedores y a su vez la definición de
estrategias de abastecimiento, que ayuden a dinamizar la cadena de suministros e incrementar la
capacidad de gestión y el nivel de competitividad de la organización.

PALABRAS CLAVES: Modelo de Gestión, procesos, proveedores, abastecimiento, competitividad,
logística.

ABSTRACT

The following article presents the results of research that has as main objective to expose a model that
includes processes for the integrated management of suppliers of goods and services of Research and
Development Corporation-Cotecmar. The methodology used was supported by the provisioning matrix
designed by Peter Kraljic and based on vendor management systems of Colombian companies such as
Ecopetrol and Bavaria. The results show that given the nature of a corporation as Cotecmar is necessary
to establish and implement the classification, evaluation, development and certification of providers, as a
tool to further integration of the Corporation with its suppliers and in turn the definition of sourcing
strategies that help streamline the supply chain and increase management capacity and the
competitiveness of the organization.

JEL: M1, M10

KEY WORDS: Management Model, processes, suppliers, supply, competitiveness

INTRODUCCIÓN.
En este mundo competitivo es imposible asegurar la conservación de una empresa, si esta actúa de
manera aislada a su entorno, es decir, no reacciona frente a la competencia, no conoce las necesidades de
sus clientes o no mantiene una relación de mutuo beneficio con sus proveedores de bienes y servicios.
Actualmente las tendencias logísticas como el Supply Chain Management (administración de la cadena de
abastecimiento), exigen que las empresas se integren de tal manera con sus proveedores y clientes,

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principalmente, para competir entre redes y no de forma independiente; por lo tanto, es necesario que las
organizaciones tengan en cuenta las necesidades de sus proveedores y clientes para trabajar
conjuntamente en el cumplimiento de los objetivos estratégicos.

A partir del surgimiento de la logística integral, la gestión de proveedores se convirtió en una de las
estrategias fundamentales de la gerencia moderna para la generación de valor agregado, pues al ser el
primer eslabón de la cadena de suministro permite dinamizarla, situación que se refleja en mejoras en
competitividad, lo que se traduce en incremento de la capacidad de gestión y, precisamente, la generación
de valor agregado en las empresas.

Con el propósito de construir valor, es necesario considerar a los proveedores como aliados estratégicos y
estrechar las relaciones con los mismos, con el fin de elevar los niveles de confianza entre las partes y así
poder dar a conocer con anticipación el plan de compras a los proveedores para que ellos se encarguen de
ejecutarlo de acuerdo con las condiciones establecidas de calidad, costo, plazo y servicio postventa; por lo
que su participación será activa y por lo tanto las partes obtendrán beneficios mutuos; pero para llegar a
estos niveles de confianza, es necesario pasar por una serie de procesos, evaluaciones, diagnósticos,
identificación de fortalezas y debilidades, con el fin último de generar un plan de acción de acuerdo a las
necesidades detectadas y poder fortalecer la integración en todos los eslabones de la cadena de valor, con
esta fortalecida, se pueden obtener beneficios en costos, tiempos de entrega, calidad y por ende una
mejora en competitividad, vía reducción de costos.
De acuerdo a las anteriores consideraciones, la investigación muestra cómo se diseñaron los nuevos
procesos para mejorar la gestión de los proveedores de la Corporación de ciencia y tecnología para el
desarrollo de la industria Naval, Marítima y fluvial (COTECMAR). Para ello, se presenta el modelo de
gestión utilizado en el marco teórico, luego expone la metodología empleada con la cual se logró alcanzar
el objetivo del proyecto. Finalmente, se pone a consideración los resultados del estudio que se detallan en
la definición de los procesos, para la gestión integral de proveedores y las estrategias definidas en la
Corporación para implementación y mejorar el proceso de abastecimiento.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA

La presión competitiva en la que se ven involucradas las organizaciones ha generado la necesidad de
transitar hacia el perfeccionamiento e integración de los procesos claves, en aras de lograr mejores
desempeños en función de los denominados deseos universales de los clientes: precio, calidad, velocidad
y servicio (Schonberger, 1996). En este sentido, y de acuerdo con Houlihan (1988), en la práctica
empresarial ha tomado fuerza el concepto de logística integral (Ballou, 1999), (Romero y Gutiérrez,
1996), el cual promueve la buena integración de la organización en una cadena de suministro, “…como si
fuera una red de agua, buscando al mismo tiempo reducir la longitud de la tubería y aumentar la
velocidad del flujo a través de ella” (Christopher, 1994).

Para lograrlo, las empresas deben involucrar en su estrategia, el tránsito por un camino de tres etapas: la
integración funcional de cada área de la organización, la integración interna entre las áreas funcionales
formando una cadena de suministro interna y la integración externa entre los proveedores, la cadena de
suministro interna y los clientes (Krajewski y Ritzman, 2000).

Para el análisis de proveedores, éste se dinamiza desde, la gestión integral de proveedores, que define el
proceso mediante el cual la organización se asegura de contar con una base con los mejores proveedores,

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comprometidos y dispuestos a contribuir en la generación de valor agregado, para lograr que ambas partes
obtengan beneficios.

Una de las tendencias actuales que se debe considerar en la gestión de proveedores es que estos forman
parte integral de la cadena de valor de la empresa; es por esto que de conformidad con este planteamiento
Vijay (2006) Jae-Eun y Brenda (2008) afirman que las empresas no compiten solas, pues hacen parte de
una red dentro de la cual debe competir mientras mejora su calidad, entrega y rendimiento y
simultáneamente reduce sus costos, esto se debe a una tendencia mundial en la que no se compite entre
empresas sino entre redes de abastecimiento(Castrilló, Sarache, et al ; 2008).

Por lo anterior, se debe obtener un modelo de abastecimiento equilibrado para la empresa, en el que se
cubran aspectos relacionados con el manejo integral y relaciones con los proveedores, este debe plantear
componentes que vayan desde las políticas y criterios que garanticen una selección adecuada, además de
una evaluación objetiva que le permita a la organización, tomar decisiones ante la satisfacción de
necesidades y requerimientos especificados, hasta las políticas y procedimientos, para mejorar el
desempeño y realizar reconocimientos a los proveedores que presenten mejor desempeño en la
organización.
En concordancia con lo anterior, Zutshi y Creed (2009) plantean que la construcción y la gestión de
relaciones cliente-proveedor se reconocen hoy como uno de los pilares fundamentales para la creación de
ventajas competitivas sostenibles.

Es así como, la gestión de relaciones con los proveedores (SRM, Supplier Relationship Management)
hace referencia, al uso de tecnologías por parte de las empresas para mejorar los mecanismos de
suministro y comunicación con los proveedores.

METODOLOGÍA

Para el diseño del modelo de gestión integral de proveedores, inicialmente se realizó un diagnóstico de la
situación de los procesos de inscripción y evaluación de proveedores de bienes y servicios de Cotecmar,
los cuales eran los únicos implementados en la Corporación. Para ello, se realizaron un total de veinte
(20) entrevistas al personal del área de compras, gestión logística, almacén y gerencia de proyectos,
quienes influyen directamente en la gestión de proveedores y contratistas de la organización, además se
analizaron los resultados de las evaluaciones del cliente interno que se realizan semestralmente al proceso
de abastecimiento de la empresa, y se realizó observación a los actores de los procesos de apoyo, con lo
cual se lograron detectar fortalezas y debilidades más representativas en la gestión de proveedores de
Cotecmar.

Para clasificar los bienes y servicios adquiridos en la Corporación, dentro de las categorías establecidas
por la Matriz de Kraljic, se requirió la consolidación de órdenes de compra y contratos con proveedores,
con lo cual se identificaron los bienes y servicios que se compraban frecuentemente y el costo de las
mismos en el desarrollo de los proyectos; Así mismo, realizó análisis y filtración de la base de datos de
proveedores y el cual permitió examinar qué tipo de bienes y servicios requerían mayor atención y
tratamiento.

Dada la necesidad de contar con indicadores que permitieran darle valor a cada una de las dimensiones de
la matriz, se determinó que en el caso del riesgo en el aprovisionamiento de los bienes y servicios de
COTECMAR, se utilizaría el Principio de Pareto (Carot; 1998), a través del cual los elementos, artículos,

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servicios estratégicos y de apalancamiento, usualmente representan el 80% de las compras anuales y los
no críticos y cuellos de botella representan usualmente el 20% de las compras, utilizando el 80% de los
recursos.

Para la medición del impacto de los bienes y servicios de la Corporación se analizaron las variables,
cumplimiento de especificaciones, tiempos de entrega, cantidad de proveedores y ubicación del proveedor
y, para realizar el análisis de los temas que se debían implementar en los procesos de desarrollo y
certificación, se realizó una encuesta a cincuenta (50) de los proveedores y contratistas estratégicos de la
Corporación con el fin de medir su percepción en cuanto conocimiento, falencias y disposición, frente a la
implementación de programas que permitan alcanzar la certificación y el mejoramiento de los procesos
productivos y administrativos de sus organizaciones.

RESULTADOS.
Culminada las fases de revisión de procesos, recolección y análisis de información de los proveedores de
la organización, por medio de las cuales se obtuvieron distintas apreciaciones de los procesos que generan
la gestión de los proveedores, corresponde entonces mostrar diversas acciones enmarcadas dentro el
nuevo sistema, que permitirá mejorar la gestión adelantada por la Corporación y conservar una
herramienta de mejora continua, ofreciendo además, resultados satisfactorios que podrían ser asimilados
por diferentes áreas de la empresa. A continuación se muestra en la figura 3, los procesos del modelo para
la gestión integral de proveedores de COTECMAR.
Figura 3: Sistema para la Gestión Integral de Proveedores de COTECMAR.

Fuente: Diseño de los autores

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CONCLUSIONES

El sistema de gestión de proveedores se presenta como una estrategia de apoyo a la Corporación para
afianzar las relaciones de la División de Gestión Logística con el resto de actores en la Corporación que
requieren de información relevante de los proveedores, para disminuir la generación de reprocesos y
contribuir a la toma de decisiones, con el fin de que se maneje una información integral, que dinamice y
maximice los beneficios, no solo para los integrantes de la cadena de abastecimiento, sino para la
Corporación en general.

La matriz de aprovisionamiento, se desarrolla como parte de los objetivos logísticos de COTECMAR, de
ahí el hecho de contar con una clasificación, categorización y codificación de bienes y servicios que
permita lograr una mejor gestión de la cadena de suministro, a través de la identificación de los bienes y
servicios estratégicos de la Corporación.

El proceso de clasificación de proveedores permitirá a la Gestión Logística mejorar los tiempos de
respuesta a sus clientes internos y a los proveedores, además de establecer estrategias de negociación y
contratación con los proveedores con lo que se podrán disminuir reprocesos y cuellos de botella en las
diferentes áreas que apoyan este proceso.

REFERENCIAS

Ballou, R. (1999): Business Logistics Management. Planning, Organizing and Controlling the Supply
Chain. Fourth edition. Prentice Hall. New Jersey.
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/849/84912053040

Castrillón, O. D., Ortiz, L. F. & Sarache, W. (2008). Selección de proveedores una aproximación al
estado del arte. [Artículo en internet]. Recuperado 28 de Abril 2010. Disponible en:
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/205/20511730008

Christopher, M. (1994): Logística Aprovisionamiento. Cómo reducir costes, stocks y mejorar los
servicios. Biblioteca de Empresa. Ediciones Folio, Barcelona.
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/849/84912053040

Houlihan, J. B. (1988): Administración de una cadena de suministro internacional. Citado En:
Christopher, M (2000). Logística Aspectos Estratégicos. Limusa. México
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/849/84912053040

Krajewski, L. & Ritzman, L. (2000): Administración de Operaciones. Estrategia y Análisis.5ª Ed. Prentice
Hall. México. http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/849/84912053040

Schonberger, R.J. (1996): Manufactura de clase mundial para el próximo siglo. Ed. Prentice Hall,
MéxicoD.F.
BIOGRAFIA
José Morelos Gómez, es docente de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Cartagena, adscrito a la
Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, director de programa de Administración Industrial. Dirección Piedra de

http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/849/84912053040

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Bolívar. Avenida del Consulado Calle 30 No. 48-152 Apartado Aéreo No. 1382. Telefax 6754454.
Cartagena-Colombia. Correo electrónico: jmgco@yahoo.com, josmorelos@unal.edu.co.
José C. Vergara Schmalbach, es docente de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Cartagena, adscrito a la
Facultad de Ciencias Económicas en el programa de Administración Industrial. Dirección Piedra de
Bolívar. Avenida del Consulado Calle 30 No. 48-152 Apartado Aéreo No. 1382. Telefax 6754454.
Cartagena-Colombia. Correo electrónico:juancarlosvergaras@hotmail.es
Tomás José Fontalvo Herrera, es docente de tiempo completo en la Universidad de Cartagena, adscrito a
la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas en el programa de Administración Industrial. Dirección Piedra de
Bolívar. Avenida del Consulado Calle 30 No. 48-152 Apartado Aéreo No. 1382. Telefax 6754454.
Cartagena-Colombia. Correo electrónico: tomasjosefontalvo@gmail.com

mailto:josmorelos@unal.edu.co

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ASPECTOS ÉTICOS EN LA FORMA DE EJERCER LOS
INGRESOS PÚBLICOS EN MÉXICO
Erika Olivas Valdez, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Rossana Palomino Cano, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Francisco Javier Pestaño Uruchurtu, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.

RESUMEN

En este documento se hace una reflexión sobre la forma en que el gobierno mexicano asigna el ingreso
público, con información obtenida a través de una investigación documental. Específicamente, se hace un
análisis sobre la asignación de recursos en el rubro de gastos administrativos versus los ingresos
destinados al rubro de gasto social. En el entendido de que este último, permite una redistribución del
ingreso y por ende, una política fiscal redistributiva que mejore las condiciones económicas y sociales de
los sectores más vulnerables de México. Para lo anterior, se presenta una sección donde se contextualiza
el problema y se presentan algunos antecedentes. En la segunda sección de este documento, se presenta
información cuantitativa al respecto, que muestra algunos aspectos increíbles e incoherentes en la forma
de asignarse dichos recursos y que permiten realizar una serie de afirmaciones a modo de conclusión.

PALABRAS CLAVES: Administración pública y Gasto social.

JEL: H30

INTRODUCCIÓN

A continuación se pone a discusión la eficacia del gobierno como institución en su función de redistribuir
el ingreso público a partir de la forma en que se asigna el gasto público, a través de un análisis del rubro
de Gastos Administrativos versus Gasto en Rubros de Educación y Transferencias, Apoyos y Subsidios.

Desde la implementación del concepto de tributación, los contribuyentes formales y la sociedad en
general, han contribuido de forma directa o indirecta a la recaudación de ingresos del gobierno en el
entendido de que esta contribución implica una redistribución de dichos ingresos a toda la sociedad.

En la práctica la distribución del Gasto público en el rubro “Gastos Administrativos”, deja entre dicho la
función del Estado respecto a la justa distribución del ingreso, que permita la libertad y dignidad de los
individuos, grupos y clases sociales. Ya que al contrastar los porcentajes destinados a lo gastos corrientes
para la operación del sector gubernamental, como son los gastos administrativos, donde se contemplan
sueldos, salarios, compras en bienes y servicios, entre otros gastos corrientes del Estado, los recursos
destinados sobrepasan en mucho a las cantidades que se destinan (porcentualmente) a otros rubros o
ramos (como educación y salud) que se pensaría son determinantes de un futuro crecimiento económico.

No obstante en la sección de “Comportamiento Detallado del Caso” se buscará analizar esta afirmación,
ya que en primera instancia se puede pensar que el porcentaje asignado a nomina comúnmente es mayor
que de las asignaciones, por lo que el análisis abordará principalmente la eficacia del mismo en el rubro
de transferencias y subsidios. Más aún, en el caso de México se puede revisar la situación especial que

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actualmente esta generando los gastos militares, que se están destinando a combatir (de acuerdo a los
mensajes presidenciales) a la delincuencia organizada.

Para lo anterior, se debe recordar que los principios rectores del gasto público serán la eficiencia, la
eficacia, la honestidad, la transparencia, y la rendición de cuentas, pero sobre todo, el bien colectivo cómo
único destino de los recursos públicos.

Otra situación ética dentro de este mismo tema, radica en la inconsistencia en que se presentan los datos.
A partir de 1998, la forma de presentar la información destinada al gasto público cambio, dificultando la
interpretación de los mismos y desapareciendo rubros como “Educación” que son temas claves para el
desarrollo económico de un país.

Al revisar todos los rubros que contemplan el gasto público del Estado, no aparece ninguno que deje entre
ver de forma clara, el recurso económico destinado a elementos tan importantes como educación o salud.
Muy a pesar de que autores de la materia, han manejado que desde la década de los 70´s, “el presupuesto
del gasto se ha distribuido favoreciendo al sector de la educación” (Higuera, 1982:126).

Lo anterior se considera es un aspecto que se puede analizar desde el punto de vista ético, por ello, la
pregunta a analizar como caso de ética fiscal, es:

¿Es ética la forma en que el Estado distribuye el Gasto Público? Considerando la función primordial del
Estado en la Redistribución del Ingreso Público y Bienestar Económico.

REVISIÓN LITERARIA Y CONTEXTO DEL CASO

En esta sección se pretende contextualizar el caso expuesto hasta ahora, a partir de señalar los argumentos
planteados por autores o expertos en la materia.

El proceso Transparencia y Rendición de Cuentas, cada vez ejerce una mayor la presión al igual que los
mercados financieros, para que los Estados como institución gubernamental, “controlen el gasto público e
impongan una política de saneamiento y estabilidad de sus finanza públicas” (Zapico Eduardo, 2005:
167).

La falta de rendición de cuentas por parte de los gobernantes no permitía que en México los
contribuyentes supieran en qué estaban siendo utilizados sus recursos (Hernández Fausto, 2009: 48).

Hemos visto que el crecimiento excepcional de la escolaridad en México en las últimas cuatro décadas ha
sido también excepcionalmente inequitativo y esto se ha traducido, en el contexto de rendimientos
crecientes a la educación, en un incremento en la desigualdad económica (Andretta, 2002:10).

La educación es uno de los principales vehículos de movilidad social y por ende es el gasto público en
educación, el instrumento gubernamental con mayor potencial redistributivo permanente.

A nivel agregado, se sugieren una serie de instituciones y normas de disciplina que pretenden reforzar el
papel de un actor presupuestario con mayor visión global y comprensiva sobre las consecuencias
colectivas de las propuestas del gasto, para que pueda ejercer un papel dominante en las negociaciones
presupuestarias (Zapico Eduardo, 2005:171).

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La finalidad tributaria redistributiva es necesario tenerla muy presente en cualquier decisión que se
proyecte (Higuera, 1982:129), en el caso de México; La distribución del ingreso ha sido un tema muy
comentado, debido a la marcada distribución inequitativa, principalmente entre las diferentes regiones o
entidades federativas del país.

La sustentabilidad de los programas distributivos o de apoyo para disminuir pobreza deberá ser de largo
plazo o con objetivos congruentes y permanentes, para que algún día veamos efectos positivos en este
tema.

No obstante, pareciera que dicha distribución carece de eficacia, ya que a lo largo de los años, “no se ha
visto sustentabilidad en la política fiscal o estabilidad en los objetivos que se proponen a largo plazo”
(Santaella, 2001:1).

Por otro lado, la forma en que se recauda y el objeto de este tributo, también es un tema complicado, ya
que en México prevalecen los impuestos directos, pero en contraparte la falta de claridad y carencia de
reformas fiscales, han permitido la existencia de elusión fiscal.

COMPORTAMIENTO DETALLADO DEL CASO Y RESULTADOS

Para analizar el comportamiento de la distribución del gasto público, es necesario tener claro, que a nivel
Federal los rubros presupuestados para gastar el ingreso público, difieren a nivel Estatal, ya que en las
entidades cuentan con recursos propios, entre otros criterios.

Los principales rubros que conforman los Gastos Administrativos del Gobierno Federal (En el entendido
que estos gastos corresponden a los pagos de sueldos, salarios, servicios y compra de inmuebles,
necesarios para la operación y funcionamiento del aparato gubernamental), se dividen en Servicios
Personales, Materiales y Suministros, Servicios Generales y; Adquisición de Bienes e Inmuebles, los
cuales representan el 30% del total de gastos generados por el sector público, como se puede apreciar en
la Tabla No. 1, que se presenta continuación.

Tabla No. 1: Comparativo de Gastos Administrativos vs Transferencias en el Gasto Público Federal de
2004

Total $ 616,367,067.00 100%
Servicios personales $ 154,670,033.00 25.1%
Materiales y Suministros $ 6,709,206.00 1.1%
Servicios Generales $ 16,292,042.00 2.6%
Adquisición de Bienes e Inmuebles $ 2,623,422.00 0.4%
Total de Gastos Admón. $ 180,294,703.00 29.3%
Subsidios, transferencias y ayudas $ 244,119,773.00 39.6%
Obras Públicas y acciones sociales $ 44,735,513.00 7.3%
Construcción con información presentada en la publicación de INEGI; Ingreso y Gasto Público en México 2004.

No obstante, si hacemos la misma relación para el caso del Estado de Sonora, antes de aplicar los cambios
en la forma de presentar los gastos administrativos (1997), dichos gastos administrativos representan el

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90% más de recursos, que los destinados a “Salubridad Pública” o 50% más, que al Gasto en
“Educación”. A pesar de que la nuestra Constitución plantea que el Estado buscará una optimización de
los recursos y los encaminará al desarrollo del País.

Anteriormente existía en las publicaciones oficiales presentadas por INEGI (El Ingreso y el Gasto Público
en México, 2001), la siguiente distribución en el rubro de “Gastos Administrativos”: Administración
Pública, Seguridad Pública, Salubridad Pública, Educación Pública, Actividades Culturales, Previsión
Social, Registro Público, y Diversos.

De acuerdo a esta forma de presentar la información, podemos analizar de cierta forma, la eficacia del
gasto en cuanto a redistribución del mismo, no obstante en la actualidad la forma de presentar este tipo de
cifras, se modificó reduciendo el número de rubros, de la siguiente manera: Servicios Personales,
Materiales y Suministros; y Servicios Generales (INEGI, 2004), como se presentó en la Tabla No. 1.

Para que se alcance la vigilancia social de nuestros recursos, es necesario que el gobierno sea mucho más
transparente en el uso de los recursos. A pesar de la existencia del Instituto Federal de Acceso a la
información (IFAI), todavía existen muchas vertientes por donde las dependencias públicas esconden
información al contribuyente, que incluso ocasionan la intervención de la Suprema Corte de Justicia
(Hernández Fausto, 2009: 48).

Tabla No. 2: Relación de Gastos de acuerdo a diferentes Programas o Rubros

Monto destinado en 2010
(Miles de Millones de
Pesos)
Concepto
80 Ahorro en el gasto de Administración, operación y de servicios personales en dependencias
81 Programa de Desarrollo Humano Oportunidades y de Apoyo Alimentario
44* Gasto en Obra Pública y acciones sociales
7.5 Ramo 11: Educación Pública 2010
* Corresponde al Gasto Público de 2004
* Corresponde al Gasto Público de 2004

De acuerdo a los datos presentados en la Tabla No. 2 se puede apreciar que existen ciertas erogaciones
realizadas por el sector gubernamental que comparadas con el monto propuesto como ahorro de gastos de
operación, rebasa por mucho lo que los trabajadores de este sector son capaces de ahorrar, de acuerdo a la
propuesta de gasto del año 2010. Lo que permite cuestionarnos, si en un año previó el gasto
administrativo fue desmesurado y por lo menos pudo haber sido de 80 mil millones menos; ¿Porqué no se
destinaron a programas de educación o ciencia y tecnología?

Por otro lado, es bien conocido que los gastos destinados al pago de salarios y sueldos de los diputados y
senadores (que determinan y asignan los incrementos al salario del resto de los mexicanos), es exagerado
y vergonzoso considerando el nivel de pobreza y desigualdad social que existe en nuestro país. A
continuación se puede observar algunos de los datos referentes a este tipo de gasto y como si se relaciona
con el ingreso público destinado a otros programas, deja mucho que desear.

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Tabla No. 3: Relación de Datos respecto a Sueldos de Diputados y Senadores

Monto / Porcentaje Concepto
$ 2,312.00 Gasto Anual en Salarios de Diputados y Senadores 2010 (Millones de Pesos)
$ 115.30 Programa Federal de Comunidades Saludables (Millones de Pesos)
4.85% Incremento Porcentual del Salario Mínimo (2010)
8.80% Incremento Porcentual del Salario de Diputados (2010)

$ 59.80

Salario Mínimo Zona A (pesos al 2010)
$ 4,400.00 Salario Diario aproximado de un Diputado (Pesos, sin incluir prestaciones al 2010)
Construcción en base a datos presentados por INEGI, Diario Oficial y Centro de Investigaciones de la Cámara de Diputados.

Por todo lo anteriormente expuesto, es necesario reflexionar si el actuar de los Gobiernos en turno y la
clase política de nuestro País, esta actuando éticamente.

CONCLUSIÓN

De entrada, los recursos siempre son limitados, por ello, es tan importante y un compromiso ético, el buen
uso u optimización de estos; Y más aún si estos recursos son propiedad de la nación.

Es necesario que la clase política de nuestro País, adquiera conciencia de la importancia que tienen sus
decisiones; que en sus manos esta mediar alternativas de desarrollo humano y el bienestar de toda una
economía; Que exista un compromiso real hacia el bien común y que retribuyan a la sociedad que los
puso en el lugar en el que están actualmente.

Para actuar éticamente de acuerdo a las premisas planteadas en la Constitución, el gasto público se deberá
asignar cada vez, con una mejor orientación, pensando en los beneficios sociales de largo plazo y no de
corto plazo. Generar un verdadero desarrollo empresarial y tecnológico que garantice desarrollo
económico y social; Y por ende, disminuya las diferencias sociales y mejore las condiciones de igualdad.

Se deberá invertir en rubros con efectos de largo plazo, como son la educación, la ciencia y la tecnología,
ya que solamente estas variables permitirán realmente, mejorar las condiciones de vida de los mexicanos.

A la par deberá existir una política de racionalidad que permita que los recursos destinados a gastos
administrativos sean menores proporcionalmente hablando y más productivos, para ello, deberán medir su
nivel de eficacia y permitir ser evaluados desde esta perspectiva.

Finalmente se debe rendir cuentas claras (con acceso al público en general), que permita una participación
social; Que se involucre a los principales beneficiarios de este recurso nacional, permitiendo la
retroalimentación respecto a la efectividad del mismo.

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REFERENCIAS

Andretta John, (2002). Calidad de Gobierno: Gasto Público y Desarrollo Humano. Programa de
Presupuesto y Gasto Público – Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Económico (CIDE), México.
Extraído de:< www.presupuestoygastopublico.org>, [Consulta en Mayo de 2011].

Programa de Presupuesto y Gasto Público, (2011). Manual para el Banco de Datos de las Finanzas
Estatales. Extraído de: . [Consulta en Mayo de 2011].

Programa de Presupuesto y Gasto Público. Información Estadística sobre Finanzas Estatales. Extraído de:
. [Consulta en Abril de 2011].

INEGI, (1999 – 2010). El Ingreso y Gasto Público de México. Biblioteca Virtual del INEGI. Dirección
URL:, [Consulta: Septiembre de 2010].

Centro de Investigaciones Económicas, Administrativas y Sociales, (2007). Gobierno y Políticas Públicas,
Compilación de Sánchez Silva y Castro López. Ética Pública y Corrupción, autor Manuel Villoria
Mendieta. Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Sinaloa, México.

Hernández Fausto, (2009). Para Entender Los Impuestos en México. NOSTRA Ediciones, México.

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LOS RETOS DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL SECTOR
METALMECÁNICO EN EL DESARROLLO
ECONÓMICO DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
Lourdes Evelyn Apodaca del Angel, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María del Carmen Alcalá Álvarez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Silvia Hernández Solís, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California

RESUMEN

Una de las industrias básicas más importantes para la economía Mexicana es la Industria Metalmecánica, la cual
provee de maquinaria e insumos a la mayoría de las actividades económicas para su reproducción, quien por sus
características muestra potencial para ser motor del desarrollo regional, en este trabajo se analizan los retos
que se presentan para este sector en un espacio en el que confluyen actores de las municipalidades
bajacalifornianas y la forma en que se deben plantear estrategias y retos para contribuir en el llamado triángulo
intermunicipal y de desarrollo económico para Baja California como esquema de concentración para las
actividades económicas y sociales que constituyen un potencial en el desarrollo regional.

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LAS PRÁCTICAS DE ALTO RENDIMIENTO
INFLUENCIA DE LA AUTORIDAD NO FORMAL EN LA
ADMINISTRACION DEL TALENTO HUMANO Y SU
IMPACTO EN LOS RESULTADOS EMPRESARIALES
Juan Nicolás Montoya Monsalve , Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Santiago Gutiérrez Broncano, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Alvaro Moncada Niño , Consultor Organizacional

RESUMEN

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el concepto de autoridad formal en las organizaciones, mediante
una discusión teórica de sus elementos componentes, su transversalidad en el proceso administrativo, y
su efecto en el desarrollo proactivo de los objetos empresariales; pretendiendo determinar si esta
variable es proactiva o no, en el desarrollo de prácticas de alto rendimiento en la Administración del
Talento Humano, y si es o no una restricción, para que las personas se conviertan en su base
estratégica y/o competitiva. También se intenta, a partir de un estudio de caso, determinar el efecto que
tiene la expresión autoridad en los diseños no jerárquicos, los efectos de la posición estructural en las
organizaciones, el efecto del liderazgo, la relación de las estructuras y los cargos con relación a los
éxitos y alcances de la organización, el efecto sobre las relaciones y la comunicación
intraorganizacional, la imposición, el autoritarismo , la no concertación con la falta de coherencia con
los propósitos individuales, misionales y visionales, el continium de las malas decisiones, la relación con
la dirección y el control, y por último relacionar todos estos elementos con los individuos
organizacionales actuales, inmersos en una sociedad del conocimiento.

PALABRAS CLAVES: Jerarquía, autoridad, poder, estructura piramidal, subordinación, competitividad,
desempeño laboral, gestión centrada en resultados, autosuficientes, autocríticos, autogestión, autocontrol,
autoevaluación, autocompromiso, autores, flexibilidad y adaptabilidad.

INFLUENCE OF FORMAL AUTHORITY IN HIGH-
PERFORMANCE PRACTICES IN HUMAN RESOURCES
AND ITS IMPACT ON BUSINESS RESULTS

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to analyze the concept of formal authority in organizations, using a theoretical
discussion of its components, their mainstreaming in the administrative process, and its effect on the
proactive development of business objects, pretending to determine if this variable is proactive or not, in
the development of high performance practices in Human Resource Management, and whether or not a
restriction, for people to become their strategic base and / or competitive.

We also try, from a case study, to determine the effect of expression no authority in hierarchical designs,
the effects of structural position in organizations, the effect of leadership, the relationship of structures
and the charges regarding the successes and achievements of the organization, the effect on intra-

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relationships and communication, imposing, authoritarian, non-cooperation with the lack of consistency
with individual purposes, mission and provisionally, the continium of bad decisions, relationship with
management and control, and finally connect all these elements with the current organizational
individuals immersed in a knowledge society

KEYWORDS: Hierarchy, authority, power, pyramid structure, subordination, competitiveness, job
performance, managing for results, self-sufficient, self-critical, self, self, self, self-commitment, authors,
flexibility and adaptability.

INTRODUCCIÓN
La disciplina de gestión de recursos humanos ha sido muy criticada por no disponer de marcos teóricos
que sirvieran de fundamento tanto para la realización de investigaciones científicas como para la
elaboración de una doctrina común. Esto ha sido modificado gracias a investigaciones recientes que han
hecho un gran esfuerzo en modelar conceptualmente los diferentes trabajos desarrollados a través de
distintas teorías de la organización (Wright y Mac Mahan, 1992; Jackson y Schuler, 1995; Delery y Doty,
1996).

Estos modelos tratan de analizar la relación existente entre la estrategia empresarial, la gestión de recursos
humanos y los resultados empresariales y se pueden establecer tres enfoques diferentes:
– Enfoque contingente, según el cual existe una relación entre gestión de recursos humanos y estrategia
que influye en los resultados (Delery y Doty, 1996). Dependiendo de cual sea la variable
independiente y cual la variable moderadora estaremos frente a la teoría basada en los recursos y
capacidades (Barney, 1991; Wernefelt, 1984) o frente a la economía industrial (Porter, 1980, 1985).
– Enfoque universalista, que defiende la existencia de ciertas prácticas que contribuyen siempre a una
mejora de los resultados empresariales, independientemente de la opción estratégica elegida (Ferris et
al, 1999; Yound et al, 1996).
– Enfoque configurativo, se trata de una postura intermedia en la que no se diferencia entre variable
independiente y moderadora, sino que ambas son igualmente importantes. En este enfoque se acentúa
la importancia de la relación entro los elementos que componen la organización (enfoque holístico)
(Delery y Doty, 1996).

El problema que se plantea es que no existen estudios concluyentes. Sino que por el contrario,
encontramos dificultades para conseguir resultados claros y unánimes que ayuden a construir un único
marco en materia de gestión de recursos humanos. Encontramos diferencias entre las prácticas que son
definidas como de alto compromiso o de alto rendimiento, al igual que ocurre con la operativización de la
estrategia competitiva, lo cual provoca que el ajuste entre estrategia y gestión de por compromiso sea
impreciso. Además la mayoría de estos estudios se han centrado en analizar solamente las prácticas y
técnicas operativas de gestión de recursos humanos por lo que su nivel de estudio ha sido excesivamente
superficial, dejando a un lado la verdadera política y principios de gestión de los recursos humanos
(Delery, 1998). También encontramos resultados contradictorios cuando se analiza la congruencia entre
estrategia y gestión empresarial (Delery y Doty, 1996; Lee y Miller, 1999; Legnick Hall y Legnick Hall,
1998, Schuler y Jackson, 1987, Valle et al, 2000). Además, existe poca evidencia empírica de que tal
ajuste sea necesario o incluso beneficioso (Delery, 1998 y Roche, 1999) ya que los resultados no son
concluyentes (Delery y Doty, 1996 y Huselid, 1995).

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Por todo ello, el presente trabajo representa un primer acercamiento para el estudio de tres elementos
como son: los principios que influyen en el sistema de dirección acordes con la opción estratégica, las
prácticas de alto rendimiento en la gestión de recursos humanos y los resultados empresariales.
Centrándonos en el enfoque configurativo y tomando como estudio una determinada empresa,
pretendemos analizar la repercusión que tiene la disminución del uso de la autoridad formal (como
principio empresarial) en la elección de prácticas y técnicas de alto rendimiento en la gestión de recursos
humanos y su impacto en los resultados empresariales. De esta manera se pretenden integrar los enfoques
contingente y universalista , analizando su literatura y determinar la posible existencia de una relación
directa entre ambos elementos.

REVISIÓN DE LITERATURA

La autoridad formal como restricción en los sistemas de dirección

El ejercicio de la autoridad formal, promulgado por el taylorismo como método único de coordinación,
atraviesa un momento de seria dificultad en las organizaciones modernas. El incremento del nivel
educativo, que confiere un mayor criterio e induce a pedir más protagonismo en las decisiones; el
incremento del nivel de vida en los países desarrollados, que reduce la dependencia económica del sujeto
y que, consiguientemente, le confiere más poder frente a las organizaciones; la creciente complejidad del
funcionamiento de las empresas, que exige una estrecha coordinación de esfuerzos entre profesionales; el
desarrollo de una más clara conciencia de la dignidad humana, que lleva a pedir más participación; el
desarrollo o cambio de las estructuras de las organizaciones, que ha pasado a ser más compleja y con
mayor autonomía; han provocado que el concepto de subordinado se haya modificado por el de
colaborador o compañero de equipo y ha favorecido que ser reconozca que la inflexibilidad perjudica el
propio desempeño de la organización.

Por este motivo, las responsabilidades de los sujetos no son solamente las que están descritas en los
manuales de funciones, sino que son aquellas que se establecen de acuerdo a las capacidades de los
trabajadores, simplificando de esta forma los niveles de jerarquía organizativa y dando lugar a
organigramas más planos. También se puede observar cómo se comienza a implantar nuevas formas de
trabajo como el teletrabajo, el empleo descentralizado, el trabajo por colectivo y otras dinámicas que
sustentan la movilidad del factor trabajo.

Se pasa así de un desarrollo funcional para el factor humano a la búsqueda de un desarrollo estratégico.
Para ello se requiere trascender del dominio y la subordinación jerárquica, burocrática, plutocrática o
formas más dinámicas como la heterarquía, el empoderamiento, la autogestión o la holonarquía a una
instancia consensual democrática. Dando lugar de esta manera a una organización, denominada como
coalición, en la que no existe relación jerárquica ya que está autogestionada pero en el que cada miembro
posee unas responsabilidades y dispone de poder de decisión sobre los recursos que controla y por tanto la
retribución o contrapartida se determina ex post, en función de los resultados del grupo (Salas, 1996).

La coalición, plantea dos grandes problemas de diseño organizativo que la gestión de los recursos
humanos ha de resolver: la coordinación y los incentivos. La coordinación es necesaria debido a la
existencia de interdependencias entre las decisiones de los distintos agentes y esto existe compartir la
información necesaria que permita a cada miembro anticipar las decisiones o acciones de los demás o
establecer ex ante las rutinas o reglas de decisión.

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La cultura se puede considerar como un mecanismo que restringe la conducta de sus miembros (O´Reilly,
1989) y que facilita la coordinación (Kreeps, 1990) en el momento en el que trasmite a los intereados cuál
será la línea de conducta a seguir cuando se tengan que tomar decisiones en aspectos no previstos. Cremer
(1993), precisa cuáles son los mecanismos a través de los cuáles la cultura mejora la coordinación y
establece los dos siguientes: el lenguaje común, que facilita la comunicación; y el establecimiento de
reglas de conducta para que cada miembro pueda predecir el comportamiento de los demás y ajustar el
suyo. En la misma dirección, Kreeps (1990) insiste en la utilización de la cultura como mecanismo de
coordinación sobre todo cuando la conducta individual puede dar lugar a múltiples equilibrios eficientes.

Además, existe evidencia en que el estilo directivo y la cultura empresarial son aspectos intimamente
relacionados con sistema de gestión de recursos humanos y cabe argumentar que sólo a través de la
coherencia entre ellos se pueden generar ventajas competitivas sostenibles a largo plazo (Ordiz, 2000).
Esta idea también la encontramos en los trabajos de Ogboma y Harris (2000) y Hemey (1998) cuando
argumentan respectivamente, que la forma en que el estilo de liderazgo influye en el rendimiento está
mediatizada por la cultura empresarial y proponen a la cultura empresarial como requisito para el éxito de
un determinado estilo de liderazgo.
De todo ello, se desprende la siguiente proposición:

P1: Una disminución de la autoridad formal en las empresas ha de ser sustituida por una cultura fuerte
orientada hacia las relaciones interpersonales que mejore la colaboración y el compromiso entre ellos y
con la organización.

Repercusiones en la gestión de recursos humanos: las prácticas de Alto Compromiso

La gestión por alto compromiso (Lawler, 1986, Walton, 1985 y Word y Albanese, 1995) también ha sido
descrita como prácticas de alto rendimiento (Huselid, 1995) y también es conocido como modelo soft de
gestión de recursos humanos (Guest, 1987, Turss et al, 1997). Pero básicamente, se trata de un
planteamiento de gestión de recursos humanos orientado hacia el compromiso con los empleados y que
implica la participación activa de éstos en la toma de decisiones, proporcionándole los recursos y el apoyo
organizativo necesario para ello (R, E y Valle).

Aunque la literatura es muy rica en este tipo de prácticas (Arthur, 1994; Kofman, y Senge, 1993, Delery y
Huselid, 1996; Ichniowski, Shaw y Prennushi, 1997)), el problema se plantea a la hora de determinar qué
prácticas concretas de recursos humanos son las que mejoran y sirven para gestionar el compromiso, ya
que los estudios no muestran unanimidad al respecto. Para determinar las prácticas de alto compromiso,
algunos autores aconsejan en primer lugar medir el grado de concepción que sobre los recursos humanos
tiene la parte de los directivos (Compromiso con los directivos ) o dicho en términos de Eisenberger et al
(1986), lo que se tiene que observar y medir es el apoyo organizativo percibido por el empleado.

Donde sí encontramos unanimidad es que todas ellas enfatizan la autonomía de los trabajadores sobre su
trabajo (Arthur, 1994) favoreciendo de esta manera la experimentación y promoviendo la comunicación
interna y con ella la coordinación de los diferentes miembros de la organización (Truss, et al, 1997). Los
principales argumentos que se han establecido para la incorporación de estas prácticas de alto
compromiso han sido dos: permite a la organización que sea más efectiva (Lawler, 1986) y aumenta la
aprobación social de este modelo en contraposición al estilo Taylorista tradicional basado en el control
estricto y la subordinación de los empleados (Shashkin, 1984).

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De manera que podemos afirmar que las prácticas de alto compromiso están relacionadas de forma
positiva con la disminución del uso de la autoridad formal por parte de las empresas, lo cual nos permite
plantear la siguiente proposición:

P2: A menor uso de la autoridad formal, las empresas utilizan prácticas de alto compromiso para
gestionar a sus recursos humanos y consiguen mayores resultados.

METODOLOGÍA

Este artículo presenta algunos aspectos del estudio de caso como método de investigación en las ciencias
administrativas. Se sustenta, en el método como forma de generar teorías sobre fenómenos
organizacionales de causalidad compleja. La aplicación correcta de esta herramienta legitima la
investigación e invita al uso de sus resultados; facilitando la conexión entre el mundo académico y el
industrial. “La racionalidad de las tareas administrativas es una racionalidad práctica que utiliza
instrumentos técnicos y estima con prudencia su validez y factibilidad, teniendo en mente las
circunstancias culturales e históricas concretas y, sobre todo, la personalidad de quienes componen la
firma. De allí que el método del caso aparezca como un procedimiento extremadamente apropiado para su
enseñanza.” (Crespo, 2000)

Los casos de investigación adoptan, en general, una perspectiva integradora. Un estudio de caso es, según
la definición de Yin (1994), “una investigación empírica que estudia un fenómeno contemporáneo dentro
de su contexto de la vida real, especialmente cuando los límites entre el fenómeno y su contexto no son
claramente evidentes. (…) Una investigación de estudio de caso trata exitosamente con una situación
técnicamente distintiva en la cual hay muchas más variables de interés que datos observacionales; y,
como resultado, se basa en múltiples fuentes de evidencia, con datos que deben converger en un estilo de
triangulación; y, también como resultado, se beneficia del desarrollo previo de proposiciones teóricas que
guían la recolección y el análisis de datos.”

Popper escribió que el método del caso como los estudios estadísticos y otros enfoques cuantitativos
buscan desarrollar teorías con consecuencias verificables empíricamente, el método del caso propone la
generalización y la inferencia hacia la teoría y no hacia otros casos, busca introducir dentro del caso datos
cuantitativos que permitan consolidar los hallazgos cualitativos.

Mitchell (1983) justifica este camino, pues la inferencia lógica es epistemológicamente bastante
independiente de la inferencia estadística. En términos de los cánones de la inferencia estadística, el
analista puede suponer que la misma relación existe entre las mismas características en la población
madre. Sin embargo, la inferencia desde la muestra en relación con la población madre se realiza
simplemente sobre la variación concomitante de las dos características. En la inferencia lógica (que
algunos llaman científica o causal), el investigador postula o descubre relaciones entre características, en
el marco de un esquema conceptual explicativo. La relevancia del caso y su generalización no proviene,
entonces, del lado estadístico, sino del lado lógico, las características del estudio de caso se extienden a
otros casos por la fortaleza del razonamiento explicativo.

Un diseño de investigación se compone de cinco componentes, Yin (1994): 1- las preguntas del estudio,
2- sus proposiciones, si existieran, 3- su unidad de análisis (pueden ser varias), 4- la lógica que vincula los
datos con las proposiciones y 5- los criterios para interpretar los hallazgos.

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Las proposiciones orientan sobre los objetos que deben ser examinados en el estudio; desmenuzan las
preguntas de tipo cómo y por qué para determinar qué se debe estudiar. A partir de las preguntas de
investigación se buscan datos sistemáticamente para extraer conclusiones. Las preguntas, los datos, y las
conclusiones están vinculados lógicamente entre sí por el diseño del caso.

Algunos autores como Dyer (1991) se inclinan por el estudio de un solo caso y citan para avalar su
posición ejemplos de casos clásicos, como Street Corner Society, que mostrarían la importancia de
concentrarse en el estudio a fondo de un único caso. Otros Eisenhardt (1989) sostienen en cambio que es
posible obtener recursos para casos múltiples; de hecho, hay ejemplos de casos múltiples ya clásicos,
como Crozier (1964). Smith (1990) relata que, en su experiencia, a medida que cada caso progresa a
través de entrevistas los datos se van adecuando a un patrón, en otras palabras, una teoría va emergiendo y
los datos sucesivos se hacen predecibles a partir de la teoría.

El caso de análisis: SEMCO.

SEMCO es una compañía que ha despertado un inusitado interés en todo el mundo, por las prácticas
novedosas en la administración de sus recursos en especial el Humano que la han llevado a convertirse en
la más grande compañía manufacturera marina y de maquinaria procesadora de alimentos del Brasil, trata
a sus 800 empleados como adultos responsables. Creada en 1953 por un ingeniero de origen Austriaco
llamado Antonio Curt Semler. Centra sus actividades productivas en cinco fábricas que producen un
rango de productos sofisticados, incluyendo bombas marinas, scanners digitales, lavadoras comerciales de
platos, filtros para camión, y equipo de mezcla para cualquier cosa desde chicle hasta combustible para
cohetes. Entre sus clientes principales se encuentran Alcoa, Saab y General Motors. Ha construido varias
fábricas de galletas para Nabisco, Nestlé y United Biscuits. Los competidores multinacionales son, entre
otros, AMF, Worthington Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries y Carrier.

El fundador pasó la dirección a su hijo Ricardo Semler, quien tuvo que lidiar con tiempos difíciles para la
economía de su país y el devenir de su empresa. Al parecer los problemas de salud derivados del estrés
colocaron a Ricardo en una posición decisivamente pasiva, lo que lo llevó a aceptar las propuestas
autogestionarias de sus trabajadores. Consiguiendo en primera instancia, evitar el despido masivo y ligar
su remuneración a los beneficios de la empresa, a la vez que conseguían reducir el sueldo de los
directivos, posteriormente se organizaron e en pequeñas unidades coordinadas de no más de 200
trabajadores, bajo un reducido staff e torno a su propietario y un Consejero Delegado (quien rotaba cada
seis meses). Pero sin duda lo más interesante en este desarrollo es cada individuo puede fijar su salario,
sus horas de trabajo, concentrados en decisiones democráticas, y con divisiones de gran autonomía, que se
concretan en un pequeño manual de supervivencia, que la llevado a ser una compañía poco ortodoxa que
produce mucho dinero evitando las decisiones, las reglas, la autoridad ejecutiva. Todos tienen acceso a
los libros de la compañía y donde la totalidad de los trabajadores vota sobre las decisiones corporativas
importantes.
Asociaciones de Administración, sindicatos y la prensa repetidamente la han señalado como la mejor
compañía para trabajar en Brasil. Ya no se promocionan puestos de trabajo, sin embargo se reciben hasta
300 solicitudes para cada posición disponible.

SEMCO posee tres valores fundamentales en los cuales basa unos 30 programas administrativos. Estos
valores, la democracia, la participación de utilidades, y la información, funcionan en un círculo
complicado, cada uno dependiendo de los otros dos. La estructura corporativa, las libertades de los

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empleados, las relaciones con el sindicato, las limitaciones en el tamaño de la fábrica, todos son producto
del compromiso con estos principios.

El primero de los tres valores de SEMCO es la democracia, o el compromiso del empleado. En forma
clara, los trabajadores controlan sus condiciones de trabajo así están más contentos que aquellos que no lo
hacen. Implementar el compromiso del empleado es un asunto tan complejo, tan difícil y, comúnmente,
tan frustrante, que es más fácil hablar de ello que hacerlo. SEMCO encontró cuatro grandes obstáculos
para la administración participativa efectiva: el tamaño, la jerarquía, la falta de motivación, y la
ignorancia. En una unidad inmensa de producción, la gente se siente pequeña, desconocida, e incapaz de
influenciar la forma en que se hace el trabajo o la utilidad final obtenida.

La pirámide organizacional es la causa de muchos daños en las compañías, porque el viaje es demasiado
largo desde la base. Las pirámides hacen énfasis en el poder, promueven la inseguridad, distorsionan las
comunicaciones, le ponen trabas a la interacción, y hacen muy difícil que la gente que planea y la gente
que ejecuta se muevan en la misma dirección. Entonces SEMCO diseñó un círculo organizacional. Su
mayor ventaja es que reduce los niveles de administración a tres – un nivel corporativo, y dos niveles
operacionales en las unidades de manufactura.

Consta de tres círculos concéntricos. Un círculo central pequeño que consta de cinco personas que
integran los movimientos de la compañía. El segundo, un círculo más grande, contiene los jefes de ocho
divisiones – los llamados socios. Finalmente, un tercero, un círculo enorme que contiene a todos los
demás empleados. La mayoría de ellos son los que se llaman asociados; son los encargados de la
investigación, el diseño, las ventas y el trabajo de manufactura y no tienen a nadie que les reporte
regularmente. Pero algunos de ellos son un equipo permanente o temporal, cuya función es liderar y se
denominan coordinadores. Ningún coordinador se reporta a otro coordinador, esa característica del
sistema es la que garantiza la reducción en los estratos administrativos.

No se selecciona o promueve nadie hasta que no ha sido entrevistado y aceptado por todos sus futuros
subordinados. Dos veces al año, los subordinados evalúan a los administradores. También dos veces al
año todos en la compañía diligencian en forma anónima un cuestionario sobre la credibilidad de la
compañía y la competencia de la alta administración. Entre otras cosas, se les pregunta a los empleados
qué cosas los harían renunciar o entrar en paro.

Se insiste en tomar decisiones importantes en forma colegiada, y ciertas decisiones se toman luego de un
voto general en la compañía, lo que convoca permanentemente a una administración participativa.
Otras formas de combatir la jerarquía, es dar a los empleados control sobre sus propias vidas. En una
palabra, se contratan adultos y luego se tratan como adultos. El sentido común es una táctica más riesgosa
porque exige responsabilidad personal.

SEMCO no tiene reglas sobre el vestido. La idea de que la apariencia personal es importante en un trabajo
cualquier trabajo es una tontería. Una compañía que necesita vestidos de negocios para probar su seriedad
probablemente no tiene una prueba más significativa.

Se fomenta y se insiste en la rotación de puestos cada dos a cinco años para evitar la desmotivación.
Del lado más experimental, se tiene un programa para personas que reciben adiestramiento a nivel de
ingreso llamado Perdidos en el Espacio por medio del cual se seleccionan un par de personas cada año
que no tienen descripción de cargo alguna. Los cuida un padrino y durante un año pueden hacer lo que

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quieran, mientras intenten al menos 12 áreas o unidades diferentes. Por la misma lógica que rige los otros
programas para empleados, se han eliminado los relojes. Los empleados van y vienen de acuerdo con sus
propios horarios, aún en el piso de la fábrica. Cuando se introdujo el horario flexible, se decidió realizar
reuniones de seguimiento regulares para definir los problemas y decidir cómo manejar los abusos y las
interrupciones del trabajo. Esto sucedió hace años, y todavía no se realiza la primera de estas reuniones.
Se forman grupos, pero éstos encuentran sus propios líderes. Y esto no es falta de estructura, es sólo falta
de una estructura impuesta desde arriba.

En el caso de SEMCO, cada división cuenta con un programa de participación de utilidades individual.
Dos veces al año se calcula el 23% de la utilidad posterior a los impuestos sobre el estado de ingresos de
cada división y le damos un cheque a tres empleados que han sido elegidos por quienes trabajan en esa
división. Estos tres trabajadores invierten el dinero hasta que cada unidad puede reunirse y decidir por
simple mayoría de votos lo que desean hacer con él. En la mayoría de las unidades, se ha decidido una
distribución por igual. Si la unidad tiene 150 trabajadores, se divide el total por 150 y se le entrega a cada
uno su parte. Así de simple. Quien barre el piso recibe igual que el socio de la división.

Son muchas las cosas que contribuyen a un exitoso programa de participación de utilidades: bajo nivel de
cambio de empleados, pago competitivo, ausencia de paternalismo, negativa a otorgar premios de
consolación cuando las utilidades bajan, distribución frecuente (trimestral o semestral) de utilidades y
muchas oportunidades para que los empleados cuestionen las decisiones de la administración que afectan
las futuras utilidades. Pero nada es más importante que aquellas estadísticas vitales reportes frecuentes,
cortos, francos sobre cómo se desempeña la compañía. Transparencia total. Sin tretas, sin
simplificaciones.

Todos los empleados de SEMCO asisten a clases para aprender a leer y entender las cifras, y uno de sus
sindicatos es el que dicta las clases. Cada mes, cada empleado recibe una hoja de balance, un análisis de
pérdidas y ganancias, y un estado de flujo de caja de su división. Los informes contienen unos 70 items
(más, incidentalmente, de los que utilizan para manejar la compañía, pero no se quiere que nadie piense
que se trata de retener información).El mostrar las cifras reales siempre tendrá consecuencias positivas a
largo plazo.

Lo que importa en los presupuestos como en los informes es que las cifras sean pocas e importantes y que
la gente las entienda con aproximación. Y esto es todo. La participación da a la gente control sobre su
trabajo; la participación de utilidades les da una razón para desempeñarse mejor; la información les dice
lo que funciona y lo que no funciona.

Variables de Medida

Utilización de la autoridad formal:
– Número de niveles jerárquicos o de responsabilidad
– Lenguaje utilizado: Subordinado versus Compañero
– Normas y directrices generales: centradas en el poder o en la responsabilidad
– Centros de decisión: uno o múltiples
– Toma de decisión: individual o colectiva

Variables de medición apoyo organizativo percibido por los empleados:

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– Se ponen en marcha acciones para identificar necesidades de recursos e información de
todo el personal de la empresa
– La dirección comunica y reconoce formalmente los logros de sus colaboradores
– La empresa comunica formalmente su política y estrategia a todos sus empleados
– Directivos y supervisores permiten a los empleados tener una alta autonomía y
autocontrol sobre sus actuaciones

Prácticas de recursos humanos de alto compromiso
– Contratación selectiva: se buscan individuos que se adecuen a la organización y a su
cultura o no.
– Contrataciones fijas: uso de contratos indefinidos, enmarcado en una política de empleo
estable o contratos temporales
– Formación intensiva: Altas oportunidades de formación ofrecidas a los empleados o no
– Formación genérica: formación orientada a la polivalencia que permite a los empleados
desarrollar diferentes funciones y taras o formación específica
– Promoción cualitativa: uso de criterios de promoción basados en actitudes que respalden
la cultura organizativa o promoción cuantitativa
– Evaluación cualitativa: uso de criterios de evaluación basados en actitudes que respaldan
la cultura organizativa o evaluación cuantitativa
– Retribución basada en el individuo: salario base determinado por los conocimientos de
los individuos y su flexibilidad para realizar múltiples tareas o basado en el puesto de
trabajo
– Nivel de retribución medio –alto: niveles retributivos por encima o en la media del
mercado , buscando equidad externa
– Retribución a largo plazo: vinculación de los incentivos salariales al logro de objetivos a
medio y largo plazo
– Incentivos colectivos: utilización del rendimiento colectivo (equipos de trabajo,
empresa) como criterio para el reparto de incentivos salariales o incentivos individuales.

Variables de medición de resultados (mejor mostrar su evolución si tenemos todos los datos)
– Se aprecia una mejora de los resultados financieros
– Mejora la cuota de mercado
– Mejora de las ganancias como porcentaje de las ventas
– Incremento de ventas por empleado
– Rendimiento en el puesto de trabajo
– Resolución de problemas de alta calidad
– Niveles de rotación y absentismo

CONCLUSIONES

Hoy día el concepto de autoridad, empieza a tener ciertas limitaciones, ya que los procedimientos para la
toma de decisiones se han bajado a niveles más bajos de la corporación. El sistema jerárquico que
anteriormente se utilizaba ha dado pie a un sistema en el que los empleados son responsables de sus
propias acciones, y el liderazgo viene de los equipos de trabajo y ya no sólo de una persona como ocurría
anteriormente.

La autoridad formal tradicional no resulta efectiva, ya que las órdenes pueden ser desobedecidas, como

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pueden ser obedecidas cuando están equivocadas y las consecuencias de estas distintas posibilidades. La
autoridad descansa en la aceptación (o no) del consentimiento y aprobación de los subordinados, no existe
en realidad el concepto de legitimación de autoridad sino que es algo muy sencillo: las personas
subordinadas simplemente eligen entre distintas alternativas respecto de obedecer o no obedecer. Es
importante que la estructura organizacional contribuya a crear una situación en la que el administrador
pueda dirigir con mayor eficacia. En este sentido, la organización es una técnica para fomentar el
liderazgo. Si la asignación de autoridad y los arreglos estructurales crean una situación en la que exista la
tendencia a que los jefes de departamentos sean considerados como líderes y en el cual se les ayude en
sus tareas de liderazgo la estructuración organizacional habrá cumplido una tarea esencial.

En ésta perspectiva se postula implícitamente una oposición entre las Relaciones heterárquicas
(identificadas con las que ocurren en las redes) y las jerárquicas (asociadas con las cadenas de autoridad),
estas últimas aparecen como algo nocivo que debe desterrarse o como la expresión de una forma
organizacional inferior o un tanto inadecuadas para enfrentar las exigencias de la economía mundial y las
sociedades económicas contemporáneas. Todos los miembros de una organización tienen autoridad para
tomar decisiones y llevar a cabo acciones que afectan al futuro de la organización, uno de los aportes de
los nuevos conceptos de autoridad se centran en la revolución de las técnicas para tomar decisiones, ya
que no corresponde a los sujetos organizacionales, sino más bien a dinámicas por fuera de las estructuras
jerárquicas.

Podría haber circunstancias en las que un jefe de equipo tiene sentido, pero otras en las que es evidente
que no lo tiene. Es más, a veces, si hay jefe el rendimiento decrece, porque baja la motivación. Se debe
ser responsable ante uno mismo y no ante el jefe, en este sentido hay un reconocimiento de autonomía de
la fuerza laboral y la claridad de los objetos contratados, que van más allá de la subordinación. Habrá
quien argumente que se necesiten líderes y que la dirección general debe serlo. La pregunta que debe
hacerse seguidamente, es cuántas direcciones generales son líderes de sus equipos, esta ausencia se
simplifica mediante la estructura jerárquica, la delegación y la imposición subordinal.

Estas premisas conllevan a pensar que las empresas modernas o contemporáneas ya están lejos de
requerir ambientes jerárquicos, porque las personas, y las organizaciones han evolucionado cognitiva y
competitivamente, incluso ni requiera nuevas formas de gobierno, sino mejores formas de Dirección. En
este sentido, los nuevos modelos y prácticas simplificadoras deben tener por objeto la disminución de la
complejidad del mundo organizacional, intentando ser congruentes con los procesos del mundo real y
pertinentes para los objetivos del unos y otros; en fomentar la capacidad de aprendizaje interactivo
dinámico respecto de distintos procesos y formas de interdependencia causales, atribuciones de
responsabilidad y capacidad de actuar, así como posibilidades de coordinación en un entorno complejo y
turbulento. Se mejora esta capacidad cuando los agentes pueden pasar de uno a otro de los distintos
modos de buen gobierno para dar respuestas más eficaces a la turbulencia interna o externa; en elaborar
métodos de coordinación de acciones entre diferentes fuerzas sociales con identidades, intereses y
sistemas de significados diferentes, en distintos horizontes espaciotemporales y en diferentes ámbitos de
intervención. Depende de la utilización auto-reflexiva de la auto-organización para sostener el
intercambio, la negociación, o la solidaridad, así como de la índole específica de los problemas de
coordinación que suscite el actuar a distintas escalas y en distintos horizontes temporales, y determinar
una visión común del mundo y de un sistema que estabilice las orientaciones, las expectativas y las
normas de comportamiento de los principales agentes. Con ello se puede llevar a cabo un análisis y una
evaluación sistemáticos de los problemas y las posibilidades, la disponibilidad y las necesidades de
recursos y el marco necesario para el cumplimiento constante de la coordinación tanto positiva como

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negativa.

Otras conclusions

El ser humano debe ser recocido en su capacidad total no sólo en lo funcional; coordinación y dirección
no son iguales a autoridad; la estructura organizacional, puede ser adaptada a estructuras contingentes en
función del conocimiento (profesional, empírico o formal, informal) y no a la autoridad; las relaciones
jerárquicas (proponen muchos miembros con poder y autoridad, y también lo son en el ejercicio)
disminuyen la efectividad de las organizaciones; la autoridad y el poder no son ejes dinamizadores de la
organización, no son esenciales; no es la autoridad un elemento que lleva permanentemente a reaccionar
en forma negativa a las organizaciones (despidos, procesos disciplinarios, ausentismo, rotación); porque
no considerar las empresas como un solo cuerpo, donde todos los colectivos tengan los mismos objetivos,
no es eso la misión y la visión de las organizaciones; las organizaciones pequeñas y grandes, tendrán el
mismo tenor de aplicación y función de la autoridad, o simplemente se debe afirmar que no requieren de
ella; las nuevas teorías organizacionales tienden a expresar la autonomía, sin embargo la incapacidad de
quienes la dirigen, sólo encuentran en las jerarquías, la dominación, la subordinación y la autoridad, su
capacidad de accionar.; el no tener pensamientos rígidos y estructuras jerárquicas, no significa que las
cosas estén desordenadas; la autoridad, solo representa un principio de organización y nada más; la
educación en la confianza será uno de los valores más importantes de la sociedad y una clase de éxito en
el futuro. Es un verdadero diferencial para sobrevivir en la gestión de nuevas empresas; ños golpes se
distribuyen a lo largo de la organización; la pérdida del poder y la autoridad es un síntoma de miedo.
El disidente, restaura la dignidad del empleado, evita el deterioro de las calidades físicas, intelectuales,
emocionales y su autonomía, y definitivamente evita el status quo de las compañías; si se asume que la
autoridad está en la jerarquía, no debería existir diferencia entre líderes y jefes; el ser humano es un
maximizador de su utilidad individual, depende de sus recursos y de su producción

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BIOGRAFIA

Juan Nicolás Montoya Monsalve. Profesor Asociado de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Sede
Manizales). Director de Posgrados de la Facultad de Administración, se puede contactar en
nmontoyamo@unal.edu.co ó jnmm00@hotmail.com.

Santiago Gutiérrez Broncano. Catedrático de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, se puede contactar en
santiago.gutierrez@urjc.es

Alvaro Moncada Niño, ejecutivo de Coca Cola Company Colombia. Consultor Organizacional, se puede
contactar en alvaro.moncada@hotmail.com

mailto:nmontoyamo@unal.edu.co

mailto:santiago.gutierrez@urjc.es

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Index of Authors

Abdel-Razek, Refaat H ………………………….. 343
Acosta Tillerías, Jorge ………………………… 1217
Adame Márquez, Carolina …………………….. 1177
Aghaei, Mohammad Reza ……………………….. 395
Agudelo Toloza, José Mario …………………….. 964
Aguilera Enríquez, Luis ………………………….. 877
Ahumada-Tello, Eduardo ……………………….. 662
Akinbuli, Sylvester Feyi ……………………. 684, 698
Alcalá Álvarez, María del Carmen …………….. 1321
Alcaraz Vargas, Jorge Luis ………………………. 796
Alonso Galicia, Monserrat……………………….. 825
Álvarez Vega, Claudia Viviana …………… 965, 1244
Antipova, Tatyana ………………………………. 736
Apodaca del Angel, Lourdes Evelyn …….. 1129, 1321
Araiza Garza, Zóchitl ………………………. 272, 663
Arámbula Monreal, Zoila ………………………. 1231
Arenas Mozqueda, Norma Lorena ……………….. 812
Arnold, Liz Washington……………….. 110, 121, 644
Audsabumrungrat, Juthathip ……………………. 302
Avelar García-Rojas, Adalberto …………………. 458
Avilés Becerril, Elizabeth ……………………… 1210
Bagshaw, Mark ………………………………….. 213
Bajcetic, Ratko ………………………………….. 271
Balamaci, Dan …………………………………… 512
Baltar, Fabiola ………………………………… 1060
Batista-Canino, Rosa M ………………………….. 467
Bayoud, Nagib Salem …………………………….. 84
Bayraktar, Ahmet ……………………………….. 490
Benipal, Jagpal Singh ……………………………. 360
Blagojevic, Bosko ……………………………….. 271
Blanco Vargas, Patricia …………………………. 850
Bobb, Leslie …………………………………….. 158
Booker, Queen E ………………………………… 596
Bozinovska Lazarevska, Zorica ………………….. 668
Briones Benavente, Julio Cesar …………………. 920
Britt, Margaret …………………………………… 57
Bustamante Valenzuela, Ana Cecilia .. 830, 831, 1257
Caplanova, Anetta ……………………………….. 24
Carranza Prieto, Rafael Ernesto ………………. 1250
Carrasco Guerrero, Pablo ……………………… 1275
Carrillo, Sósima …………………………. 1256, 1257
Casas Medina, Emma Vanessa ……………… 805, 812
Castañeda Palomera, Alfredo …………………… 894
Cavazos Arroyo, Judith ………………………….. 867
Cavazos Arroyo, Ruth ……………………………. 782
Cervantes Moreno, Gilberto …………………… 1267
Chakroun, Walid M ………………………………. 343
Chan Gamboa, Elsy Claudia …………………….. 952
Chand, Priyashni Vandana ……………. 166, 184, 188
Chao, Chia-Ling …………………………………. 567
Chávez Moreno, Edgar Armando ………………. 1167
Chen, Hsiao-Yin …………………………………. 190
Ching Wesman, Ricardo ……………………….. 1256
Chontal Ramos, Felipe ………………………….. 920
Chou, Hsien-Ming ……………………………….. 122
Christophe, Jeannette ………………………….. 315
Coatney, Caryn ………………………………….. 555
Corona Domínguez, Michele Alexandra ……….. 1150
Corona Sandoval, Enrique ………………………. 601
Coronado Rojas, Eunice …………………………. 272
Cruz Casanova, Rafael ………………………….. 970
de la Torre Pérez, Hilario……………………….. 836
del Rio Cortina, Jorge …………………………… 135
Delhumeau Rivera, Sheila ………… 1030, 1036, 1042
Deniz Guizar, Aurelio ……………………………. 992
Diale, Abel J …………………………………….. 759
Díaz Guzmán, Hilario ………………………….. 1097
Díaz Pelayo, César Amador ………………… 787, 952
Dimovski, Vlado …………………………………. 711
Dion, Paul ……………………………………….. 629
Djadidi, Marzieh ………………………………… 395
Dlodlo, Nobukhosi……………………………….. 654
Domínguez Ríos, Maria del Carmen……………. 1150
Doong, Hersen …………………………………… 645
Dorata, Nina …………………………………….. 541
Dousin, Oscar ……………………………………. 716
Dragincic, Jovana ……………………………….. 271
Dubihlela, Job …………………………………… 654
Dunne, James …………………………………… 158
Durazo Bringas, María Guadalupe ………………. 932
Durongwatana, Supol ……………………………. 531
Escobedo Fuentes, Isabel Adriana …………….. 1036
Escorcia Caballero, Rolando …………………….. 964
España, Juan ……………………………………. 594
Espinosa Ayala, Enrique ………………….. 818, 1267
Espíritu Olmos, Roberto ……………………….. 1018
Estupiñan Pérez, Karen Yuridia ……………….. 1266
Febrian, Erie ……………………………….. 581, 712
Fernandez, Anne-Sophie ………………………… 334
Fidiana ………………………………………….. 713
Figueroa Villanueva, Adelaida ……. 1256, 1257, 1262
Flores Ortiz, María Virginia ……………………. 1167
Fong, Q ………………………………………….. 714
Fontalvo Herrera, Tomás José ……… 842, 884, 1309
Fox Garrity, Bonnie ……………………………… 446
Fraire, Ana Karen ……………………………… 1266
Galván, Ramón ………………………………….. 607
Gamboa León, Roque Humberto Martín ………. 1193
García Cabrales, Patricia Guadalupe ………. 831, 836
García Carvajal, Santiago ……………………….. 199
García Rivera, Blanca Rosa ………………. 544, 1081
Garfias García, Francisco Adrián ……………….. 847
Garmendia Ibáñez, Jesús ……………………… 1268
Gazca Santos, Helbert Eli ……………………… 1117
Geldenhuys, Sue ………………………………… 476
Gentile, Natacha ………………………………. 1060

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Glassman, Brian S ……………………………….. 543
Gómez González, Martha Sheila …………. 980, 1109
Gómez Zepeda, Perla Ivette ……………………. 920
González Adame, Martha ……………………….. 877
González Herrera, Karina Concepción1117, 1130,
1193
González Monroy, Roberto ……………………… 787
González Núñez, Raúl …………………… 1262, 1285
González Romo, Adrian ……………………….. 1130
González Velásquez, Santiago ………………… 1134
Gorica, Klodiana ………………………………… 277
Goussak, Gregory W ……………………….. 239, 249
Guerrero Muñoz, Dora Rocío ………………….. 1142
Guillén Jiménez, Ana Ma. …………………….. 1250
Guo, Hongtao ………………………………………. 2
Gutierrez Alanis, Rocio………………………… 1081
Gutiérrez Broncano, Santiago …………………. 1322
Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Olga Lidia .. 662, 830, 831, 1072
Guzmán Vargas, Oscar ………………………… 1109
Hadi, Mohamed A. ………………………………. 343
Hardenbergh, Thomas G …………………………. 57
Hardenbergh, William E ………………………….. 57
Harris, Peter …….. 110, 121, 134, 142, 157, 158, 644
He, Peng ……………………………………. 72, 122
Hernández Aragón, María de Lourdes …………… 818
Hernández Gómez, Emilio …………………….. 1183
Hernández Solís, Silvia ……………. 1129, 1159, 1321
Herwany, Aldrin ……………………………. 581, 712
Hidalgo Pérez, Paulina …………………….. 906, 938
Hodges, Nancy …………………………………… 718
Hodoscek, Milan …………………………………. 711
Holford, W. David ……………………………….. 258
Houanye, Paulin …………………………………. 143
Hudson, Chris …………………………………….. 24
Hudson, John …………………………………….. 24
Hurtado Bringas, Beatriz Alejandra …………….. 854
Hussain, Fazeena Fazneen ……………. 166, 184, 188
Hwan Leep, Yeo …………………………………. 655
Ibarra Cisneros, Manuel Alejandro ……………. 1256
Ibarra Estrada, María Esther …………………… 1199
Ibarra Morales, Luis Enrique ………….. 805, 812, 854
Ibarreche Suárez, Santiago ……………………… 867
Inda, Alma Delia ………………………… 1262, 1285
Jaime Meuly, Rosalina…………………………… 854
Jalbert, Terrance ……………………………….. 766
Janezic, Matej…………………………………… 711
Jang hyup, Han ………………………………….. 655
Jayawardana, Poornima Gayangani Wasana ……. 569
Jiménez Suárez, Mario ………………………… 1199
Jiménez-García, Guacimara …………………….. 467
Juárez Montoya, Nayeli ………………………. 1267
Kaliski, John A …………………………………… 596
Kallianotis, K ……………………………………. 157
Kasibhatla, K ……………………………………. 157
Kato, Koichiro …………………………………… 354
Kavanagh, Marie …………………………………. 84
Keelson, Solomon A ……………………………… 173
Kelilume, Ikechukwu ……………………………. 582
Kelley, Ann Galligan …………………………….. 101
Kelly, Mary H …………………………………….. 57
Kinkela, Katherine …………………………. 134, 142
Koenig, Robert J. ……………………………….. 530
Korman, Derya ………………………………….. 404
Kowalewski, Susan J …………………………….. 168
KPD Balakrishnan, Bamini……………………….. 716
Kuo, Horng-Ching ……………………………….. 568
Kurup, Sarika Mukunda ………………………….. 755
Lacavex Berumen, Mónica …………………….. 1030
Lai, Jianwei ……………………………………… 122
Lai, Richard ……………………………………… 380
Lam, Miranda S …………………………………….. 2
Lam, Nancy L ……………………………………. 717
Lee, Jungki ……………………………………… 579
Lee, Kevin ………………………………………. 257
Lee, Zui Chih (Rick) ……………………….. 629, 718
León Priento, Julio César ……………………… 1257
Lertxundi, Aitziber ……………………………. 1268
Liao, Meihua …………………………………….. 333
Lin, Chien-Chih ………………………………….. 190
Lin, Hsiu-Chin …………………………………… 568
Liu, Scott ………………………………………… 157
Liu, Y ……………………………………………. 714
Livingston, Lynda S …………………………. 39, 389
Londoño Aldana, Emperatriz ………………….. 1298
Lopez Cuevas, Rosa Isela ……………………….. 802
López Torres, Virginia Guadalupe …………….. 1142
Lötter, Melissa J ………………………………… 476
Machorro Vázquez, Josué Aldo ………………… 1048
Macías Terán, Cruz Elda ………………… 1076, 1177
Madrigal Lizárraga, Oscar Manuel ………………. 963
Maldonado-Radillo, Sonia Elizabeth ……… 544, 1250
Malindretos, J …………………………………… 157
Mampane, PM ……………………………………. 293
Mannino, Laura Lee ……………………………… 160
Marín Vargas, Enselmina ………………………… 607
Márquez Miramontes, Blanca Lidia ……………. 1231
Martínez Méndez, Rafaela …………………….. 1048
Martínez Moreno, Omaira Cecilia ….. 847, 1098, 1129
Martínez, Pedro ………………………………….. 96
Maskooki, Kevin …………………………………. 765
Maskooki, Kooros ………………………………… 765
Máynez Guaderrama, Aurora I ………………….. 867
McCarthy, Erin E ………………………………… 446
MD. Shuaib, Azlinda Shazneem …………………. 716
Medina Herrera, Linda Margarita ……………….. 776
Meléndez Sepúlveda, Rene ……………………… 920
Mendizabal Zubeldia, Alaitz …………………… 1268
Mendoza Martínez, Ignacio Alejandro … 544, 830, 831
Mendoza Shaw, Fidel Antonio …………………… 802
Michalski, Grzegorz ……………………………… 136
Miller, Scott …………………………………….. 257
Milliman, Ronald E ………………………………. 595
Moazami, Amin ………………………………….. 395
Moctezuma Hernández, Ariel …………………… 458
Molina Martínez, Rubén ………………….. 796, 1092
Moncada Niño, Alvaro …………………………. 1322

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Monterde Valenzuela, Ma. de los Angeles …….. 1000
Montiel Méndez, Oscar Javier …………………. 1231
Montoya Monsalve, Juan Nicolás ………………. 1322
Mora Salas, María de la Luz ……………………. 1266
Morard, Bernard …………………………………. 315
Morelos Gómez, José ……………….. 842, 884, 1309
Moreno Segura, Luis Antonio ………………….. 1160
Moreno Zacarías, Hugo Martín ………………… 1018
Muñoz Aguilera, Manuel …………………………. 970
Muñoz del Real, Gloria …………………… 836, 1285
Murillo Pedraza, María Belén ….. 830, 831, 965, 1244
Mutsune, Tony …………………………………… 414
Nafarrate Robles, Nidia Gisela ………………….. 920
Naimi, Linda L …………………………………… 543
Naranjo González, Mario de Jesús …………….. 1275
Naredi, Rakesh ………………………………….. 755
Navas Ríos, María Eugenia …………………….. 1298
Nenciu, Daniela Simona …………………………. 526
Nhamo, Senia ……………………………………. 735
Nieves Bernal, Gloria Alicia ….. 965, 970, 1177, 1244
Nocedal de la Garza, Mariana …………………. 1048
Nuño de la Parra, José Pablo ……………………. 867
Ochoa Ramírez, Salvador Anibal ………………. 873
Ojeda García, Bertha Guadalupe ……………….. 932
Olivares Urbina, Miguel Ángel …………………… 601
Olivas Valdez, Erika ……………………… 805, 1315
Olivera Pomposo, Sandra ……………………… 1048
Oncioiu, Florin Razvan …………………….. 512, 526
Oncioiu, Ionica ……………………….. 512, 526, 537
Ordoñez Molinar, Larisa ……………………….. 1231
Orozco Santillán, Carlos Manuel ………………… 952
Orozco Triana, Jairo …………………………… 1298
Ortega Ojeda, Alfredo Tomás …………………… 894
Ovalle Osuna, Oscar Omar …………………….. 1159
Pacheco Velázquez, Ernesto ……………………. 776
Padilla Castro, Nelson Isaac …………………… 1076
Palomino Cano, Rossana ………………………. 1315
PanSoo, Kim …………………………………….. 655
Payne, Angela Renee ……………………………. 593
Pedraza Rendón, Oscar Hugo …………….. 796, 1092
Perek, Ali Atilla …………………………………. 646
Perek, Seda ……………………………………… 646
Pereyra Chan, Andrés Miguel ………………….. 1117
Pérez Alcalá, Santiago ………………….. 1076, 1177
Pérez Cervera, Lucia Trinidad ………………… 1193
Pérez Garcés, Ranulfo……………………… 818, 825
Pérez Maldonado, Ernesto Alonso ………………. 965
Permarupan, P. Yukthamarani ………………….. 716
Perusquía Velasco, Juan Manuel Alberto … 662, 1072
Pestaño Uruchurtu, Francisco Javier ………….. 1315
Phillips, Suzanne L ………………………………. 168
Pierrot, Francoise ……………………………….. 334
Pirrone, Maria …………………………………… 380
Pornupatham, Sompong …………………………. 302
Potgieter, Marius………………………………… 476
Preciado Ortíz, Claudia Leticia ……………. 894, 952
Priego Huertas, Héctor ………………………… 1018
Primadhi, Adi ……………………………………. 712
Prior, Diego ………………………………………. 96
Pryor, Susie ……………………………………… 383
Puente Muñoz, Cuauhtémoc …………………….. 782
Racela, Olimpia C ……………………………….. 618
Rambo, Charles M ……………………………….. 419
Ramírez Barón, Maria Concepción ………………. 544
Ramírez Barón, María Concepción … 1081, 1098, 1210
Ramírez Cacho, Sergio Iván …………………… 1275
Ramírez Flores, María Soledad ………………… 1092
Ramírez-Barón, Karla………………………….. 1098
Ramseook-Munhurrun, Prabha ………………….. 630
Rani, Prena ………………………………… 166, 184
Resendiz Ortega, Maricela …………………….. 1150
Reyes Nevares, María de los Ángeles ………….. 1134
Reyes Pazos, Marcela ……………………. 1010, 1274
Reyes Real, Óscar Bernardo …………………….. 992
Reyes Rodríguez, Mónica Araceli ……………….. 980
Reyes Sánchez, Oscar …………………………. 1274
Rialp, Josep………………………………………. 96
Riduwan, Akhmad ……………………………….. 713
Roa Rivera, Raquel Olivia ……………………….. 836
Roa Rivera, Reyna Isabel ………………………… 836
Robles Encinas, Jose Ezequiel…………………… 802
Rocha Maldonado, Sonia ………………………. 1210
Rodríguez Domínguez, Martina ………………… 1183
Romero Vivar, Natalia Guadalupe ………………. 854
Rosiles López, Leonel ……………… 970, 1076, 1177
Ruiz Andrade, José Gabriel ………………… 847, 850
Ruíz Riva Palacio, Martha Elba ………………….. 825
Saeidinia, Mojtaba ………………………………. 395
Saengratwatchara, Por-ngarm ………………….. 574
Sako, Megumi ……………………………………. 354
Salami, Doyin ……………………………………. 582
Salazar Ruíz, Elsa Lourdes …………………….. 1262
Saldivar González, Sandra Julieta ………………. 836
Saldívar González, Sandra Julieta …………. 830, 831
Salehi, Mehrdad …………………………………. 395
Sánchez Bazán, Gabriela ………………………. 1097
Sánchez Campos, Dariela ……………………….. 663
Sánchez Delgado, Edelmira ……………………. 873
Sánchez Vélez, Celsa Guadalupe ……………….. 999
Sanjaya, I Putu Sugiartha ……………………….. 499
Santisteban Rojas, Diego Fernando …………….. 135
Sasuga, Katsuhiro ……………………………….. 580
Savolainen, Hanna ………………………………. 111
Schumann, Paul …………………………………. 596
Sen, Arup K ……………………………………… 446
Sender Áviles, Susana Ayde……………………… 812
Ser, Elliot M………………………………… 239, 249
Sevrani, Kozeta …………………………………. 277
Shapiro, Steven ……………………………. 134, 157
Shen, Sibao ……………………………………… 143
Shimizu, Nubumasa ………………………………. 45
Shionoya, Go …………………………………….. 80
Shutibhinyo, Wasatorn ……………………… 58, 748
Sivak, Rudolf …………………………………….. 24
Solís Quinteros, María Marcela ………………… 1167
Sorescu, Florin ………………………………….. 537

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Sosa Rodríguez, Jesús Otoniel ………………….. 992
Sosa Sánchez, Elías ……………………………. 1189
Soto Aguilar, Adriana Patricia …………………. 1189
Spears Kirkand, Andrea …………………. 1030, 1036
Srdjevic, Bojan ………………………………….. 271
Srdjevic, Zorica …………………………………. 271
Stancu, Alexandru ………………………………. 315
Stolevska, Maja …………………………………. 668
Subsupanwong, Theerapong …………………….. 574
Suryaningrum, Diah Hari ………………………… 365
T, Satyanarayana ……………………………….. 755
Tala Japaz, Juan Camel …………………………. 906
Tamura, Akiko ……………………………………. 45
Terán Varela, Omar Ernesto ………… 818, 825, 1267
Thakkar, Bharat S ……………………………….. 593
Thomas, Stephan ……………………………….. 109
Thoumrungroje, Amonrat ……………………….. 618
Toldos Romero, María de la Paz ………………… 286
Tong, Luding …………………………………….. 200
Torres Herrera, Claudia Esther ……………….. 1298
Triyuwono, Iwan ………………………………… 713
Tsai, Yung-Shun …………………………………. 190
Ünal, Gözde …………………………………….. 404
Vadhanasindhu, Pakpachong ……………………. 531
Valdés Flores, Patricia ………………………….. 931
Vale Sánchez, Sergio ………………………….. 1159
Vazirifar, Amir Hossein ………………………….. 395
Vázquez Herrera, Sofía Elba…………………… 1199
Vega López, Alfonso …………………………… 1167
Velarde López, Elvira ……………………… 272, 663
Velasquez, Nicole ……………………………….. 257
Vergara Schmalbach, Juan Carlos ….. 842, 884, 1309
Verján Quiñones, Ricardo ……………………….. 850
Virolainen Kymenlaakso, Ilkka ………………….. 432
Virolainen, Harri ………………………………… 516
Visbal Cadavid, Delimiro ………………………… 964
Vizcarra Vizcarra, Norma Leticia ……………… 1142
Wang, Huichih …………………………………… 645
Wann, Christi ……………………………………. 257
Webber, Jon K ……………………………… 239, 249
Wendt, Denis ……………………………………. 159
West, Jason ………………………………………. 12
Wichitchanya, Wannapa ………………………… 531
Wilburn, Kathleen ………………………………. 224
Wilburn, Ralph ………………………………….. 224
Wu, Guojun ………………………………………… 2
Xiao, Zhijie ………………………………………… 2
Xu, Pei …………………………………………… 714
Yáñez Ruiz, Imelda ……………………………. 1134
Yin, Bingqing ……………………………………. 383
Zárraga Cano, Lucila ……………………………. 601
Zeng, YC ………………………………………… 714
Zepeda Ibarra, Cristina …………………………. 894
Zhou, Lina ………………………………………. 122

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Universities and Institutions Represented

4 Horsemen Investments
Abilene Christian University
Afghanistan Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(AEITI)
Aichi Gakuin University
Aichi Institute of Technology
Arabian Gulf University
Argosy University
Ashford University
Asia University
Assumption University
Atma Jaya Yogyakarta University
Auburm University
Audit Authority for Auditing the Instruments for Pre-
accession Assistance (IPA)
Autónoma de Baja California
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Bethany Lutheran College
Bethune-Cookman University
Bogazici University
Boston College
Bradley University
Brawijaya University
Brown University
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Northridge
Carleton University
CBTIS 114
Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora
Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
CETYS Universidad
Chulalongkorn University
Council of Ministers-Kuwait
Curtin University
Deloitte, Taiwan
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Dimitrie Cantemir University of Constanta
DLR – Bremen
D’Youville College
El Colegio De Tlaxcala A.C.
Electricity Company of Ghana
ESCA Unidad Tepepan IPN
Farmingdale State College – SUNY
Feb Universitas Padjadjaran
Florida Atlantic University
Fordham University
Free International University of Moldova
Fundación Universitaria Tecnológico Comfenalco
Georgian Court University
Goethe University
Goethe University Frankfurt – Germany
Grant MacEwan University
Griffith University
Hewlett Packard
Hitachi America, Ltd.
Hosei University
Indiana University
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Instituto De Economía Aplicada A La Empresa
Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida
Instituto Tecnológico De Tijuana
Instituto Tecnológico Superior del Norte
Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de
Monterrey
Interdisciplinary Center
International Air Transport Association
INTI International University
Iowa Wesleyan College
Istanbul Bilgi University
JRH Economics Consulting
Kainan University
Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Keio University
Kobe University
Korea University at Sejong
Kuwait University
Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences
Kyungpook National University
La Salle
Lagos Business School, Nigeria
Liverpool Hope University
London School of Business and Finance(LSBF)
Lund University
Lynn University
Mahasarakham University
Management and Science University
Marietta College
Marmara University
Mata Ganga Khalsa College For Girls,Kottan (Ludhiana)
Minnesota State University
Minnesota State University
Missouri State University
Missouri State University
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
National Chaiyi University
National Chengchi University
National Chiao Tung University
National Chung Cheng University
National ChungHsing University
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST)
National Institute of Chemistry
National University
National University
National University-San Diego
New York Institute of Technology
North Central College
Northern New Mexico College
Osaka University
Peking University
Pepperdine University

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Phast Solutions
Pronatura
Providence College
Public Water Management Co. Vode Vojvodine, Novi Sad
Purdue University
Purdue University
Regent’s College
Renmin University of China
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Rider University
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Romanian American University
Rowan University
Rutgers University
Saint Mary’s College of California
Salem State University
San José State University
School of Economic Indonesia Surabaya (STIESIA)
School of Economic Indonesia Surabaya (STIESIA)
Srinakharinwirot University
St. Edward’s University
St. John’s University
Stetson University
Susquehanna University
Takoradi Polytechnic
Tamkang University
Tecnologico de Monterrey
Tecnologico De Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara
Texas A&M University-Central Texas
The Citadel
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Institute of Certified Professional
The Investment Technology Group
The University of Montana
The University of the South Pacific
Tomis University of Constanta
Tshwane University of Technology
Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)
Turku University School of Economics
U.S. Department of Commerce/ MBDA
UAB
UAB
UABC
UABC- CICESE
UdG. CUValles
UNAL
UNISA
Unidades Tecnológicas de Santander (UTS)
Univ. de Guadalajara – Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
Universidad Autónoma Baja California
Universidad Autonoma De Aguascalientes
Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Universidad Autónoma del Carmen
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Baja California
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Baja California
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Universidad de Cartagena
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Universidad de Colima, Mexico
Universidad De Concepcion
Universidad de Guadalajara
Universidad De Guadalajara
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Universidad de Talca
Universidad de Texas en El Paso
Universidad del Pais Vasco
Universidad del Caribe
Universidad del Caribe
Universidad del Cauca
Universidad del Magdalena
Universidad Del Norte
Universidad Del País Vasco
Universidad La Salle
Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Universidad Militar Nueva Granada
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
Universidad Panamericana
Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Universidad Popular del Estado de Puebla
Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar (UTB)
Universidad Tecnológica De Ciudad Juarez
Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira
Universidad Tecnologica De Tijuana
Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
Universitas Padjadjaran
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary
Medicine of Bucharest
University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Bath
University of Brawijaya – Indonesia
University of Calgary
University of Denver
University of Eastern Finland, Department of Business
University of Economics in Bratislava
University of Economics-Prague
University of Geneva
University of Glasgow
University of Goettingen, Germany
University of Groningen
University of Hawaii, Manoa
University of Illinois – Springfield
University of International Business and Economics
University of La Serena
University of Lagos, Akoka
University of Las Palmas De Gran Canaria
University of Ljubljana
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of Melbourne
University of Michigan
University of Michigan

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University of Missouri – St Louis
University of Montpellier
University of Nairobi, Kenya
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
University of North Texas
University of Novi Sad, Serbia
University of Phoenix
University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras
University of Puget Sound
University of Quebec at Montreal
University of Queensland
University of Roma Tor Vergata
University of Scranton
University of South Africa
University of Southern Queensland (USQ)
University of Surrey
University of Technology, Mauritius
University of Technology, Mauritius
University of Tennessee Chattanooga
University of Texas- Austin
University of Tirana
University of Toronto
University of Warwick
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
University of Wyoming
University Ss. Cyril and Methodius
Universityof Houston
Vaal University of Technology
VSB-TU Ostrava
VU University Amsterdam
Waseda University
Washburn University
Washington University
Wayne State University
Western Kentucky University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western New Mexico University
Wroclaw University of Economics

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Countries Represented

Afghanistan
Albania
Argentina
Australia
Bahrain
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Czech Republic
España
Fiji
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
India
Indonesia
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kenya
Kuwait
Malaysia
Mauritius
Mexico
Nigeria
Poland
Repubilc of China
Republic of Macedonia
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Switzerland
Taiwan, R.O.C.
Thailand
The Netherlands
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States

ENGLISH PROCEEDINGS
RISK ANALYSIS VIA REGRESSION QUANTILES – EVIDENCE FROM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY MARKETS
Hongtao Guo, Salem State University
Miranda S Lam, Salem State University
Guojun Wu, University of Houston
Zhijie Xiao, Boston College
CONVENIENCE YIELDS IN BULK COMMODITIES: THE CASE OF THERMAL COAL
Jason West, Griffith University
AN ANALYSIS OF FIRM CREDIT ACROSS THE WORLD
Rudolf Sivak, University of Economics in Bratislava
Anetta Caplanova, University of Economics in Bratislava
John Hudson, University of Bath
Chris Hudson, JRH Economics Consulting
COULD PEER-TO-PEER LOANS SUBSTITUTE FOR PAYDAY LOANS?
Lynda S. Livingston, University of Puget Sound
CONNECTING CAPITAL BUDGETING PRACTICE WITH THE MILES-SNOW STRATEGIC TYPE: A NOVEL MANEGERIAL ACCOUNTING APPROACH
Nubumasa Shimizu, Waseda University
Akiko Tamura, Hosei University
AN EXAMPLE OF EXCELLENCE: WHY BUSINESS SCHOOLS ARE BRINGING MILITARY HISTORY BACK TO THE CURRICULUM
Mary H. Kelly, Texas A&M University-Central Texas
Margaret Britt; University; Mount Vernon
Thomas G. Hardenbergh; the University of Michigan
William E. Hardenbergh; University of Michigan
BALANCED SCORECARD PRACTICES AND DETERMINANTS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF LISTED COMPANIES IN THAILAND
Wasatorn Shutibhinyo, Chulalongkorn University
VALUE OF RISK OF OPTION PORTFOLIOS USING MONTE CARLO SIMULATION UNDER A RISK-NEUTRAL STOCHASTIC IMPLIED VOLATILITY MODEL
Peng He
DOES TECHNOLOGICAL OVERSHOOTING EXIST IN THE JAPANESE MINIVAN MARKET?
Go Shionoya, Kobe University
THE IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DISCLOSURE IN THE LIBYAN CONTEXT: EVIDENCE FROM MANAGERS
Nagib Salem Bayoud, The University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Marie Kavanagh, The University of Southern Queensland, Australia
THE PRICE OF STOCKS IN LATIN AMERICAN FINANCIAL MARKETS: AN EMPIRICAL APPLICATION OF THE OHLSON MODEL
Pedro Martínez, Instituto Tecnológico y Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Diego Prior, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Josep Rialp, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DERIVATIVES ARE?
Ann Galligan Kelley, Providence College
CALIBRATION AND COMPARISON OF SPECTRAL RISK MEASURES FOR A PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION
Stephan Thomas, Phast Solutions & University of Paris Sorbonne
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING MALFEASANCE AND RESTATEMENTS FOR 100 COMPANIES WITH FINANCIAL AND MARKET IMPACT AND ANALYSIS OF MONITORING CHARACTERISTICS
Liz Washington Arnold, The Citadel
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
THE VALUATION OF THE SMALL LOCAL BUSINESS IN A DIVORCE: A CASE STUDY
Hanna Savolainen, University of Eastern Finland
THE DEFENSES OF LIFO AS AN ACCEPTABLE ACCOUNTING METHOD
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
Liz Washington Arnold, The Citadel
A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ONLINE CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Peng He, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Jianwei Lai, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Hsien-Ming Chou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Lina Zhou, University f Maryland, Baltimore County
CASE STUDY ON SUCCESSIVE PLANNING
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
Katherine Kinkela, New York Institute of Technology
Steven Shapiro, New York Institute of Technology
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Diego Fernando Santisteban Rojas, Unidades Tecnológicas de Santander (UTS)
Jorge del Rio Cortina, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar (UTB)
OPTIMALIZATION OF LIQUIDITY STRATEGY: POLISH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS CASE
Grzegorz Michalski, Wroclaw University of Economics
THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF LIFO
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
Katherine Kinkela, New York Institute of Technology
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN AFRICA: SECURING CHINESE’S INVESTMENT FOR A LASTING DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
Paulin Houanye, University of International Business and Economics
Sibao Shen, University of International Business and Economics
INTEREST RATE RISK: SEVERAL STATISTICAL ANALYSES
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
K. Kallianotis, New York Institute of Technology
K. Kasibhatla, New York Institute of Technology
Scott Liu, New York Institute of Technology
J. Malindretos, New York Institute of Technology
Steven Shapiro, New York Institute of Technology
CASE STUDY ON INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Leslie. Bobb, New York Institute of Technology
James Dunne, New York Institute of Technology
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
COMPARING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD
Denis Wendt, University of Goettingen, Germany
IS THE IRS A SORE LOSER?
Laura Lee Mannino, St. John’s University
THE IMPACT OF IFRS FOR SMES ON THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION, EVIDENCE FROM FIJI
Fazeena Fazneen Hussain, The University of the South Pacific
Priyashni Vandana Chand, The University of the South Pacific
Prena Rani, The University of the South Pacific
PREFERENCES FOR PERFORMANCE BASED EMPLOYEE REWARDS: EVIDENCE FROM SMALL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS
Susan J. Kowalewski, D’Youville College
Suzanne L. Phillips, D’Youville College
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPTS: THEORETICALLY DIFFERENT ROADS LEADING TO PRACTICALLY SAME DESTINATION!
Solomon A. Keelson, Takoradi Polytechnic
MANAGERIAL INCENTIVES FOR EARNINGS MANAGEMENT AMONG LISTED FIRMS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES, EVIDENCE FROM FIJI
Prena Rani, The University of the South Pacific
Fazeena Fazneen Hussain, The University of the South Pacific
Priyashni Vandana Chand, The University of the South Pacific
WEB-BASED CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORTING IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: EVIDENCE FROM FIJI
Priyashni Vandana Chand, The University of the South Pacific
Fazeena Fazneen Hussain, The University of the South Pacific
OPTIMAL DIVERSIFICATION – DOES IT EXIST?
Chien-Chih Lin, Tamkang University
Yung-Shun Tsai, Asia University
Hsiao-Yin Chen, Kainan University
BALANCED SCORECARD FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGIC MARKETING IN COLOMBIA
Santiago García Carvajal, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada
DECODING THE REGULATORY SYSTEM FOR ADVERTISING IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA
Luding Tong, Marietta College
TEACHING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS BY USING FICTION: HOW AND WHY I WROTE AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NOVEL
Mark Bagshaw, Marietta College
SCENARIOS AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Kathleen Wilburn, St. Edward’s University
Ralph Wilburn, St. Edward’s University
RECOGNIZING COMMON SENSE LEADERSHIP WITHIN THE 21ST CENTURY ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
Jon K.Webber, University of Phoenix
Gregory W. Goussak, Ashford University
Elliot M. Ser, Florida Atlantic University
CULTURAL PLURALISM: A CRITICAL NEEDS PLAN FOR GENERAL MOTORS
Gregory W. Goussak, Ashford University
Jon K.Webber, University of Phoenix
Elliot M. Ser, Florida Atlantic University
THE EFFECT OF INVESTOR BIAS AND GENDER ON PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE AND RISK
Kevin Lee, California State University – Fresno
Scott Miller, Pepperdine University
Nicole Velasquez, Pepperdine University
Christi Wann, University of Tennessee Chattanooga
RE-EXAMINING THE CONCEPT OF BOUNDARY OBJECTS WITHIN COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
W. David Holford, University of Quebec at Montreal
MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF FINANCES IN WATER RESOURCES: LESSONS LEARNT FROM PRACTICE
Bojan Srdjevic, University of Novi Sad
Zorica Srdjevic, University of Novi Sad
Ratko Bajcetic, Public Water Management Co
Jovana Dragincic, University of Novi Sad
Bosko Blagojevic, University of Novi Sad
THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES AND EXPORT SALES IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES OF METALWORKING INDUSTRY IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF THE STATE OF COAHUILA, MEXICO
Elvira Velarde López, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Zóchitl Araiza Garza, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Eunice Coronado Rojas, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
GLOBALIZATION PROCESS AND THE IMPACT OF IT GROWTH IN ALBANIA
Kozeta Sevrani, University of Tirana
Klodiana Gorica, University of Tirana
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON BRAND PERSONALITY IN MEXICO
María de la Paz Toldos Romero, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Guadalajara
THE CRISIS OF TEACHER TURNOVER. A THREAT TO PUBLIC SERVICE STABILITY
PM Mampane, Tshwane University of Technology
THE IMPACT OF MECHANICAL GUIDANCE AND JUSTIFICATION REQUIREMENT ON JUDGMENT OF AUDITORS OF DIFFERENT RANKS IN MATERIALITY DETERMINATION
Juthathip Audsabumrungrat, Chulalongkorn University
Sompong Pornupatham, Chulalongkorn University
TIMED CORE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: THE ROAD TO THE COMPANY’S OPTIMALPERFORMANCE
Bernard Morard, University of Geneva (UNIGE)
Alexandru Stancu, University of Geneva (UNIGE)
Jeannette Christophe, University of Geneva (UNIGE)
Cumulative %
% of Variance
EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF THE LABOR DISPLACEMENT ON THE HOUSING MARKETS
Meihua Liao, Asia University
A CO-OPETITIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ACCOUNTING HARMONIZATION: THE CASE OF THE FASB AND IASB CONVERGENCE AGREEMENT
Anne-Sophie Fernandez, University of Montpellier France
Francoise Pierrot, University of Montpellier France
ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THE USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN KUWAIT
Mohamed A. Hadi, Tech. Dept., Council of Ministers, Kuwait.
Refaat H. Abdel-Razek, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain.
Walid M. Chakroun, Kuwait University, Kuwait.
IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE FOR STRATEGIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Koichiro Kato, Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Megumi Sako, Kanazawa Institute of Technology
HOUSING FINANCE BY THE COMMERCIAL BANKS IN INDIA : GROWTH, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
Jagpal Singh Benipal, Mata Ganga Khalsa College For Girls,Kottan (Ludhiana)
ASSESSING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: A NEW COMPETING MODEL
Diah Hari Suryaningrum, University of Brawijaya
A CLOSER LOOK AT CURBING FRAUD AMONG TAX RETURN PREPARERS
Richard Lai, St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York
Maria Pirrone, St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York
BEAUTY IN THE AGE OF MARKETING
Bingqing Yin, Washburn University
Susie Pryor, Washburn University
“INTRAPORTFOLIO CORRELATION”: AN APPLICATION FOR INVESTMENTS STUDENTS
Lynda S. Livingston, University of Puget Sound
CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN MALAYSIA
MohammadReza Aghaei, Management and Science University
Amin Moazami, Management and Science University
Mehrdad Salehi, Management and Science University
Amir Hossein Vazirifar, Management and Science University
Marzieh Djadidi, Management and Science University
Mojtaba Saeidinia, Management and Science University
BIVARIATE EXTREME DEPENDENCY BETWEEN STOCK MARKET AND OIL RETURNS
Gözde Ünal, Bogazici University
Derya Korman, Bogazici University
WHAT IS PROPELLING THE AMERICAN WORKER TO GO THE WAY OF THE HORSE? THE CHANGING ANATOMY OF U.S. EXPORT INDUSTRY
Tony Mutsune, Iowa Wesleyan College
RISK FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SURVIVAL OF STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN KENYA: EVIDENCE FROM KISUMU DISTRICT
Charles M. Rambo, University of Nairobi, Kenya
FORGIVENESS AS A LEADERSHIP TOOL
Ilkka Virolainen Kymenlaakso, University of Applied Sciences, Kouvola, Finland
CROSS-BORDER EDUCATION: FACTORS INFLUENCING CANADIAN STUDENTS’ CHOICE OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Erin E. McCarthy, D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York
Arup K. Sen, D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York
Bonnie Fox Garrity, D’Youville College, Buffalo, New York
COMPETITIVITY OF RURAL TOURISTIC DESTINATIONS: PROPOSAL OF AN EVALUATION MODEL
Adalberto Avelar García-Rojas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ariel Moctezuma Hernández, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
THE IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL ON PERFORMANCE IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ACCOMODATION ENTERPRISES: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Guacimara Jiménez-García, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Rosa M. Batista-Canino, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF ADVENTURE TOURISTS IN PRETORIA
Melissa J. Lötter, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)
Sue Geldenhuys, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)
Marius Potgieter, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)
DOES SEXUALITY IN ADS WORK FOR EVERYONE/ANYONE? AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH OF MUSLIM CONSUMERS’ REACTIONS TO SEXUALITY IN ADS
Ahmet Bayraktar, Rutgers University
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PROGRAM (ESOP) PHENOMENA ON PUBLIC COMPANIES IN INDONESIA
THE PERFORMANCES OF THE ORGANISATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISES
Ionica Oncioiu, Tomis University of Constanta
Florin Razvan Oncioiu, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary
Dan Balamaci, Free International University of Moldova
PROMOTION A MORE RAPID GRADUATION PROCESS FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Harri Virolainen, Turku University, School of Economics, Pori unit
CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES REFFERING TO THE CONCEPT OF FAIR VALUE
Ionica Oncioiu, Tomis University of Constanta
Florin Razvan Oncioiu, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary
Daniela Simona Nenciu, Dimitrie Cantemir University of Constanta
ARE THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS RELATED TO THEIR PREFERENCES FOR ONE UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DELIVERY MODE OVER ANOTHER?
Robert J. Koenig, New York Institute of Technology
THE FACTORS OF INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATION: SOME EVIDENCE IN THAILAND
Wannapa Wichitchanya, Chulalongkorn University
Supol Durongwatana, Chulalongkorn University
Pakpachong Vadhanasindhu, Chulalongkorn University
THE GLOBALIZATION AND EUROPEAN UNIQUE MARKET – A NEW CHALENGES FOR THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY
Ionica Oncioiu, Tomis University of Constanta
Florin Sorescu, Tomis University of Constanta
THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF GOODWILL IMPAIRMENTS ARISING FROM THE ACQUISITION METHOD TREATMENT FOR BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
Nina Dorata, St. John’s University
MANAGING THE FUZZY FRONT END OF INNOVATION
Linda L. Naimi, Purdue University
Brian S. Glassman, Purdue University
TURNOVER AND JOB EMBEDEDDNESS IN TIJUANA, MEXICO
Blanca Rosa García Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martinez, Universidad La Salle
Sonia Elizabeth Maldonado-Radillo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ma. Concepcion Ramirez Baron, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
GREAT WAR LEADERS’ SUCCESSFUL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS: HOW FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT AND JOHN CURTIN WON JOURNALISTS’ SUPPORT
Caryn Coatney, Curtin University
THE FASB ACCOUNTING STANDARDS CODIFICATION AND ACCOUNTING QUALITY
Chia-Ling Chao, National Chung Cheng University
DISCLOSURE LEVEL, STOCK MARKET LIQUIDITY, AND EARNINGS QUALITY:
EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN
Horng-Ching Kuo, National Chengchi University, Taiwan
Hsiu-Chin Lin, Deloitte, Taiwan
CAPITALIZING WOMEN’S HUMAN RESOURCES THROUGH MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREAS: ROLE OF MICROFINANCE
Poornima Gayangani Wasana Jayawardana, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
ANTECEDENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL DOWNSIZING IN THAILAND’S TOURISM AND HOSPITALTIY INDUSTRY: THE ROLE OF BUSINESS IDEOLOGY
Por-ngarm Saengratwatchara, Srinakharinwirot University
Theerapong Subsupanwong, Srinakharinwirot University
AN EXPLORATION OF THE CURE FOR DISSATISFACTION AMONG CUSTOMERS OF MEDICAL SERVICES
Jungki Lee, Korea University at Sejong, Jochiwon, South Korea
THE CROSS-BORDER REGIONAL GOVERNANCE OF THE GLOBAL AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION NETWORKS IN ASIA
Katsuhiro Sasuga, Tokai University, University of Warwick
GLOBAL LINKAGE OF FINANCIAL SECTOR STOCK PRICES DURING US FINANCIAL CRISIS: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA
Aldrin Herwany, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Erie Febrian, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA: A PANEL REGRESSION APPROACH
Ikechukwu Kelilume, Lagos Business School
Doyin Salami, Lagos Business School
EXAMINATION OF ETHNIC AND POLICY ISSUES IN GROOMING PREFERENCES AND ETHNIC HAIRSTYLES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN CORPORATE AMERICA
Angela Renee Payne, Argosy University – Chicago, IL
Bharat S. Thakkar,, Argosy University – Chicago, IL
COST AND VALUE ADDED COMPETITIVENESS: CHINA VS. MEXICO
Juan España, National University
SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS CREATED BY A CHINESE MANUFACTURER IN AN E-COMMERCE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
Ronald E. Milliman, Western Kentucky University
A PROPOSED ARCHITECTURE FOR DYNAMIC ELEARNING ENVIRONMENTS BASED ON STUDENT ACTIVITY AND LEARNING STYLES
John A. Kaliski, Minnesota State University
Queen E. Booker, Minnesota State University
Paul Schumann, Minnesota State University
PROPOSALS FOR MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR OPTICAL CENTERS BASED ON THE CONSUMER
Lucila Zárraga Cano, Universidad del Caribe
Enrique Corona Sandoval, Universidad del Caribe
Miguel Ángel Olivares Urbina, Universidad del Caribe
PRODUCTIVE CHAINS CONFORMATION OF OSTREICULTURE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF ENSENADA BAJA CALIFORNIA
Ramón Galván, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Enselmina Marín Vargas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, MARKETING STRATEGIC CHANGE AND PERFORMANCE OF WHOLLY-OWNED AND INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES IN THAILAND
Olimpia C. Racela, Mahasarakham University, Thailand
Amonrat Thoumrungroje, Assumption University, Thailand
CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF E-SERVICE QUALITY IN ONLINE APPAREL SHOPPING
Zui Chih (Rick) Lee, Susquehanna University
Paul, Dion, Susquehanna University
PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY IN RESTAURANT SERVICES
Prabha Ramseook-Munhurrun, University of Technology, Mauritius
AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF COMPANY SURVIVAL/RECOVERY AFTER CORPORATE ACCOUNTING MALFEASANCE
Liz Washington Arnold, The Citadel
Peter Harris, New York Institute of Technology
AN INVESTIGATION OF USERS’ CONTINUOUS USE INTENTION OF E-LEARNING SYSTEMS
Huichih Wang, National Chiao Tung University
Hersen Doong, National Chaiyi University
RESIDUAL INCOME VS. DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW VALUATION MODELS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Ali Atilla Perek, Marmara University, Turkey
Seda Perek, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey
UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUMERS TO USE ONLINE SHOPPING
Job Dubihlela, Vaal University of Technology-South Africa
Nobukhosi Dlodlo, Vaal University of Technology South Africa
A STUDY ON THE INFLUENCES OF KOREAN EARLY ADOPTERS’ PROPENSITY AND LIFESTYLE FOR IT PRODUCTS’ PURCHASE DECISION
Yeo Hwan Leep, Kyungpook National University
Han Jang hyup, Kyungpook National University
Kim PanSoo, Kyungpook National University
CREATING JOINT VENTURE PROJECTS BETWEEN SME’S AND UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA IN TIJUANA, MEXICO
Eduardo Ahumada-Tello, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Juan Manuel Alberto Perusquía Velasco, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF COOPERATION
Zóchitl Araiza Garza, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Elvira Velarde López, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
Dariela Sánchez Campos, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila
TRANSPARENCY REPORT AS RED FLAG FOR QUALITY CONTROL OF THE AUDIT FIRMS – THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA EXPERIENCES
Zorica Bozinovska Lazarevska, Faculty of Economics, University Ss Cyril and Methodius
Maja Stolevska, Audit Authority for Auditing the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA)
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS ON CORPORATE GROWTH AND PROFITABILITY
Sylvester Feyi Akinbuli, University of Lagos Akoka-Lagos, Nigeria
EVALUATION OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: A NECESSARY CONCEPT FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE
Sylvester Feyi Akinbuli,University of Lagos, Akoka Lagos-Nigeria
MODELING FOR LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS: MOLECULAR INTERACTION FRAMEWORK APPROACH
Matej Janežič, University of Ljubljana-Slovenia
Vlado Dimovski, University of Ljubljana-Slovenia
Milan Hodoscek, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
MARKET RESPONSE TO THE COMPOSITION CHANGE OF ISLAMIC INDEX: THE CASE OF INDONESIA
Erie Febrian, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Aldrin Herwany, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
Adi Primadhi, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia
ZAKAH PERSPECTIVES AS A SYMBOL OF INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL PIETY: DEVELOPING A REVIEW FROM THE MEADIAN SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
Fidiana, University of Brawijaya – Indonesia
Iwan Triyuwono, Brawijaya University
Akhmad Riduwan, School of Economic Indonesia Surabaya (STIESIA)
CHINESE CONSUMERS ACCEPTANCE OF LABELED SEAFOOD
Pei Xu, California State University, Fresno
YC Zeng, Renmin University of CHina
Q Fong, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Y Liu, Renmin University of China
THE IMPACT OF BRAND PLACEMENT AND BRAND RECALL (IN MOVIES) ON BRAND PREFERENCE, LOYALTY AND INTENTIONS TO PURCHASE AMONG YOUNGER CONSUMERS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIA
Bamini KPD Balakrishnan, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
P. Yukthamarani Permarupan, INTI International University
Azlinda Shazneem MD. Shuaib, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Oscar Dousin, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
TYPOLOGY OF EMPLOYEE IMPROVEMENT-ORIENTED VOICE: EXPLORING WHAT EMPLOYEES SUGGEST TO UNDERSTAND HOW MANAGERS PASS ON EMPLOYEE VOICE
Nancy L. Lam, Saint Mary’s College of California
AN INVESTIGATION OF ANTECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF CONSUMERS ATTITUDES TOWARD AN APPAREL WEBSITE
Zui Chih (Rick) Lee, Susquehanna University
Nancy Hodges, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
FINANCE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN AFRICA: A META-ANALYSIS
Senia Nhamo, University of South Africa
RUSSIAN STATE FINANCIAL CONTROL: DISTINCTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Tatyana Antipova, The Institute of Certified Specialists
BALANCED SCORECARD ATTRIBUTES: KEY DETERMINANT AND THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS
Wasatorn Shutibhinyo, Chulalongkorn University
CONTINOUS AUDIT CONTINOUS MONITORING – ANALYTICS ON MANUAL JOURNAL VOUCHER
Rakesh Naredi, Hewlett Packard
Sarika Mukunda Kurup, Hewlett Packard
Satyanarayana T, Hewlett Packard
THE RELEVANCE OR IRRELEVANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) TO ENHANCE GOVERNMENT-BUSINESS RELATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA: A THEORETICAL EXPOSITION.
Abel J. Diale, Tshwane University of Technology
AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION AT A CROSSROAD
Maskooki, Kooros, Western New Mexico University
Kevin Maskooki, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING YOUR RESEARCH QUALITY
Terrance Jalbert, University of Hawaii-Hilo
SPANISH PROCEEDINGS
CARACTERIZACIÓN Y MODELADO DE REDES: ÍNDICES FINANCIEROS MUNDIALES
Linda Margarita Medina Herrera, Tecnológico de Monterrey CCM.
Ernesto Pacheco Velázquez, Tecnológico de Monterrey CCM.
DESARROLLO DE UN MODELO PARA LA MEJORA TANTO DE LA OFERTA DE PRODUCTOS COMO DEL SERVICIO AL CLIENTE A TRAVES DE UN CALL CENTER BANCARIO PROPIO COMO UN CANAL NO TRADICIONAL DE SERVICIO Y VENTA DE PRODUCTOS FINANCIEROS
Ruth Cavazos Arroyo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Cuauhtémoc Puente Muñoz, Universidad Panamericana
IMPACTO PUBLICITARIO DEL MARKETING MÓVIL EN UN ENTORNO TRADICIONAL: CASO CIBERNAUTAS DE LA REGIÓN COSTA SUR DE JALISCO, MÉXICO
Roberto González Monroy, Universidad de Guadalajara
César Amador Díaz Pelayo, Universidad de Guadalajara
LA EMPRESA MEXICANA EN EL EXTERIOR. UN PRIMER ACERCAMIENTO
Jorge Luis Alcaraz Vargas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Rubén Molina Martínez, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Oscar Hugo Pedraza Rendón, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
PROPUESTA DE REFORMA FISCAL INTEGRAL EN MÉXICO
Fidel Antonio Mendoza Shaw, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora
Rosa Isela Lopez Cuevas, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora
Jose Ezequiel Robles Encinas, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora
ANALISIS DEL IMPACTO DE CRECIMIENTO EN LAS PYMES QUE SE DESARROLLARON BAJO UN ESQUEMA DE INCUBACION. CASO ENCUBADORA EMPRESER – SONORA
Emma Vanessa Casas Medina, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora
Erika Olivas Valdez, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora
Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora
ANÁLISIS DEL IMPACTO DE LA APLICACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA GUÍAS ESCOLARES EN LA UNIVERSIDAD: CASO CESUES HERMOSILLO.
Emma Vanessa Casas Medina, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora.
Norma Lorena Arenas Mozqueda, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora.
Susana Ayde Sender Áviles, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora.
Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales, Centro De Estudios Superiores Del Estado De Sonora.
PLANES NACIONALES DE DESARROLLO Y LOS SECTORES PRODUCTIVOS DE MÉXICO
Omar Ernesto Terán Varela, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Enrique Espinosa Ayala, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Ranulfo Pérez Garcés, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
María de Lourdes Hernández Aragón, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
ENTORNOS VIRTUALES APLICADOS A LA EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR BASADOS EN LA METACOGNICIÓN
Omar Ernesto Terán Varela, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Monserrat Alonso Galicia, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Martha Elba Ruíz Riva Palacio , Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Ranulfo Pérez Garcés, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
PROYECCIÓN DEL PERFIL DE VALORES DEL LIC. EN NEGOCIOS INTERNACIONALES
Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, UABC
María Belén Murillo Pedraza, UABC
Ana Cecilia Bustamante Valenzuela, UABC
Sandra Julieta Saldívar González, UABC
Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martínez, La Salle
LOS VALORES EN LOS ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS, UN COMPROMISO DE LAS INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR EN MÉXICO .CASO: ALUMNOS DE LA CARRERA DE LICENCIADO EN INFORMÁTICA, FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS
Sandra Julieta Saldívar González,Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
María Belén Murillo Pedraza, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
Ana Cecilia Bustamante Valenzuela, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
Ignacio Alejandro Mendoza Martínez, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
Patricia Guadalupe García Cabrales, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
SEGUIMIENTO A LOS EGRESADOS, FUNCIÓN SUSTANTIVA DE LAS DEMANDAS DE UN MERCADO LABORAL
Hilario de la Torre Pérez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Raquel Olivia Roa Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Sandra Julieta Saldivar González, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Gloria Muñoz del Real, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Reyna Isabel Roa Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Patricia Guadalupe García Cabrales, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
EVALUACIÓN DEL MEJORAMIENTO DE LOS INDICADORES FINANCIEROS EN LAS EMPRESAS DEL SECTOR CARBÓN Y SUS DERIVADOS EN COLOMBIA
Tomás Fontalvo Herrera, Universidad de Cartagena
José Morelos Gómez, Universidad de Cartagena
Juan Carlos Vergara Schmalbach, Universidad de Cartagena
PROYECTO DE MERCADOTECNIA TURÍSTICA PARA LA CREACIÓN DE UN AERÓDROMO DEPORTIVO EN LA REGIÓN VITIVINÍCOLA EN BAJA CALIFORNIA, MÉXICO
Francisco Adrián Garfias García, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
José Gabriel Ruiz Andrade, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Omaira Cecilia Martínez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
PLAN DE MERCADOTECNIA PARA DIVERSIFICACIÓN DE MERCADOS EN SERVICIOS LEGALES AMBIENTALES
Patricia Blanco Vargas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
José Gabriel Ruiz Andrade, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ricardo Verján Quiñones, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
ESTUDIO DE FACTIBILIDAD PARA LA COMERCIALIZACIÓN DE ZARZAMORA EN MERCADOS INTERNACIONALES
Luis Enrique Ibarra Morales, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Natalia Guadalupe Romero Vivar, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Rosalina Jaime Meuly, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Beatriz Alejandra Hurtado Bringas, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
CONFIANZA, COMPROMISO E INTENCION PARA COMPARTIR: ¿VARIABLES INFLUYENTES PARA TRANSFERIR CONOCIMIENTO DENTRO DE LAS ORGANIZACIONES?
Aurora I. Máynez Guaderrama, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Judith Cavazos Arroyo, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Santiago Ibarreche Suárez, Universidad de Texas en El Paso
José Pablo Nuño de la Parra, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
PLATAFORMA MOODLE: INNOVACION EDUCATIVA EN ESTUDIOS DE POSGRADO
Edelmira Sánchez Delgado, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
Salvador Anibal Ochoa Ramírez, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
ESTRATEGIAS Y RENDIMIENTO DE LAS MICRO, PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES (AGUASCALIENTES MÉXICO)
Luis Aguilera Enríquez, Universidad Autónoma De Aguascalientes
Martha González Adame,Universidad Autónoma De Aguascalientes
MEDICIÓN DEL POTENCIAL DE ASOCIATIVIDAD ENTRE EMPRESAS EMPLEANDO EL MÉTODO MACTOR
Juan Carlos Vergara Schmalbach, Universidad de Cartagena
José Morelos Gómez, Universidad de Cartagena
Tomás José Fontalvo Herrera, Universidad de Cartagena
EL GRADO DE COMPETENCIAS DEL EGRESADO DE LA LICENCIATURA EN TURISMO VERSUS LAS CAPACIDADES GENÉRICAS EXIGIDAS POR EL MERCADO LABORAL
Claudia Leticia Preciado Ortiz, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
Cristina Zepeda Ibarra, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
Alfredo Castañeda Palomera, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
Alfredo Tomás Ortega Ojeda, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur
VICIOS Y VIRTUDES DEL MODELO DE ACREDITACIÓN EN EL SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR CHILENO
Juan Camel Tala Japaz, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Paulina Hidalgo Pérez, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIO EXTERIOR PARA LA INTRODUCCIÓN DE UNA PYME DE EXPORTACIÓN DE TAMALES, EN CIUDAD JUÁREZ CHIHUAHUA
Julio Cesar Briones Benavente, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Perla Ivette Gómez Zepeda, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Nidia Gisela Nafarrate Robles, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Felipe Chontal Ramos, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
Rene Meléndez Sepúlveda, Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez
PANORAMA DE LA PARTICIPACIÓN DE LAS MICRO, PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS BAJACALIFORNIANAS EN PROCESOS DE GESTIÓN DE LA CALIDA
Patricia Valdés Flores, CETYS Universidad
VIOLENCIA Y DESERCIÓN DE ESTUDIANTES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR
María Guadalupe Durazo Bringas, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Bertha Guadalupe Ojeda García, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
¿POR QUÉ HIZO CRISIS EL SISTEMA EDUCATIVO CHILENO?: EVIDENCIA Y ESPECULACIÓN
Paulina Hidalgo Pérez, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
INSEGURIDAD Y CONSUMO: CASO AUTLÁN DE NAVARRO, JALISCO. MÉXICO
Cesar Amador Díaz Pelayo, Universidad de Guadalajara
Claudia Leticia Preciado Ortíz, Universidad de Guadalajara
Elsy Claudia Chan Gamboa, Universidad de Guadalajara
Carlos Manuel Orozco Santillán, Universidad de Guadalajara
WEB EDUCATIVA PARA EL REFORZAMIENTO DE LAS CIENCIAS MATEMÁTICAS, EN LA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS, UABC MEXICALI
Oscar Manuel Madrigal Lizárraga, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
EFICIENCIA EN LAS INSTITUCIONES EDUCATIVAS PÚBLICAS DE LA CIUDAD DE SANTA MARTA CON “DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS”
Delimiro Visbal Cadavid, Universidad del Magdalena
Rolando Escorcia Caballero, Universidad del Magdalena
José Mario Agudelo Toloza, Universidad del Magdalena
IMPLEMENTACIÓN DEL SIMULADOR FISCAL DESDE LA PERSPECTIVA DEL ALUMNADO EN EL PROCESO DE ENSEÑANZA APRENDIZAJE EN LA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS DE LA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Belén Murillo Pedraza, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Claudia Viviana Álvarez Vega, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ernesto Alonso Pérez Maldonado, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
DETECCIÓN DE LOS FACTORES DE RESILIENCIA COMO SITUACIONES MOTIVACIONALES PARA EL ÉXITO EN LOS ALUMNOS DEL INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE MEXICALI
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Rafael Cruz Casanova, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Manuel Muñoz Aguilera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Leonel Rosiles López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
EL IMPUESTO AL VALOR AGREGADO EN MÉXICO, SUS EXENCIONES Y LAS DIFERENTES TASAS: FACTORES QUE AFECTAN LA RECAUDACIÓN
Martha Sheila Gómez González, Universidad de Guadalajara
Mónica Araceli Reyes Rodríguez, Universidad de Guadalajara
FUENTES DE FINANCIAMIENTO EN LAS PYMES EXPORTADORAS DEL ESTADO DE COLIMA MÉXICO
Jesús Otoniel Sosa Rodríguez, Universidad de Colima.
Aurelio Deniz Guizar, Universidad de Colima.
Óscar Bernardo Reyes Real, Universidad de Colima.
RECICLAJE DE RESIDUOS SÓLIDOS MUNICIPALES EN TIJUANA; UNA APROXIMACIÓN A LOS ASPECTOS AMBIENTALES, SOCIOECONÓMICOS, INSTITUCIONALES Y JURÍDICOS
Celsa Guadalupe Sánchez Vélez, CETYS Universidad, Campus Tijuana
EL PROCESO DE SUCESIÓN EN LAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES: GARANTÍA DE CONTINUIDAD, LEGADO Y COMPETITIVIDAD
Ma. de los Angeles Monterde Valenzuela, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora
EVOLUCIÓN DEL CENTRO DESARROLLO EMPRESARIAL-UABC EN EL VALLE DE MEXICALI
Marcela Reyes Pazos, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Campus Mexicali
EL COMPORTAMIENTO EMPRENDEDOR DE FRANQUICIADOS A TRAVÉS DE LA INFLUENCIA DE RASGOS PSICOLÓGICOS
Héctor Priego Huertas, Universidad De Colima, México
Roberto Espíritu Olmos, Universidad De Colima, México
Hugo Martín Moreno Zacarías, Universidad De Colima, México
INSTRUMENTOS DE GESTIÓN PARTICIPATIVA EN LA ADMINISTRACIÓN PÚBLICA: PROPUESTA DE UN SISTEMA DE INDICADORES PARA LA PLANEACIÓN ESTATAL EN BAJA CALIFORNIA
Sheila Delhumeau Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Andrea Spears Kirkand, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Mónica Lacavex Berumen, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
INDICADORES DE DESEMPEÑO Y PERCEPCIÓN CIUDADANA. REFLEXIONES SOBRE EL CASO DE SEGURIDAD PÚBLICA EN ENSENADA, BAJA CALIFORNIA
Isabel Adriana Escobedo Fuentes, Pronatura
Sheila Delhumeau Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Andrea Spears Kirkand, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
RELACIONES INTERGUBERNAMENTALES TRANSFRONTERIZAS. UN INSTRUMENTO DE ANÁLISIS PARA LAS INTERACCIONES ENTRE CALIFORNIA Y BAJA CALIFORNIA
Sheila Delhumeau Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
EL INVENTARIO DE BAR-ON EN EL DEPARTAMENTO DE ASIENTOS DE DESARROLLO TÉCNICO DE VOLKSWAGEN DE MÉXICO
Rafaela Martínez Méndez, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Josué Aldo Machorro Vázquez, Benemérita. Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Mariana Nocedal de la Garza, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Sandra Olivera Pomposo, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
MÉTODOS MIXTOS PARA EL ESTUDIO DE LAS DECISIONES ESTRATÉGICAS EN LAS PYMES
Fabiola Baltar, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
Natacha Gentile, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata
LA RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL CORPORATIVA
Juan Manuel Alberto Perusquía Velasco ,Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Olga Lidia Gutiérrez Gutiérrez , Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
ANÁLISIS DE LA PRESCRIPCIÓN FISCAL EN MÉXICO
Leonel Rosiles López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Nelson Isaac Padilla Castro, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Cruz Elda Macías Terán, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Santiago Pérez Alcalá, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
ESTUDIO DEL COMPROMISO ORGANIZACIONAL EN UN COLEGIO PARTICULAR, EN ENSENADA, B.C.
Rocio Gutierrez Alanis, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Concepcion Ramirez Baron, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Blanca Rosa García Rivera, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIALIZACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DEL QUESO COTIJA REGIÓN DE ORIGEN
Oscar Hugo Pedraza Rendón, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
Rubén Molina Martínez, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
María Soledad Ramírez Flores, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo
FACTORES QUE INTERVIENEN EN EL DESARROLLO Y CONTINUIDAD DE LAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES DE TEHUACÁN
Hilario Díaz Guzmán, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Gabriela Sánchez Bazán, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
HABILIDADES SOCIALES, FACTOR DETERMINANTE EN LA TOMA DE DECISIONES EN EL SECTOR SERVICIOS: RESTAURANTES TURÍSTICOS, EN ENSENADA, B. C.
Karla Ramírez-Barón, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Omaira Cecilia Martínez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Concepción Ramírez Barón, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
LA IMPORTANCIA DE UN SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN VIRTUAL EN EL CENTRO UNIVERSITARIO DE LA COSTA SUR DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA (CUCSUR)
Oscar Guzmán Vargas, Universidad de Guadalajara
Martha Sheila Gómez González, Universidad de Guadalajara
MOVILIDAD HACIA LOS MEDIOS MASIVOS DE INFORMACIÓN
Helbert Eli Gazca Santos, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida
Andrés Miguel Pereyra Chan, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida
Karina Concepción González Herrera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
IMPACTO DEL BURNOUT Y LA SATISFACCIÓN LABORAL EN LOS GERENTES DE LAS MAQUILADORAS EN TECATE, B.C. MÉXICO
Silvia Hernández Solis, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Omaira Cecilia Martínez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Lourdes Evelyn Apodaca del Angel, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
DE LA MOVILIDAD A LA MIGRACIÓN: FACTORES ASOCIADOS
Karina Concepción González Herrera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
Adrian González Romo, El Colegio de Tlaxcala A.C
ESTRATEGIAS DE COMERCIALIZACION DE LA MICRO Y PEQUEÑA EMPRESA AGROINDUSTRIAL EN LA CIUDAD DE ENSENADA BAJA CALIFORNIA
Santiago González Velásquez, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
María de los Ángeles Reyes Nevares, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
Imelda Yáñez Ruiz,Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
LA INTELIGENCIA COMPETITIVA EN LAS EMPRESAS DE LA CIUDAD DE TIJUANA B.C.
Norma Leticia Vizcarra Vizcarra, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
Virginia Guadalupe López Torres, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Dora Rocío Guerrero Muñoz, Universidad Tecnológica de Tijuana
ESTRATEGIAS DE MERCADOTECNIA EN EMPRESAS MANUFACTURERAS DE LA ZONA METROPOLITANA DE LA CIUDAD DE PUEBLA 2010
Maria del Carmen Domínguez Ríos, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Maricela Resendiz Ortega, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Michele Alexandra Corona Domínguez, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
CONDICIONES DE LOS FACTORES QUE INFLUYEN EN LA COMPETITIVIDAD DE UN MUNICIPIO FRONTERIZO
Oscar Omar Ovalle Osuna, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Silvia Hernández Solís, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Sergio Vale Sánchez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
LAS PYMES FAMILIARES VS. LAS NO FAMILIARES EN EL CONTEXTO DE UNA ECONOMÍA EN CRECIMIENTO: UN ESTUDIO DE CASOS SOBRE LA CONTRIBUCIÓN DE LA INNOVACIÓN AL DESEMPEÑO
Luis Antonio Moreno Segura, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Laguna
LA PROFESIONALIZACIÓN COMO FACTOR DE COMPETITIVIDAD: UN ANALISIS DE LAS EMPRESAS FAMILIARES DEL SECTOR INDUSTRIAL, EN TIJUANA, B.C., MEXICO
Alfonso Vega López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Virginia Flores Ortiz, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María Marcela Solís Quinteros, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Edgar Armando Chávez Moreno, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
OPCIÓN LEGAL PARA EVITAR LA EVASIÓN DEL PAGO DE IMPUESTO SOBRE LA RENTA EN LA INDUSTRIA DE LA CONSTRUCCIÓN EN MÉXICO
Cruz Elda Macías Terán, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Leonel Rosiles López, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Santiago Pérez Alcalá, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Carolina Adame Márquez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
EL EFECTO ECONÓMICO DE LA MIGRACIÓN INTERNACIONAL EN EL CRECIMIENTO ECONÓMICO DE MÉXICO
Martina Rodríguez Domínguez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Emilio Hernández Gómez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
COOPERATIVA SANZEKAN TINEMI: PROMOTORA DE ALTERNATIVAS DE TRABAJO EN BASE AL DESARROLLO ORGANIZACIONAL GUERRERENSE, MEXICO
Adriana Patricia Soto Aguilar, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Elías Sosa Sánchez, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
ANÁLISIS ECONÓMICO DEL COMERCIO AL POR MENOR EN LA CIUDAD DE MÉRIDA
Roque Humberto Martín Gamboa León, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
Lucia Trinidad Pérez Cervera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
Karina Concepción González Herrera, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana
LA COMPETITIVIDAD COMO FACTOR DE DESARROLLO SUSTENTABLE INDICADORES PARA LA EVALUACION DE LA INDUSTRIA MAQUILADORA
María Esther Ibarra Estrada, Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana, México
Mario Jiménez Suárez, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, México
Sofía Elba Vázquez Herrera, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, México
EL IMPACTO QUE TIENE LA BIBLIOTECA DEL CICESE, EN RELACIÓN CON LA PRODUCTIVIDAD DE LOS INVESTIGADORES DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE ACUICULTURA (DA)
Elizabeth Avilés Becerril, UABC/CICESE
María Concepción Ramírez Barón, Autónoma de Baja California
Sonia Rocha Maldonado, Autónoma de Baja California
LIDERAZGO POLÍTICO: CARACTERÍSTICAS Y PARTICULARIDADES. UN ESTUDIO DE CASO
Jorge Acosta Tillerías, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
INTENCIÓN DE EMPRENDIMIENTO EN ESTUDIANTES: EL CASO DE UNA UNIVERSIDAD PÚBLICA EN CIUDAD JUÁREZ, MÉXICO
Oscar Javier Montiel Méndez, Universidad Autónoma de Cd. Juárez (UACJ)
Blanca Lidia Márquez Miramontes, Universidad Autónoma de Cd. Juárez (UACJ)
Zoila Arámbula Monreal, Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Industrial y de Servicios 114 (C.B.T.i.s. No. 114)
Larisa Ordoñez Molinar, Universidad Autónoma de Cd. Juárez (UACJ)
INNOVACIONES TECNOLÓGICAS APLICADAS EN LA ENSEÑANZA DE LAS CIENCIAS ADMINISTRATIVAS
Claudia Viviana Álvarez Vega, UABC
María Belén Murillo Pedraza, UABC
Gloria Alicia Nieves Bernal, UABC
FACTORES DETERMINANTES DE LA CALIDAD DEL SERVICIO DE UNA CAFETERÍA EN EL CAMPUS DE UNA UNIVERSIDAD PÚBLICA
Sonia Elizabeth Maldonado-Radillo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ana Ma. Guillén Jiménez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Rafael Ernesto Carranza Prieto, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
EVALUACIÓN DEL NIVEL TECNOLÓGICO DE LAS PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS (PYMES) DEL SECTOR SERVICIO EN MEXICALI, BAJA CALIFORNIA
Adelaida Figueroa Villanueva, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Sósima Carrillo, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Manuel Alejandro Ibarra Cisneros, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Ricardo Ching Wesman, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
LA EDUCACIÓN CONTINÚA COMO MEDIO PARA APOYAR LA COMPETITIVIDAD DE LAS PYMES Y LA VINCULACIÓN EMPRESARIAL CON LAS INSTITUCIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR
Julio César León Priento, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Sósima Carrillo, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Ana Cecilia Bustamante Valenzuela, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
Adelaida Figueroa Villanueva, Universidad Autónoma De Baja California
REALIDADES Y OPORTUNIDADES DE EMPLEO EN MÉXICO
Raúl González Núñez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Alma Delia Inda, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Elsa Lourdes Salazar Ruíz, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Adelaida Figueroa Villanueva, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
CENTRO ECO-TURÍSTICO EXCAMÉ
Ana Karen Fraire, Universidad de Guadalajara
María de la Luz Mora Salas, Universidad de Guadalajara
Karen Yuridia Estupiñan Pérez, Instituto Tecnológico Superior Norte
COACHING PARA EL DESARROLLO DEL ALTO DESEMPEÑO PARA EMPRESAS PUBLICITARIAS: CASO ISA CORPORATIVO S.A. DE C.V.
Omar Ernesto Terán Varela, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Gilberto Cervantes Moreno, Egresado de la ESCA Unidad Tepepan IPN
Enrique Espinosa Ayala, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
Nayeli Juárez Montoya, Centro Universitario UAEM Amecameca
LA CRISIS FINANCIERA, EL RACIONAMIENTO DE CRÉDITO Y LA RELACIÓN BANCARIA DE LAS PYME EN ESPAÑA
Alaitz Mendizabal Zubeldia, Universidad del País Vasco
Aitziber Lertxundi, Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa
Jesús Garmendia Ibáñez, Universidad del País Vasco
PERCEPCIÓN DE LA CALIDAD DEL SERVICIO DE LA EDUCACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA DE ALUMNOS Y PROFESORES
Oscar Reyes Sánchez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Marcela Reyes Pazos, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
LA PERSPECTIVA CUALITATIVA DE LA MATERIALIDAD EN AUDITORÍA: EVIDENCIA EMPÍRICA EN MÉXICO Y COLOMBIA
Sergio Iván Ramírez Cacho, Universidad de Colima, México
Mario de Jesús Naranjo González, Universidad de Colima, México
EL EMPLEO Y SALARIO QUE SE PAGA EN BAJA CALIFORNIA, ¿CONTRIBUYEN AL BIENESTAR SOCIAL DEL SER HUMANO?
Alma Delia Inda, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Gloria Muñoz del Real, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Raúl González Núñez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
COMPRADORES MIGRANTES Y NO MIGRANTES DEL SUPERMERCADO A LA TIENDA DE BARRIO EN CARTAGENA DE INDIAS – COLOMBIA
Emperatriz Londoño Aldana, Universidad De Cartagena
María Eugenia Navas Ríos, Universidad De Cartagena
Jairo Orozco Triana, Universidad De Cartagena
Claudia Esther Torres Herrera , Universidad De Cartagena
SISTEMA DE GESTIÓN INTEGRAL DE PROVEDORES DE LA CORPORACIÓN DE CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGÍA PARA EL DESARROLLO DE LA INDUSTRIA NAVAL, MARÍTIMA Y FUVIAL EN COLOMBIA
José Morelos Gómez, Universidad de Cartagena
Tomás José Fontalvo Herrera, Universidad de Cartagena
Juan Carlos Vergara Schmalbach, Universidad de Cartagena
ASPECTOS ÉTICOS EN LA FORMA DE EJERCER LOS INGRESOS PÚBLICOS EN MÉXICO
Erika Olivas Valdez, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Rossana Palomino Cano, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
Francisco Javier Pestaño Uruchurtu, Centro de Estudios Superiores del Estado de Sonora.
LOS RETOS DE LA INDUSTRIA DEL SECTOR METALMECÁNICO EN EL DESARROLLO ECONÓMICO DE BAJA CALIFORNIA
Lourdes Evelyn Apodaca del Angel, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
María del Carmen Alcalá Álvarez, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Silvia Hernández Solís, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
LAS PRÁCTICAS DE ALTO RENDIMIENTO INFLUENCIA DE LA AUTORIDAD NO FORMAL EN LA ADMINISTRACION DEL TALENTO HUMANO Y SU IMPACTO EN LOS RESULTADOS EMPRESARIALES
Juan Nicolás Montoya Monsalve , Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Santiago Gutiérrez Broncano, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Alvaro Moncada Niño , Consultor Organizacional
Index of Authors
Universities and Institutions Represented
Countries Represented
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>>
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/DetectCurves 0
/DoThumbnails false
/DownsampleColorImages false
/DownsampleGrayImages false
/DownsampleMonoImages false
/EmbedAllFonts true
/EmbedJobOptions true
/EmbedOpenType false
/EmitDSCWarnings false
/EncodeColorImages true
/EncodeGrayImages true
/EncodeMonoImages true
/EndPage -1
/GrayACSImageDict << /HSamples [ 1 1 1 1 ] /QFactor 0.15000 /VSamples [ 1 1 1 1 ] >>
/GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG
/GrayImageDepth -1
/GrayImageDict << /HSamples [ 1 1 1 1 ] /QFactor 0.15000 /VSamples [ 1 1 1 1 ] >>
/GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
/GrayImageDownsampleType /None
/GrayImageFilter /FlateEncode
/GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2
/GrayImageMinResolution 300
/GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
/GrayImageResolution 300
/ImageMemory 1048576
/JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict << /Quality 30 /TileHeight 256 /TileWidth 256 >>
/JPEG2000ColorImageDict << /Quality 30 /TileHeight 256 /TileWidth 256 >>
/JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict << /Quality 30 /TileHeight 256 /TileWidth 256 >>
/JPEG2000GrayImageDict << /Quality 30 /TileHeight 256 /TileWidth 256 >>
/LockDistillerParams false
/MaxSubsetPct 0
/MonoImageDepth -1
/MonoImageDict << /K -1 >>
/MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
/MonoImageDownsampleType /None
/MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode
/MonoImageMinResolution 1200
/MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK
/MonoImageResolution 1200
/Namespace [
(Adobe)
(Common)
(1.0)
]
/NeverEmbed [
true
]
/OPM 1
/Optimize false
/OtherNamespaces [
<< /AsReaderSpreads false /CropImagesToFrames false /ErrorControl /WarnAndContinue /FlattenerIgnoreSpreadOverrides true /IncludeGuidesGrids false /IncludeNonPrinting false /IncludeSlug false /Namespace [ (Adobe) (InDesign) (4.0) ] /OmitPlacedBitmaps false /OmitPlacedEPS false /OmitPlacedPDF false /SimulateOverprint /Legacy >>
<< /AddBleedMarks false /AddColorBars false /AddCropMarks true /AddPageInfo false /AddRegMarks false /BleedOffset [ 9 9 9 9 ] /ConvertColors /NoConversion /DestinationProfileName () /DestinationProfileSelector /NA /Downsample16BitImages true /FlattenerPreset << /ClipComplexRegions true /ConvertStrokesToOutlines false /ConvertTextToOutlines false /GradientResolution 300 /LineArtTextResolution 1200 /PresetName ([High Resolution]) /PresetSelector /HighResolution /RasterVectorBalance 1 >>
/FormElements false
/GenerateStructure false
/IncludeBookmarks false
/IncludeHyperlinks false
/IncludeInteractive false
/IncludeLayers false
/IncludeProfiles false
/MarksOffset 12
/MarksWeight 0.25000
/MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings
/Namespace [
(Adobe)
(CreativeSuite)
(2.0)
]
/PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector /NA
/PageMarksFile /RomanDefault
/PreserveEditing true
/UntaggedCMYKHandling /LeaveUntagged
/UntaggedRGBHandling /LeaveUntagged
/UseDocumentBleed false
>>
<< /AllowImageBreaks true /AllowTableBreaks true /ExpandPage false /HonorBaseURL true /HonorRolloverEffect false /IgnoreHTMLPageBreaks false /IncludeHeaderFooter false /MarginOffset [ 0 0 0 0 ] /MetadataAuthor () /MetadataKeywords () /MetadataSubject () /MetadataTitle () /MetricPageSize [ 0 0 ] /MetricUnit /inch /MobileCompatible 0 /Namespace [ (Adobe) (GoLive) (8.0) ] /OpenZoomToHTMLFontSize false /PageOrientation /Portrait /RemoveBackground false /ShrinkContent true /TreatColorsAs /MainMonitorColors /UseEmbeddedProfiles false /UseHTMLTitleAsMetadata true >>
]
/PDFX1aCheck false
/PDFX3Check false
/PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [
0
0
0
0
]
/PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false
/PDFXNoTrimBoxError true
/PDFXOutputCondition ()
/PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier ()
/PDFXOutputIntentProfile ()
/PDFXRegistryName ()
/PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true
/PDFXTrapped /False
/PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [
0
0
0
0
]
/ParseDSCComments true
/ParseDSCCommentsForDocInfo true
/ParseICCProfilesInComments true
/PassThroughJPEGImages true
/PreserveCopyPage true
/PreserveDICMYKValues true
/PreserveEPSInfo true
/PreserveFlatness false
/PreserveHalftoneInfo false
/PreserveOPIComments false
/PreserveOverprintSettings true
/StartPage 1
/SubsetFonts true
/TransferFunctionInfo /Apply
/UCRandBGInfo /Preserve
/UsePrologue false
/sRGBProfile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
>> setdistillerparams
<< /HWResolution [2400 2400] /PageSize [612.000 792.000] >> setpagedevice